How to Measure Butter

 Is 1/2 lb. of butter the same as 1/2 cup of butter?

 The recipe writers of the world have entered into a conspiracy to make cooking with butter way more complex than it should be. In one recipe they ask for a half-cup of butter. In the next, they ask for 8 tablespoons. Then they turn around and demand one stick of butter. And the whole time, they're asking for the same thing!

In this country, butter is mostly packaged in 1-pound boxes, with four individually wrapped quarters or sticks. Each pound is two cups of butter. Each quarter-pound stick is 8 tablespoons or a half a cup. Each tablespoon is 1/2 ounce. (So to answer your question, a half pound of butter is one cup.) To thwart the wicked aims of those recipe writers once and for all, we present the following fool-proof

Butter Measurement Translation Chart to Defeat Nefarious Recipe Writers*

Volume	Sticks	Weight: US & British	Weight: Metric
1 Tbsp	1/8	1/2 oz	14 g
2 Tbsp	1/4	1 oz	25 g
3 Tbsp	3/8	1-1/2 oz	42 g
1/4 cup	1/2	2 oz	57 g
5 Tbsp	5/8	2-1/2 oz	72 g
6 Tbsp	3/4	3 oz	85 g
7 Tbsp	7/8	3/1/2 oz	98 g
1/2 cup	1	1/4 pound	113 g
9 Tbsp	1-1/8	4-1/2 oz	126 g
10 Tbsp	1-1/4	5 oz	142 g
11 Tbsp	1-3/8	5-1/2 oz	155 g
3/4 cup	1-1/2	6 oz	170 g
13 Tbsp	1-5/8	6-1/2 oz	184 g
14 Tbsp	1-3/4	7 oz	198 g
15 Tbsp	1-7/8	7-1/2 oz	212 g
1 cup	2	1/2 pound	227 g
17 Tbsp	1-1/8	8-1/2 oz	241 g
18 Tbsp	1-1/4	9 oz	255 g
19 Tbsp	1-3/8	9-1/2 oz	270 g
1-1/4 cups	1-1/2	10 oz	284 g
21 Tbsp	1-5/8	10-1/2 oz	298 g
22 Tbsp	1-3/4	11 oz	312 g
23 Tbsp	1-7/8	11-1/2 oz	327 g
1-1/2 cups	3	3/4 pound	341 g
25 Tbsp	1-1/8	12-1/2 oz	355 g
26 Tbsp	1-1/4	13 oz	370 g
27 Tbsp	1-3/8	13-1/2 oz	384 g
1-3/4 cups	1-1/2	14 oz	398 g
29 Tbsp	1-5/8	14-1/2 oz	412 g
30 Tbsp	1-3/4	15 oz	427 g
31 Tbsp	1-7/8	15-1/2 oz	441 g
2 cups	4	1 pound	454 g

*This also works for margarine that comes in 1-pound boxes.

Submit your question
to Ochef