Converting Different
Units of Measure
It may be necessary to convert different units of measure, especially when preparing recipes from international cookbooks. The three basic measuring systems most commonly used are the U.S. system, the British Imperial system for liquid, and the Metric system. There are basic formulas that can be used to convert a measurement from one system to that of another.
Converting U.S. Liquid Measurements to British Liquid Measurements
If a person in Britain were preparing a dish from a recipe in an American cookbook, that person would have to use American measuring tools to measure liquids or would have to convert American liquid measurements to British. To convert American fluid ounces to British fluid ounces, multiply the American ounces by 1.04. It is also important to keep in mind that American and British fluid pints are the same in name only. An American fluid pint contains 16 American ounces while a British fluid pint contains 20 British ounces. If the American recipe called for a pint of a liquid, it would be equal to approximately 15 1/3 British fluid ounces.
Converting British Liquid Measurements to U.S. Liquid Measurements
If a person in America were preparing a dish from a recipe in a British cookbook, that person would have to use British measuring tools to measure liquids or would have to convert British liquid measurements to American. To convert British fluid ounces to American fluid ounces, divide the British ounces by 1.04. It is also important to keep in mind that British and American fluid pints are the same in name only. A British fluid pint contains 20 British ounces while an American fluid pint contains 16 American ounces. If the British recipe called for a pint of a liquid, it would be equal to approximately 1 1/3 American fluid pints.
| Note: Dry measures in ounces and pounds and linear measures in inches and feet are the same in the American and British systems. |
Converting U.S. Measurements to Metric Measurements
Length:
- To convert inches into centimeters, multiply the number of inches by 2.54.
- To convert feet into meters, divide the number of feet by 3.28.
- To convert miles into kilometers, multiply the number of miles by 1.609.
Weight:
- To convert ounces into grams, multiply the number of ounces by 28.35.
- To convert pounds into kilograms, divide the number of pounds by 2.205.
Liquid Measure:
- To convert ounces into milliliters, multiply the number of ounces by 29.573.
- To convert ounces into liters, divide the number of ounces by 33.815.
- To convert pints into into liters, divide the number of pints by 2.114.
- To convert quarts into liters, divide the number of quarts by 1.057.
Converting Metric Measurements to U.S. Measurements
Length:
- To convert centimeters into inches, divide the number of centimeters by 2.54.
- To convert meters into feet, multiply the number of meters by 3.28.
- To convert kilometers into miles, divide the number of kilometers by 1.609.
Weight:
- To convert grams into ounces, divide the number of grams by 28.35.
- To convert kilograms into pounds, multiply the number of kilograms by 2.205.
Liquid Measure:
- To convert milliliters into ounces, divide the number of milliliters by 29.573.
- To convert liters into ounces, multiply the number of liters by 33.815.
- To convert liters into pints, multiply the number of liters by 2.114.
- To convert liters into quarts, multiply the number of liters by 1.057.
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