Half a glass

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

When writing a recipe is it correct to say ,"half a glass of olive oil"? For example, "add a teaspoon of salt, two teaspoons of cocoa and half a glass of olive oil." This is not the full list of the ingredients.

 

[emsr2d2]

No. "A glass" isn't an exact measure. There is nothing to refer to to find out how much that means. We don't know what size glass is meant. American recipes use "cups" (that's an exact measurement). British recipes are written using either metric (grams, kilos etc), imperial (pounds and ounces), and [fractions of] teaspoons and tablespoons, but not cups, and definitely not glasses!

 

[GoesStation]

One cup in US measure is eight fluid ounces. I have glasses in my cupboard ranging from four to twenty ounces. You can see why "half a glass" would be a suggestion rather than an instruction.

 

[Yankee]

One cup in US measure is eight fluid ounces. I have glasses in my cupboard ranging from four to twenty ounces. You can see why "half a glass" would be a suggestion rather than an instruction.

And even if it were an accepted measurement, it should read "...and a half glass etc.".

 

[emsr2d2]

And even if it were an accepted measurement, it should read "...and a half glass etc.".

Not in BrE, it shouldn't.

Half a teaspoon of ...
Half a cup of ...
Half a glass of ...

 

[GoesStation]

Not in BrE, it shouldn't.

Half a teaspoon of ...
Half a cup of ...
Half a glass of ...

Nor in American English. "A half glass" of something isn't impossible, but "half a glass" is the natural way to describe a quantity. Recipes say ½ cup oatmeal, for example. We read that "one half cup [of] oatmeal" or "half a cup of oatmeal". The "of" is required in the latter version.