American cup measurements?

Seakay

Obviously fl oz and ml cannot be compared exactly and presented in round numbers; my own cup set is labelled thusly:
1 cup 250ml 9fl oz
half cup 125ml 4fl oz
third cup 80ml 3fl oz
quarter cup 60ml 2fl oz

This must be the reason why recipes always tell you to use one set of measurements only. As Jennio points out in #10, it is the ratio of quantities to each other in a recipe that is the important thing.

thriftlady_2

thriftlady wrote: »

Sorry:) , but it isn't 250ml, because Americans don't use metric measurements. They use ounces and a cup measures 8 fluid ounces the nearest metric equivalent is 284 ml.

What I said there is in fact complete rubbish :rolleyes: 284ml = 10 fl oz not 8. So what Lolarentt says is much more accurate and I apologise for disagreeing with her when she was right all along. And sorry if I misled anyone with my rubbish maths I must have been confusing my American half pints with my UK half pints :rolleyes: and in my defence I will say i was pre-menstrual when i wrote the above.

Sorry again folks

ivyleaf

purpleivy wrote: »

As I understand it the previous postings are all correct BUT Canadian cup measures (I use recipes from my aunt in Canada and purchased my first set of measures there) are 1 cup is 250ml . I too prefer to weigh and measure either in metric or in cups.... in spite of my age!

Ah, so that would explain why the "1 cup" in the set of cups I bought at Lakeland contains about 250 mls or between 9-10 fl oz! I haven't dared use them, because if a recipe contains eggs I can't tell if the proportions would be right. I'd started wondering if a US pint was the same volume as a British one but contained only 16 fl oz, which would make each fl oz bigger IYSWIM.....:rolleyes:

but it sounds as if they are metric ones. Mind you, I'm not sure that helps if a recipe using cup measures can be American, Canadian or Australian

gb57

The first time I try a recipe I am fairly paranoid about weighing things, but after that it tend to do it very roughly. Seems to work! Certainly the best cake-makers I ever knew (my Welsh aunties) never weighed a thing, and tended to go by "eye" (an oz of butter or marge being half pound cut up into eighths, a rounded tablespoon of flour is an oz, etc), or by "cups" - but use the same cup, obviously.

I have got some "cup" measurers given to me years ago, but don't tend to use them now....

Happy cooking:cheesy:

irishwench69

See, all of this just makes me so glad I was bought up to be bi-lingual in this (American mum and English dad )

I'd also agree with the earlier comment that it's much more about ratios and proportions, so as long as you're using the same size cup / spoon for everything, you'll probably be ok.......

IW x

kent_77

American cups are, as has been said, 8 fl oz. (Canadian and Australian cup measures are another thing entirely and have been metricized.) This is a volumetric measure, not a measure of mass (or weight, for that matter), so a cup of flour, water, and butter all have different mass. Most of my recipes are American so I tend to cook in cups and find it quite straightforward.

Here are some conversions that might be helpful:

• 1 cup = 8 fl oz = 237 ml = 1/2 US pint = 2/5 UK pint = 16 Tablespoons = 48 teaspoons
• 1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 1/16 cup = 1/2 fl oz = 15 ml
• 1 US gallon = 8 fl lb = 4 US quarts = 8 US pints = 16 cups = 3.78 l

Good cup measures should contain the correct volume when filled exactly to the brim, not some line inside the measure. Buying accurate US cup measures in the UK is a challenge (or was last time I looked) but they're easy enough to find if you or a friend are on a trip to the States. A good set should have 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, and 1 cup measures.

[Added: 1 fl oz is the volume of cool water that has mass 29.57 g, i.e., has volume 29.57 ml.]

odds-n-sods

errr........... 250ml does equal 8 oz. - in volume IE: fluid ounces.

If an american recipe is Imperial it will be in cups, tablespoons etc. If it is Metric it will be in ml's.


Some recipes are in both; you use either metric OR imperial and dont' switch back + forth:

Sweet Pork Pies

tart shells:
1 cup 250ml butter/margarine
4 tbsp 60ml icing sugar
2 cups 500ml plain flour

Tart Filing
2 cups 500ml dates, chopped
1 cup 250ml water
3/4 cup 175ml brown sugar

Topping:
1/4 cup 50ml butter/margarine
1 cup 250ml icing sugar
1 tsp 5ml maple flavouring

Make pastry, then fill tart shells, blind-bake for 15 minutes.

Cook dates, water + brown sugar over low heat util thick and mushy, fill each tart shell.

Cream the butter + icing sugar add a little milk if needed and maple flavouring. Pipe onto date filling.

No, I dont' know why they are called Pork Pies!

odds-n-sods

kent, it isn't hard to buy, go to any John Lewis. They have a set with 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 cup measure. All you need - the 3/4 cup etc. aren't necessary. And Canadian cup measures are live and kicking, they haven't disappeared - and they are exactly the same as American!

thriftlady_2

odds-n-sods wrote: »

kent, it isn't hard to buy, go to any John Lewis. They have a set with 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 cup measure. All you need - the 3/4 cup etc. aren't necessary. And Canadian cup measures are live and kicking, they haven't disappeared - and they are exactly the same as American!

Yes, I've seen them inLakeland and other independent cookshops and supermarkets. They are not hard to find at all over here.

odds-n-sods

canadabound, for things that don't pour, you pack the cup measure. IE: grated cheese, grate some and pack it into the cup until it is full.

Butter is even easier - it's packaged in 250g portions, like here, which happen to equal, very strangely, to 1 cup of butter, so cut it in half, quarters etc to get 1/2 cup or 1/4 cup. Or let it get soft and pack it into the measuring cup.

Ivyleaf, your measures will be fine to use with eggs.