AIBU to not understand cups?

[Thisnamechanger]

This is probably the most minor, pedantic, first world problem AIBU I've ever posted but can anyone explain the American recipe measurements to me?

I do get that they have standard measuring cups (have seen them in shops but never bought them) and I totally understand that for things like milk, flour, rice etc. but how the feck does it work with things like spinach?? Surely the cup would be full with about 5 spinach leaves because they don't sit flat? Is it chopped? Shredded? Or is it cooked spinach? If so how on earth do you know how much raw spinach will produce a cup of cooked spinach?

Surely I can't be the only person that struggles with this or am I missing something really really obvious?

Can you tell I'm using myfitnesspal and I'm hangry

I’m probably being daft, but wouldn’t this objection to cups apply to scales too?

It is a pain in the backside when you have used one for something messy (oil, yogurt, syrup)and then need to use it for something dry because you forgot to measure everything out into yet more bowls so that you could measure the sloppy stuff last.

@notacooldad

A simplified system for simple people?

At work when i bake cakes or biscuits I use scales and at home I use cups.
Both methods produce the same results- nice cakes.

With MFP, on the go, do you weigh everything? If you bought a lunch in a restaurant would you expect them to weigh it all, or would you look and say, if I make a fist, that's about the size of one cup, therefore there's approx a cup of wilted spinach on my plate... I wouldn't know how to start guessing weights for something I'd never cooked with at home. Scales are fine when at home, when out and about, cup measurement is easier for "guess-timate"

(This is much better than "portion" because the problem that leads to lots of people needing to use MFP is not having decent portion control in the first place- or was that just me?!)

Much easier than trying to measure out, I've no idea what 100g of spinach looks like on a plate. I do know what roughly 1 cup looks like.

For the love of god indulge me? Which one is it, balance or hammer??

Loving the “no need to call it dumb” comments. Don’t worry guys, the American cup system doesn’t have feelings.

If you bought a lunch in a restaurant would you expect them to weigh it all, or would you look and say, if I make a fist, that's about the size of one cup, therefore there's approx a cup of wilted spinach on my plate

Is much easier in a restaurant because my restaurant order can almost always be recorded in inches (I'm talking about pizza if anyone had their mind in the gutter).

But it isn’t dumb - it’s smart to figure out a way around the problem of not having scales with what you have available.

@DragonsAndCakes - no extra mess with scales provided you use one of the digital ones that you put your bowl on then set to zero and add stuff.

I find the cup system very easy to use. Sets of the cups / spoons are widely available and often very cheap.

Surely you can safely ignore any inaccuracies in the measuring of spinach if you're trying to lose weight

Somewhat off the point but in Prague I visited a self serve vegan restaurant where the food you chose was weighed at the cash register.
Even the soup was weighed.

Is no one going to acknowledge my excellent artwork

MFP is a frustrating PITA. It has too many options for each thing, how are you supposed to know the correct one?

Cups are just as easy to use as scales for recipes, they usually specify if the ingredient is to be packed/loose etc.

I use both happily. I would probably say at home in my own kitchen my first choice would be weights, but anywhere else cups are easier. And you don't have to use "official" measuring cups either. I have made quite acceptable recipes using any old mug or container that I could get my hands on. It's mostly just about the ratio's more than anything.

I also find it easier to scale up or down when working in cups!

I have a nesting cup set, were about a quid. Like these www.amazon.co.uk/Copper-Stainless-Steel-Measuring-Cups/dp/B0769GMWPQ/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=Cup+measure&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1524660230&sr=8-8
But mine are plastic.
It doesn't matter what you use, I have previously used a cup.an actual cup.
It works as a guide,as mentioned above, over a certain amount the difference is negligible.
For spinach I would push it down into the cup, well actually I love spinach so would put as much as I felt I wanted.

That diagram is how my brain imagined it

So gentle prod rather than full-on flat side of meat cleaver!

Aha! So if raw spinach, you want left, if cooked spinach, right, but you don't hammer it down...

MFP is a rough tool, it presumes everyone burns calories at a similar rate to people a similar height and weight as them. It's good for keeping an eye on your diet, but you don't have to stress about how you measure exactly low calorie foods like spinach.

I love the cup system (and i have a PhD so i'm not stupid or dumb ) . It shows you that as long as you have the proportions within a recipe roughly right all will be fine! Maybe if you're a pastry chef in a fancy restaurant you might want to be more precise, but for everyone else, meh, do what you feel comfortable with.

@ToadOfSadness There are dry cups and liquid cups to deal with that problem. Dry cups need to be filled to the top which makes it very hard if it's a liquid because you'd easily spill it. Liquid cups have gradations on it and a pour spout. If it's a particularly messy liquid I just rinse the cup between ingredients.

I'm sorry but this is hilarious - your diagram is great - how come everyone on here is so good at drawing?

W/R to spinach just a massive handful is enough.

Cups are only useful for baking IMHO

And yes, as everyone says, go wild with the spinach. It's not like chocolate chips or something

Yeah, theymademejoin I just have normal scales though, so I guess cups are no worse for me.