Converting Measurements

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It doesn’t matter whether you’re increasing a recipe or decreasing it — the procedure for adjusting the ingredient quantities for a different number of portions is the same. We call this scaling a recipe. When scaling a recipe it’s important to know how to convert back and forth between different measurements.
The first thing you need to do is calculate your conversion factor, which is a number you’re going to use to convert all the quantities. There’s a tiny bit of math involved, but it’s OK to use a calculator — that’s what they’re there for!
To find your conversion factor, simply divide the desired number of servings by the original number of servings. The resulting number is your conversion factor.
Keep in mind; some ingredients will have a ‘weight’ or percentage of importance in scaling, and so will need to be adjusted differently.

Fluid Measure

In the United States, liquid measurement is not only used for liquids such as water and milk, it is also used when measuring other ingredients such as flour, sugar, shortening, butter, and spices.

Tsp. Tbs. Fluid
Oz.
Gill Cup Pint Quart Gallon
Tsp. 1 1/3 1/6 1/24 1/48
Tbs. 3 1 1/2 1/8 1/16 1/32
Fluid Oz. 6 2 1 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32
Gill 24 8 4 1 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/32
Cup 48 16 8 2 1 1/2 1/4 1/16
Pint 96 32 16 4 2 1 1/2 1/8
Quart 192 64 32 8 4 2 1 1/4
Gallon 768 256 128 32 16 8 4 1
Firkin 6912 2304 1152 288 144 72 36 9
Hogshead 48384 16128 8064 2016 1008 504 252 63

Dry Measure

Dry measurements are not typically used in US recipes; dry measurements are used mainly for measuring fresh produce (e.g. berries are sold by the quart, apples by the bushel, or peck). Do not confuse dry measure with liquid measure, because they are not the same.

Pint Quart Gallon Peck Bushel Cubic
Feet
Pint 1 1/2 1/8 1/16 1/64 0.019445
Quart 2 1 1/4 1/8 1/32 0.03889
Gallon 8 4 1 1/2 1/8 0.15556
Peck 16 8 2 1 1/4 0.31111
Bushel 64 32 8 4 1 1.2445
Cubic Feet 51.428 25.714 6.4285 3.2143 0.80356 1

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