Every recipe book seems to use a different set of measurements for their lists of ingredients. Fortunately, many of them have conversion tables to make life a little easier. There are times, however, when there is no conversion table at hand and things can get a little confusing.
As it is, butter is one of the easier to convert ingredients. One tablespoon of butter equals 14g. A stick of butter can be converted to four ounces, 113g, eight tablespoons or half a cup. Four sticks of butter are the equivalent to 16oz, 452g, 32 tablespoons or two cups.
So, if 14g of butter equals one tablespoon, 40g will be 2.86, or just under three tablespoons. If the amount needs to be exactly 40g, it may be easier to use a set of scales to accurately measure out the weight.
Alternatively, one could work out how many teaspoons 40 g of butter would represent. A tablespoon equals three teaspoons. Each teaspoon consequently holds approximately 4.7 g of butter. This means around eight and a half teaspoons will come fairly close to 40g.
It should be noted that these figures refer to level tea or tablespoons. Leveling a spoonful of any ingredient is best done with the straight edge of a knife. Although this is not as vitally important with butter as it is with other, more easily compacted ingredients, such as flour, for example, it does help to keep measurements more accurate. The same method can be used to level off ingredients measured in cups. Shaking ingredients like sugar or flour down can seriously affect the overall weight contained within a cup by forcing the ingredient into a more compressed state. Sliding a knife across the top avoids falsifying the amount.
As it is, butter is one of the easier to convert ingredients. One tablespoon of butter equals 14g. A stick of butter can be converted to four ounces, 113g, eight tablespoons or half a cup. Four sticks of butter are the equivalent to 16oz, 452g, 32 tablespoons or two cups.
So, if 14g of butter equals one tablespoon, 40g will be 2.86, or just under three tablespoons. If the amount needs to be exactly 40g, it may be easier to use a set of scales to accurately measure out the weight.
Alternatively, one could work out how many teaspoons 40 g of butter would represent. A tablespoon equals three teaspoons. Each teaspoon consequently holds approximately 4.7 g of butter. This means around eight and a half teaspoons will come fairly close to 40g.
It should be noted that these figures refer to level tea or tablespoons. Leveling a spoonful of any ingredient is best done with the straight edge of a knife. Although this is not as vitally important with butter as it is with other, more easily compacted ingredients, such as flour, for example, it does help to keep measurements more accurate. The same method can be used to level off ingredients measured in cups. Shaking ingredients like sugar or flour down can seriously affect the overall weight contained within a cup by forcing the ingredient into a more compressed state. Sliding a knife across the top avoids falsifying the amount.
