Is it Bad to Use Liquid Measuring Cups to Measure Dry Ingredients?



Can you use liquid measuring cups for dry ingredients and vice versa? Hannah explains why this common cooking and baking practice can result in a failed recipe.

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22 Comments

  1. "Can be bad", but is the same. But the whole water tension thing on the dry measure cup was silly. Any idiot can see that the wet measuring cup with the flour was way too much. And the bit about the meniscus…if you are sweating this, you need to learn that Cooking is more about not being afraid than anything else.

  2. Human beings will find the 'easiest' way to measure things like flour – it's just the way we are. I think that's why many people still prefer using 'cups'. For some people such as myself, using kitchen scales is the easiest method. Messing about with filling a measuring cup the 'right way' i.e. fluff, spoon and level off is more trouble than it's worth, IMO – not to mention all cup filling methods are wildly variable. Unfortunately, so many recipes are published using 'cups' (with no mention of which size/type of cups were used). I've basically given up trying to convert any of them. Even some that supposedly have metric conversions can be inaccurate too – because 'a cup' of flour can weigh anything from 120 to 140-odd grams according to myriad search results on the 'net – and depending what the recipe author actually used is often anybody's guess.

  3. How bad are you at measuring if you are off by 25%? I mean, for liquids, did you just keep pouring it in after it was full for a few more seconds? I am skeptical of these results much like when they taste tested hot sauces and clearly got Cholula and Tobasco mixed up.

  4. Coarse dry ingredients such as white sugar or semolina can be levelled just fine by shaking the cup, but it takes more time. I find it convenient to prepare ingredients on the table in regular glass cups, as many as required. You probably wouldn't want to fill a dry cup to the rim with liquid and make a mess.

  5. My baking teacher taught me that to measure flour, you never "dip" the measuring cup!! You spoon the flour in the cup and THEN level it off with the back of the knife. When you dip the cup inside, you're packing some of the flour and it will not be as accurate.

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