what is the measurement for a 'cup'

sk11mra

i love the myfitnesspal app. I used it a few yr ago to loose 2 stone. During the past week I've started to use it again although the measurement 'cup' is really starting to confuse/annoy me when adding meals.

What exactly is a cup? I've loads of cups in my cupboard and some are double the size of others!

zyxst

A cup is 8 ounces or about 240 mL, depending on what you're measuring solids or liquids.

ashleycde

1 cup is 8 oz.

If you're trying to measure solid foods, I suggest a food scale.

pinuprevival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rdwoQnGbrU

sk11mra

Thank you for your replies :-)

fatallyb

sk11mra wrote: »

i love the myfitnesspal app. I used it a few yr ago to loose 2 stone. During the past week I've started to use it again although the measurement 'cup' is really starting to confuse/annoy me when adding meals.

What exactly is a cup? I've loads of cups in my cupboard and some are double the size of others!

u made me giggle - I'm presuming a Brit! I'm british and now live in Canada and I also wondered how do u know how big the cup should be.

kayajago

I thought i was the only one who didnt know, good to see some more Brits on here.

sugaraddict4321

re: the video above...I'd like to see her measure a consistent cup of broccoli or of anything else but flour. Even a cup of tightly packed brown sugar is going to vary every time, depending on how tightly you pack it.

I realize most American recipes are in cups, but if you truly want to be accurate, learn the ounce or gram conversions and weigh everything with a food scale. Measure the liquids in a liquid measuring cup. People think it takes SO much time and hassle but once you're in the habit it's literally a few seconds.

Aviva92

oh, i only use cup measurements for things like liquids or flour or something. i would not use it for fruits or vegetables. that's what a food scale is for.

Phaewryn

I don't have a food scale. I don't know anyone who's ever had a food scale. I've never even seen a food scale in a store for sale. I'm going to order one on amazon. I guess it's really a disability to be an American in the rest of the world. Fwiw, you NEVER pack flour, you fill the cup and level it off with a knife, no tapping. If your recipe is so testy that a spoonful of flour difference will make it or break it, it's not a recipe I'll ever use. When do you guys (the rest of the world) get your first food scale? Is that something you get when you get your own apartment in your 20's? You go out and buy a set of pots, a microwave, a spatula set, and a food scale? Can you just go to any store there and pick up a food scale in real life? So bizarre.

Phaewryn

oops, my internet pooped out and double posted. Really weird you can't delete posts here.

davidwaldron509

Listen you yanks - the problem with a measure like “cup” is that is not consistent. Apart from the fact that cups come in many sizes, the weight of food that can be be put in a cup varies with the texture of the food. That makes it impossible to assess the calorific content of a meal based on how many cups of it there are. I’ve just cooked and eaten spaghetti with pesto. I looked it up to get a measure of the calories consumed. The answer came in cups! How much spaghetti pesto can you get in whatever cup you choose? Ridiculous! Weight is the onlyy reliable, universal measure! Use whatever units you like - lbs and ounces, kilos and grams, any will do but not bloody cups!

angel7472

Not all of us "yanks" measure in cups. I always look for grams or ounces. Please stop labeling people. Some of us on here are new and put into the database what we think it should be (not me mind you). You're going to find all kinds of things on here. For grins look up a craploadofcalories. There are actually entries like that.
Also regarding the food scale. I bought mine in my late 30's when my weight stalled and I was measuring using measuring cups. You know the ones bought at the store in increments for baking and such. I found out that the measurements for the measuring cups was off by many grams. So now I put a bowl on my food scale and measure out grams so I know exactly what I'm eating.

musicfan68

In the US, we understand that a "cup" is a unit of specific measurement, and yes, they are consistent. Measuring cups have markings on them, or are the specific size to hold 8 oz of whatever. We manage quite well with recipes that use cups. They are standard - 8 oz.

cwolfman13

davidwaldron509 wrote: »

Listen you yanks - the problem with a measure like “cup” is that is not consistent. Apart from the fact that cups come in many sizes, the weight of food that can be be put in a cup varies with the texture of the food. That makes it impossible to assess the calorific content of a meal based on how many cups of it there are. I’ve just cooked and eaten spaghetti with pesto. I looked it up to get a measure of the calories consumed. The answer came in cups! How much spaghetti pesto can you get in whatever cup you choose? Ridiculous! Weight is the onlyy reliable, universal measure! Use whatever units you like - lbs and ounces, kilos and grams, any will do but not bloody cups!

Zombie thread...

But a cup is not many sizes...it's an actual measuring cup, not just some cup you pull out of the cupboard.



using a measuring cup is just fine for things that are uniform like rice and grains, etc...I weigh most things, but I use cups usually for my oats and whatnot which I've also compared to weight and it's pretty bang on...

in the case of liquids, a cup is 8 fluid ounces...

Marilyn0924

Phaewryn wrote: »

I don't have a food scale. I don't know anyone who's ever had a food scale. I've never even seen a food scale in a store for sale. I'm going to order one on amazon. I guess it's really a disability to be an American in the rest of the world. Fwiw, you NEVER pack flour, you fill the cup and level it off with a knife, no tapping. If your recipe is so testy that a spoonful of flour difference will make it or break it, it's not a recipe I'll ever use. When do you guys (the rest of the world) get your first food scale? Is that something you get when you get your own apartment in your 20's? You go out and buy a set of pots, a microwave, a spatula set, and a food scale? Can you just go to any store there and pick up a food scale in real life? So bizarre.

I've had one since my early 20's. Most of my favourite baking recipes were passed down from my Croatian grandmother. Everything measured in grams instead of cups/tbsp etc.
It's not really as unusual as you might think.

Marilyn0924

cwolfman13 wrote: »

davidwaldron509 wrote: »

Listen you yanks - the problem with a measure like “cup” is that is not consistent. Apart from the fact that cups come in many sizes, the weight of food that can be be put in a cup varies with the texture of the food. That makes it impossible to assess the calorific content of a meal based on how many cups of it there are. I’ve just cooked and eaten spaghetti with pesto. I looked it up to get a measure of the calories consumed. The answer came in cups! How much spaghetti pesto can you get in whatever cup you choose? Ridiculous! Weight is the onlyy reliable, universal measure! Use whatever units you like - lbs and ounces, kilos and grams, any will do but not bloody cups!

Zombie thread...

But a cup is not many sizes...it's an actual measuring cup, not just some cup you pull out of the cupboard.



using a measuring cup is just fine for things that are uniform like rice and grains, etc...I weigh most things, but I use cups usually for my oats and whatnot which I've also compared to weight and it's pretty bang on...

in the case of liquids, a cup is 8 fluid ounces...

Depending on where you are from, there are still variances! I know MFP defaults to US measurements, but there is validity in confusion when it comes to "cups"

A US Cup is 240ml (or 8.45 imperial fluid ounces.) This is slightly different from an Australian, Canadian and South African Cup which is 250ml. 1 cup in the U.K. is different again measuring in at 284.00 ml.

cwolfman13

Marilyn0924 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

davidwaldron509 wrote: »

Listen you yanks - the problem with a measure like “cup” is that is not consistent. Apart from the fact that cups come in many sizes, the weight of food that can be be put in a cup varies with the texture of the food. That makes it impossible to assess the calorific content of a meal based on how many cups of it there are. I’ve just cooked and eaten spaghetti with pesto. I looked it up to get a measure of the calories consumed. The answer came in cups! How much spaghetti pesto can you get in whatever cup you choose? Ridiculous! Weight is the onlyy reliable, universal measure! Use whatever units you like - lbs and ounces, kilos and grams, any will do but not bloody cups!

Zombie thread...

But a cup is not many sizes...it's an actual measuring cup, not just some cup you pull out of the cupboard.



using a measuring cup is just fine for things that are uniform like rice and grains, etc...I weigh most things, but I use cups usually for my oats and whatnot which I've also compared to weight and it's pretty bang on...

in the case of liquids, a cup is 8 fluid ounces...

Depending on where you are from, there are still variances! I know MFP defaults to US measurements, but there is validity in confusion when it comes to "cups"

A US Cup is 240ml (or 8.45 imperial fluid ounces.) This is slightly different from an Australian, Canadian and South African Cup which is 250ml. 1 cup in the U.K. is different again measuring in at 284.00 ml.

Yeah, but the guy I was responding to was talking about just pulling some random cup out of the cupboard as if that's what a cup meant...