hahabogus > wrote:

:There is no comparision between weight and volume. Denser stuff weighs

Of course there is. It's called density. If you know the density of
an item, measuring its mass will tell you the volume, or vice versa.
There are lots of things in the kitchen that have a constant enough
density to make converting from volume to mass accurate enough for
use in cooking.

:...a pound of lead and a pound of feathers both weigh the same... a pound
f lead wouldn't be a full 8 fliud ounces (I'm guessing here and guess at
:less than 1 fluid oz for the 1 pound of lead.) Whereas the 1 pound of

Lead has a density of 11.34 g/cc, so a pound (454 g) is 40 cc, which
is a touch more than 1.33 us fl oz.

:feathers would be multiple 8 ounce measuring cups probably a gallon or
:more. A gallon is 16 cups.

:There are scales that will convert weight to mass...but they use a code
:for each item and come with a booklet with the codes. These booklets are
:not very informitive...you get a conversion code for flour but not for
:wheat groats etc or whole wheat or rye flour etc...You are better off
:creating your own booklet by weighing ingredients by cup and writing it
:down and then using your info to get correct weight to volume conversion.
:But change brands of an item and all bets are off.

There are scales that let you enter an arbitrary density, and read the
mass of the item on the scale as a volume. They've got a number of
industrial uses, including packaging liquids. I don't know if there
are any commonly sold for use in the kitchen.