this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2024
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I just realized while cooking that a measuring-cup cup (as measured out as 250mL in a glass measuring cup) is the same amount(s) as one of the actual plastic baking measuring cups that go inside each other like Russian dolls lol

I thought they were different somehow (something something imperial metric yadda yadda yaddda)

Your turn to come clean Lemmings!

**EDIT: to clarify, I mean volumetrically for measuring liquids

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[–] bl4ckblooc 30 points 10 months ago (3 children)

They are different though! The glass measuring cup is for liquid and the ones that nestle into each other are for dry ingredients. You need to fill the little ‘1 cup’ dry measuring cup to the brim with ingredients to get an accurate measurement, which is pretty much impossible with the glass wet measuring cups.

When you are measuring dry ingredients, you can fill the same cup with more flour or whatever depending on how you fill it as well, but with liquid it’s, well, fluid.

So, you can measure wet ingredients in the dry ingredients cup, but not the other way around.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 10 months ago (14 children)

You shouldn't use measuring cups of any sort for dry ingredients. Use a scale. And if the recipe gives volumetric measurements instead of weight, you should convert them to weight first. You'll find your baking/cooking will become more consistent as a result.

[–] TK420 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It blows my mind that the OP was wrong and real answer to OP was not a reply, but a reply to a reply, ugh.

[–] cheese_greater 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

It wasn't dry stuff, is was water and milk for cooking. It was fine :) Its a good guideline tho re:consistency and definitely for baking/dry ingredients.

I also only eat to live, I don't have a super sensitive palate so its 99% the time just as well

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If you have to eat to live, you may as learn to make it taste as good as you can. You may as well derive as much enjoyment as you can from the things you have to do anyway.

[–] cheese_greater 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Meh, I'd rather it be little more than passable, so its not addictive and I don't get fat and also corralled into cooking for anybody else unless I want to ;)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

Yup, you're right. I wouldn't want to end up fat like Gordon Ramsay either.

In case anyone wants to see the unedited retorts from this chucklefuck:

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Ahh, internet. Never change

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Measuring by mass is definitely more accurate, yeah (for dry and wet ingredients). But have you ever noticed that the recipe always uses round numbers? You never see 4/9 cup, or 2.3735 teaspoons. What's the point of being able to measure out an exact number of grams when the recipe is already extremely approximated at a not-necessarily-exactly-optimal amount?

I mean yes, ok, I admit that you will get more consistent results. But not necessarily consistently good results.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

You're right, most recipes aren't great. But, the beauty of using the scale is that you can iterate to make the recipe better. And every change will be reflected, because you're using a scale to get precise, repeatable measurements.

[–] Telodzrum 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It doesn't matter for a lot of things. Flour is compressible, but sugar isn't for example.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (9 children)

Sugar, like salt, is crystalline, and may not be compressible, but the crystal sizes do vary.

10 grams of rock salt will be the same as 10 grams of fine sea salt.

1 cup of rock salt =/= 1 cup of fine sea salt.

Use a scale. Always.

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[–] bl4ckblooc 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You should use a scale, but most kitchens don’t have a scale in them. I wasn’t trying to make things more difficult with my reply.

[–] Mr_Blott 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Every single kitchen I've ever been in had scales in it wtf

Well apart from that junkie bastard I met but he probably sold them for crack

[–] bl4ckblooc 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Then you live in a fantasy lane and need to realize that the majority of the world doesn’t live in the same world as you. Have you also never seen a check engine light in a car?

[–] Mr_Blott 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

97% of the world doesn't use cups. Tell me more about this majority :)

[–] bl4ckblooc -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

….you do realize that they are still called ‘measuring cups’ in other countries right? They aren’t called ‘measuring 250 grams’.

[–] Boxtifer 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Solids weigh different amounts. You are talking about ml here. This is a good example of why it isn't ideal.

[–] bl4ckblooc 1 points 10 months ago

ML is also a measure of volume, which is what the measuring cups can measure. It’s not the 100% best method, but you will get comparable results. Again, I highly doubt anyone here could taste two recipes where the only difference is the use of a scale.

[–] Mr_Blott 3 points 10 months ago

I would happily pay for a browser add-on that blocked American recipes.

Who the fuck uses cups to measure, outside of a nursery? 😂

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Being good at cooking means knowing when that kind of precision is needed and when it isn't. For most things, it isn't.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Being good at baking means knowing it's always needed.

[–] cheese_greater 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It wasn't dry stuff, is was water and milk for cooking. It was fine :)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The real hack comes when you realize you can weigh everything, so you never have to clean measuring devices ever again.

When I make cookies, I use a scale, and bake them on parchment paper. As a result, I only have to clean a bowl, and a spoon (and barely the baking sheet).

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Measuring dry ingredients by volume is about as accurate as most kitchen scales, lol.

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[–] Donebrach 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It’s still the same volume. Saying they are different is misleading. They just have different use cases.

[–] bl4ckblooc 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I didn’t say the volume was different? I said the containers are different making it more difficult to get the proper volume of dry goods. You can’t flatten off 1 cup of flour that’s measured in a 2 cup measuring cup.

[–] Donebrach 3 points 10 months ago

OP thought they were different as in different volumes, and then came to understand their mistake. you then came in to proclaim that they are different, then described how certain containers are harder to measure certain materials. Regardless of ease of use, a cup is a cup is a cup, so long is the “cup” in question is 8 oz of volume. Yes, some measurement tools have a different physical shape and may be more difficult to use for certain tasks, but that was not the “difference” being misidentified.

Also, you absolutely could use a glass measuring cup for flour, just tamp it down and go slowly, but that’d be stupid. Regardless, this is why using weight measurements for baking is vastly superior to using volume.

[–] cheese_greater 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Aha, thanks for clarifying this :) And yes, I was measuring out liquids so that tracks

[–] bl4ckblooc 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

No worries! For cooking it wouldn’t be a big issue either way, but when it comes to baking you want to be precise.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

And measuring by volume isn't very precise. Measure by weight.

[–] bl4ckblooc 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It gets the job done, and is a lot easier for most people(plus most kitchens don’t have a scale). Don’t gatekeep cooking

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It's not gate keeping. It's just as easy to get a scale as it is to get measuring cups. People should use the right tool for the job so they don't fuck up and lose their confidence to try again.

[–] bl4ckblooc 1 points 10 months ago

Scales are non essential tools that cost $20 or more, sure they do make things accurate but i honestly doubt you can tell if something your eating was cooked using measurements from a scale or with Betty Crocker measuring cups that are $3.