Measuring Dilemma

I have a quandary. Or a dilemma. Or maybe just a puzzlement.

In a way, it has been answered, but in a way, some mystery remains.

Sometimes my batter comes out very thin and sometimes it is very thick- when using the exact same measurements from the same recipe. This has puzzled me for years.

I finally know why this happens.

For liquids, I use my glass Pyrex measuring cups. I have a one-cup, a two-cup, and a four-cup measure. A few months ago, I found out that the one-cup line is not consistent for all three of them! If I measure out one cup of liquid in then one-cup measure, and pour it into either of the larger ones, it does not come up to the one-cup line! The difference is a few tablespoons, which is enough to cause quite different results in baking.

When I made the pancakes from my earlier post, I used the smaller measure. I had a rather thin batter, which made thin, very moist pancakes. Yesterday, I used the two-cup measure, and had a thick batter. It made thicker, taller pancakes.

Here is the part that still puzzles me: though I now know which to use for myself, to get the results I want, I actually have no idea which measure is correct! This matters, when writing recipes for other people! If I say I used one cup of liquid, and you end up with an impossibly runny batter...that's not helpful. If I say to use 3/4 cup of liquid, and your batter is grossly stodgy and makes heavy, dry pancakes...well, that's not good either.

So, there is the dilemma. Of course, you can easily start with less liquid and add more until you get the consistency you prefer, but I would really like to know that I'm giving out good, helpful information.

Hmmm......I would imagine that, if I got a kitchen scale, I could weigh the filled measuring cup, and that would give me an idea of which is right! :) I do know the old rhyme of, "a pint's a pound, the world around."  That being so, then a cup of water should weight eight ounces, right? I'll ponder this. I might just need to get a kitchen scale, in order to solve the mystery. Oh darn. ;) ;)