WHAT EXACTLY IS A CUP?!

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Replies

  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    I understand YOU can't drag your scale around with you, but can you ask the cafeteria people for a scale or measuring device? or ask them if they know what is the weight of the little bowls of rice? i'm assuming they have to measure things.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    Really easy answer.... The cost to convert to metric would be staggering... Think about changing every milage sign in the US to metric... Now convert every recipe. How about every tool.... The cost estimate that I read sometime ago was in the trillions of dollars.

    This

    and

    I'm old and lazy and do not take kindly to change! LOL

    Im fine the way things are. lol

    What a cop out. Canada did it and geographically we are bigger and our population is much smaller. Go metric.

    Yes so did Australia - back in the 70's - and that is probably similar to Canada in terms of geographic size and spread out population.

    Anyway, almost all the world has converted to metric as per that world map - I don't think USA is so special that its geographic/population/financial situation is unlike anywhere else in the world and everywhere else it is possible to change but not there.
  • titanium96
    titanium96 Posts: 153 Member
    I TOTALLY thought this was a bra question...I mean...what exactly is a bra cup?? 250 ml of breast??
  • webbeyes
    webbeyes Posts: 105 Member
    What a cop out. Canada did it and geographically we are bigger and our population is much smaller. Go metric.

    ...and think how much money the US automotive industry would save by not having to make dual-scaled speedometers.
  • Sulevia
    Sulevia Posts: 3
    Isn't there a difference between UK and US cups (lol, just being funny!)

    That's why I prefer grams myself!

    Suggestion: I use a glass (old mustard jar, but you could use any container) and weighed the amount I 'allow' myself and marked in with a line using one of those can't wipe off pens.

    Cups are not really a useful measuring thingy for solids, as one cup of mashed bananas will be a bigger portion than one cup of thickly sliced bananas (I've tried it, I know!)
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Isn't there a difference between UK and US cups (lol, just being funny!)
    Yes, actually, there are different "cups". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup_(unit)
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
    Cups are not really a useful measuring thingy for solids, as one cup of mashed bananas will be a bigger portion than one cup of thickly sliced bananas (I've tried it, I know!)
    Actually mashed banana is measured correctly, whereas chunks of banana are inconsistent due to variations in air volume between pieces.

    I measure flour, rice, lentils, etc. just fine with either cups or dl. Older recipes usually don't come with grams, but they are in decilitres, litres and tea-/tablespoons. And many still prefer volume even though they could easily use a scale. Flour, needless to say, is the most accurate to weigh in particular when volumes are large, but if it's just 1 or 2 dl I don't bother using the scale.

    For instance when cooking rice, 1.5 dl is fine for two portions of Uncle Ben's, as per recommendation on the box. It's much quicker to grab the dl measuring cup and fill it directly from the jar compared to putting either pot or bowl on the scale and pour from said jar.
  • skippysells
    skippysells Posts: 49 Member
    Double D's. Now that's a cup!!
  • piersonj
    piersonj Posts: 62 Member
    Really easy answer.... The cost to convert to metric would be staggering... Think about changing every milage sign in the US to metric... Now convert every recipe. How about every tool.... The cost estimate that I read sometime ago was in the trillions of dollars.

    This

    and

    I'm old and lazy and do not take kindly to change! LOL

    Im fine the way things are. lol

    What a cop out. Canada did it and geographically we are bigger and our population is much smaller. Go metric.

    Yes so did Australia - back in the 70's - and that is probably similar to Canada in terms of geographic size and spread out population.

    Anyway, almost all the world has converted to metric as per that world map - I don't think USA is so special that its geographic/population/financial situation is unlike anywhere else in the world and everywhere else it is possible to change but not there.

    The other half of the equation is the willingness of the population to change. I remember about 30 years ago there was a push by the government to change to metric and for the most part the populace ignored it. The government can require that metric is on all packaging, on signage etc but they can't force people to use the information.

    For many people, saying that everyone else uses metric so you should to is a reason NOT to use metric. I know Starbucks has some naming convention for the size of their drinks, but I don't think I have ever heard anyone (customer) use it. It is always small, medium or large.
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
    http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Scales-Digital-BL-1KG-BLK/dp/B0012N1NAA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390151581&sr=8-1&keywords=pocket+food+scale

    I use this at work, it is small enough to fit in a pocket and does grams as well as ounces.
  • Kayzia_M
    Kayzia_M Posts: 97 Member
    I TOTALLY thought this was a bra question...I mean...what exactly is a bra cup?? 250 ml of breast??

    hahahahahahahahha! this right here made my day!!
  • sue_stef
    sue_stef Posts: 194 Member
    IMG_4075.JPG

    sure I did the picture right if not go to this site

    http://www.sensiblebite.com/2013/02/how-big-is-serving-of-rice.html

    eventually we will all have to get used to eating outside the house without the use of the scale it makes sense to start early and learn what a real serving is I personally like visuals so I can compare it to something
    like another poster said a cup is roughly the size of your fist unless you have man hands (which I do) but it is an approximate
  • webbeyes
    webbeyes Posts: 105 Member
    For many people, saying that everyone else uses metric so you should to is a reason NOT to use metric. I know Starbucks has some naming convention for the size of their drinks, but I don't think I have ever heard anyone (customer) use it. It is always small, medium or large.

    That's because anyone who actually asks for a "venti" anything either sounds like an idiot or a pompous *kitten* ;-)
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    IMG_4075.JPG

    sure I did the picture right if not go to this site

    You have to use lower case for img... to make it work

    For many people, saying that everyone else uses metric so you should to is a reason NOT to use metric. I know Starbucks has some naming convention for the size of their drinks, but I don't think I have ever heard anyone (customer) use it. It is always small, medium or large.

    That's because anyone who actually asks for a "venti" anything either sounds like an idiot or a pompous *kitten* ;-)

    I don't spend a lot of time in Starbucks... but, it seems to me, that I usually hear customers saying, 'venti' or 'grande...' which does seem weird.


    Starbucks Drink Sizes

    Don’t know the Starbucks sizes? Let me explain.

    Short - 8 oz.
    This is the smallest size that Starbucks offers. It’s not very commonly ordered, and you can only get hot drinks in a Short size.

    Tall - 12 oz.
    Tall is considered to be a “small” sized drink. A medium size at Tim Hortons in Canada is 10 oz, or 14 oz in the U.S.

    Grande - 16 oz.
    Pronounced “GRAWN-day”. A Large Tim Hortons coffee is between 14 and 20 oz.

    Venti - 20 oz. when hot, or 24 oz. cold.
    Pronounced “VENN-tee”. An Extra Large at Tim Hortons is between 20 and 24 oz.

    And make way for the Trenta - 31 oz. available in the U.S in May, 2011

    6.5 oz. = about 1 cup

    ESPRESSO SIZES:

    Solo - 1 oz.
    Single shot espresso.

    Doppio - 2 oz.
    Double shot espresso.

    Order Example: Tall Bold.
    Another:
    Doppio Espresso in a Tall cup.

  • lucylousmummy
    lucylousmummy Posts: 348 Member
    i live in the uk, have always lived in the uk, and (hiding behind the chair waiting to get bashed for it lol) i love the American cup system, i joined a recipe site about 8 years ago, and most of the recipes have been posted by American people, i got fed up with having to constantly convert the recipes into grams or ounces (yes i stubbornly stick to lbs and ounces even though it's outdated) so bought myself a set of measuring cups, and haven't looked back since.
    must admit though that when a recipe calls for a cup of veg or meat i do just roughly guess it
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    And here lies the problem with estimating how much you are eating, rather than weighing.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    And here lies the problem with estimating how much you are eating, rather than weighing.
    Yes, I grew up using cups and T and t spoons and with the imperial system. (Can you guess where I'm from?)
    I convert all my recipes to metric weight as it's more accurate to reproduce.
    No more drams and pennyweights for me.
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    big-300x300.jpg

    This is my cup.


    #JealousMuch
  • athensguy
    athensguy Posts: 550
    A cup is a unit of volume and a very inaccurate way of measuring solid food.
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    This is also A CUP

    B9KiBD6.jpg
  • LindseySprake
    LindseySprake Posts: 333 Member
    a measuring cup is 250 ml, or 8 oz.

    ^^This for liquids.

    Everything else should always be weighed to make it more accurate.
    i.e. 1 cup of Peanut Butter is not going to weigh the same as 1 cup of blueberries; hence everything else should always be weighed.

    Hope this helps :flowerforyou:
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    A cup is a standard unit of measure in the imperial system. It's what the UK used to use before they switched over to the metric system (a process which, by the way, took nearly 200 years and they were not fully converted until 1975) and which is still used by the US. It is a unit of liquid measure equivalent to 250ml. For things like this, really, you should be using Google. Asking "how much is a cup" is the sort of thing internet searches were made for. And they won't get you snarky results like asking "WHAT IS THIS UNIT OF MEASURE" in a public forum.
  • Kayzia_M
    Kayzia_M Posts: 97 Member
    IMG_4075.JPG

    sure I did the picture right if not go to this site

    http://www.sensiblebite.com/2013/02/how-big-is-serving-of-rice.html

    eventually we will all have to get used to eating outside the house without the use of the scale it makes sense to start early and learn what a real serving is I personally like visuals so I can compare it to something
    like another poster said a cup is roughly the size of your fist unless you have man hands (which I do) but it is an approximate

    This helped a lot. thank you
  • RockinTerri
    RockinTerri Posts: 499 Member
    And, maybe you can measure things out at home as you are making your lunch for work too.

    I do this. I measure out my foods the night before or in the morning before heading to work. It makes it much easier for me to get the accuracy (whether it be weighing or using measurements). When I do have something at work that isn't pre-portioned, I do estimate or look up the item (example, a certain brand of something that is measured individually, such as cookie).

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