Measuring your ingredients is crucial when it comes to recipes, especially baked goods. The amount of flour or liquids you use in a batter determines the consistency, taste and structure of a cake. But sometimes you can’t work out the exact measurements in your head.
The most common measurement for liquids or solids is 2/3. But times it by 2 and you get a different measurement. If you want a straight answer then 2/3 times 2 in cups is equal to 1 ⅓ cup.
Now let’s talk about why you would want to know that and how to calculate the right answer. You’ll find all the information you’re looking for in this post.
Why Measure 2/3 Times 2 in Cups
It’s not unusual to have birthday parties. But what if your child decided to invite a large number of people, almost double the usual number of guests. You’ll then need to make a bigger cake or more cupcakes.
Furthermore, what if your kitchen only has a single measuring cup and not a single measuring chart for reference? Also, like most of us, you’re not particularly good at understanding fractions then this situation might put you in a difficult position.
You were using a tested recipe for 8 people and now you have to make the same recipe for 16 people. You can either bake 2 cakes or double the cupcakes. But baking two separate cakes will take a lot more effort and time.
So even if you’re bad at understanding fractions, having a cursory understanding is extremely essential if you’re baking a lot.
Correctly Calculating the Answer
There a few ways which will get you to a correctly calculate the answer. A few of them are detailed below:
- Two-thirds of a cup means only one thing. You’re dividing a single cup into 3 parts then taking 2 parts out of the 3 parts, and as a result, leaving a single part. In our example, you have 2 cups divided into 3 parts and you’re taking 2 parts out of both cups. Meaning you’re taking 4 parts out of 6 parts. If 3 parts make a single cup, then you’re left with a single part out of a 3 part cup. Which equals to 1 and ⅓ cups.
- If you can borrow a scientific calculator from your kids, a simple fraction multiplication will give you the correct answer. You can also calculate the right cup value through the means of functions. When adding ⅔ and ⅔, 3 is a common value. So your answer becomes 4/3 which is equal to 1 ⅓ cups. Because you’re dividing your cup into 3 parts, you’ll have to take ⅓ cup out which will make it 3/3. 3/3 is equal to a whole cup, as you’re not taking a single part out of it.
Why Do We Use the Measuring Cup System?
We use the measuring cup system because it’s convenient. Most people don’t own a measuring scale. Buying a new measuring scale is a lot more expensive as well. This is why most of us use the measuring cup to get exact amounts for our cooking recipes.
Measuring cups add a small amount of uncertainty or error within your measurements. As a result, professional bakers and chefs only use a measuring scale to measure their flour. Let’s consider our previous example of two ⅔ cups.
If you have a cup that has three measurements of ⅓, ⅔, and 1 cup. And you measure ⅔ cups two times. Each time, according to mathematical statistics, you’ll add ⅛ cups worth of extra ingredient. So using more cups will increase this uncertainty even more.
The Importance of Measuring Ingredients
It’s important to measure your ingredients precisely to minimize waste in the kitchen. Professional chefs at restaurants measure their ingredients correctly to prevent wasting ingredients and to deter staff theft.
With that being said, ingredients such as flour and sugar are subject to variations when it’s measured by volume (cups) as opposed to weight. On the other hand, measuring cups are ideal for liquid ingredients such as milk, oil and water.
But you must place your measuring cup on a flat surface to get the ideal measurements. Some measuring cups will have indicator lines and measurements on the side of the container. You’ll then be able to see exactly how much liquids to pour into the cup.
Other cups will simply have fractions on them such as 1/2 or 2/3. These cups are suitable for dry ingredients but you’ll need to use the calculations in this post to assist you.
What Happens if You Don’t Use the Correct Measurements?
The reason why we use measurements of ingredients in recipes is to have the correct balance of flavor, texture and structure. But if you don’t use the right measurements in baked goods your confectioneries may come out too dry, bitter, or even flavorless.
Another reason to use the correct measurements is to get the right amount of food for each person. In restaurants, dishes are prepared with the exact same quantities for each customer. But if you had too little or too much of something it will change the portion size drastically.
The same would go for baked goods. If you use half of your measurements, the cake size will be smaller. But if you accidentally double up your recipe, and the cake tin is small, your batter may over flow when cooking. Or you’ll land up with too many cupcakes.
So always use the correct measurements according to the number of people you want to cook for.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, it’s not difficult to measure the exact amount of ingredients if you need to double up or remove parts from your recipe.
It’s recommended that you always use the right amount of ingredients to prevent your recipes from flopping. Use the advice in this post to help you if you don’t have a scale or a cup with measuring lines on the side.