Measuring Cups - Difference between wet and dry?
Until fairly recently I used a "wet" measuring cup (you know, the kind with a spout ideally suited to liquids) for everything. Obviously, the design is not great for dry ingredients (say, flour), which is why I went out and bought myself a set of dry measuring cups when I started making pizza dough regularly. I offhandedly mentioned my previous method while paying for my dry measuring cups, and the guy at the store looked horrified. In fact, he told me that the volume of the two kinds of measuring devices is different. (So maybe my dough and brownies would be totally different with the new appropriate equipment....)
I'm inclined not to believe him. Everything seems the same to me. Does anyone here know for sure?
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18 Comments:
For damn sure! Some measurements are by liquid, others dry, and others by weight.
Here is a great website for conversions:
http://www.goodcooking.com/conversions/liq_dry.htm
PerkyMac at 2:52PM on 01/29/09
Measuring dry ingredients in a wet measure is difficult because it's almost impossible to get it level without ending up packing it down at the same time, particularly with things like flour.
Dry measures are made so you can level off the top to get the correct measure. Liquids don't behave like that. You get a sort of rounded top because of the (mumble-mumble-technical term I've forgotten) effect. So wet measures are designed to accommodate that lack of flatness.
Honestly, with yeast doughs, the whole "precise measuring" thing seems a bit silly to me, unless you're always using the same flour and you're weighing instead of measuring. AND if you have precise control of exactly how much flour you're kneading in when you're working the flour on the bench. And then most recipes will prompt you to add more flour if it seems to wet or sticky, so there goes precision out the window.
For cakes, cookies and batter-type products, the measuring may be a bit more important because you don't have that step where you're kneading in more flour at the end -- whatever you put into a cake is all there is. However, if you're measuring instead of weighing, it's still not precise when it comes to flour.
And while there are standards for measures, they can be off by a certain percentage and still be deemed accurate for home use. Which really is good enough, unless you're playing mad scientist in your spare time.
The way you measure may be more important than the instruments. Most people are sloppy about it. I doubt most people could get their three teaspoons of something to accurately be a tablespoon, and I doubt most people could get an accurate cup full of anything by measuring and counting tablespoons.
But in any case, yes, you will be more accurate if you use the proper measuring tools.
dbcurrie at 3:05PM on 01/29/09
Perky is right. That's precisely why I usually go with weight rather than volume when I measure dry ingredients for baking.
brooke29 at 3:06PM on 01/29/09
I should add that it doesn't really amount to a hill of beans in most applications, but in baking I'd always want to either use a dry measure where I can flatten the top for precision, or to be even more precise - measure by weight. I've never baked by weight so it would take me days to figure it out.
And....measuring spoons are used for liquid, dry and solids (like butter or shortening), so I wouldn't spaz over it.
PerkyMac at 3:07PM on 01/29/09
@perky, they aren't talking about water vs flour when they're talking about wet and dry -- thery're talking about flour and water vs apples and oranges. The difference is that a pint ot blueberries is the amount of whole blueberries, which leaves gaps in the container. It's not a measured two cups, with the blueberries squished to fill all the space.
dbcurrie at 3:12PM on 01/29/09
And while I'm at it, weight is definately the most accurate for dry products, but most American cookbooks often don't give weights. If you have to convert, you might not be converting accurately if the cookbook writer wasn't measuring properly to begin with.
And you can't use weights for all liquids, since they can be different. Water is easy though. As they say, a pint's a pound the world around.
dbcurrie at 3:16PM on 01/29/09
@db: mumble mumble MENISCUS. Saying it is fun for the tongue.
Blue Iris at 3:22PM on 01/29/09
Well, the horror was really a tad over the top. When I was young and struggling, I used the same set of measuring cups for everything. 8 ounces by volume(or 240 cc on metric) is the same whether you're measuring milk, butter or sugar. It is more accurate to measure dry ingredients in a flat-top, level-it-off container, yes. But you probably haven't ruined anything. Hardly anyone I know who's not a professional measures by weight for baking. I do have a scale in my kitchen now, and I like having it there, but this is not anything over which to panic.
lemons at 3:51PM on 01/29/09
There is a difference, and baking requires pretty exact measuring.
joanpieroni2 at 5:07PM on 01/29/09
I appreciate everyone's comments. I know that measuring by weight is the most accurate way to go (though I'm way too lazy). I also know that scooping and leveling 1 cup of flour into a dry measure is significantly easier to do and be precise about than trying to get 1 cup of flour into and out of a wet measuring cup.
But, what I'm still not sure about, even given the comments, is: if I were able to be accurate about filling a wet measuring cup exactly up to the 1 cup line with flour, would that be the same as what fits into one dry cup?
It seems to me that the answer is yes.
jlbrach at 5:15PM on 01/29/09
@jbrach, YES. a half cup is exactly the same whichever cup you measure it in.
nightmoon at 5:21PM on 01/29/09
If you have any doubt, why not measure 1c of water in your wet measuring cup, then pour it into your dry cup to see the results. Then measure 1c of flour in your dry cup and pour it into your web cup.
chgoeditor at 5:27PM on 01/29/09
Yes, they are the same 1 cup. however, it's much harder to precisely level the flour at the 1-cup line in a wet measure, and therein lies the problem. But measuring cupsare cheap at the dollar store; splurge and buy a second set. It's nice not to have to worry about it, and have one set for wet or gooey things and another for dry, so you don't have to wash and dry measuring cups in mid-recipe.
lemons at 6:44PM on 01/29/09
Got it. Thanks all!
jlbrach at 6:50PM on 01/29/09
Actually -- a "cup" of flour can weigh as much as 1 oz or more (or less), depending on how you fill the cup. So with dry goods it matters a lot.
Method 1: Dip & sweep -- that is, aerate your flour, dip in your cup and then level the top without any tapping.
Method 2: pack it -- fill your measure and then tap the sides and keep filling it till can you cannot fit in any more. You'll get as much as 1 to 1 1/2 ozs more flour.
The differences can be striking and matter a lot when baking cakes, cookies and pastry. Less so with bread, which is more tactile.
Measuring with liquids is less problematic. The problem there with dry vs liquid measures is spillage. One tends to spill more when trying to move a 1 cup dry measure filled to the brim as opposed to a liquid measure, which usually has some wiggle room. Likewise, it's hard to level a liquid measure, cuz of the same headroom.
So use dry cups to measure dry stuff and liquid cups for liquid stuff cuz each is built to do the job.
kjgibson at 12:03AM on 01/30/09
@Thanks, blue iris. The word wouldn't come to my fingertips, and I was too lazy to look it up. All the other words I was thinking of were obviously wrong, but might have been kinda funny.
dbcurrie at 12:25AM on 01/30/09
So what's up with all this measuring stuff?!.... Y'all sound like a bunch of bakers! Just kidding.... I have a measuring cup..... I think...... I'm not sure where it is....
Pavlov at 5:41AM on 01/30/09
Guys this is all well and good if you are from the US, and are happy to be a bit inaccurate. I live in australia, where we use imperial cups. If you are using more a than a couple of cups, volume starts to be important...so weighing isnt a problem. I am a serious baker, and hardly ever use less than 6 or 7 cups of flour or water. I f there is a cup by cup differnce, there can be a major discrepancy so weight is much more reliable. BUT, I also use Amreican cookbooks, and your cup is differnt to my cup. Can any of you help me work out out the differnce in size, or weight between the US and the Imperial cup?
michaelc at 2:40PM on 03/10/09