How do you turn cup measurements into grams?

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Dec 20, 2012
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I'm so tired of finding recipes where all the ingredients are measured In cups!!! That's not an exact measurement so how in the world am I supposed to know how much a quarter cup is exactly I need 3 cups of this that and the other and I have no idea how to measure it out, there are all types of cup sizes how am I supposed to measure in cups!!!!?
 
Cup measuring is definitely not exact by any means. Your flour could be packed, or could be loose, i.e. when you sift the flour. The difference in that case in weight could be almost doubled. In bakeries they do no use "cups", everything is measured by weight. There are charts, plenty of them on line; you can use to convert cups into weight. Just do that and then use scale to measure your ingredients.
 
Thanks for your help :) it's just so frustrating when people aren't specific with measurements!
 
It is not that people are not "specifc" it is just the way people do things. Not everybody has scale at home. People been using cups and spoons for ages. It's just easier that way, simple.
 
Yeah but cups come in all types of sizes how do I know what size cup to measure with and how do I know how much a quarter cup is... :S
 
Cups in a recipe are always measuring cups, not teacups.

Measuring cups come in two different types. Individual pieces for 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/4 cup. These individual pieces are used for dry ingredients. There are also larger glass or plastic cups with markings on the side where you fill the cup to the appropriate level marked with a measure line. This type is used for liquids.

Alix gave you a chart for flours. Just about water-based liquids are the same. A cup is 8 fluid ounce and 8 ounces on the scale.
 
Got it. You guys are really messed up there with using both systems metric and British, and that one is even different from the one we use here in the states, oh my.

Here is another link: http://joshmadison.com/convert-for-windows/

- I use this one. I downloaded onto my desktop and it is always just a click away. Very convenient and it has both, or rather troth ;) (just joking) all tree system, Metric, British and Standard. Try and see which one you like better.
 
Ah thanks so much! I found a perfect recipe for cookies and I just got so frustrated and angry coz measurements were just a nightmare but the cookies came out great! :)
 
That's why I was having such a hard time so I just looked for a recipe that had ingredients measured In grams.
 
That's actually a great idea especially with january sales coming up!
 
GotGarlic said:
You could buy a set of American measuring cups :) They're inexpensive and might be available through Amazon.

Brilliant! I think that is a fantastic idea!
 
You could buy a set of American measuring cups :) They're inexpensive and might be available through Amazon.


That's a horrible idea. I cannot understand why American cooks continue to insist on using volume measures for things that are CLEARLY better done by weight, when really quite affordable and very accurate (well, very accurate for the home baker, perhaps not so much if you're a diamond merchant) digital scales are so readily available.

In addition to the problems of how much flour is actually in that cup of flour, the fact is that measuring cups (except for Pyrex glassware) vary by around 10%, plus or minus, from what an actual cup-by-volume is supposed to be. That's 10% less to 10% more (roughly) for a quite wide 20% range.

Don't do it! I'm in the process of converting all my cake recipes to weight measures, or finding a version that already uses weight measures. Frankly I have neither the time nor the inclination to muck about with baking recipes that can vary wildly depending on who originally measured out some flour and decided that was "one cup". That "one cup" could vary anywhere from as little as 3.5 oz to as much as 6 oz. What a mess!
 
Why do we Americans continue to use cups and spoonfuls? Very simple. It is what we learned at a young age, what our mothers used and taught us. Americans are great at mucking about. It makes for a great pastime. :angel:
 
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