What does "one cup" mean?

[Hungry]

I wish someone would tell the coffee pot makers that there are 8 oz. in a cup.

Charlie

 

[Hungry]

Measuring

Get yourself some of these - they have the measures printed right on them.

I wanted to post this response as a Poll but couldn't find out how.
These are a beautiful set of measuring tools!

I would like to know:
How many people use the measuring tools as they are designed to be used?
I.E. Strike off the measured item level with the top of the tool?

Every time--

Most of the time--

Some times--

Never--

If a little spells over that's O.K.--

If it not quite level that's O.K.--

Enjoy,

 

[Andy M.]

Charlie:

Depends on what I'm cooking. For most recipes (other than baking) measurements don't have to be exact, so close to a cup or tablespoon, etc. works.

For baking, I'm more precise.

 

[texasgirl]

Charlie:

Depends on what I'm cooking. For most recipes (other than baking) measurements don't have to be exact, so close to a cup or tablespoon, etc. works.

For baking, I'm more precise.

Ditto for me too.

 

[phantomtigger]

Me three. It bugs Mom to death that I'm not more exact when I cook. I'm getting used to leveling off the stuff when baking, but regular cooking....it's tough!

 

[Corey123]

I use measuring equipment only when I bake.

For normal cooking, I mainly just eyeball it (Rachael Ray).

 

[Michael in FtW]

For "cookery" I just wing it and "approximate" for the most part ... more especially herbs and spices which can lose potency during storage so a little "tweak" here and there might be necessary.

In baking I tend to follow the recipe - measurements, time and temp.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I wish someone would tell the coffee pot makers that there are 8 oz. in a cup.

Charlie

LOL - guess it depends on the size of your coffee cup! I've got one that is 12-oz, and another one that is probably 16-oz! Oh, wait - those are mugs ... a cup can be either 8 or 10 oz.

 

[Andy M.]

...and if you're a coffee pot maker, a "cup" is somewhere around 5 fluid ounces. That's how they get 12 cups into such a small container.

 

[millicent]

oh Poutine, your charts very useful. ill print that off thankyou. Ive always wondered how much a "cup" was.

 

[csalt]

Equivalent Measures & Abbreviations from Betty Crocker

Here's the link to 'Betty Crocker' conversions

 

[tcook]

You can also use online converters to convert a cup to another unit that makes more sense. I am using the following link:

Convert volume units (litres, millilitres, fluid ounces)

You can convert between European and US units (liters, ml, gallons, cups, etc)

 

[MJK]

1 cup = 236.5882 cc = .2365882 Litres = 0.5 pints in the US = 0.4163373 pints in the UK

I think it has something to do with the rotation of the Earth or the density of water as it approaches 0 degrees Celsius or something.