What is a cup?????????

lizinspain

I hope this hasn't been asked before but I'm new & have no idea what measurement a cup is!
Help please!
X:blushing:

End6ame

8 fluid ounces.

Laurayinz

For non-liquids, about a 3-inch cube.

TNAJackson

8 fluid ounces.

SmashleeWpg

Also, 250 mL.

darlat74

8 ounces or 250 ml

sbrown6

I measure 8 oz on a food scale. or use an actual measuring cup for liquid.

superhippiechik

16 tbsp. in a cup

EDesq

I hope this hasn't been asked before but I'm new & have no idea what measurement a cup is!
Help please!
X:blushing:

A cup varies depending on whether it is Dry or Wet. There are measuring cups for Each Type (WET is 8 oz; DRY is 6 oz.)
When cooking many Recipes will tell you or even use ingredients by Weight (which is Best) ie, 8 oz of flour (by weight/on a food scale); but clearly liquids should use a Liquid Measuring Cup (like a Pyrex.) If you have a Recipe that calls for 8 oz of Sugar and you use a Pyrex Type Liquid Measuring Cup, then you will over sweet the Recipe or if it calls for 8 oz of Flour and you use a Liquid Measuring Cup, then your Recipe will be off!

Many people are not Cooks, so very seldom do they make distinctions or even Know of them!

chunkyb

I measure 8 oz on a food scale. or use an actual measuring cup for liquid.

It is volume, you use a measuring cup. fluid ounces can't be measured on a scale.

End6ame

I have this, which has marking for both wet and dry substances.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=13126780

twooliver

I have to laugh cause when you said "cup" I thought of bra size!!! Ha!

chrissyh

And I thought about what my son and hubby use during baseball games!

vthomeschoolmom

A cup is a measure of volume. Fluid ounces is a measure of volume for liquids. One cup = 8 fl oz for liquids. This is the equivalent of 8 oz of WATER where oz is a measure of weight.

vthomeschoolmom

If you have a Recipe that calls for 8 oz of Sugar and you use a Pyrex Type Liquid Measuring Cup, then you will over sweet the Recipe or if it calls for 8 oz of Flour and you use a Liquid Measuring Cup, then your Recipe will be off!

Ounces (oz) is a measure of mass not volume. Recipes in the US are most often done with volume measurement. Using a dry style measuring cup allows for more precision when measuring dry ingredients. But volume is volume and a cup is a cup.

From what I understand, recipes in European cook books are often written with ingredient WEIGHTS or mass really. So if you see 8 oz of flour, you would use a scale to accurately follow the recipe.

cupotee

it's a bit more than a can of coke, sliced in half (across)

lizinspain

Thanks guys! It's really for when I'm checking calories in things to add to my diary. Seems an awful lot of things are measured in a cup-like cherries & watermelon for example-very odd to me! Also, I'm a grammes girl not ounces so that threw me too! STill, day 2 & I'm happy & determined!

funfitfoodie

You can google most of them but they vary for each different food so you'd have to google:

1 cup of flour in grams

or

1 cup of water in ml


here is a good website: http://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml

Also I assume you're in the UK? You can still buy 'cups' at kitchen stores like lakeland. I have a set and find them really useful as I use a lot of recipes from the internet

funfitfoodie

it's a bit more than a can of coke, sliced in half (across)

thats a pretty accurate description... a bit wider in diameter though...