Sizing up the situation



Over at Food52, award-winning cookbook author Alice Medrich is dishing out excellent advice on using a kitchen scale instead of measuring cups. Ms. Medrich points out the obvious advantages that weighing is faster, easier, and less messy than using measuring cups. It can turn a complicated cake recipe into a one-bowl affair.

While using a scale returns the biggest benefits in baking, it is a useful tool for cooking as well. How many times have you eyeballed the portion size of spaghetti or other pasta, only to have more than you need? Get out your scale and make the perfect amount every time. Scales make measuring grated cheese a breeze and take the guesswork out of portioning dough for dinner rolls. And if you have to measure large amounts of liquid for dishes like polenta or risotto, using a scale to weigh the liquid once is easier than filling up your measuring cup three or four times.

Scales not only increase precision, they can help you easily convert or scale recipes. It is a lot easier to double or halve the recipe using a scale than trying to figure out how to get 1/6 cup of an ingredient (assuming you are using an imperial measuring system). Even if you employ the metric system, it can be easier to use a scale than multiple measuring cups. And most kitchen scales also allow you to convert from one unit of measurement to another, a boon if you have a recipe with two different forms of measurement (I have at least one cookbook that uses weight measures for some ingredients but volume measures for another).

But what if the recipe you are using doesn’t include weight measurements? Sometimes it’s difficult to know what number to use with ingredients that can settle, like flour. Below is a chart of various weights to use as a ballpark when a recipe doesn’t state the weight equivalent:

Dry ingredients:
Flour (all purpose, white, whole wheat, bread): 1 cup = 4.5 oz; 125 g
Cake or pastry flour: 1 cup = 4 oz; 114 g
Granulated sugar: 1 cup = 7 oz; 200 g
Brown sugar: 1 cup = 7.5 oz; 215 g
Powdered sugar: 1 cup = 4 oz; 114 g
Cocoa, unsweetened: 1/4 cup = .75 oz; 21 g (1 cup = 3 oz; 85 g)
Finely chopped nuts: 1 cup = 4 oz; 114 g
Chocolate chips: 1 cup = 6 oz; 170 g
Oats, rolled (traditional) : 1 cup = 3.5 oz; 100 g
Oats, quick cooking: 1 cup = 3.125 oz; 90 g
Polenta: 1 cup = 5.75 oz; 163 g
Quinoa: 1 cup = 6 oz; 170 g
Cheese, shredded: 1 cup = 4 oz; 114 g
Coconut, sweetened shredded: 1 cup = 3 oz; 85 g

Liquid or scoopable ingredients:
Water, milk: 1 cup = 8 oz; 227 g
Cream, buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt: 1 cup = 8.5 oz; 241 g
Honey: 1 cup = 12 oz; 340 g
Oil: 1 cup = 7.5 oz; 213 g
Butter: 1 cup = 8 oz; 227 g
Corn syrup: 1 cup = 11 oz; 312 g
Peanut butter: 1 cup = 9 oz; 255 g

Here’s an even larger list from King Arthur Flour and a handy conversion calculator that is quite comprehensive. Last year, EYB provided insight into which kitchen scale is best. I couldn’t survive without my kitchen scale – how about you?

Photo courtesy of Food52