I want to make some American recipes but I get awfully confused with some of the measurements and descriptions given - can someone help and translate these into British for me?
1. How much does a "stick" of butter weigh? We buy butter in 1/2 lb blocks.
2. What is meant by "shortening"? Is it butter, margarine or oil?
3. When a measurement is given in "cups" - how much does a "cup" weigh?
Many thanks
2010-10-11T09:00:13Z
Sorry - I wasn't entirely clear with the question about "cups". I'm talking about flour.
And I just don't fancy the thought of putting Trex into my baking :( I'm a butter sort of girl *g*
Leigh2010-10-11T08:34:20Z
Favorite Answer
A stick of butter is 4 oz. (1/4 lb., 8 TBSP)
Shortening is a semisolid fat, like Crisco or Cookeen brands. You CAN substitute butter or lard for shortening in lots of recipes, I prefer to use the shortening when called for.
The weight of a cup will vary depending on the specific gravity of the ingredient. If the measurement is being given in cups, it's talking volume, not weight. A cup is 16 Tablespoons, 8 ounces, or around 240ml in volume.
http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/cooking Use this web site to help with conversions Shortening is a vegetable oil that is solidified and this can be measured out. Our butter is usually sold in a 1 lb brick there are 2 cups in a brick of butter We do not use interchangeable ingredients by weight and volume usually,in a recipe, all ingredients can't be substituted as their weights might be different. Generally Canadian & American recipes use CUPS, TABLESPOONS, TEASPOONS and multiples of them . and depending on the ingredient used, each would have a different weight.
1 stick of butter = 113 grams =4 ounces shortening= you can buy in any UK supermarket under the name Trex, but its the same as lard ( but vegetable lard..if you know what I mean) Cup is a volume, not a weigh. You take a cup of something and fill it whatever you have. A cup of meat would weigh more than a cup of spinach leaves. You can buy these cups at John Lewis, its a ring with different sizes cups, but if you use any teacup ( not mug) in your house and use it for all the ingredients, thats the idea. Thats how the whole cup idea started. No woman in the last century had scales for their food..
Don't know of a song, but your measurements came from this side of the Atlantic, and here the Imperial measurements have mostly been replaced with metric measurements. We have to buy food in Kilos, Milk and Petrol (Gas) in Litres (Liters), but we still mostly use Miles rather than Kilometers! I still think in Imperial and Metric and convert in my head!