Cookbook:Cup

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A simple measuring cup

A cup is a US unit of volume measurement of volume equal to 16 US tablespoons, 1/2 US pint, 1/4 US quart, or 8 US fluid ounces.

A US cup is about 237 ml. Rougher equivalents are 240 ml and 250 ml, where the latter fits nicely with a US pint of 500 ml and a pound of 500 g. On the other hand, the former divides nicely into smaller units: 1/2 cup is about 120 ml, 1/3 cup is about 80 ml, and 1/4 cup is about 60 ml.

A metric cup is 250 mL in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. These countries previously solely used the imperial system.

Traditionally, in the UK, a cup is 6 imperial fluid ounces (about 5·76 US fluid ounces or 170·48mL). This unit is named after a typical drinking cup. In addition, there are three other culinary measurement units bearing names with the word, ‘cup’: the breakfast cup (8 imperial fluid ounces (about 7·69 US fluid ounces or 227·3mL); named after a cup for drinking tea or coffee while eating breakfast), the teacup (5 imperial fluid ounces (about 44/5 US fluid ounces or 142·07mL); named after a typical teacup), and the coffee cup (21/2 imperial fluid ounces (about 22/5 US fluid ounces or 71·03mL); named after a small cup for the after‑dinner coffee served to aid digestion (a demitasse)). Further, there are two related culinary measurement units of volume without the word, ‘cup’, in their names: the tumbler (10 imperial fluid ounces (about 9·61 US fluid ounces or 284·13mL); named after a typical drinking glass) and the wine glass (2 imperial fluid ounces (about 1·92 US fluid ounces or 56·83mL); named after a small glass for serving liqueur).

All six units are the traditional British equivalents of the US customary cup and the metric cup, used in situations where a US cook would use the US customary cup and a cook using metric units the metric cup. The breakfast cup is the most similar in size to the US customary cup and the metric cup. Which of these six units is used depends on the quantity or volume of the ingredient: there is division of labour between these six units, like the tablespoon and the teaspoon. British cookery books and recipes, especially those from the days before the UK’s partial metrication, commonly use two or more of these units simultaneously: for example, the same recipe may call for a ‘tumblerful’ of one ingredient and a ‘wineglassful’ of another one; or a ‘breakfastcupful’ or ‘cupful’ of one ingredient, a ‘teacupful’ of a second one, and a ‘coffeecupful’ of a third one. Unlike the US customary cup and the metric cup, a tumbler, a breakfast cup, a cup, a teacup, a coffee cup, and a wine glass are not measuring cups: they are simply everyday drinking vessels commonly found in British households and typically having the volumes listed above; due to long‑term and widespread use, they have been transformed into measurement units for cooking. There is not a British imperial unit⁠–⁠based culinary measuring cup.

A Japanese rice cup is 180 ml. A measuring cup of this size is sometimes included with rice cookers.

A teacup, often seen as a unit of measurement in Indian recipes, is about 190 ml or 1·34 UK teacups.