Think like a pancreas

[helli]

I just don't understand how you can have a cup of broccoli or a cup of rhubarb as I have seen in some recipes. Surely it depends on what size the pieces are as to how much you get in a cup?

I don’t think it matters. Anything with rhubarb or broccoli does not need accurate measurements. It’s not like they are in a cake that needs a certain amount to rise.
Cooking with cups can be easy for recipes that require approximations. It is no less accurate than “an onion” or a “bunch of herbs”.

 

[Martin.A]

Cooking with cups can be easy for recipes that require approximations. It is no less accurate than “an onion” or a “bunch of herbs”.

........or that old favourite 'a knob of butter', which seems to translate as 'as much as you think is appropriate'.

 

[Inka]

I just don't understand how you can have a cup of broccoli or a cup of rhubarb as I have seen in some recipes. Surely it depends on what size the pieces are as to how much you get in a cup?

My American friend said they learn how to pack cups (ie how to put the food item into the cup to get the most accurate measurement). Different ingredients need different packing.

She did agree scales were better though! She’s a baker and loved the accuracy of them.

 

[s'nic]

Yes, the weight of an ingredient in a cup is not constant, it totally depends on the item being measured, and how small it is chopped (if it is chopped).
Also there are new zealand and austrailian cups https://eightforestlane.com/au-to-us-kitchen-conversions/#worldcups

 

[SB2015]

........or that old favourite 'a knob of butter', which seems to translate as 'as much as you think is appropriate'.

I like Nigel Slater’s books as he has a more approximate approach to some ingredients.
“Add a glug of wine - No I don’t know how much. Just enough”

 

[Proud to be erratic]

@Charl, several useful things from your question, as well as cup parameters!

I generally avoid Google searches for medical things because different nations have different understandings (or in the US have Federal Approvals that sometimes defy common sense!). At the end of the day I need to know what a medical answer is with a close eye on what the NHS and NICE doctrine is - pretty well regardless of whether that is right either. No point in chasing a remedy the NHS won't support. So I caveat my internet searches with 'UK' at the end of the question.

Fibre is fundamentally always carbohydrate. But most fibre is indigestible and so doesn't get metabolised into glucose - hence not included in our carb counting. BUT if that fibre is heavily processed then it can become part of the carb count. For example rice in risotto is both stripped of all outer indigestible hulls and frequently cooked so it "melts in the mouth" (yes, there are discerning chefs who will serve 'all dente' risotto, but usually not so). So risotto can bring a surprise glucose spike. A better example is blended or pureed food; that processing will, almost certainly, always result in the fibre becoming digestible. So it can sometimes be useful to check-out the fibre % content if you want to know what glucose impact any food processing might have. The undigested fibre, of course, plays a useful part in the colon clearing process.