Much good food is spoiled in cooking. In order to have good results in cooking, reliable recipes should be followed accurately. Correct measurements are absolutely necessary to insure successful results.

All measuring should be done with standard cups and standard spoons. Every household should have measuring cups, measuring tablespoons and teaspoons on hand. Aluminum and glass measuring cups, and sets of measuring spoons should be in every kitchen.

Use the aluminum cup for measuring dry ingredients. The glass cup is more convenient than the aluminum cup for measuring liquids.

Exact measuring is necessary to get the best results in cooking. All the recipes call for level measurements. Measure dry materials into a cup with a spoon, leveling the top with a knife.

MEASURING FLOUR AND OTHER DRY INGREDIENTS

Dry Measures

Cups

Tablespoons

Teaspoons

Grams

1 cup

16 tbsp

48 tsp

229 g

¾ cup

12 tbsp

36 tsp

171 g

⅔ cup

10 ⅔ tbsp

32 tsp

152 g

½ cup

8 tbsp

24 tsp

114 g

⅓ cup

5 ⅓ tbsp

16 tsp

76 g

¼ cup

4 tbsp

12 tsp

57 g

⅛ cup

2 tbsp

6 tsp

29 g

U+0B75 cup

1 tbsp

3 tsp

14 g

Flour should ALWAYS be sifted once before measuring. One cup of flour — scooped from container may contain from I¼ to 1½ cups of sifted flour. Therefore SIFT FLOUR BEFORE MEASURING IT.

Bran, Whole Wheat and Graham Flour are not sifted. They are stirred lightly — then measured.

Sift flour, meal, powdered sugar, confectioners' sugar and soda before measuring.

Mustard and baking-powder are apt to settle in the can, and therefore should be stirred to lighten before measuring.

Salt lumps easily, and the lumps should be broken before measuring.

Dry materials, such as flour, should be measured lightly with a scoop or spoon, and not packed hard into the measure.

To Measure a Spoonful

To measure a spoonful of any dry material, dip the spoon into it, fill it, lift it and level it with a knife.

Take up all the spoon will hold, then level with a knife. To measure ½ spoonful, level off a heaping spoonful with knife, then cut lengthwise through the centre, discarding one-half.

For a half spoonful, divide lengthwise.

For a quarter of a spoonful, divide the half crosswise.

For an eighth of a spoonful, divide the quarter diagonally.

Less than one-eighth of a teaspoonful is considered a few grains.

A teaspoonful or tablespoonful is all the spoon will hold.

Note. — It will be found that a heaping teaspoonful of dry material, such as baking powder, is the same as 4 or 5 level teaspoonfuls. Housewives who are not in the habit of using level measurements are apt to think that recipes calling for level measurements require more material than those that they have been using.

To Measure a Cupful

Sift flour into mixing bowl. Place heaping spoonful of the sifted flour lightly in cup. Fill to overflowing without jarring or tapping. Level with a knife.

Sugar is measured like flour. Fruit sugar and icing sugar are sifted before measuring. Granulated sugar is not sifted except when it is to be used in a cake. Brown sugar is sifted after it is measured; to measure brown sugar pack it tightly into measuring cup.

To measure ⅞ cupful — measure 1 cupful— then remove 2 level tablespoons.

To Measure Butter, Lard, etc.

To measure butter, lard, or any kind of fat, pack solidly into the cup or spoon and make level with a knife. If the fat is very hard, it may be softened by leaving it in a warm place for awhile, or it may be cut into small pieces before measuring it.  

These fats may be measured by weight, tablespoonful or cupfuls. When using cup or spoon for measuring, the fat should be pressed down firmly to ensure accurate measurement.

To measure less than 1 cup of fat, pour cold water (the amount being the difference between the amount of fat called for in recipe and 1 cup) into measuring cup and add fat until water reaches the top of cup. For example, if ¼ cup shortening is desired, pour ¾ cup cold water into cup, add shortening until water reaches top and pour off water before using shortening.

MEASURING LIQUIDS

Liquid Measures

Gallons

Quarts

Pints

Cups

Fluid Oz

1 gal

4 qt

8 pt

16 cup

128 fl oz

½ gal

2 qt

4 pt

8 cup

64 fl oz

¼ gal

1 qt

2 pt

4 cup

32 fl oz

⅛ gal

½ qt

1 pt

2 cup

16 fl oz

U+0B75 gal

½ qt

1 pt

2 cup

16 fl oz

A cupful of liquid is all the cup will hold.

Fill cup or spoon with all it will hold. When measuring thick mixtures such as molasses — level spoonful are obtained by leveling with a knife.

ABBREVIATIONS

pkg. — package
oz. — ounce
lb. — pound
sq. — square
tbsp. — tablespoon
min. — minute
qt. — quart
hr. — hour
tsp. — teaspoon
mod. — moderate
pt. — pint
doz. — dozen