A lot of the process of cooking a meal is in the techniques used to do different things. Sometimes it is about having the right tools and gadgets to achieving different things. But other times it is simply about having the knowledge of how to do different things – like how to roll a burrito up, or how peel, seed and dice a cucumber. Obviously there are some things that are purely logical and other things you would never have thought of if someone else didn’t show you. So I wanted to create a series of Kitchen Tips, Tricks & Hacks that I have picked up along the way to make my cooking experience more efficient, easier and even sometimes more fun! Obviously as the old adage goes – “there’s more than one way to skin a cat” – which is 10000% true – so if you have another way to do one of these things – please tell us in the comments.
This go around I want to talk about measurements. It really is such an important part of cooking. While baking definitely requires more precision when it comes to cooking, you still need to be pretty close. So here are a few of the things I have learned about successful measuring
- Use a dry ingredient measuring cup/spoon for dry ingredients and a wet cup/spoon for wet ingredient. Why does this matter? While both have the same volume, the design of them is different. For example, most wet, or liquid, measuring cups have a pour spout, making it less likely to spill. The spout also prevents over filling the cup, which is easy to do in a dry cup, due to surface tension.
- Always consult a sizing chart if you are trying change the final yield of a recipe. You should in fact, jot down the entire recipe in the converted amounts before starting. This does two things – helps you to be sure you have enough of everything and ensure you won’t accidently skip the conversion on an ingredient, ultimately ruining the final result.
- Absolutely always consult a Conversion Chart when you encounter a recipe that is in a different measurement system – for example milliliters instead of teaspoons. Guesstimating never pans out. And there are so many available like this one from culinaryschools.org
4. Have a quality complete set of measuring cups and spoons. You really want to make sure that you have a variety of sizes in addition to having more than one of commonly used sizes like the cup, tablespoon, and teaspoon.
Do you have any kitchen tips, tricks or hacks that you want to share? Do you have any ideas on other tips, ticks or hack you want to see?
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Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
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Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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I’m trying to remember that I can ask Siri or Alexa to convert measurements for me. I agree with having quality measuring utensils. I appreciate ones with easy to read numbers like the ones in your photo, essential for folks with limited vision like my husband.