Measuring Cups for Liquid

[weinoo]

I need to buy a new measuring cup (liquid) or cups, so I thought I'd try to get a consensus.

 

What do you use?  Size of cup?  Glass, plastic, metal, etc.?  Brand?  You know - tell me all.

[rotuts]

although a bit pricey everything CuisiPro makes is a joy to use

 

that includes measuring 'spoons' and cups

 

Oxo at BB&B will be a lot cheaper.  they do not carry CuisiPro.

 

http://www.cuisipro.com/en/Cooking/Stainless-Steel-Measuring-Cups-Spoons-Set-plu74-7143.html

[Joe Blowe]

I use scale , and this website for most conversions:

 

http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm

 

Of course, I also have legacy Pyrex and Oxo cups that get used when I need to measure quickly.  The downside is that they both appear to be a bit inaccurate, or so says my scale...

[Porthos]

Pyrex: 1 cup, 2 cups, 1 quart, 2 quarts.

[Anna N]

Pyrex 1 cup, 4 cup, 8 cup.

[Darienne]

I have regular measuring cups in plastic, stainless and Pyrex and large ones in Pyrex.   Can't put Pyrex on the stove...can't put metal in the microwave.  And 2 sets of each kind.  But then I am a very messy cook and I do have a lot of room to store things. 

[Smithy]

For liquids I have Pyrex: 1c, 2c, and 1 qt; in addition I have two plastic liquid measures that are good for finer measurements:

 

B001BDLWE8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001BDLWE8&linkCode=as2&tag=egulletcom-20">The Perfect Beaker has gradations in pints, cups, fluid ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons and milliliters.  My kitchen scale says it's pretty accurate on the ml scale; I haven't doublechecked the other scales.  I love it for its fine gradations.  

 

The B00FYL4MPY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00FYL4MPY&linkCode=as2&tag=egulletcom-20">Oxo Good Grips Angled Mini measuring cup I have is also massively useful for small amounts; it measures up to 1/4 cup with scales for ounces, tablespoons and milliliters.  I like the ability to look down at the liquid level in addition to looking sideways, although I don't find it such a useful feature that I'd search it out for the rest of my measuring cups.

 

Neither of those cups likes very hot liquids, which is why I also have the Pyrex.

[Lisa Shock]

I've got a pro metal set from Europe with metric marks and I have them up to two liters. -Got them at Tuesday Morning about 15 years ago. I also have an old nesting metal set of 1 cup, ½, ¼, etc. from culinary school.

 

I used to have a Pyrex 2-cup (purchased in the early 80s) and one day, I touched the top edge with a chopstick, lightly, and a chip popped off then the whole thing just shattered. So, for me, never again.

 

I haven't had a microwave in the house since Fall of 2010, so, I don't have any need for containers to use in a microwave, though. (I heat water in one of my Japanese hot water dispensing pots/kettles.)

[paulraphael]

I have a pyrex 2 and 4 cup, and a professional stainless 2 and 4 cup (formerly from the darkroom).

 

I use the pyrex more. It's nice being able to see through it, and 4-cup is wide enough for mixing things, which streamlines some simple stuff. 

It's also handy that they can go in the microwave for melting butter etc.

[Kerry Beal]

I've got several each of  8 cup, 4 cup, 2 cup, 1 cup pyrex and several 1 litre stainless with handles.  Beakers in 50 ml to 1 litre sizes, graduated cylinders - plastic and glass in sizes from 25 ml to 1 litre.  Not to mention a variety of erlenmeyer flasks in various sizes.  

 

And still - you never quite have the right one!

[andiesenji]

I've got a lot of measuring cups for liquids.   I use them all - some are more useful for opaque liquids - like milk, while others work better for clear liquids. 

 

I guess the ones that get the most action are the Pyrex and Anchor Hocking  glass.  I have multiples of each of these.

 

They are microwave save and can go into the dishwasher - some of the plastic ones INCLUDING THE OXO do not fare well in my dishwasher. 

 

 

 

On several, I have compared the measurements to WEIGHT measures and have used a file to scratch a mark on the measure, and a line of paint to make it easier to see.

Edited March 26, 2014 by andiesenji (log)

[Shel_B]

CI has some tests:

 

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment_reviews/798-dry-measuring-cups?incode=MCSCZ00L0

 

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment_reviews/1308-liquid-measuring-cups?incode=MCSCZ00L0

 

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment_reviews/1444-adjustable-measuring-cups?incode=MCSCZ00L0

 

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5450-dry-versus-liquid-measuring-cups?incode=MCSCZ00L0

 

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment_reviews/1218-kitchenart-mini-adjust-a-cup?incode=MCSCZ00L0

 

I use the  AMCO stainless steel measuring cups for dry and some wet ingredients.  They have rims flush with the long handles, making leveling off dry ingredients easy.  They have been durable, and the most accurate measuring cups I've owned.

 

CI also rates the Cuisipro measuring cups for liquid highly.  In fact, the AMCO and Cuisipro cups were test winners for design, ease of use, and accuracy.

 

FWIW, I have 2-cup, 4-cup, and 8-cup Pyrex measuring cups.  The 8-cup is great because it can be used as a mixing bowl for - thus far - all the baking recipes I make, which, admittedly, are not many: brownies, popovers, lemon poppy seed loaf, banana bread, and a new recipe that just came my way, Irish soda bread.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I like the Pyrex brand best in the microwave - the don't tend to get hot spots like some of the other glass cups (important when you are tempering  chocolate in them).

[Edward J]

None at all.

 

I use the scale.

 

Usually when I "adopt" a recipie, I do some/a lot of tweaking to it.  Most of it has to do with measurements.  Everything by weight, including liquids.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Mini Measuring Shot Glass

 

I use it daily, could not get by without it.  For pretty much anything else I use a scale.  As should you.

[ChrisZ]

What do you use?

We have several sets of measuring cups and they are ALL inaccurate. I noticed one day that different sets yielded different amounts and checked everything in the kitchen with a digital scale (1 ml = 1 gram). Every set of measuring cups we own is wrong, some by a lot, and some by a little. Doesn't matter if they're cheap plastic cups from the bargain shop, novelty shaped ones from a gift shop, or "serious" cups from a recognisable brand. They're all wrong.

So to answer your question, I don't use measuring cups for liquids, I weigh everything with a digital scale.

I'd love it if others could check their cups against a digital scale and see how they compare.

[paulraphael]

I'd love it if others could check their cups against a digital scale and see how they compare.

 

My measuring spoons are all inaccurate, even though they're formed out of metal. So I can only assume the silk screening on the outside of the cups is way off. I use the cups for convenience in the kinds of things where precision doesn't matter much. 

[Volition]

If you are after convenience. The digital scale cannot be beaten. Just set the scale to zero after each ingredient. So no measuring cups to wash at all. Once you go digital you don't go back. It's worth it. There are plenty of sites and resources that convert volumetric measurements into mass.

Measuring cups are not more convenient at all. In saying that most recipes are volumetric. If you sit down for 2 minutes before cooking and write in pencil the mass measurements. Then that recipe is converted. Use a pencil in the kitchen as ink can run if it gets wet.

[paulraphael]

You're preaching to the choir about convenience. I have a pile of digital scales. I even designed the bakers' percentage scale interface for MyWeigh.

 

The recipes I develop all use weights, as do the professional ones I use for reference. But some things are just a cup of milk and a stick of butter and an egg or whatever. My pancake recipe is something I can make before my eyes are open enough to read a scale. I use the measuring cup as the mixing bowl. Precision isn't important here ... you never even know how much liquid the flour will absorb on any given day. I find it useful to have a couple of measuring cups around.

[andiesenji]

You're preaching to the choir about convenience. I have a pile of digital scales. I even designed the bakers' percentage scale interface for MyWeigh.

 

The recipes I develop all use weights, as do the professional ones I use for reference. But some things are just a cup of milk and a stick of butter and an egg or whatever. My pancake recipe is something I can make before my eyes are open enough to read a scale. I use the measuring cup as the mixing bowl. Precision isn't important here ... you never even know how much liquid the flour will absorb on any given day. I find it useful to have a couple of measuring cups around.

I agree. I live in the high desert in southern Calif.  The amount of liquid taken up by dry ingredients can vary considerably and using the big measures as the mixing bowl makes it easy to see what is happening in the bottom - to make sure there are no "pockets" of dry ingredients hiding in the "corners" and more liquid can be added.  I have a friend who owns a bakery cafe and he says sometimes, especially when we have high winds and the humidity is in the single digits, he just uses his formulas as a suggestion because the batters always take up more liquids.

He tried a new formula for oatmeal/bran muffins that was much too stiff and dry so he ended up using 1 1/2 times the liquid called for in the formula.  (Bran and oatmeal really soak up a lot of liquid.)   They were still too dry for his liking so he added drained crushed pineapple to the next batch and they turned out perfect. 

Edited March 27, 2014 by andiesenji (log)

[Volition]

Well sounds like your after something by eye. I have no solutions to offer. Just some feedback on some measuring cups I do have. The Pyrex ones are good I love the shape and the way it works in a microwave. The cons are that they are hard to stack away conveniently because of the handles. I find they drip too much as well. Good mixing bowls for a digital scaler. And would be good for your purposes.ni have the 500ml and 1l. The 1l is the perfect size for batters, ice cream bases. The 500ml gravy (don't mind the drip).

[Lisa Shock]

I would like to point out that the metric set of steel cups that I have were kept after going through my kitchen and testing my measuring cups and tossing many of them. I other threads, where I try to tell people that measuring cups are inaccurate and different bands differ, I tend to be met with incredulity. This is one reason why you might have trouble replicating a recipe -your 'cup' or 'pint' isn't the same as your great-aunt's. (and, of course, if you start using volumetric measurement for dry ingredients, real randomness gets introduced into the formula)

 

I usually only measure water (I bake bread of some sort several times a week) in them and occasionally commercial cream -which generally should weigh the same as water. I was assuming that everyone here knew that only a few ingredients have the same specific gravity as water....

[weinoo]

My measuring spoons are all inaccurate, even though they're formed out of metal. So I can only assume the silk screening on the outside of the cups is way off. I use the cups for convenience in the kinds of things where precision doesn't matter much. 

This sounds reasonable and intelligent.

 

I use a scale for lots of stuff every day (like coffee beans before grinding) but I guess I'd find myself way too OCD if I weighed the water to make my cup of oatmeal in the morning.

[Darienne]

My little favorite measuring cup is a 2Tablespoon/1/8 cup stainless cup which I found in a dollarama store.  ONCE.  I bought them all and gave them to friends.  And never saw them again.  It must be 5 or 6 years now.  The handiest little measuring device I own. 

[paulraphael]

I should also add that when I use a scale to measure liquid ingredients precisely, measuring cups are often the most conveniently shaped vessel in the kitchen.

 

I agree that the handles are a bit of a nuisance (on both the pyrex and stainless ones) for stacking .