How many ounces are in a dry cup and in a pound'?

Answer 1

Dry versus liquid measures

The fact that there are 16 fluid ounces (oz.) in a pint (8 oz. to the cup) and 16 dry oz. to the pound leads to all sorts of confusion and mistakes in recipes. Further, it is quite common for recipes to specify an amount of a dry substance in liquid units: a cup of chopped onions, a half cup of diced celery, etc. This is done because we typically don't keep scales in our kitchens, but we do have measuring cups. Where this really becomes problematic is with measuring flour. The actual amount of flour in a measuring vessel will vary widely depending upon how loose or compact it is. Ounce Equivalents and Conversions There are 8 fluid ounces in a liquid measuring cup. There are 16 ounces (dry) in one pound. Further commentary To avoid the confusion (Liquid vs. Dry measurements), it's easier to think of liquid as a VOLUME measurement. This is the standard as to much of the US Industry uses when expressing ounces (liquid), cups, quarts, gallons, etc. For example, we do not think of buying 10 lbs of whole milk or 2 quarts of dry rice. Most folks are trying to double or triple a recipe and start with the same question: "How many ounces are in a cup and in a pound?" I recommend doing the following to avoid this confusion: 1. Buy an electronic food scale (Target, Sears, Wal-Mart) that weighs in both ounces and in grams. 2. Set the scale to grams. 3. Measure each ingredient out on the scale. 4. Write down the gram conversions. 5. Multiply the smallest weight by the number of batches needed to be made. 6. Multiply the other ingredients accordingly. In a final note. Most dry containers express weights in grams and liquid containers are also expressed in liters. More notes and advice from contributors

• The ounces to cup conversion works for water and fluids with a high water content. This conversion will not work for "dry" goods such as flour, sugar, etc. or for chopped vegetables.

• 8 ounces in a cup and 16 in a pound, but they measure different things. A cup is measured by volume and a pound by weight. So you can't be sure that two cups of, say, flour, weigh a pound. In fact, they don't.

• Only to mention that there are 20 ounces in a British pint, in case someone in the U.K. is using a measuring vessel marked in pints and halfs.

Answer 2

There are exactly 8 US ounces in 1 US cup. In addition, there are exactly 16 ounces in 1 pound.