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So hold on… butter is sold in sticks, marked in tablespoons, collected in boxes and split into cups? This is great work, you’re a creature after my own heart!

So hold on… butter is sold in sticks, marked in tablespoons, collected in boxes and split into cups? This is great work, you’re a creature after my own heart! This thing about cups is that 50g of flour = 50g of butter but 1 cup of flour does not equal 1 cup of butter. For me cups make sense for liquids but not for solids.

vel0city 3y ago
Cups are a volumetric measurement, not a mass measurement. 1 cup of flour == 1 cup of butter in the same way that 500mL of flour == 500mL of butter. You just don't normally measure flour in mL. This is confusing because there are fluid ounces (usually labeled as FL OZ) which are a measurement of volume and are subdivisions of cups (a tablespoon being 1/2 FL OZ, 8 FL OZ in a cup) while there are also just ounces (OZ) which are a subdivision of pounds which is a measurement of weight. Which, weight and mass aren't necessarily the same things. Because cups are a volume measurement, 1 cup of brand X flour might be a different amount of grams than 1 cup of brand Z flour. Still though, 1 cup brand X == 1 cup brand Z == 1 cup butter == 1 cup maple syrup, when measuring in cups. Different amounts of mass, same amount of volume. Loads of people cooking at home don't really care that much, or they'll just standardize on one brand of flour so its pretty close every time. Or for the majority of the dry goods for baking they'll end up buying some form of mix to use that's already measured they just need to add butter/oil/eggs/water/whatever. Professional bakers and those who really care will use scales and go by mass/weight for their measurements and not by "cups" for things like flour. Here's an example photo of a pretty typical stick of butter: https://sweetsandthankyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Measure-ButterLONGPIN9B.jpg https://sweetsandthankyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Mea... They'll pretty much always have marks for tablespoons. Some of these other markings on the wrapper will vary from brand to brand. Each stick is 8 tablespoons, which is 1/2 a cup. They are then sold in a box of 2-4 sticks, which is either 1 cup or 1 pint (a pint being 2 cups). Like this: https://images.heb.com/is/image/HEBGrocery/000113910-1 https://images.heb.com/is/image/HEBGrocery/000113910-1 I greatly prefer this pre-graduated way of selling a product like this which is pretty much the standard of normal butter sold. There are other butters and margarines which are sold in tubs or odd sized blocks, but those are usually marketed as "spreadable" butters or have things like honey or other stuff mixed in and really more like spreads rather than stuff you'd normally cook with. Not that you need imperial units to have pre-graduated packaging though, just saying its nice having it. Its bad when a recipe calls for like 1 cup of peanut butter which is sold in jars by weight. Absolute mess trying to measure it by volume.
- saaaaaam 3y ago
  Valiant attempt but I remain pretty sure that cups as a measurement are insanity! Also… butter with honey mixed in?? Is this also American?
  - vel0city 3y ago
    Oh yes. It's quite delicious. https://www.landolakes.com/products/butter-spreads/ https://www.landolakes.com/products/butter-spreads/ Cinnamon sugar is very tasty on toast. I just picked up their Maple Me Crazy, it's nice to just quickly spread on a waffle when in a hurry to get out the door. Butters with herbs is pretty common, it's nice in a dinner roll or something like that. This isn't the only brand that makes products like this.
    - saaaaaam 3y ago
      Meanwhile, back over here in Europe where we are clearly in the dark ages of culinary-tech if we want something sweet and buttery we have a brioche with confiture and butter. Or a scone with jam and clotted cream. Or a Swedish cinnamon bun. :)
      - vel0city 3y ago
        Needing to open two jars of stuff to slather on toast? How barbaric! I couldn't imagine living in such backwards times. :) Next thing you'll be telling me is peanut butter and jelly come in separate jars! https://www.smuckers.com/peanut-butter/goober https://www.smuckers.com/peanut-butter/goober True innovation happens on this side of the pond.
        saaaaaam 3y ago
        I… wh…? oh no! Escoffier was NOTHING. D:

vel0city 3y ago

Cups are a volumetric measurement, not a mass measurement. 1 cup of flour == 1 cup of butter in the same way that 500mL of flour == 500mL of butter. You just don't normally measure flour in mL. This is confusing because there are fluid ounces (usually labeled as FL OZ) which are a measurement of volume and are subdivisions of cups (a tablespoon being 1/2 FL OZ, 8 FL OZ in a cup) while there are also just ounces (OZ) which are a subdivision of pounds which is a measurement of weight. Which, weight and mass aren't necessarily the same things. Because cups are a volume measurement, 1 cup of brand X flour might be a different amount of grams than 1 cup of brand Z flour. Still though, 1 cup brand X == 1 cup brand Z == 1 cup butter == 1 cup maple syrup, when measuring in cups. Different amounts of mass, same amount of volume. Loads of people cooking at home don't really care that much, or they'll just standardize on one brand of flour so its pretty close every time. Or for the majority of the dry goods for baking they'll end up buying some form of mix to use that's already measured they just need to add butter/oil/eggs/water/whatever. Professional bakers and those who really care will use scales and go by mass/weight for their measurements and not by "cups" for things like flour. Here's an example photo of a pretty typical stick of butter: https://sweetsandthankyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Measure-ButterLONGPIN9B.jpg https://sweetsandthankyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Mea... They'll pretty much always have marks for tablespoons. Some of these other markings on the wrapper will vary from brand to brand. Each stick is 8 tablespoons, which is 1/2 a cup. They are then sold in a box of 2-4 sticks, which is either 1 cup or 1 pint (a pint being 2 cups). Like this: https://images.heb.com/is/image/HEBGrocery/000113910-1 https://images.heb.com/is/image/HEBGrocery/000113910-1 I greatly prefer this pre-graduated way of selling a product like this which is pretty much the standard of normal butter sold. There are other butters and margarines which are sold in tubs or odd sized blocks, but those are usually marketed as "spreadable" butters or have things like honey or other stuff mixed in and really more like spreads rather than stuff you'd normally cook with. Not that you need imperial units to have pre-graduated packaging though, just saying its nice having it. Its bad when a recipe calls for like 1 cup of peanut butter which is sold in jars by weight. Absolute mess trying to measure it by volume.

saaaaaam 3y ago
Valiant attempt but I remain pretty sure that cups as a measurement are insanity! Also… butter with honey mixed in?? Is this also American?
- vel0city 3y ago
  Oh yes. It's quite delicious. https://www.landolakes.com/products/butter-spreads/ https://www.landolakes.com/products/butter-spreads/ Cinnamon sugar is very tasty on toast. I just picked up their Maple Me Crazy, it's nice to just quickly spread on a waffle when in a hurry to get out the door. Butters with herbs is pretty common, it's nice in a dinner roll or something like that. This isn't the only brand that makes products like this.
  - saaaaaam 3y ago
    Meanwhile, back over here in Europe where we are clearly in the dark ages of culinary-tech if we want something sweet and buttery we have a brioche with confiture and butter. Or a scone with jam and clotted cream. Or a Swedish cinnamon bun. :)
    - vel0city 3y ago
      Needing to open two jars of stuff to slather on toast? How barbaric! I couldn't imagine living in such backwards times. :) Next thing you'll be telling me is peanut butter and jelly come in separate jars! https://www.smuckers.com/peanut-butter/goober https://www.smuckers.com/peanut-butter/goober True innovation happens on this side of the pond.
      - saaaaaam 3y ago
        I… wh…? oh no! Escoffier was NOTHING. D: