Final answer:
An ice cream scoop is often used for portioning out foods like ice cream or butter, in contrast to a measuring cup, which measures volume or capacity in units such as cups or milliliters.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of measuring foods in cooking, the item often used for portioning out foods such as ice cream or butter is a C) Ice cream scoop. While a measuring cup is typically used for measuring volume or capacity in cooking, such as the capacity of a baby bottle using fluid ounces or the volume of milk in liters, for foods that need to be served in uniform portions, an ice cream scoop is the tool of choice. This is especially true when the desired portion does not need to be measured with exact unit quantities like milliliters or cups, but rather by a standardized serving size.
A measuring cup is a small, customary unit for measuring liquid capacity, generally available in sizes like 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, and 1/4 cup, and it's equal to eight ounces or about 0.25 liters. While measuring spoons are used for even smaller amounts such as teaspoons and tablespoons, and a graduated cylinder can measure milliliters and centiliters for precise liquid measurements, the ice cream scoop is designed for scooping semi-solid foods like ice cream, where the volume is less critical than portion size.