Cooking Without Guesswork Know Your Conversions

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Cooking without guesswork is a therapeutic and fulfilling activity. However, at times it can also be frustrating, especially when you’re trying to work out conversions for a new recipe.

When you’re trying to follow a recipe and it calls for a specific amount of an ingredient. Or the recipe is in metric and you’re used to working in imperial units.

That’s where conversions come in. Conversions are the key to cooking without guesswork. Grams to ounces, kilograms to pounds, liters to gallons it all can be a little confusing.

In this article, we’ll cover the basics of conversions and how they can help you become a more confident and proficient cook. Also, we’ve got a handy unit converter that you can use.

Recipe Planning Cooking Without Guesswork

Cooking without guesswork and knowing my conversions is critical to ensure my recipes come out perfect every time. This is crucial when I’m cooking for paying customers or planning, cooking, and writing recipes that I’ll be sharing with you.

As a professional chef, it is essential for me to have an accurate understanding of measurements. This applies to dry ingredients, proteins, liquids, and temperatures. Converting imperial to metric, Celsius to Fahrenheit, and back again.

I’ve learned to work with both imperial and metric, Celsius to Fahrenheit, it has become second nature. This is my deep dive into mass, volume, and degrees conversions.

Types of Measurements

Cooking especially baking requires a precise measure of ingredients for a successful result. There are two main types of measurements in cooking, dry and liquid.

Dry measurements include ingredients such as flour, sugar, and salt. These ingredients are typically measured using a measuring cup, 1 standard cup would be filled to the top, also known as a flat cup.

Liquid measurements, on the other hand, include ingredients such as stock, oil, and milk. These ingredients should be measured using a liquid measuring jug.

Basic Liquid Conversions

When it comes to cooking, measuring ingredients accurately is key to achieving the desired outcome. When it comes to liquids, it’s especially important to know how to convert between different units of measurement. Here are some basic liquid conversions that will help you in your cooking adventures:

• 1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters
• 1 tablespoon = 15 milliliters
• 1 cup = 236.6 milliliters
• 1 pint = 473.2 milliliters
• 1 quart = 946.4 milliliters
• 1 gallon = 3.785 liters

If you’re wanting to break this down further, it’s easy.

• ½ a cup (236.6 / 2 = 118.3 milliliters)
• ¼ of a cup (236.6 / 4 = 59.15 milliliters)

This same formula can be used for breaking down other measurements. (unit of measurement divided by the required fraction).

Converting Ounces to Grams

Ounces and grams are two common units of measurement for ingredients, especially for baking. When a recipe calls for ounces, and you’re used to working in grams it’s important that you convert the weight to the correct amount. Here’s a simple conversion to help you:

• 1 ounce = 28.35 grams (multiply the mass value by 28.35) example: (5 × 28.35 = 141.75 grams).
• Work the other way from grams to ounces (divide the mass value by 28.35) example: (57 / 28.35 = 2 ounces).
• This equation also works for pounds to kilograms 1 pound = 0.453 kilograms.

Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius

Temperature plays a crucial role in cooking and can greatly impact the outcome of your dish. Whether you’re baking, roasting, braising, or cooking something to a precise temperature like a med rare steak.

It’s essential to have a good understanding of temperature and how to measure it accurately. Temperature is measured in either Fahrenheit or Celsius.

The last thing you want is to bake a cake at 180°F because you’ve mistaken Celsius for Fahrenheit. It’s not going to end well… 180°F is 82°C you can imagine how that cake will turn out.

If a recipe states a temperature in Fahrenheit, and you’re accustomed to working in Celsius you can easily convert it to Celsius using a simple formula.

• The formula for converting Fahrenheit to Celsius is: (°F – 32) × 5 / 9 = °C.
• Now Celsius to Fahrenheit. Example: (°C × 9 / 5) + 32 = °F.

Temperature Conversion Table

Common Ingredients And Their Conversions

Aside from the basic conversions we’ve already covered, it’s also helpful to know the conversions for common ingredients in cooking. Here are some examples:

*These weights could be slightly different with varieties, brands, and countries.

SUGAR

• 1 cup granulated sugar = 200 grams
• 1 cup powdered aka icing sugar = 120 grams
• 1 cup brown sugar = 220 grams

FLOUR

• 1 cup all-purpose flour = 125 grams
• 1 cup pizza ’00’ flour = 115 grams
• 1 cup whole wheat flour = 140 grams

BUTTER

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter = 113 grams
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter = 14 grams

HENS EGGS

• 1 large egg (size 7) = 50 grams
• 1 large egg yolk = 20 grams
• 1 large egg white = 30 grams