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When confronted with an American
recipe, a British cook will usually see ingredients given in
cups, teaspoons and tablespoons. There may occasionally be references
to pounds, ounces, pints or fluid ounces, but they're not that
common. In addition, there will be several ingredients that are
unfamiliar, or simply unobtainable in the UK.
So, what's a British cook to
do?
When it comes to measuring, the
first point to remember is that if pints and fluid ounces are
given, then they should be converted to British pints and fluid
ounces. Fortunately, the British fluid ounce is only very slightly
adrift and, except for the most critical cooking, they can be
considered the same. However, the pint is markedly different.
So:
- To convert US fluid ounces to
British fluid ounces - multiply by 1.04
- To convert US pints to British
pints - multiply by 0.83
- Some US recipes do give the
measurements in metric ml, in which case no conversion is needed.
Measuring Cups
and Spoons
In America, a cup is 8 US fluid
ounces, a tablespoon is 1/2 US fluid ounce, and a teaspoon is
1/6 US fluid ounce. While you can use a British teaspoon or tablespoon
measure (5ml and 15ml, as used for medicines, are very close
to the US measures of a teaspoon and tablespoon), don't be tempted
to use a British cup. The standard British cup is half a pint,
or 10 fluid ounces, and it's about a fifth greater than the US
equivalent.
Equivalents: This
table gives the equivalents with an accuracy slightly greater
than is practical for measuring.
US Measure
|
US Volume
|
British
|
Metric
|
| 1 teaspoon |
1/6 fluid
oz |
0.17
fluid oz |
4.9 ml |
| 1 tablespoon |
1/2 fluid
oz |
.52 fluid
oz |
14.8 ml |
| 1 cup |
8 fluid oz |
8.3 fluid oz |
237 ml |
1 cup = 16 tablespoons =
48 teaspoons / 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
Although these measurements work
just fine for liquids, dry ingredients are also measured in cups
and spoons and this creates a further problem: British cooks
are used to flour, sugar and so on being measured by weight.
It is certainly possible to convert
US cups and spoons to a weight, but it is not always a sensible
thing to do as the equivalent weight will depend on the type
of ingredient used. For instance, a cup of brown sugar may weigh
8 ounces (about 225gm), but a cup of plain flour may weigh only
4 ounces (about 115gm). A rough guide to some key ingredients
is given in the table below, but it's better to use a measuring
jug or "cup" measures and go by the original recipe.
It's also important to realize
that when an American recipe calls for "1 cup of flour",
there is an assumption in how this is measured. Scooping out
of a bag will compress the flour, and a cup can easily end up
containing an extra quarter or even half an ounce, and this could
make a big difference to the results. Instead, the "official"
measuring technique is to stir the flour with a spoon to "aerate"
it, then pour it into the measuring cup and level it off with
a straight edge. Don't pat it down, or tap the cup on the workbench
to level it off.
However, this only applies to
very powdery dry ingredients, like flour. Other ingredients,
like rice, brown sugar or fats, should be packed firmly in the
measuring cup to avoid air gaps. The exact same principle applies when
using measuring spoons.
But, if you'd really rather not
go through this, the following table gives some approximate weights
(in grams) for the most common dry ingredients. The equivalent
weights should be taken as approximations only, but they should
be within about 5 grams. I should add that these figures are
based on official figures issued by the US Department of Agriculture
in 1996 and assume that ingredients like flour are "stirred"
first, but that sugars etc are "packed".
Approximate
Equivalents:
|
Ingredient |
1
cup |
1
tablespoon |
1
teaspoon |
| White
Flour |
125
gm |
7.8
gm |
2.6
gm |
| Whole
Wheat Flour |
120
gm |
7.5
gm |
2.5
gm |
| Strong
White Flour |
140
gm |
8.75
gm |
2.9
gm |
| Rye
Flour |
100
gm |
6.25
gm |
2.1
gm |
| Granulated
Sugar |
200
gm |
12.5
gm |
4.2
gm |
| Brown
Sugar |
220
gm |
13.75
gm |
4.6
gm |
| Icing
Sugar |
120
gm |
7.5
gm |
2.5
gm |
| Long-grain
Rice |
185
gm |
11.5
gm |
3.9
gm |
| Short-grain
Rice |
200
gm |
12.5
gm |
4.2
gm |
| Wild
Rice |
160
gm |
10
gm |
3.3
gm |
| Egg
Noodles; dried |
38
gm |
2.4
gm |
0.8gm |
| Peas;
Frozen & Fresh |
144
gm |
9
gm |
3
gm |
| Table
Salt |
290
gm |
18
gm |
6
gm |
Oven Temperatures
US recipes always give oven temperatures
in degrees Fahrenheit. The table below gives the approximate
Centigrade and Gas Mark equivalents (for fan ovens, check the
manufacturer's instructions) - there are considerable variations
in different references when it comes to the "gas mark"
equivalents!
|
Farenheit |
Centigrade |
Gas
Mark |
| 80 |
30 |
- |
| 100 |
40 |
- |
| 240 |
115 |
1/4 |
| 265 |
130 |
1/2 |
| 290 |
140 |
1 |
| 300 |
150 |
- |
| 310 |
155 |
2 |
| 325 |
160 |
- |
| 335 |
170 |
3 |
| 350 |
175 |
- |
| 355 |
180 |
4 |
| 375 |
190 |
- |
| 380 |
195 |
5 |
| 400 |
200 |
6 |
| 425 |
220 |
7 |
| 450 |
230 |
8 |
| 470 |
245 |
9 |
A Note on
Butter and Margarine: When
a US recipe calls for "half a stick of butter", it
is referring to the fact that butter and other fats are sold
in "sticks". You normally buy butter in packs of a
pound, consisting of four sticks, and they're usually marked
in quarters (sometimes also in eighths), making it easy to measure
off, say, 2 ounces of butter, or "half a stick".
Commentary & Information
Source: Mike Todd at http://www.miketodd.net
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