A quart is a unit of volume typically used to measure dry goods in the United States. It is equal to 2 pints or 1/4 of a gallon. When used as a unit of dry measure, a quart equals 67.200625 cubic inches. This volume is equivalent to about 1.101221 liters. Understanding quart equivalents for dry goods can be useful for cooking, baking, and other applications.
What is a Quart?
A quart is a customary unit of volume. It is commonly used to measure liquids, like milk or juice. However, it can also be used as a unit of dry measure for items like flour, sugar, oats, etc. Here are some key facts about quarts:
- A quart is equal to 2 pints or 4 cups.
- In liquid measure, a quart contains 32 fluid ounces or 0.946 liters.
- As a dry measure, a quart holds 67.200625 cubic inches or 1.101221 liters.
- A quart is 1⁄4 of a gallon or 1⁄2 of a peck.
- The abbreviation for quart is “qt” or sometimes “q”.
So in summary, a quart is a unit of volume equal to 2 pints. The actual quantity it represents varies slightly depending on whether you are measuring liquid volumes or dry goods.
Dry Quart vs Liquid Quart
There is a small difference between a dry quart and a liquid quart. Let’s look at the distinctions:
- Dry quart: 67.200625 cubic inches or 1.101221 liters
- Liquid quart: 57.75 cubic inches or 0.946 liters
You’ll notice a dry quart is larger than a liquid quart. The dry quart equates to 67.2 cubic inches while the liquid quart is 57.75 cubic inches. This reflects the fact that one quart volume of a dry good like flour is lighter and less dense than the same volume of a liquid like water. So dry goods are measured on a slightly larger quart scale.
Why Are Dry and Liquid Quarts Different?
The reason dry quarts and liquid quarts differ goes back hundreds of years. In the early Middle Ages, a “quart” referred to a quarter of a gallon. However, gallons themselves varied in size depending on what was being measured.
For liquid volumes, a gallon was based on the English wine gallon which held 231 cubic inches. A quarter of that was the liquid quart of 57.75 cubic inches.
For dry goods, grains were often measured in gallons based on the English corn gallon of 268.8 cubic inches. A quarter of the corn gallon gave the dry quart of 67.2 cubic inches.
So the liquid and dry quart sizes have been distinct for centuries based on these historical definitions. The differing gallons for liquids and dry goods led to different size quarts as well.
Converting Between Dry and Liquid Quarts
While dry quarts and liquid quarts are not equivalent, you can convert between them using a conversion factor:
- 1 dry quart = 1.101221 liquid quarts
- 1 liquid quart = 0.908 quarts dry
So if you needed to substitute a dry quart of flour for a liquid quart of milk in a recipe, you would use 18% more flour by volume. Converting between different quart units is straightforward using these conversion ratios.
What is a Quart in Dry Measure?
When being used as a unit of dry measure, a quart is defined as follows:
- A dry quart equals 67.200625 cubic inches exactly.
- It is equivalent to 1.101221 liters.
- A dry quart is 1⁄4 of a dry gallon (which equals 268.8 cubic inches).
These dry quart definitions have been standardized in the United States since the 19th century. The dry quart gives a consistent volume for measuring out dry goods like sugar, flour, oats, beans, rice, etc. It’s commonly used in recipes, storage containers, and product packaging.
Dry Quart Volume in Cooking
In cooking, the dry quart is a handy volume for measuring dry ingredients. For example:
- All-purpose flour – about 5 cups or 1.25 pounds per dry quart
- Granulated sugar – 2 2/3 cups or 1.5 pounds per dry quart
- Brown rice – 3 cups per dry quart
Using dry quart volumes makes it easy to scale recipes up or down and estimate ingredient needs. Many food packages will specify volumes in quarts, like boxes of cereal or bags of beans.
Packaging and Containers
The dry quart volume also appears on various packaging and containers:
- Wide mouth canning jars often hold 1 dry quart.
- Some glass food storage containers hold 1 or 2 dry quart volumes.
- Dry milk powder is often packaged in 1 quart boxes or bags.
- Snack packages may list volume in quarts, like 1.25 quart size.
You may also see beverages like juice measured in dry quarts as a larger size option than the typical liquid quarts. The dry quart gives a good standardized volume for packaging many dry goods.
How Much Does a Dry Quart Weigh?
The weight of a dry quart varies depending on the density of the material being measured. For example:
| Material | Weight per Dry Quart |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 1.25 lbs |
| Granulated sugar | 1.5 lbs |
| Brown rice | 1.75 lbs |
| Rolled oats | 1 lb |
As you can see, denser substances like sugar and rice are heavier per quart than lighter items like oats and flour. But the dry quart gives a fixed volume while the weight varies.
Converting Between Weight and Volume
You can use the density to convert between the weight and volume of a dry good. For example:
- Flour weighs approximately 1.25 lbs per quart
- So 1 pound of flour is about 0.8 quarts (1 / 1.25 lbs per quart)
- And 2 pounds of flour equals 1.6 quarts (2 lbs x 0.8 quarts per pound)
Doing the math allows you to interconvert between quart volumes and weights in ounces or pounds. This can be handy when a recipe calls for volume but you only have the ingredients weighed out.
Common Dry Quart Equivalents
Here are some handy dry quart equivalents to know:
- 4 cups = 1 dry quart
- 2 pints = 1 dry quart
- 1⁄4 gallon = 1 dry quart
- 16 fluid ounces = 1 dry quart
- 67.2 cubic inches = 1 dry quart
- 1.101221 liters = 1 dry quart
So if you have a recipe that calls for 4 cups of flour or 1⁄4 gallon of oats, that’s equivalent to using 1 dry quart. The quart links together many other common volume units.
Converting Quarts to Cups
Since cups are a convenient cooking measure, it’s helpful to know quart-cup conversions. The main equivalents are:
- 1 quart = 4 cups
- 1 cup = 0.25 quarts
So a recipe with 6 quarts of rolled oats would require 6 x 4 = 24 cups. And if you only have measuring cups, then 48 cups of beans would be 48 / 4 = 12 quarts.
Converting Quarts to Gallons
Quarts relate to gallons as follows:
- 1 gallon = 4 quarts
- 1 quart = 0.25 gallons
These conversions can help when scaling recipe quantities. For example, if a recipe makes 2 quarts of granola mix, you could multiply it by 4 to make 8 quarts which is 2 gallons.
Common Items Measured in Dry Quarts
Some common ingredients and foods measured in dry quart volumes include:
Grains
- Rice – A 1 quart jar holds about 3 cups uncooked rice
- Pasta – Most 1 pound boxes equal 4 cups or 1 dry quart
- Flour – About 5 cups or 1 1/4 pounds per quart
- Oats – A quart container holds around 4 cups of rolled or steel cut oats
Beans, legumes
- Dry beans – 1 quart holds about 2 1/2 cups dry beans
- Lentils – A quart jar holds roughly 3 1/2 cups dried lentils
- Split peas – 1 dry quart equals approximately 2 2/3 cups peas
Baking ingredients
- Sugar – 2 2/3 cups or 1 1/2 pounds per dry quart
- Brown sugar – 2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar per quart
- Powdered sugar – About 4 cups sifted per quart
- Cornmeal – 1 quart holds around 3 1/2 cups cornmeal
Other dry goods
- Dry milk powder – A quart box or bag holds about 4 cups powdered milk
- Shredded coconut – 1 quart about equal to 3 1/2 cups shredded coconut
- Chocolate chips – Roughly 2 cups chocolate chips per quart
- Peanuts or nuts – Around 3 1/2 cups nuts per dry quart
These are just a few examples of commonly measured dry goods. The dry quart gives a handy standardized volume for many cooking ingredients, foods, and other dry materials.
Quarts in Baking and Cooking
When baking and cooking, the dry quart is useful for:
- Measuring ingredients – Accurately measuring dry goods like flour, sugar, oats, etc.
- Scaling recipes – Doubling or halving recipe yields using quarts.
- Substituting volumes – Swapping different ingredient amounts by volume.
- Shopping lists – Writing needed ingredient quantities in quarts.
- Portioning out ingredients – Dividing up items like beans or rice into quart jars for storage.
Quarts streamline working with dry ingredients. For convenience, many cooks keep a set of measuring cups with quart, pint, and cup sizes marked.
Example Baking Usage
Here is an example baking use of dry quarts:
- A cookie recipe requires 2 quarts flour, 1 quart sugar, and 1 quart chocolate chips.
- To make twice the cookies, double the ingredients to 4 quarts flour, 2 quarts sugar, 2 quarts chips.
- When shopping, your list would be 4 qts flour, 2 qts sugar, 2 qts chocolate chips.
Working in quarts makes it easy to scale the quantities up or down as needed.
Converting Cup Amounts to Quarts
When a recipe lists volume in cups, convert to quarts using the ratio:
- 4 cups = 1 quart
For example, if a recipe requires:
- 6 cups rice = 6/4 = 1.5 quarts rice
- 8 cups flour = 8/4 = 2 quarts flour
- 3 cups oats = 3/4 = 0.75 quarts oats
Converting the cups to quarts allows you to more easily scale or divide the recipe quantities.
Where to Buy Dry Quart Containers
Having quart-sized containers makes working with dry goods easier. Here are some places to find quart-sized jars, bottles, and packages:
Canning Jars
Wide mouth 1 quart mason jars are ideal for holding ingredients. Find them at grocery and hardware stores or online.
Food Storage Containers
Plastic or glass food containers in 1-2 quart sizes can store grains, beans, nuts. Look for deals at big box stores.
Bulk Shopping
Some bulk food stores sell beans, grains, baking items packaged in quart sizes. Bring your own quart jars to fill.
Online Shopping
Look for quart-sized packages of beans, rice, oats, baking supplies on Amazon or big online retailers.
Manufacturers
Some food brands sell quart-sized pouches or boxes of things like milk powder, hot chocolate mix, powdered drink mix.
Storing frequently used ingredients in quart jars helps make cooking and baking projects easier.
Key Takeaways on Dry Quart Measure
Here are some key facts to remember about quarts as a unit of dry measure:
- A dry quart equals 67.200625 cubic inches or 1.101221 liters.
- It is defined as 1⁄4 of a dry gallon which is different than a liquid gallon.
- Common equivalents: 4 cups, 2 pints, 16 fluid ounces.
- Used to measure many dry goods like flour, sugar, rice, oats, beans.
- Handy for scaling recipes up or down.
- Quart-sized containers help with storage and cooking prep.
Understanding dry quart volumes and using quart-sized jars can make working with dry ingredients much simpler. Quarts provide a useful standardized unit for both measuring and packaging many common dry goods.
Conclusion
In summary, a quart is a handy volume measurement for working with dry ingredients and goods. When used as a dry measure, a quart equals 67.200625 cubic inches or 1.101221 liters. This volume is 1⁄4 of a dry gallon and equivalent to 4 cups.
The dry quart is great for measuring out items like flour, sugar, rice, beans, and oats. It can help scale recipe quantities up or down. And quart-sized containers are useful for storing bulk dry ingredients. Understanding dry quart equivalents provides cooks and bakers with a valuable tool for preparing all kinds of delicious recipes.
