Here is the ultimate guide, my food measurement chart for cooking or baking : temperature, weight, volume…. To help you make my French recipes.
While the French measure the amount of solid ingredients by weight, most Americans measure in volume, using measuring cups and spoons. And we, poor Cartesian French that we are, get completely lost when reading a recipe in English.First we have to remember the equivalences or check them on the internet, then we have to do some arithmetic – which might not be our strength – or we have to use measuring cups and spoons we don’t have. All the more, we don’t see how it could possibly be precise. One cup of flour will definitely not have the same weight as the next because it depends on how you pack it!Therefore we think using a digital scale and a measuring jug is much more accurate.In each recipe, I give French measurements in grams and milliliters, with a try of English conversion. For more precise conversion, you can refer to the French gastronomic encyclopedia online convertor here or to the different equivalences listed below.
Temperature
The rule to converting Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures
- Fahrenheit degrees to Celsius degrees rule = Celsius = (Fahrenheit – 32) x 5/9 (Farenheit minus 32, multiply by 5 and divide by 9)
Example : 400°F = (400-32)*5/9 = 204°C - Celsius degrees to Fahrenheit degrees rule = Fahrenheit = (Celsius x 9/5) + 32 (Celcius multiplied by 9, divide by 5 and add 32)
Example : 200°C = 200*9/5 + 32 = 392°F
Celsius – Fahreinheit conrestion chart
| CELCIUS | FAHRENHEIT | TYPE | FRENCH OVEN | GAS MARK |
| 30°C | 85°F | Heating chamber | T 1 | |
| 60°C | 140°F | Warm | T 2 | |
| 90°C | 190°F | Low heat | T 3 | |
| 120°C | 250°F | Low heat | T 4 | |
| 140°C | 275°F | Low heat | Gas mark 1 | |
| 150°C | 300°F | Low heat | T 5 | Gas mark 2 |
| 165°C | 325°F | Low heat | Gas mark 3 | |
| 180°C | 350°F | Hot | T 6 | Gas mark 4 |
| 190°C | 375°F | Hot | Gas mark 5 | |
| 200°C | 400°F | Hot | Gas mark 6 | |
| 210°C | 410°F | Hot | T 7 | Gas mark 7 |
| 220°C | 425°F | Hot | Gas mark 8 | |
| 230°C | 450°F | Hot | Gas mark 9 | |
| 240°C | 460°F | Very hot | T 8 | Gas mark 10 |
| 270°C | 520°F | Very hot | T 9 |
A few interesting notions
| ° F | ° C | STATE |
| 32°F | 0°C | Freezing point (water freeze) |
| 98.6°F | 36.7°C | Body temperature |
| 115°F | 46°C | Simmering water |
| 130°F | 54°C | Hot water |
| 212°F | 100°C | Boiling water |
| 375°F | 190°C | Frying temperature (+/-,depending on the oil) |
Volume
1 cup = 240 ml (millliliter)
1/2 cup = 120 ml
1/3 cup = 80 ml
1/4 cup = 60 ml = 4 tablespoons
1/5 cup = 50 ml
1 tablespoon (= une cuillérée à soupe literally soup spoon or CS in French) = 15 ml = 3 teaspoons
1 teaspoon (= une cuillérée à café, literally coffee spoon or CC in French) = 5 ml
1 fluid ounce = 30 ml = 2 tablespoons
1 US quart = 0.946 liter (~=1 liter) = 4 cups
1 US Gallon = 4 quart = 3,8 liter = 16 cups
1 liter = 34 fluid oz = 1,06 quart = 0,26 gal = 4,2 cups
Weigh
1 ounce (oz) = 28,35 grams (gr) = 0,02835 kilogram (kg)
1 pound (lb) = 16 ounces = 45 grams (gr)
2,2 pounds (lb) = 1000 grams (gr) = 1 kilogram (kg)
100 grams (100gr)= 3,5 ounces
500 grams (500gr)= 1,1 pounds
1 kilogram (1kg)= 35 oz = 2,205 pounds
Volume-to-weight conversions
Approximate and rounded as it depends on the density of the ingredient itself and how you pack the cup or spoon)
Flour : 1 cup = 130 grams
Sugar : 1 cup = 245 grams
Butter : 1 cup = 240 grams, 1 knob (noix) = 15 grams, 1 pat (noisette) = 4 grams
Cocoa powder : 1 cup = 120 grams
1 pinch of salt = 0,3 to 0,5 grams
1 large egg = 55 to 60 grams (egg white 20 grams, egg yolk 30 grams, shell 5 grams)
Length
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
1 foot = 12 inches = 30 centimeters
This article is constantly updated with additionnal conversions and measures.