Measuring cups

Using measuring cups is less complicated than trying to convert to metric or imperial weights. Though if you do need to convert for any reason, be aware that an American cup holds 225ml and an Australian cup holds 250ml.

Although measuring by weight is more accurate, using a cup is sometimes easier. It makes sense when measuring liquids, but cups are also practical for free-flowing dry goods like rice or sugar, or finely chopped ingredients.

Be careful when measuring items that don't fit easily into a cup unless chopped. For example, very few tomatoes will fit into a single cup. If they're chopped, you'll be able to pack more in. A good recipe will make indicate whether chopping is to be done before or after measuring.

The most practical is a set of nested stainless steel cups, holding 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 cup. You can scoop up the ingredients and level them off with a knife. They also come in handy for melting butter or heating small amounts of liquid.

There are special metal cups for measuring liquids. The top measurement is printed just below the rim so the liquid doesn't overflow.

Less expensive are plastic cups. They are thicker and the graduations of measurement are not so precisely printed. However, you can use them in the microwave if you want to heat up liquids or melt butter.

It's practical to have several sets of cups, so you don't have to keep washing them after measuring out sticky or greasy ingredients.