English for cooking

Question

Hi. Does it have to be "1 1/2 cups of crushed ice"? Or can it be "1 1/2 cup of crushed ice" here?

Do it to get 1 1/2 cups of crushed ice.

As for the ingredients, do we have to put an "s" after abbreviations or words like "tbsp. (abbreviation)" and "scoop"?

1 to 2 tbsp. corn flakes

2 scoop of ice cream

I hope my questions are clear. Thank you in advance for your help.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

For the listings of ingredients in recipes, if the amount is less than 2 cups, then there's no "s" (and no "of"):

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1 cup water

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup maple syrup

It's similar for teaspoons, tablespoons, stalks, sprigs, scoops, etc.:

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 tablespoon cinnamon

1 1/2 scoop ice cream

1/2 sprig celery

1 1/2 stalk ginger

For 2 or more, the "s" is used (no "of"):

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups wine

2 scoops ice cream

3 1/2 tablespoons molasses

4 1/2 sprigs rosemary

And so forth.

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