ISO Metric equivalent of 'cup' weight

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menumaker

Sous Chef
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I'm never quite sure about this as a packed / loose amount will vary so I hope that some of you have a fail safe answer!
On this side of the pond we use metric and some of us who still use our tried and tested old recipe books ( And lovely old brass balance scales as I do ) also cope with Imperial measures.
As there are some super recipes from your good-selves as well it would be nice to know. I will then write out a table and paste it,....... the glue method not the computer one! inside my personal recipe folder for future use.
So, over to you...............;)
 
A cup of what? A cup of chopped lettuce will weigh differently than a cup of flour. It is a volume measure, not weight or fluid. If you use an 8 ounce coffee cup to measure with you will have the best approximation.
 
Fair question PF. I should have said that I was thinking of dry weight as in flour, sugar. Liquids arn't a problem. Not sure about butter. Any suggestions?
 
Sorry. There is no tried and tested method. You would have to make a conversion chart of every food there is. Like PF said, a cup of Lima beans would weigh a lot more then a cup of whipped cream. And whipped cream would weigh differently than whipping cream in liquid form.

If you are looking at an American recipe, put your scales away. We don't weigh. We measure. Unless we are looking at an European recipe. Get yourself a very good set of American measuring cups and spoons. And BTW their is a difference in cups for liquid and dry measuring. We use a Pyrex cup for liquid measuring. That give measurements in your measures and ours in ounces and cups. I would suggest you get a two or more cup Pyrex cup. :angel:
 
Fair question PF. I should have said that I was thinking of dry weight as in flour, sugar. Liquids arn't a problem. Not sure about butter. Any suggestions?

I don't know about in France, but our butter in sold in quarter pound sticks with tablespoon markings for cup and tablespoon measures. We get four sticks to a pound of butter, Two sticks equal one cup, Five and a half tablespoons equal 1/3 cup of butter. Four tablespoons equal 1/4 cup of butter. Two cups to a pound of butter. Our recipes reflect these measurements. :angel:
 
Our sticks here are about 1/2 pound in weight ( 250gr ). I always thought you guys used a heck of a lot of butter LOL !! Now I know. Lucky I haven't tried THAT one before Eh?
 
If you use American measurement instruments for American recipes, you can't fail. Since your butter is sold differently than yours, I would suggest you measure it out in the cups, or if your cutting skills are very good, cut down your butter to equal ours.

Or you might want to soften your butter, measure it according to our cup, wrap securely and freeze in one cup increments. It will save a lot of time in the end. :angel:
 
Fair question PF. I should have said that I was thinking of dry weight as in flour, sugar. Liquids arn't a problem. Not sure about butter. Any suggestions?

There is not even any set standard weight for a cup of flour. That changes by water content, and whether it's been sifted or not. That's why most bread recipes here either specify weight, and they give a starting point, then tell you to add 1 or 2 ounces at a time until the consistency of the dough is right. Recipes which specify cups of flour also give a rough starting point, then you add about 1/4 cup at a time. It takes some experience to know what is meant by "right". It's one of the reasons why a good baker is as much an artist as a cook.

Here is a link to a "Butter Converter" that seems to work okay. Converter link
 
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There is not even any set standard weight for a cup of flour. That changes by water content, and whether it's been sifted or not. That's why most bread recipes here either specify weight, and they give a starting point, then tell you to add 1 or 2 ounces at a time until the consistency of the dough is right. Recipes which specify cups of flour also give a rough starting point, then you add about 1/4 cup at a time. It takes some experience to know what is meant by "right". It's one of the reasons why a good baker is as much an artist as a cook.
Here is a link to a "Butter Converter" that seems to work okay. Converter link

So true. And it does takes failures as well as successes to learn when the dough is "just right." :angel:
 
It's good to see you were in good hands when I abdicated and wandered off to work, Menumaker:LOL:
 
Fair question PF. I should have said that I was thinking of dry weight as in flour, sugar. Liquids arn't a problem. Not sure about butter. Any suggestions?
1 pound of butter is 2 cups. So

1 cup of butter = 227 grams
1/2 cup of butter = ~119 grams = 1 "stick" of butter
1/4 cup of butter = ~57 grams
 
:clap:You can ALL be proud of me::clap: I have found in town and bought a set of CUP measures! Thank you all for helping me understand the measure method versus the weighing kind. It was always sort of 'out there' for me but now I don't have to guess anymore............just take my set of shiny 'cups' and I'm good to go...........can't wait to choose a recipe now. Glad I found out about your butter 'sticks' :rolleyes:
 
:clap:You can ALL be proud of me::clap: I have found in town and bought a set of CUP measures! Thank you all for helping me understand the measure method versus the weighing kind. It was always sort of 'out there' for me but now I don't have to guess anymore............just take my set of shiny 'cups' and I'm good to go...........can't wait to choose a recipe now. Glad I found out about your butter 'sticks' :rolleyes:

You are going to have so much fun working with American recipes. Congratulations! Did you forget the spoons? :angel:
 
Nope. They came with the set. Didn't expect to find them over here in rural France and thought i would be buying them online but, there you go., and in a bargain shop as well.
 
Nope. They came with the set. Didn't expect to find them over here in rural France and thought i would be buying them online but, there you go., and in a bargain shop as well.

You hit the jackpot then. You not only got what you were looking for, but saved on shipping charges as well. :angel:
 
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