Measuring cup

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A measuring cup is a kitchen utensil used primarily to measure the volume of liquid or powder-form cooking ingredients (e.g., water, milk, juice, flour, sugar), especially for volumes from about 50 mL upwards.

Using a measuring cup to quantify bulk foods, like chopped vegetables or shredded cheese, leads to large measurement uncertainties, and is therefore avoided in recipes that state a precise nutritional content. It is nevertheless common practice in regions where the more appropriate tool, a kitchen scale, is not commonly available.

Other typical household uses include measuring washing powder, liquid detergents or bleach, usually with a separate measuring cup not also used for food. Measuring cups may be made of plastic, glass, or metal. The most common forms have capacities between 0.2 and 1 litre, though larger sizes are also available (for commercial use). Smaller forms, known as measuring spoons, lack a scale and have a defined volume only when filled and leveled to maximum capacity.

Measuring cups usually feature a volume scale in millilitres and fractions of litres, and often also separate gram scales for flour and sugar. In some English-speaking countries, other customary volume units are used as well, in particular in the United States the fluid ounce (about 30 mL, exact definition depends on context) and its multiples, the cup (unit) (240 mL), as well as the U.S. pint and quarts. In Britain and most other Commonwealth countries, versions of such units are mostly found in historic recipes and millilitres, along with teaspoons and tablespoons for small volumes, are today the most commonly used volume unit in modern recipes. In Australia, a cup unit of 250 mL is also labeled on measuring cups.

There are 2 types of measuring cups, one for liquids and one for solids/powders. It is necessary to use the correct cup for the correct item of measure due to the fact that liquids are noticably more dense than solids and therefore cannot be measured in the same quantity.