I hate cooking

[Flosshilde]

something from a USA recipe. Why do they measure ingredients by cups, rather than weight, which is far more accurate?

[teamsaint]

and the quantity in a cup seems to vary depending on what the substance is.

[hedgehog]

something from a USA recipe. Why do they measure ingredients by cups, rather than weight, which is far more accurate?

It is, but if you have a measuring cup there's not too much of a problem and you can then still make something if you haven't got round to getting a new battery for your digital weighing machine etc.... American standard cup is 240 ml, but using a metric cup of 250 ml presents no problems. It doesn't then matter what the weight is of the individual items. I mean "2 large eggs" is problematic too, the weight can very by up to 10 grams - let alone the problem if one has only medium eggs in the fridge - but one grits one's teeth and learns to manage.

[jean]

I've always wondered how you measure butter in cups. Are you supposed to squash it down so that it fills all the space? And then scrape it all out again?

There must be easier ways to deal with it.

[Flosshilde]

you haven't got round to getting a new battery for your digital weighing machine etc....

I have an old-fashioned balance scales ('The Queen' model ), so don't have to worry about batteries.

American standard cup is 240 ml,

& then there's the British cup, & I bought some yesterday that aren't either

[Flosshilde]

There must be easier ways to deal with it.

Yes there is - it's called scales & weights Accuracy guaranteed.

[Anna]

My mother had an all purpose measuring cup, the inside of which was marked with British and American dry and fluid measures - surely these must still be around?

[Serial_Apologist]

I've always wondered how you measure butter in cups.

With a buttercup, which:

a) reveals who likes butter and who doesn't; and

b) must be in season

[teamsaint]

With a buttercup, which:

a) reveals who likes butter and who doesn't; and

b) must be in season

Like a Dennis Potter play,I'm not sure i understand all the levels, but ROFL anyway !!

[Richard Tarleton]

Cups are OK where it's a case of relative volume, rather than weight. For perfect brown rice (or brown basmati) for 2 people, it's one level cup of rice to two of water. Bring to boil, simmer with lid on till all water absorbed and rice just beginning to stick

[Flosshilde]

Yes - in that particular case it doesn't matter what size the cup is - it could be anything from an egg-cup to a pint mug (or a 2-gallon bucket), since you simply need 1 part rice to two parts water. But in baking, for example, where the the proportions & balance of ingredients matter using cups isn't very precise - & they are a good deal more awkward than weighing things. There must presumably be some reason for the difference, rather than plain cussedness & a desire to be different

[Serial_Apologist]

I tend to find that with too little water to rice, the result when cooked is always a mush of rice and starch, which then requires copious amounts of rinsing. Better to have large volume of water from the start, remembering that tipping the rice in slowly when the water is boiling lessens the grains sticking - then, when the rice is cooked it should then only need draining.

I am speaking of long-grain btw - not sure if this applies to brown rice.

[Richard Tarleton]

I am speaking of long-grain btw - not sure if this applies to brown rice.

Mine is the "Buddhist monk" method for whole brown long grain rice - if you use precisely twice as much water as rice you will not need to drain. Start the water off from cold with the rice already in it, bring to boil, turn down to a simmer, leave the lid firmly on, resist the temptation to keep lifting it, don't stir....You can tell when the rice is done, because all the water is absorbed and evenly-distributed small "pits" appear on the surface of the rice. Slight sticking indicates the rice is done to perfection.

[Serial_Apologist]

Mine is the "Buddhist monk" method for whole brown long grain rice - if you use precisely twice as much water as rice you will not need to drain. Start the water off from cold with the rice already in it, bring to boil, turn down to a simmer, leave the lid firmly on, resist the temptation to keep lifting it, don't stir....You can tell when the rice is done, because all the water is absorbed and evenly-distributed small "pits" appear on the surface of the rice. Slight sticking indicates the rice is done to perfection.

Many thanks for the tip, Richard. I should really be eating the brown rather than the white variety, nutritional value and that...