Growing up in Nigeria, I never really used measurements while cooking. Every meal was custom made with using the one measuring tool at my disposal…my palm.

One of our most frequently asked question on 9jafoodie is regarding measurement cups and spoons sizes. Here is our attempt to clear things up.

Measurement Cups

“A ‘measuring cup’ or ‘measuring jug’ is a kitchen utensil used primarily to measure the volume of liquid or bulk solid cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar, especially for volumes from about 50 mL (2 fl oz) upwards. The cup will usually have a scale marked in cups and fractions of a cup, and often with fluid measure and weight of a selection of dry foodstuffs.” – Wiki

1 Cup = 250 ml (volume)

These are my measuring cups.

Measurements for dry ingredients may vary depending on ‘compresibility’ e.g. 1 cup of all-purpose flour sieved and leveled is approximately 100g while 1 cup of the same flour scooped is approximately 140g.

Ingredients like sugar are less compressible hence measurements have less variation.

Measuring spoons are pretty much the same. See volumes below.

1 teaspoon = 5 ml

1 tablespoon = 15 ml

So there you have it. When we state measurements in cups/spoons, you know what we mean!

ps. You can find measuring spoons and cups at your nearest supermarket.