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Converting dry measurement to weight confusion

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Posted: 1/30/2008 10:22 AM

#230659

	gbaustin

	Member

Total Posts:2
Last Post:1/31/2008
Member Since:1/30/2008

Subject: Converting dry measurement to weight confusion

I finally purchased a kitchen scale to make sure of accuracy in baking. However, there seems to be some discrepancy in the conversion tables. For instance, all purpose flour. The table that came with the scale shows 1 cup equals 5 ounces unsifted, which agrees with what some users on this site say. But other tables, like at Culinary Cafe, call for 4.25 ounces. That's about a 20% difference and blows away the whole accuracy thing.

How does one figure out the correct conversion?

Posted: 1/30/2008 11:42 AM

#230674

	jim262

	Member

Total Posts:3865
Last Post:11/20/2009
Member Since:3/18/2004

Welcome gb

The is no correct conversion for the weight of a cup of all purpose flour. You need to match your weighed flour to method used by the recipe writer and, as you have found, that result in cups that vary from 4.25 ounces to 5 ounces. I have found that recipe writers on the fringes [King Arthur Flour at 4.25 ounces; CI, Shirley Corriher, Rose Levy Beranbaum et. al. at 5 ounces] always note the flour weight parenthetically so there is not really any misunderstanding there. The problem comes from recipes that make no references to weight of either a cup or pound of flour anywhere in their cook books [Paula Deen, Ina Garten et. al.]. For these recipes, I use 4.5 or 4.6 ounces per cup and have usually good results.

If you weigh a few cups of flour by the most popular methods, you will probably find that it is difficult to spoon or scoop flour in a way that every cup is consistently the same weight. By using the scale, you may not be any more accurate unless the recipe includes weight, but you will at least be consistent.

This Article will shed some more light on the dilemma.

Jim

Posted: 1/31/2008 3:27 PM

#230868

	gbaustin

	Member

Total Posts:2
Last Post:1/31/2008
Member Since:1/30/2008

Thanks Jim

Most of the recipes I use are picked off the web and they don't specify weight. So it will be trial by error. At least with the scale I can go for consistency as you said.

Gary

Posted: 9/2/2009 4:19 PM

#291682

	Epic

	Member

Total Posts:3
Last Post:9/2/2009
Member Since:3/22/2009

WSJ There Is No Justice for Scales in the Kitchen has a great take on the issue....
[Edited on 9/2/2009]

Posted: 9/4/2009 5:52 AM

#291745

	ML64

	Member

Total Posts:3
Last Post:9/4/2009
Member Since:9/4/2009

If you purchase a good kitchen scale the book that comes with it has a run down on conversion.
Like 1 cup flour all purpose unsifted = 5 oz etc.
In the America's test kitchen test lab they have the kind of scale to buy.

I live in Canada and we have gone metric and most of my older cook books are not in metric and me too but we buy in metric so this has really helped.
Hope this will help you.

Also on line you can try to get more conversions like British cookbooks that talk of Gas mark not temperatures.

If I can find where I found more conversions on line I will post it for you.

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