What's on a UK measuring cup?

[elfkin477]

In the US the "back" side of a measuring cup has measurements in metric, and the front has ounces. What do they look like in the UK? Metric on the front and...?

I've given up looking for a left-handed glass 2-cup measuring cup. They only seem to make them in plastic or 1 cup; every left-handed shop online carries the same strangely shaped model. So I thought it might be worth asking what they look like over there...

[CookingWithGas]

Originally Posted by elfkin477

In the US the "back" side of a measuring cup has measurements in metric, and the front has ounces. What do they look like in the UK? Metric on the front and...?

I've given up looking for a left-handed glass 2-cup measuring cup. They only seem to make them in plastic or 1 cup; every left-handed shop online carries the same strangely shaped model. So I thought it might be worth asking what they look like over there...

I have only seen one at a friend's house about 10 years ago and it had ounces; I don't remember if it had metric or which side which was on. But beware--an English pint is 20 ounces.

I'm lefthanded too, and I had one of those strange-shaped ones--sort of square instead of round? It was a lot of fun until some other member of my household tried to cook something in it that melted it.

[butler1850]

Originally Posted by CookingWithGas

But beware--an English pint is 20 ounces.
.

Mmmmm.... extra big pints of beer.

[jjimm]

Originally Posted by butler1850

Mmmmm.... extra big pints of beer.

No, normal pints of beer. Yours are titchy.

To the OP, largely, we just don't have measuring cups. We have measuring jugs, which are usually in millilitres (ml). I have a 500ml Pyrex one that also has fl oz on the rear of it.

[Peter Morris]

There's no standard design. But one I've got has both scales on both sides. Another one I've got is only marked in metric, no pints shown.

[Rayne Man]

And of course we don't tend to use measuring cups very much. We weigh most dry ingredients on kitchen scales.

[silenus]

Which is the weird thing about trying English recipes. To us Yanks, "How much?" is a question of volume, not mass, most of the time. I can make the "500 grammes = 1 lb (more or less)" connection with ease, but how many tablespoons is that "5 grammes of cumin?"

[Athena]

Originally Posted by silenus

Which is the weird thing about trying English recipes. To us Yanks, "How much?" is a question of volume, not mass, most of the time.

To everyone's benefit, that's changing. More and more cookbooks are including weights as well as traditional volume measurements.

Measuring by weight is about a gazillion times easier than measuring by volume, and more accurate as well. I say we ban all volume measures and go with the much more civilized weights asap.

[elfkin477]

Originally Posted by jjimm

To the OP, largely, we just don't have measuring cups. We have measuring jugs, which are usually in millilitres (ml). I have a 500ml Pyrex one that also has fl oz on the rear of it.

Thanks! 500ml is 2 cups so that's what I'll look for now. I really appreciate you giving the brand

[Una Persson]

We have two, they list both ml and ounces.

[Barrington]

Mine - a cheap, plastic one - has

Near side (assuming right-handed grip):

ML
Fl Oz
Cups
Pints

The other side:

Grammes (sugar)
Ounces (sugar)
Grammes (flour)
Ounces (flour)

I'm glad I'm right-handed.

[irishgirl]

I have two measuring jugs.
One is a cheap Pyrex one with ml, pints (1/,1/2, 3/4, 1 pint markings) and flOz on it (on both sides, back and front, one set on the left, one on the right, and therefore ambidextrous). The other is a more expensive earthenware jug with just ml on the inside. The expensive one is blue and can be used on the table, so I use it for some sauces and gravies, but the Pyrex is more user friendly.

I weigh dry ingredients on a scale which has grammes and Oz on it. My mother has 2 scales, my grandmother's old scale which you put little iron weights on one side and keep adding your ingredient until it balances, and a modern, cheap plastic metric bowl and scale where you put stuff in the bowl until the needle hits the right weight. Granny's scale is more fun to use.

I have a set of measuring spoons and a set of measuring cups too. The spoons are metric (1.25ml, 2.5ml, 5ml, 10ml) and the cups are the Australian Women's Weekly set, which I use for their recipes.

I use whichever system (metric or Imperial) seems most sensible for that particular recipe. Most of my cookbooks are metric, but all the old family recipes are Imperial and AWW recipes have their own logic. All my food tastes OK, the trick is just to use one system for the entire recipe and not to try and convert between ingredients.

5g is approx a UK teaspoon...ish.

[Meeko]

Originally Posted by CookingWithGas

But beware--an English pint is 20 ounces.

So if you drank 60 ounces in one gulp, would that be a 3 Pint Shot?

[Colophon]

Originally Posted by elfkin477

In the US the "back" side of a measuring cup has measurements in metric, and the front has ounces. What do they look like in the UK? Metric on the front and...?
[/size]

Imperial, of course. There seems to be a big misconception among Americans that the UK is a "metric country". Although that may be largely true in a legal sense, these days (except for pints of milk, pints of beer, and distances measured in miles), the majority of people still think in imperial units.

I was taught both units at school, albeit with the emphasis on metric units, but I still think in terms of pounds and ounces when cooking. My digital kitchen scales are actually set to grams, as most recipes are given in grams these days, but if you passed me a sack of potatoes and asked me how much it weighed, I'd answer in pounds.

Similarly, people usually give their weight in stones (1 stone = 14lb) and almost invariable give their height in feet and inches.

Linear distances are always thought of in miles. However I tend to think of altitudes in metres, rather than feet, because the contours on Ordnance Survey maps have a 10-metre interval.

I'm 30, if that makes any difference, but imperial units seem just as prevalent among much younger people - you still hear teenagers complaining of "gaining 5lb" or giving their height in feet and inches.

[chowder]

Originally Posted by Meeko

So if you drank 60 ounces in one gulp, would that be a 3 Pint Shot?

If you drank 60 ounces in one gulp, you'd be a better man than I am Gunga Din

[jjimm]

Originally Posted by chowder

If you drank 60 ounces in one gulp, you'd be a better man than I am Gunga Din

If you drank 60 ounces in one gulp, that would be a yard of ale. A very diminutive female friend of mine devoured one of these in 16 seconds when I was at college.

[Baron Greenback]

Originally Posted by jjimm

If you drank 60 ounces in one gulp, that would be a yard of ale. A very diminutive female friend of mine devoured one of these in 16 seconds when I was at college.

Did she employ the "discreetly pour it all down inside your shirt" technique?

[Malacandra]

Originally Posted by Struan

Did she employ the "discreetly pour it all down inside your shirt" technique?

No, she was probably one of these people who can open their throat and close their epiglottis without actually swallowing, and just pour the stuff down in one go. Against someone like that, a contestant who actually needs to drink in conventional fashion hasn't a chance.

[Andy]

The mass/volume discussion reminded me of a guy in teaching lab.
He showed me the script and suggested there was a mistake.
"Why do you think that?" I asked,
"It says add 10 grammes of propionic acid."
"Is that a problem?"
"It's a liquid. Surely it means millilitres." he replied as if I were an imbecile not to have spotted this obvious anomaly
"Does it not have mass?" I enquired?

He wandered off muttering about how he could weigh it, but it'd be a bit stupid.....

[elfkin477]

Originally Posted by Colophon

Imperial, of course. There seems to be a big misconception among Americans that the UK is a "metric country".

Given how much flack Americans get from people abroad that we don't use metric, are you surprised we assume you guys do?

[Giles]

Originally Posted by CookingWithGas

But beware--an English pint is 20 ounces.

Which is not the same as 20 US fluid ounces. (It's about 19.3 US fluid ounces). An imperial fluid ounce of water weighs about 1 ounce. A US fluid ounce of water weighs about 1.03 ounces. (Yes, the ounce as a measure of weight/mass is the same in the two systems).

[chowder]

Originally Posted by jjimm

If you drank 60 ounces in one gulp, that would be a yard of ale. A very diminutive female friend of mine devoured one of these in 16 seconds when I was at college.

But not in ONE gulp matey.

I've done the yard of ale business and it took a helluva lot more than one gulp.

It also took me longer than 16 seconds and I was sick afterwards

[Pushkin]

I've seen one or two UK measuring cups using volume as a measurement in the form of cupfuls. Which I can only assume is approximate unless there is a standard cup that her majesty's government uses

[Shagnasty]

Originally Posted by Athena

To everyone's benefit, that's changing. More and more cookbooks are including weights as well as traditional volume measurements.

Measuring by weight is about a gazillion times easier than measuring by volume, and more accurate as well. I say we ban all volume measures and go with the much more civilized weights asap.

Cooking isn't a chemistry experiment though. The measures in most recipes aren't exact and good cooks approximate and adjust as they go. If the recipe author got good results with one cup of flour, you probably will too no matter what it actually ways.

I don't understand how weight is easier either. When you measure by volume, you just pour a certain amount into a cup. Going by weight, don't you have to pour and weigh?

[Level3Navigator]

Originally Posted by Shagnasty

I don't understand how weight is easier either. When you measure by volume, you just pour a certain amount into a cup. Going by weight, don't you have to pour and weigh?

Yes, but with some things you get a different amount by volume from day to day. Take flour: sifted all purpose flour will take up much more volume than non-sifted (or semolina flour, for that matter). As a result, most large baking recipes will rely on weight as that is a more accurate measurement than volume.