How To - Conversions
Find a recipe that lists ingredients in metric and need to change that to imperial or US measurements? This is the type of information presented here, newest items are listed at the top.
This is helpful if you make your own cottage cheese and a recipe calls for 8 oz or 1 lb, easier to use a cup scoop than getting out your scale and a bowl.
16 oz = 1 lb = 453 grams = 2 cups cottage cheese.
8 oz = 1/2 lb = 226 grams = 1 cup cottage cheese.
— Lee Thayer 2021/05/08 13:25
10 1/2 oz (298 g) typical condensed soup can = 1 1/4 cups
15 oz (425 g) beans, drained = 1 1/2 cups
— Lee Thayer 2020/08/27 13:44
I recently used a recipe that stated cups of cooked chicken and what I wanted to use was canned chicken I had on hand, and the cans were 12.5 oz / 349 g each. So I grabbed a measuring cup and figured out my dilemma.
1 can (12.5 oz / 349 g) = 1 1/4 cups of cooked chopped chicken.
My recipe called for 3 cups of chicken, I used 3 12.5 oz cans, no one complained because there was more chicken.
— Lee Thayer 2020/02/03 14:13
For the most part, fresh herbs can be converted to dry using using this method:
3:1 Ratio. Use 3 times the amount of fresh herbs, and an easy way to remember this is 1 teaspoon of dried for every 1 tablespoon of fresh.
Exceptions:
— Lee Thayer 2020/01/14 22:48
Yep, this is a strange topic but I had to look this up for a recipe that stated cups of scrambled eggs, not how many eggs to use. So I figured this might come in handy for someone.
1 cup scrambled eggs = 3 large eggs.
1 cup scrambled eggs = 4 medium eggs.
I have not bought shredded cheese in probably 10 years. Reasons being, 1. shredded in a bag is coated so it does not stick together, this also hinders the melting ability as well. 2. shredded in a bag is more costly because it is another step, plus the coating, is another step, both add to the cost.
I buy all my cheese in block form, real cheese from New Zealand, Europe, and some from Thailand. Shred it yourself to save the money and you have a good base for cheese sauces and such that will melt evenly and smoothly.
113 grams (8 oz) of block cheese to 1 cup of shredded.
— Lee Thayer 2021/05/08 13:47
I had to do some research to figure out how much corn is a on an ear of corn. For recipes I like to get away from canned items, but I do in fact keep canned items on hand for emergencies.
1/2 to 3/4 cup per ear of corn. Now if a recipe calls for 1 can (normally 12 to 15 ounces / 350 to 425 grams), use between 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups, be safe, use 2 ears of fresh corn, cooked, or you can use frozen corn.
I had to do some research to get the difference between canned beans (which I do not use) and dried beans, which I use a lot of. (I do however stock canned pork and beans as a back up, that is just common sense.)
The difference between a standard can of beans and a standard 500 gram bag of dry beans is a lot.
Standard can of beans = about 1 1/2 cups of drained cooked beans.
500 grams dry beans = about 8-9 cups of drained cooked beans. This can vary based on the type of beans.
Convenience is one factor in using them, and smaller amount is another. However, one does not need to cook a 500 gram bag of beans at one time, it can be reduced.
Time is the other factor, one has to plan when the beans will be needed as it does take time to cook dry beans.
Cost is another factor. (Red Kidney Beans is my example)
Standard can of beans = 119 Baht at Tesco (this will vary by brand). Yield is about 1.5 cups. 500 grams of dry beans = 43 Baht at Tesco, all day long. Local brand as well. Yield is 8-9 cups.
The prices and quantities show the difference and the savings to you.
This came up today as I was writing a recipe from the internet. First off, I do not use “processed cheese slices” I have not used these in 10 years, do yourself a favor, use real cheese. But for this recipe I am writing, it calls for 14 slices of cheese, so I had to figure how many cups is that for real, shredded cheese. I found the answer and checked it on several sites, all are in agreement. This is based on the understanding that a stated “slice” of cheese is the square type you would put on a sandwich or burger.
1 slice = 1/4 cup shredded cheese.
4 slices = 1 cup shredded cheese.
When I started this site it was mainly aimed at expats living here in Thailand so measurements for meat, pasta, cheese I give in grams as that is how we buy it here. Smaller liquid and dry measurements are given in cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons.
To remove any confusion I use the following for meat, cheese, and pasta, think of the following when you read a recipe that states, say 500 grams of beef:
500 grams = 1 pound (actually 500 grams is 1.10 pounds, no one will complain, much easier to remember 500 g to 1 lb than 453 g to 1 lb or 500 g to 1.10 lb, for basic measurements, for baking, especially flour, you want to use exact measurement).
250 grams = 1/2 pound / 8 oz
375 grams = 3/4 pound / 12 oz
500 grams = 1 pound / 16 oz
750 grams = 1 1/2 pounds / 24 oz
1,000 grams = 2 pounds / 32 oz.
Once you think like that, easy to remember, the recipes are much easier to follow.
For baking of pastries and bread, weight measurements for flour are more accurate than cup or spoon measurements and may be listed by weight, I have a digital scale for this.