The Benefits of Liquid vs Dry Measuring Cups

Are wet and dry measuring cups the same? Both measure their contents accurately, so how can one cup of water and one cup of rice be different? You may have heard measuring cups called wet or dry, but the actual difference between dry and wet measuring cups matters when it comes to getting precisely the right amount of an ingredient. Whether you're a professional chef or amateur baker, using the right style of measuring cup can impact how your dish turns out significantly – and how clean your kitchen is afterwards. Using dry measuring cups for liquid ingredients either will be messy or a hassle, and using liquid measuring cups for dry ingredients is going to be inaccurate. We'll discuss the benefits and drawbacks of dry vs wet measuring cups here to help you get the best possible results for your kitchenware.¹

Dry Measure vs Liquid Measure

The simple answer is to use dry measuring cups for dry ingredients and liquid measuring cups for liquid ingredients, but why? How can you tell which type of cup you already have? And why do we even need two types of measuring cup? Dry measuring cups are intended for solid, non-viscous ingredients such as flour, oats, spices, nuts, and sugar. Wet measuring cups are intending for liquid ingredients such as milk, oil, or yogurt. This may seem obvious but using scoops to measure ingredients can be an inaccurate practice and using the wrong measuring cups exacerbates this problem.²

Why do I need a dry measuring cup?

Measuring dry ingredients is tricky because loose, dry ingredients, such as flour or rice, can be different densities while occupying the same volume. It's also difficult to get dry ingredients into a perfectly flat line for measuring. Dry measuring cups help you with this by having the final measurement at the very top of the cup. This enables you to use a flat edge to scrape excess ingredient off the top of the measuring cup, leaving exactly the desired amount. A dry measuring cup provides a more accurate measurement than using liquid measuring cups for dry ingredients because you don't need to shake the cup, pour out, and add more multiple times, all of which can change the density of the dry ingredient. With the appropriate size of dry measuring cups, you can pour your dry ingredient to the top, then scrape off the excess to get the correct final measurement without changing the density. Additionally, dry measuring cups can be opaque materials such as stainless steel, because the rim of the cup is all that is needed for measurement. This means they can be sturdier than see-through plastic or glass measuring cups.

Why would I need a wet measuring cup?

Most kitchens utilize both wet and dry measuring cups, swapping to whichever is needed at the moment. Wet measuring cups help you pour the wet ingredients without making a mess, and liquid measuring cups have a spout to control the distribution of liquid from the measuring cup to the cooking vessel. Liquid measuring cups also have the penultimate measurement line beneath the top of the cup. This is another reason to alternate dry vs wet measuring cups; a dry measuring cup used to measure liquid will end up with a completely full vessel that's incredibly likely to spill. Liquid measuring cups have a taller lip for leeway when moving the ingredient to the cookpot. They also are see-through so the operator can tell when the liquid has reached the appropriate line.

Liquid vs Dry Measuring Cups: Quick Reference

Every commercial kitchen needs both wet and dry measuring cups to ensure accuracy and increase speed. Residential kitchens can get away with just liquid measuring cups but might benefit from both, especially if accuracy is paramount, as in baking.

Sources

1. Dry and Liquid Measurements. CookingLight. Accessed February 2021.
2. Difference Between Liquid and Dry Measurements. Taste of Home. Accessed February 2021.