Saturday Share: Measurements

Today, I'm not sharing a recipe. I decided to share a chart of measurements instead.

It drives me kids crazy when they ask me how to make something that's a favorite of theirs, and I say, "Take a cook spoon of flour, a pinch of salt..." and other instructions like this.

My mom cooked that way, and so did her mother before her. I have some of my grandmother's handwritten recipes.

One that always makes me smile is her recipe for a Date Loaf Cake. The recipe calls for "a lump of butter the size of a hen's egg" which is to be creamed with 2 handfuls of white sugar." In all honesty, I've never tried making that.

Tips on How to Measure Accurately

First, you must know that there are liquid measurements and dry measurements and you use different utensils to measure each.

In most European and Asian cooking, scales are used to measure ingredients.

For liquid measurements, you use a glass measuring cup. Plastic can't be used for a lot of things because its chemicals can react adversely to the chemicals in what you're measuring.

For example, if you're measuring egg whites in order to make an angel food cake, you cannot beat the whites into a stiff meringue if they've been in contact with plastic.

Glass or metal bowls and measuring, mixing, and baking utensils and metal are used for egg whites.

Set the measuring cup on a counter and bend until you are at eye level with it. Pour the liquid to the line on the cup.

If you're not looking at it at eye level, then you won't get an accurate measurement.

For dry ingredients, you use metal or plastic cups in which you place the dry ingredient and use a straight edge run across the top of the cup to level it off.

Again, metal is better because it doesn't warp. Metal measuring spoons are also preferred.

Chart of Common Measurements

Dry Ingredients

Smidgen = 1/32 of a teaspoon

Pinch = 1/16 of a teaspoon

Dash = 1/8 teaspoon

3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons = 1/8 cup

4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup

8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup

12 tablespoons = 3/4 cup

16 tablespoons = 1 cup

Liquid Ingredients

1 ounce of liquid = 2 tablespoons

8 ounces of liquid = 1 cup

2 cups = 1 pint = 16 ounces

2 pints = 1 quart = 4 cups = 32 ounces

4 quarts = 1 gallon = 16 cups = 128 ounces

Takeaway Truth

If you haven't received perfect results before with a recipe, inaccurate measuring may be why. Most cooking is flexible, but baking must have precise measurements.