Cookery books from different countries, even different periods in the same country use different units of measurements. They are a minefield of confusion. Change to metric system in recent times has made life easier, but many people are resistant to change. I read somewhere; "if God had meant humans to use the metric system, he'd have given us ten fingers!!"
I have attempted below to make some sense of this confusion, hope you will find what you are looking for. Generally speaking, rounding up a conversion to the nearest complete figure, e.g. 28.4 ml to 30 ml, is enough.
Always warm the oven for at least 10 minutes or until the indicator light goes out telling you that the desired temperature has been reached. Oven temperatures vary. Fan ovens should be kept around 10-15°C lower than ordinary ones.
Fahrenheit | Centigrade | Gas Oven Mark | Description |
475°F | 246°C | 9 | Very Hot |
450°F | 232°C | 8 | Very Hot |
425°F | 218°C | 7 | Fairly Hot |
400°F | 204°C | 6 | Fairly Hot |
375°F | 191°C | 5 | Moderately Hot |
350°F | 177°C | 4 | Warm |
325°F | 163°C | 3 | Warm |
300°F | 149°C | 2 | Cool |
275°F | 135°C | 1 | Cool |
250°F | 121°C | ½ | Very Cool |
225°F | 110°C | ¼ | Very Cool |
It is a good idea to have one large weighing scale that will measure up to 5 kg. A smaller scale, the type often used by people on a diet, is good for measuring very small quantities accurately.
For general use, approximate measures of conversions work quite well and are easier to calculate. Here are some common conversion required in everyday cooking;
5 ml. = 1 teaspoon
15 ml. = 1 tablespoon
15 ml. = 3 teaspoons
250 ml. = 1 cup or 8 fluid oz
125 ml. = 1/2 cup
65 ml. = 1/4 cup
125 gm. = 1/4 lb. (4 oz.)
250 gm. = 1/2 lb. (8 oz.)
500 gm. = 1 lb. (1 pound or 16 oz.)
750 gm. = 1 1/2 lbs.
1 kilogram = 2 lbs.
A pinch = 1 ml.
More accurate measures:
10 gm. | 0.5 oz. |
20 gm. | 0.75 oz. |
25 gm. | 1 oz. |
50 gm. | 2 oz. |
75 gm. | 3 oz |
110 gm. | 4 oz. |
150 gm. | 5 oz. |
175 gm. | 6 oz. |
200 gm. | 7 oz. |
225 gm. | 8 oz. |
250 gm. | 9 oz. |
275 gm. | 9.5 oz. |
300 gm.. | 10.5 oz. |
350 gm. | 12 oz. |
375 gm. | 13 oz. |
400 gm. | 14 oz. |
425 gm. | 15 oz. |
450 gm. | 1 lb. (pound) |
500 gm. | 1 lb. 2 oz. |
700 gm. | 1 lb. 9 oz. |
750 gm. | 1 lb. 10 oz. |
1 kg. | 2 lb. 3 oz. |
1.25 kg. | 2 lb. 12 oz. |
1.5 kg. | 3 lb. 5 oz. |
1.75 kg. | 3 lb. 14 oz. |
2 kg. | 4 lb. 6 oz. |
2.25 kg. | 4 lb. 15 oz. |
2.5 kg. | 5 lb. 8 oz. |
2.75 kg. | 6 lb. 1 oz. |
3 kg. | 6 lb. 10 oz. |
1 US stick of butter = 1/4 pounds = 113.5 gm.
Spoons and cups are slightly different sizes, not only in different countries but even within the same country. Therefore, it is a good idea to buy a set of measuring spoons. They are available from all good kitchen stores and often come on a chain, so that they do not get separated.
Buy a measuring jug that has litres, millilitres, pints and fluid ounces marked. Generally, rounding up a conversion to the nearest complete figure, e.g. 28.4 ml as 30 ml, is enough.
1.25 ml. (millilitres) | 1/4 teaspoon | ||
2.5 ml. | 1/2 teaspoon | ||
5 ml. | 1 level teaspoon | ||
15 ml | 1 tablespoon | 1/2 fl. oz. (fluid ounce) | |
20 ml. | 1 dessertspoon | ||
30 ml. (28.4ml.) | 1 fl. oz. (fluid ounce) | 29.5 ml. US | |
50 ml. | 2 fl. oz. | ||
59 ml. | 1/4 US Cup | ||
74 ml. | 1/4 UK Cup | ||
118 ml. | 4 fl. oz. | 1/2 US Cup | |
150 ml. | 0.5 (UK) pint | 1/2 UK Cup | |
200 ml. | 0.66 pint | ||
240 ml | 8 fl. oz. | 1 US Cup | |
300 ml | 10 fl. oz. | 0.5 pint | 1 UK Cup |
425 ml | 15 fl. oz. | 075 pint | |
480 ml | 16 fl. oz. | 1 US pint | |
600 ml | 20 fl. oz. | 1 pint | |
700 ml | 23 fl. oz. | 1.25 pints | |
850 ml | 28 fl. oz. | 1.5 pints | |
1 Litre | 33 fl. oz. | 1.75 pints | |
1.2 Litre | 1 quart | 2 pints | |
2 Litre | 3 pints | ||
3800 ml | 1 US gallon | ||
4800 ml | 1 UK gallon | 8 pints or 160 fl.oz. |
These old Indian measures are from my dad's old recipe book. Some very old recipes still mention them.
1 masha | 8 ratti | 1 gram |
1 tola | 12 masha | 12 grams |
1 chatak | 5 tola | 60 grams |
1 pav | 4 chatak | 250 grams |
1 ser | 4 pav | 1 kilogram |