*How Much Does a #10 Can Hold and Other Errata*
I had noticed that there wasn't a very good way to determine quantities within our canned long term storage stuff. So, I had compiled a bunch of ways to measure figure it, as well as the handy chart at the bottom of the article that I found somewhere (but can't begin to guess where, as the file I saved it in was at least 3 years old).
I've seen comparisons between the volume of a #10 can (sometimes called coffee cans) and 5.3 regular soup cans (#2 cans). #10 cans are 7in tall and 6 1/4 in wide +/- about a 1/4in for lids and slight variations in the rim seals and such.
When buying and storing these cans, it's nice to have a good idea of what they hold by "Dry weight/volume" as well as liquid volume. Keep in mind these are generalities which work best only when considering volume. Weights can be completely misleading. If you are comparing freeze dried strawberries to rice or salt, the full can of strawberries will seem empty side by side. I found the chart handy for getting an idea of volumes, but I promise you have never seen a 6.5 pound can of freeze dried strawberries (that's maybe 14oz full to the top). My best guess is the weights below are liquids or something dense like salt or sugar.
I tried to fill a # 10 can with one gallon of water and the can over-flowed. So it doesn't hold a gallon of water; it was at least 2 cups shy (this wasn't intended to be a precise measurement). When substituting one can for another size, consider the following:
One No. 10 can is approximately equivalent to (or greater than):
After looking around, I came up with this compilation chart that seems to cover pretty much all the bases. It is placed here in two forms, the picture form above and then the larger hand written chart below. This way, people can choose whichever one they can read the best. These are for sure generalities and should not be assumed without measuring at least one example of a specific product.
(Hand Written Chart)
Some helpful measurements for conversion:
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