Hi, Jon:
Thank you; this is helpful and instructive. The suggestion that I forget all
I’ve learned about measures and convert to the metric system has been made to
me before, so I guess I’m going to have to come to terms with my math anxiety
in some way, unless my phone will cooperate and get me the information I
request! What food scale do you recommend and from where can it be purchased?
Thanks much, Johathan!
Susan
From: blindcooks-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <blindcooks-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Jonathan Rawlings
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 4:38 PM
To: blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blindcooks] Re: Measuring Cup Question
Susan:
I don’t think there is any kind of conversion system that takes fluid
ounces of various substances and tells you what they weigh in weight, either
ounces by weight, or grams. I’m sure the reason for that is that different
substances and ingredients in the kitchen have different densitities, and it
would also depend on how much of the substance you want to measure. But as I
mentioned in my previous comment, if you have any kind of smart device at your
disposal, you can always ask it, and at least mine always has an answer I can
work with. It really just depends on what is being measured. There are some
ingredients I hate measuring by volume, such as peanut butter, shortening,
honey, oil, etc. If I can weigh them, I’d much rather do that. When it comes
to baking, flour and liquids are almost always things I weigh, rather than
measure by volume, especially flour. But even here, you need to be careful.
At King Arthur Flour, they say a cup of flour, properly measured and not packed
into the cup at all, weighs 120 grams, or 4 and a quarter ounces. But at
America’s Test Kitchen, they say a cup of flour weighs 5 ounces exactly. One
of my few complaints with ATK is that in many of their baking recipes, they’ll
give the weight of flour in ounces, never grams, right down to the eighth of an
ounce. My scale does not measure in anything other than a tenth of an ounce
incroments, so the fact that ATK won’t go anywhere near the metric system is
kind of a pain. The metric system is just so much more sensable and far eas
ier to understand! But, I’m getting off up here on my soapbox, and the cranky
old man is coming out in me. My suggestion is to start creating a list,
perhaps on your phone or whatever works for you, that you can access quickly
and easily, that consists of common foods and ingredients that you use, and
what a cup of that food weighs in grams. Forget the entire Imperial system,
and just s t ick with grams and metrics. It allows you to be far more accurate
without the irritation of having to deal with fractions. Some common
substances you might consider for this list include oil, dry uncooked rice,
flour, sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, molasses, honey, mayonnaise, ketchup,
shortening, even graham crackers or cracker crumbs. As for things used in
small amounts such as yeast, salt, leaveners, and spices, I don’t sweat that
stuff very much. Spices are largly a matter of personal taste and preference
anyway, and if you’re a quarter teaspoon over on something like baking soda,
it’s not likely to throw off your entire recipe. Once you get a list of how
much these foods weigh, memorize it. If you start with one cup as your
standard, say, a cup of white long-grain rice weighs 200 grams, then you can do
a bit of quick math if a recipe calls for one and three quarters cup of rice.
So a bit of simple math tells you that you would need to weigh out 350 grams of
rice. I hope I’m making some sense in all this. Yes, I know there are
plunger-style measuring cups for things like peanut butter, but I can’t read
the markings on those either, so even though I have one, I almost never use it.
OK, I’ll end today’s lecture, and be quiet long enough for you to ask any
further questions you may have.
Jon
From: Susan Tabor (Redacted sender <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
"souljourner" for DMARC)
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 9:00 AM
To: blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blindcooks] Re: Measuring Cup Question
Hi, Jonathan:
Thanks for your input! You know, I can’t remember from whom I specifically
heard about liquids and solids measuring differently in measuring cups, but
I’ve heard it from more than one person. What you say here makes a lot of
sense to me. Is there a converter available that converts cups, spoon
measurements, etc. into ounces? Thanks a lot, Jon!
Susan
P.S.: I was making a recipe for Coffee Liqueur bread pudding with Caramel
Sauce. It is delicious, I must say! And so was the southwestern veggie bake
that I made! Took both to a party last night.
From: blindcooks-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:blindcooks-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<blindcooks-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:blindcooks-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > On
Behalf Of Jonathan Rawlings
Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2021 8:28 PM
To: blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blindcooks] Re: Measuring Cup Question
Let me see if I can’t clear this up.
I don’t know where you are hearing that a substance, whether it be a powder,
granular substance, or a liquid of any kind, would measure differently in a
glass measuring cup than it would in cups that are more often use to measure
dry ingredients. They measure exactly the same, regardless. Perhaps the
confusion you are encountering is understanding the difference between ounces
of weight or ounces by volume? If you want an explanation of that, just ask,
but I won’t go into that just now. For me, when it comes to measuring a lot of
different substances, I often attempt to weigh them on my talking digital
scale. For example, if a salad dressing recipe asks for two thirds of a cup of
oil, rather than try to fill a one third measure two times, I’ll ask my Alexa
or other smart device how much a cup of that oil weighs in grams, then weigh it
out on the scale. But of course, there would be nothing wrong with using a one
third cup measure two times to get two thirds of a cup. As for the two cup
glass or pyrex measuring cups, I have one, but I never use it to measure
anything. I can’t read the markings, and a liquid level indicator would be of
no use for measuring most amounts. Perhaps, if you told me the specific
situation that prompted your question, I could suggest how I might deal with
the issue as efficiently as possible.
Jon
From: Susan Tabor (Redacted sender <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
"souljourner" for DMARC)
Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2021 8:45 AM
To: blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blindcooks] Measuring Cup Question
Good morning, list:
I currently do not have a glass measuring cup. I understand that liquids
measure differently than other more solid items, including powders. I only
have the plastic measuring cups. Is there a way that I can use them to measure
liquids, say, a cup and a quarter for a cup or something similar? Thanks!
Susan
