Why do Americans measure everything in cups?

Chris@feddit.uk to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 198 points –

Used a couple of US recipes recently and most of the ingredients are in cups, or spoons, not by weight. This is a nightmare to convert. Do Americans not own scales or something? What's the reason for measuring everything by volume?

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If a recipe describes 8 cups of flour, how many grams or kilograms do i need to buy then?

The packaging will tell you, but I think most people just buy in bulk rather than buy the exact amount needed for a recipe.

Depends what it is. In this instance I was buying cups of fruit, how many cups are there to a punnet? I already have the weight on the packaging, so if I know the weight I need it's much easier.

If you owned a cup measure you might have some idea.

If a recipe calls for 8 cups of flour you will need a bigger baking tin.