One cup is equal to eight ounces of liquid. In the United States, measurements for both solid and liquid ingredients in recipes are usually given in terms of volume, not weight. If a recipe says to use a cup of flour or water, it means to use that amount of flour or water, not a certain amount of weight. A standard set of measuring cups will come with a cup, a half-cup, a third-cup, and a quarter-cup.
Liquid measuring cups are different from dry measuring cups because they have a spout on top for pouring liquid ingredients. Since the spout makes it hard to level ingredients, you should use a dry measuring cup to measure dry ingredients like all-purpose flour, brown sugar, confectioners' sugar, and cornmeal.
A well-stocked kitchen will often contain measuring spoons, liquid measuring cups, and dry measuring cups, although you may need to improvise in certain circumstances. Here are several non-standard techniques for measuring 1/2 cup of ingredients:
If you just have a set of measuring spoons, you may apply the conversions to achieve the correct cup measurement. One cup is equivalent to 48 teaspoons or 16 tablespoons.
Scales come in handy when you don't have a measuring cup and need to cook or bake. You can weigh your ingredients if you know the corresponding weight or use a mass-to-weight conversion table. One ounce of liquid by volume is equal to one ounce of weight. One cup equals eight ounces, and therefore a cup of water—or a cup of liquid of nearly equivalent density—will weigh around eight fluid ounces. If a recipe calls for ingredients in different measurements, apply the following conversion: Two hundred thirty-six grams equal one cup of water.
Whether you don't have a kitchen scale, measuring spoon, or dry or wet measuring cup, you may weigh the ingredients to see if 1/2 cup is sufficient. One teaspoon is around the size of your index finger, one tablespoon is about the size of an ice cube, a quarter cup is the size of a golf ball, half a cup is the size of a tennis ball, and a cup is the size of a baseball, a human fist, or a big apple.
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