4 ms·

I thought the whole point of cups was that the actual quantity didn't matter, so long as your ratios were consistent.

irrational 6y ago
Measuring by volume was from a time period before we had reliable digital scales. These days all baking measuring should be done by weight since it is far more accurate. I won’t even consider a recipe that goes by volume. Fortunately those are all written by amateurs.
- progman32 6y ago
  For where precision matters, 100% agree. For people like me who just want something halfway tasty but also quickly, the convenience of volumetric scoops is compelling.
  - joe5150 6y ago
    I have a lot of junk in my kitchen drawers (admittedly a personal problem) and will opt for measuring directly from the bag into the bowl on a scale over digging around for that quarter cup every time.
    - frank2 6y ago
      Replace "convenience" with "low cost of equipping the kitchen" then.
      - iainmerrick 6y ago
        A set of measuring cups and a digital kitchen scale probably cost about the same. Just checked this with a quick search on Amazon -- most results are in the $15-20 range, with some available for $10 or less. (I dare say there are probably very cheap measuring cups available, and for a scale you’ll have to fork out occasionally for batteries, if you want to split hairs.)
        Symbiote 6y ago
        Mechanical scales were normal in the UK for most of the 20th century. Everyone I knew had one in the 1990s, from around 2000 people started buying digital scales, and I took my mum's mechanical scale when I left for university. Measuring ingredients by weight has a long history on Britain. The old, Victorian cookbooks use weights. https://archive.org/details/b20392758/page/698/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/b20392758/page/698/mode/2up
        iainmerrick 6y ago
        I’m generally a fan of simple mechanical devices over electronics, but I think digital scales are a good example where electronics really do makes things simpler; and as it’s a commodity (like calculators and digital watches) the electronic version is amazingly cheap too. The ability to zero the count as you add each ingredient to a single bowl is very useful.
- jpalomaki 6y ago
  I’d say measuring by weight is also faster, cleaner and easier for my overloaded brains (how many cups did I put, was that cup semi-full, ...)
- masklinn 6y ago
  > These days all baking measuring should be done by weight since it is far more accurate. It also has no "tamping" problem e.g. volumetric measurement of flour can differ in the amount of actual flour by a factor of 2+ if the floor is tamped versus aerated. Volumetric measurements are supposed to use aerated aka first make flour fly everywhere then try to coerce it into your cup.
TheSpiceIsLife 6y ago
I have two suggest volume tablespoon measures. One is 15mL and the other is 20mL. That's a fair difference, but doesn't seem to matter a whole lot.
OJFord 6y ago
That works if everything is measured in them. (At which point obviously you can call it whatever you want, it's nothing more than a ratio as you say.)

Measuring by volume was from a time period before we had reliable digital scales. These days all baking measuring should be done by weight since it is far more accurate. I won’t even consider a recipe that goes by volume. Fortunately those are all written by amateurs.

progman32 6y ago
For where precision matters, 100% agree. For people like me who just want something halfway tasty but also quickly, the convenience of volumetric scoops is compelling.
- joe5150 6y ago
  I have a lot of junk in my kitchen drawers (admittedly a personal problem) and will opt for measuring directly from the bag into the bowl on a scale over digging around for that quarter cup every time.
  - frank2 6y ago
    Replace "convenience" with "low cost of equipping the kitchen" then.
    - iainmerrick 6y ago
      A set of measuring cups and a digital kitchen scale probably cost about the same. Just checked this with a quick search on Amazon -- most results are in the $15-20 range, with some available for $10 or less. (I dare say there are probably very cheap measuring cups available, and for a scale you’ll have to fork out occasionally for batteries, if you want to split hairs.)
      - Symbiote 6y ago
        Mechanical scales were normal in the UK for most of the 20th century. Everyone I knew had one in the 1990s, from around 2000 people started buying digital scales, and I took my mum's mechanical scale when I left for university. Measuring ingredients by weight has a long history on Britain. The old, Victorian cookbooks use weights. https://archive.org/details/b20392758/page/698/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/b20392758/page/698/mode/2up
        iainmerrick 6y ago
        I’m generally a fan of simple mechanical devices over electronics, but I think digital scales are a good example where electronics really do makes things simpler; and as it’s a commodity (like calculators and digital watches) the electronic version is amazingly cheap too. The ability to zero the count as you add each ingredient to a single bowl is very useful.
jpalomaki 6y ago
I’d say measuring by weight is also faster, cleaner and easier for my overloaded brains (how many cups did I put, was that cup semi-full, ...)
masklinn 6y ago
> These days all baking measuring should be done by weight since it is far more accurate. It also has no "tamping" problem e.g. volumetric measurement of flour can differ in the amount of actual flour by a factor of 2+ if the floor is tamped versus aerated. Volumetric measurements are supposed to use aerated aka first make flour fly everywhere then try to coerce it into your cup.

TheSpiceIsLife 6y ago

I have two suggest volume tablespoon measures. One is 15mL and the other is 20mL. That's a fair difference, but doesn't seem to matter a whole lot.

OJFord 6y ago

That works if everything is measured in them. (At which point obviously you can call it whatever you want, it's nothing more than a ratio as you say.)