Okay, so the other day I was trying to follow this recipe, and it called for butter in grams. But my sticks of butter are all in tablespoons and cups! Total headache, right? I know I’m not the only one who gets tripped up by this, so I decided to make my own conversion chart and share it with all the other home bakers.
First, I grabbed a kitchen scale, a stick of butter, and a notebook. I figured I’d just weigh the butter and then write down all the different measurements. Easy peasy, or so I thought.
The Experiment Begins
I unwrapped the butter and placed it on the scale. The first thing I learned is my scale could measure in grams and ounces. So, I could get both of those from the scale. Good start!
- 1 tablespoon = 14 grams = 0.5 ounces.
Then, I started slicing. I carefully cut off one tablespoon at a time, weighing each portion and jotting down the grams and ounces. I have to be honest, getting the tablespoons perfectly even was a bit tricky! It wasn’t perfect science, but it was close enough for baking, I figured.
Building the Chart
After I had sliced and weighed all the way up to a full cup (which is two sticks of butter where I live), I had a pretty good list of numbers. It was a little messy, though, so I organized it into a simple chart. I made sure to include tablespoons, cups, grams, AND ounces, because you never know what a recipe will call for.
Here’s how that looks:
- 1 tablespoon = 14 grams = 0.5 ounces
- 2 tablespoons = 28 grams = 1 ounce
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) = 57 grams = 2 ounces
- 1/3 cup = 76 grams = 2.7 ounces
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons or 1 stick) = 113 grams = 4 ounces
- 2/3 cup = 151 grams = 5.3 ounces
- 3/4 cup = 170 grams = 6 ounces
- 1 cup (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) = 227 grams = 8 ounces
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
Now, whenever I run into a recipe with butter measurements I don’t understand, I just check my chart. No more guessing! My baking has been much more consistent, and that’s a major win in my book.
I stuck the chart up on my fridge, so it’s always there when I need it. Maybe you could do the same, save yourself from all the trouble!
