Volume vs. Weight
Exact measurements are rarely important when cooking. A lot of the time you can go by feel or taste or sight, but when it comes to baking, you’re dealing with chemistry. Accuracy matters. The ratio of flour to leavening in a cake, for example, requires a little more precision than the oil to vinegar ratio in salad dressing. To that end, the only way to be precise is to measure your dry goods. Volumes can vary from measurement to measurement. A cup of flour isn’t always a cup of flour.
There are kitchen scales for every budget, but two of my favorites include the Escali Primo Digital scale, which sells for $25 dollars on Amazon, and the Oxo Food Scale which sells for $48. Either “weigh”, your kitchen arsenal is not complete without a scale.
Volume and Weight Equivalent
| Ingredients | Ounces Per Cup |
|---|---|
| DRY INGREDIENTS | |
| Flour, unbleached all-purpose (dip and sweep) | 5 |
| Flour, unbleached all-purpose (lightly spooned) | 4.5 |
| Flour, unbleached all-purpose (sifted) | 3.75 |
| Flour, cake (dip and sweep) | 4.5 |
| Flour, cake (lightly spooned) | 4 |
| Flour, cake (sifted) | 3.5 |
| Flour, bread (dip and sweep) | 5 |
| Flour, bread (lightly spooned) | 4.5 |
| Flour, whole wheat (dip and sweep) | 5 |
| Flour, whole wheat (lightly spooned) | 4.5 |
| Cocoa powder, natural (lightly spooned) | 3 |
| Cocoa powder, natural (sifted) | 2.75 |
| Cocoa powder, Dutch process (lightly spooned) | 4 |
| Cocoa powder, Dutch process (sifted) | 3.75 |
| Chocolate chips | 7 |
| Chocolate chips, mini | 6.5 |
| Dry buttermilk powder (lightly spooned) | 4.75 |
| Oats, old fashioned rolled | 3 |
| Oats, quick cooking | 3.5 |
| Sugar, granulated or superfine (dip and sweep) | 7 |
| Sugar, confectioners' (lightly spooned) | 4 |
| Sugar, confectioners' (sifted) | 3 |
| Sugar, light or dark brown (packed) | 8 |
| Sugar, Hawaiian washed raw; turbinado | 8 |
| Sugar, large crystal | 8.75 |
| LIQUID SWEETENERS / SYRUPS | |
| Honey | 11.75 |
| Corn syrup, light | 11.5 |
| Maple syrup | 11.5 |
| Molasses | 11.25 |
| LIQUIDS / DAIRY | |
| Milk, heavy cream, buttermilk, sour cream | 8 |
| Creme fraiche, yogurt | 8 |
| Mascarpone | 8.5 |
| Sweetened condensed milk | 10.5 |
| Dulce de leche | 11 |
| Cream cheese | 9 |
| Clear fruit juices (not nectars) such as lemon or apple | 8 |
| Apricot jam | 10.75 |
| Seedless raspberry jam | 10 |
| FATS | |
| Butter | 8 |
| Olive oil, canola oil, safflower oil | 7.5 |
| Shortening | 6.75 |
| EGGS | Ounces |
| 1 large, in shell | 2 |
| 1 large, out of shell | 1.75 |
