A measuring cup is a

kitchen utensil A kitchen utensil is a small hand held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils a ...

used primarily to measure the

volume Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The def ...

of liquid or bulk solid

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in vario ...

ingredients such as flour and sugar, especially for volumes from about 50 mL (2 fl oz) upwards. Measuring cups are also used to measure washing powder, liquid detergents and bleach for clothes washing. The cup will usually have a scale marked in cups and fractions of a cup, and often with fluid measure and weight of a selection of dry foodstuffs. Measuring cups may be made of

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptabi ...

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) o ...

, or

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typica ...

. Transparent (or translucent) cups can be read from an external scale; metal ones only from a

dipstick A dipstick is one of several measurement devices. Some dipsticks are dipped into a liquid to perform a chemical test or to provide a measure of quantity of the liquid. Since the late 20th century, a flatness/levelness measuring device trademarke ...

or scale marked on the inside.

Capacity and scale

Day 364 - CY365 - Cozy Indulgence (15965546809)

Measuring cups usually have capacities from 250 mL (approx. 1

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, w ...

) to 1000 mL (approx. 4 cups = 2 pints = 1 quart), though larger sizes are also available for commercial use. They usually have scale markings at different heights: the substance being measured is added to the cup until it reaches the wanted level. Dry measure cups without a scale are sometimes used, in sets typically of 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and 1 cup. The units may be milliliters or fractions of a liter, or the cup (unit, with varying definitions) with its fractions (typically 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, and 3/4), pints, and often fluid ounces. Dry measure cups are distinguished from liquid measure cups in that they are meant to be filled to the top so that excess may be scraped off and shallow for easy cleaning. Liquid measure cups tend to be microwave safe for heating and clear to more easily judge the

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid), a curve in the upper surface of liquid contained in an object *Meniscus (optics) A lens is a tr ...

. Sometimes multiples of teaspoons and tablespoons are included. There may also be scales for the approximate weight for particular substances, such as flour and sugar.

For dry measure

Many dry ingredients, such as granulated sugar, are not very

compressible In thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, the compressibility (also known as the coefficient of compressibility or, if the temperature is held constant, the isothermal compressibility) is a measure of the instantaneous relative volume change of a f ...

, so volume measures are consistent. Others, notably flour, are more variable. For example, 1 cup of all-purpose flour sifted into a cup and leveled weighs about 100 grams (3½ oz), whereas 1 cup of all-purpose flour scooped from its container and leveled weighs about 140 grams (5 oz).Julia Child and Simone Beck,

Mastering the Art of French Cooking ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking'' is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both from France, and Julia Child, who was from the United States. The book was written for the American market and published ...

, vol. 2, p. 544. Using a measuring cup to measure bulk foods which can be compressed to a variable degree such as chopped vegetables or shredded cheese leads to large measurement uncertainties. In cooking disciplines such as

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred ...

, where accurate measurements are important, ingredients are instead measured by weight.

References

External links

WBUR story on a measuring cup design
which keep a perfect ratio of surface area to volume, for consistent accuracy {{Kitchen tools Food preparation utensils Cooking weights and measures Volumetric instruments Units of volume

Capacity and scale

For dry measure

See also

References

External links