How do you measure a soup and salad portion?

Soup and salad are the two items most often counted as “free” at the table. Yet in both, the portion is set by the size of the dish, and dishes are not standard at all: the bowls in a home range between 130 and 600 milliliters. So “a bowl of soup” can describe amounts that differ by up to four times.

Below we look at how soup is measured with a ladle, which item makes a salad grow, the role of the two groups in a meal, and the ways of holding the measure steady.

Why a bowl is not a reliable measure

Bowls are produced as household goods and are not tied to a standard. Even two bowls sitting in the same cupboard can hold clearly different volumes.

So a bowl measure given in a recipe or on a menu cannot be used for comparison. The number is meaningful only within that one kitchen.

The same problem exists with serving dishes. A bowl of soup that arrives at a restaurant does not have to describe the same amount as the one you have at home.

A ladle works better

In soup the measure is built with a ladle, and this is one of the most consistent ways of measuring at home. A medium ladle is taken as 120 milliliters, that is half a cup.

Counting how many ladles went in gives a consistent measure regardless of the size of the bowl. Using the ladle when writing a recipe is also a more transferable measure than a glass or a bowl.

A household ladle measured once becomes a reliable tool afterwards. The steadiness of a measure matters as much as its accuracy.

The role of soup in a meal

Soup is an item that lowers the intensity of hunger as a meal begins. The same table produces a different total when it starts with soup.

Soups with legumes can carry a meal on their own. In that case the soup is not a starter but the main dish, and its portion is built accordingly.

What a portion means in salad

The vegetable part of a salad is bulky and low in energy. So there is no need to force a measure on the leaf, cucumber and tomato side.

There is a concrete definition for a vegetable portion: one standard portion of cooked vegetables is 150 grams, that is about one cup. In a raw salad the same measure corresponds to a larger volume.

The composition of items like lettuce and cucumber explains that lightness too; both are in the group with a high water content.

Which item makes a salad grow

What decides the total of a salad is not the vegetables but what is added on top: oil, cheese, nuts, corn, croutons and ready-made dressings.

Oil leads here. In a salad, oil does not cook away; it goes straight onto the plate, and when it is added by eye the amount grows quickly.

The solution is not to give up salad but to measure the dressing. A dressing added with a spoon and distributed in a mixing bowl ends up both smaller and more evenly spread than one poured onto the plate.

How the measure is held steady

Holding the measure steady in the kitchen is done with a few small decisions, and once made they last:

• Settle on a single bowl and a single ladle for soup.
• Measure the volume of the ladle once.
• Add the salad dressing in the mixing bowl, not on the plate.
• Put the oil in with a spoon, not from the bottle.

None of the four steps requires buying equipment; they only require deciding which dish will be used.

When bread is put alongside

The bread put next to soup usually does not get counted. Yet one standard portion of bread is defined as two thin slices, that is 50 grams, and it is added directly to the total of the meal.

This does not mean taking the bread away. It only stops it from being an invisible item when you assess the meal.

Ready-made soup and ready-made dressing

Instant soup and ready-made salad dressing save time; the place to look is the ingredients list. In these two groups the salt line is the most informative line.

A dressing made at home is built from a few items: olive oil, lemon or vinegar, salt and spices. The amount is entirely your decision as well.

The same principle holds for soup. What goes into a soup cooked in a pot is known, while in a ready-made product that information is read only from the label.

How the two groups are built together

Soup and salad can also be used together in the same meal; both add volume to the plate and shrink the portion of the main dish without forcing it.

This trio at the table is already established in Turkish cuisine: soup, a main dish and a salad alongside. The only thing to do is to make the measure of the first two defined.

Taking the salad at the start of the meal is a common arrangement too. By the time you move to the main dish the intensity of hunger has dropped and the portion decision gets easier.

In short: trust the ladle rather than the bowl, do not force a measure on vegetables, measure the dressing and the oil, and count the bread into the meal. We covered the whole picture in the portion control guide and the range of household measures in this guide.