Does anyone know if there is some special way of measuring ice cream or something?

My ice cream says that 1/2 cup is a serving and that the container has 14 servings. So of course I measure out exactly 1/2 cup into a 1/2 cup measuring cup. Thing is, I only got around 11 servings out of thing. I don't understand. Cups is a unit of volume. Is there some special rule for ice cream?

Did you level the measurements? (after you scoop it into the cup, you have to make sure it is perfectly level). Also, it is approximates. I would go with 1/2 cup is a serving and forget how many is in the entire batch.

Most servings are usually approximates. And I've found that there are usually fewer servings in a package than the package says. For example, a can of mixed vegetables. It gives nutrition information for a serving size which is normally 1/2 cup. It says "servings per package" about 3. I've measured it out many times and 99% of the time there are only 2.5 servings. And soup - it can say there are 2 (one-cup) servings per can of soup, but it always measures out to be 1.5 instead.

Most package labels, I've found, overestimate.

Thanks! Levelling definitely wasn't the problem (if anything there was less than 1/2 cup b/c I didn't push it down enough; but never did it go over the top).

Linda, I think you may be right about the less servings than they say. Those companies...cheating me out of my extra servings of ice cream. Who do they think they are?

Those traitors!

lol

Doesn't the package say the weight of the serving? Many packages do. I weigh everything on my kitchen scale and find that servings seem a lot smaller than if I measured... items like mayonnaise and peanut butter, for instance.

Weights vary, however, depending on the 'density' of the item. For example, 5 ounces of lettuce is going to be completely different than 5 ounces of meat. Or 4 ounces of liquid may not always equal 1/2 cup (which is technically 4 oz.) of other foods. Some serving sizes will indicate that 1/2 cup is 4 ounces but that's not necessarily true with all foods.

Sounds confusing, I know, but it's just something you gotta kind of work out on your own using measuring cups, food scales, etc.

Walmart has a great set of measuring spoons that measure 1/4, 1/2,1/3, and 1 cup they are stainless steel with long handles and make measuring foods alot easier.

I think this is why the weight portion is accurate as opposed to the size portion. 5 oz. of lettuce is going to be a much bigger portion than 5 oz. of meat - but they both still weigh 5 oz. However, half a cup of lettuce and half a cup of meat aren't necessarily equivalent. This is why most food packages list the weight of a portion but then give the size portion as an approximation. So, the weight portion they give is the most accurate for calorie counts, the size portion is the closest estimate of common measurements to equate that weight (1/2 cup, cup, etc.) - but isn't necessarily and exact portion.

I don't trust measuring food as much as I do weighing to the gram. I mean, if a digital scale isn't handy, then I will measure... but weighing is far more accurate.

Kimberly