One of my New Year resolutions is to become a better cook. However, I’m having a hell of a lot of trouble deciphering the recipes in my cookbook, because a great many of them insist on using the random, generic, and entirely arbitrary measure of a ‘Cup’ when measuring quantities. I have lots of cups in my kitchen. Some are tiny, some are bloody massive, and there’s considerable variation in the ones in between. Which one do they want me to use?
Could anybody please tell me what a ‘Cup’ is in grams and/or ounces? Thanks!
Don’t overcomplicate things for someone who doesn’t know how to use a measuring cup, guys! (seriously, OP, become a better cook or start learning how - I shudder to think what you’ve come up with so far trying to follow a recipe not knowing 8oz volume is a cup)
OP - get yourself a set of measuring cups, they come all together nested usually from 1c to 1/4c. Then get yourself a set of measuring spoons, they come all together nested usually from 1Tbsp (tablespoon) to 1/4 or even 1/8tsp (teaspoon). These days, the measures will most likely also have metric on them.
To keep things simple, only use recipes that give measurements that correspond with the tools you have, cups and spoons. These are not random, generic, or arbitrary measurements. Once you get good at those and have an idea how to eyeball those amounts, you can expand to euro measures.
The cup, as a measurement, is very much an American thing (as are tablespoons, and other types of spoon, if used as any sort of exact measure). I suspect that Doctor_Why_Bother is not American, otherwise he/she would know this. As Smapti says, the (US) cup is half a pint, but that is half an American pint of 16 fluid ounces, which is very different from a British pint (20 fluid ounces). A British pint is not divided into two cups, but into four gills (though this is a relatively rarely encountered measure). (I am not sure what a pint is in Canada or Australia or other countries that may use pints. My guess is that most such countries, with the possible exception of Canada, use the British pint.)
Anyway, as Smapti says, a cup, as used in an American recipe, is 8 fluid ounces. (Fluid ounces, just to keep things confusing, are a measure of volume, not weight or mass, but at least they are the same in different countries, unlike pints, gallons, quarts, etc.)
OP might be English, Aussie or Kiwi. In the UK people don’t use cups as much, probably because cups are frankly a terrible way of measuring ingredients.
OP, just use recipes that use weight measurements. If you find a recipe that wants cups you can easily google for a conversion. You can also buy some cups, but you have to find a way of not freaking out about the thought that if you compress the flour more flour will fit in the cup…
ETA: got distracted while writing (coffee :p) and got ninja’d by njtt!
As mentioned upthread, in US cooking, a cup is a unit of volume. If you’re going to start cooking I recommend you get 1) a set of nested measuring spoons, B) a set of nested measuring cups, and III) a 1 or 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup.
I suspected the same thing immediately after reading the OP. This is similar to reactions from non-Americans to the infamous “PC LOAD LETTER” message. Most non-Americans do not use “letter” (i.e. 8.5"x11") size paper.
Doctor_Why_Bother, where are you? Where does the cookbook you’re using come from? Knowing this would give us information that would allow us to help you better.
You can get them here in the UK, in most cook shops and hardware stores.
Accurate electronic scales are also quite cheap here - my advice would be to get cups and scales and when you encounter a recipe that specifies cups, make it that way the first time, but weigh as you go, then make it by weight in future.
Working by weight is better for all-in-one type recipes, because you can just zero the scales and start weighing in the next ingredient.
And BTW, OP, if you come across a US recipe that specifies ‘sticks’ of butter, that’s approximately 115g per stick.
Congrats on trying to become a better cook. Yes get the right measuring tools for liquids and solids. realize that cook books are a set of guidleines mostly but you really have to have your heart and soul in to get a good result. Use your senses to guide you, and don’t be afraid to improvise!
That way is by learning that when using volume measurements, one does not pack flour. White sugar isn’t compactable, so it doesn’t matter. Brown sugar is compactable, and *should *be compacted when using volume measurements. Those are your main three powders regularly subjected to cups, so that’s all you really need to remember: flour, spoon it into the cup lightly and level it off with the back of a knife. Sugar, scoop it with the cup and level it off by shaking it gently (or with the back of a knife). Brown sugar, mash it into the cup with your clean hand, and then resist the urge to lick the residual brown sugar off your fingers if your mother-in-law is in the kitchen with you.
And, yes, weights are more accurate. But the dirty little secret of cooking that keeps people scared until they learn it: Accuracy doesn’t matter very much in cooking. It matters a bit more in baking, but its impact is overstated for the home baker making small batches. Americans have been turning out a ridiculous number of cakes, cookies, pies, donuts and other pastries over the last 300 years, and we’ve managed to do it just fine with volumetric measurements!
BTW, when I was first living alone, I found a book called “Campus Survival Cookbook”. It may not have been a great cookbook, but it was great since it explained things practically all other cookbooks assume (reasonably so) that you know how to chop an onion, etc.
I strongly recommend you look for a “Cooking for Dummies” or similar type of book, which can walk you through the basics and quickly get you to the point where you can understand most ordinary cookbooks.
Those who love to cook are thrice blessed. Not only can they enjoy making their creations, and then eating them, best of all, they can share them with the people in their lives. It’s an excellent skill to develop and a great interest to cultivate. I confess I failed at this; I’d rather do the dishes than cook, but since my wife loves to cook and is excellent at it, it works out quite well.
Good luck!
BTW, you will also want a set of measuring spoons. They usually come in a set of 4 or 5, from tablespoon down to half teaspoon. Plus a number of other standard items – get that beginner’s book and buy whatever they recommend. Also, watch cooking shows on TV. You can learn a lot of tricks for doing things quickly that way.
For more precise things like baking, you can find charts that give conversions from volume to weight for common ingredients. I keep such a chart on my fridge since I often prefer to bake by weight.
Of course the beginner’s book will explain this, but there are two kinds of measuring cups: the glass kind you fill to a line, and the metal kind you fill to the top and then swipe off any extra. (Wet vs dry measures.) They’re the same measures, just different ways of handling it for different kinds of stuff.
