Dry measurement and conversion to weight
If a recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of shredded chicken, is that the same as 20 ounces? I'm always confused when it comes to dry ingredient measurements in recipes. Can I simply just convert each cup to 8 ounces?
Best Answer
In general you can't convert volume measures (like cups) into mass measures (like ounces) without taking into account the specific thing you're measuring, because different substances will have different densities in a cup.
If you search online you can find conversions for different common food items but these vary. The website CookItSimply provides a conversion for cooked chopped chicken as 1 cup to 4.4oz; the website FreeFoodTips gives 5.22oz; TraditionalOven.com gives 4.94oz. Note that these are cooked weights, and chicken changes weight as it's cooked.
However, a recipe that incorporates shredded chicken isn't likely to be very sensitive to the exact quantity so I would take the recipe as just giving an indication of the rough amount of chicken to use: think of the amount that would fit in 2.5 cups and go for roughly that amount.
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Is 16 oz dry the same as 16 oz liquid?
Weight ounces are used for measuring dry ingredients (whereas 16 ounces is equivalent to 1 pound); however, volume ounces are used for measuring liquid ingredients (whereas 8 ounces equals a pound)....Weight & Volume Conversions for Dry & Liquid Ingredients.Dry IngredientsWhole Wheat FlourCup(s)1Weight Ounce(s)4 1/2Gram(s)12820 more columnsHow do you convert baking measurements to weight?
Here are some of the conversions for regularly used ingredients:How much does 16oz dry weigh?
However, a pint is 16 fluid ounces and is a measure of volume, while a pound is 16 dry ounces and a measure of weight.How many ounces are in a cup dry weight?
In most cases, a dry cup equals 6.8 US dry ounces. A cup with a measuring scale that indicates the measurements in fluid ounces is used to measure liquid things, so a person knows how much liquid is consumed. In baking and cooking, chefs use different cups for dry and liquid components.Convert Customary Units of Weight | Ounces, Pounds, and Tons
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Answer 2
Conversion from volume to weight or vice-versa is different for all foods, so there is no standard rule. One cup to eight ounces only works for foods with the same density as water (it is a reasonable approximation for most liquids e.g. vinegar, milk, wine).
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/ has a printable chart of dozens of foods and weights of different amounts in ounces.
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