For Hisago burger recipe, amounts varied by the cup

By Betty Shimabukuro

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 20, 2013

~~<p>A cup equals 8 fluid ounces, equals 16 tablespoons, right? It's a standardized thing, so a cup of sugar and a cup of rice take up the same amount of space in the universe. Right?</p>
<p>Not at the old Hisago Delicatessen, where measurements were based on whatever cup or bowl was stored with the ingredient, perhaps a teacup in the sugar and a rice bowl in the rice. So a recipe could call for filling the sugar cup "to the bottom of the handle, and the same cup always stayed in the sugar," recalls Kevin Kawashige, a member of the fourth generation of Hisago cooks. If the cup got lost, well, that really messed things up.</p>
~~

A cup equals 8 fluid ounces, equals 16 tablespoons, right? It's a standardized thing, so a cup of sugar and a cup of rice take up the same amount of space in the universe. Right?

Not at the old Hisago Delicatessen, where measurements were based on whatever cup or bowl was stored with the ingredient, perhaps a teacup in the sugar and a rice bowl in the rice. So a recipe could call for filling the sugar cup "to the bottom of the handle, and the same cup always stayed in the sugar," recalls Kevin Kawashige, a member of the fourth generation of Hisago cooks. If the cup got lost, well, that really messed things up. Login for more...