A Note on Measurements
by 11 
Having previously lived in two countries, England and Sweden, moving recently to my third, the Netherlands, I well appreciate that the commonly utilised units of measurement differ between countries and provide, therefore, considerable consternation when it comes to cooking in general, and baking in particular. I recently posted a recipe for a Swedish kladdkaka – a sticky chocolate cake – which asked for ‘dl’s of certain ingredients. I have of course been inundated with messages ever since, some frantic and desperate, some mailed and covered in butter or cocoa powder, thankfully none threatening, all asking me – just what is a dl?
Well, dl stands for decilitre. One decilitre, as the name duly indicates, is equivalent to one tenth of a litre, or one hundred millilitres, ml. So we can already construct a sort of chart:
1 litre = 10 dl = 1000 ml
A litre is a measurement of volume; therefore the units litre, dl and ml ought – so you might think – to indicate quantities of liquids. However, in my kladdkaka recipe, I used dl as a measurement of solids, calling for 3 dl sugar, and 1.5 dl plain flour. In Sweden, the decilitre is the standard by which all ingredients are measured. All recipes use decilitres, and the predominant measuring implement is a stack of spoons or cups, ranging from a teaspoon, through a tablespoon, to a half decilitre and then a full decilitre. Packets of flour and sugar in Sweden indicate on them how much a decilitre of the contained substance translates to in grams.
When I use the measurement ‘dl’ in my recipes, take this for granted:
1 dl flour = 60g flour
1 dl sugar = 80g sugar
Finally, for additional clarification in American:
1 cup = 2.37 dl
and
1 dl = 0.423 of a cup
So therefore:
1 cup flour = 142.2g flour
1 cup sugar = 189.6g sugar
You are to refer to this note whenever you seek to make one of my recipes yet strike upon confusion over the quantities and measurements provided; or else when you simply endeavour to engage in the humane, intellectual act of reading.
…and things get so much more complicated when you go up to the mountains, where you discover water boils at a temperature below 100 C, and cooking times are all different )
I don’t think you ought to put people off using my kladdkaka recipe at higher altitudes. The recipe calls for no water to be boiled; and all one requires to endure the longer baking time is patience. Besides which, the cake mixture is edible uncooked. Take the ingredients, I say, and be not afraid, and scale those mountain tops.
I think an easier way for North Americans to understand is this:
1 cup = 2.5 decilitres
1 decilitre = 100 mL (In Canada, a cup measure will have metric millilitre measurements opposite the imperial fluid ounces)
People in North America do not typically use weight measurements when cooking!
I thank you, Lorraine – and yet I feel that the information you provide is already contained within my post. If you want to make 1 cup = 2.5 dl rather than 2.37 dl, then I won’t complain, and I can see why this may appear more practical; but of course all of my rights are reserved and etc., and I cannot be made to bear the ramifications of an imbalance in the consistency of your cakes. Thanks again, and best of luck with all of your baking endeavours.
I just wanted to extend my thanks for clarifying that 1 dl does not equal 100 g of dry ingredients in Swedish recipes. I live in the US but prefer Scandinavian baking and had taken it at face value that 1dl = 100 g, so no surprise that the recipes I used always flopped. (I still feel guilty for using 100 g of cocoa powder in a brownie recipe!) This irked me and eventually prompted me to do some research and that’s when I discovered your blog post confirming my suspicions. It frustrates me that this information isn’t widely known (or notated on recipes). At any rate, thank you for putting me on the right path… I’ve now printed off deciliter equivalent ingredient tables and look forward to enjoying baking again.
Using weight for dry ingredients, is simple, eliminates guesswork, and just makes sense.
Thanks so much for your helpful conversion chart!
Thank you. How about wet ingredients?
Thank you for this clarification.
Can I please ask though about liquids, water and milk? My recipe calls for 5dl of milk. So would that be 500g ? (500 ml)
Yes, exactly. 1 decilitre is the same as 100 millilitres.
Thank you so much! I am just learning Italian and was confronted with 4 dl in a recipe. I thought to myself, could it mean quattro di litri? One gallon of milk seemed a bit excessive to say the least so I was stumped. Nothing in my little dictionary. You saved me from making a ridiculous mess “:)