As much as I thought I could avoid math in the kitchen, I couldn’t!
Learning how to convert recipe quantities and move seamlessly between the US and metric systems have been important lessons.
Here are a few tips on how:
CONVERSION
Say you’re working with a recipe that serves 4 people (20 oz portions) but you need to serve 10 people (10 oz portions)… To easily convert your recipe, just use the following formula:
Old portion (4) x Old portion size (20 oz) = Old yield (80)
New portion (10) x New portion size (10 oz) = New yield (100)
New yield (100) divided by old yield (80) = Conversion factor (1.25)
Conversion factor (1.25) x old ingredient quantity (i.e. 2 tomatoes) = New ingredient quantity (2.5 tomatoes)
TEMPERATURE
If you’ve ever struggled with how to convert temperature between Fahrenheit and Celsius, here’s the formula:
F = (1.8 x C) + 32
C = (F-32)
1.8
US-METRIC SYSTEMS
Here are the key conversions that will allow you to take any quantity and convert to the right amount:
Volume (dry)
1 gallon = 4 liters
1 cup = 225 ml
1 tbsp = 15 ml
Volume (liquid)
1 gallon = 128 fl oz = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 4 liters = 4000 ml
1 cup = 8 fl oz = 250 ml
1 tbsp = ½ fl oz = 15 ml
Weight (mass)
16 oz. = 1 pound = 454 grams
1 oz = 28.3 grams
Dry measure equivalents
1 cup = 8 oz. = 16 tbsp
2 tbsp = 1 oz. = 28.3 grams
My Culinary Joy 