Best measuring cups and spoons?

Ozzie_Isaac

theyolksonyou said:

caliking said:

danhoo said:

I use SS for dry measure

I have this one and like it for liquid. Sturdy and the markings are not going to wear out as they are part of the glass. 




https://www.webstaurantstore.com/anchor-hocking-94793ahg18-1-cup-8-oz-triple-pour-spout-glass-measuring-cup-with-lid/55094793A.html

I've never understood this... Measuring dry vs. wet, by volume. 

Volume is volume. One cup of shredded/dessicated cocounut=1 cup of uncooked rice. 

In terms of weight, 1 cup(8oz)= approx. 230g. If you scoop 1 cup of shredded coconut,  it's not quite close to the weight of 1 cup of uncooked rice. So confusing. 

Using weight measures helps, I guess. But, it's somewhat assumed that ingredients scale linearly. I've found that spices don't. Maybe they scale logarithmically in some way.

Moral of the story- Measuring shmeasuring.  Except when baking. Baking is chemistry. Stoichiometry is a thing. And, always double the garlic (at least). 

Dry measuring devices have no graduations and are designed to level off at the top.  You do not have to worry about sloshing liquids.

Liquid measuring cups have graduation below the top level so you can carry the liquid across the kitchen.

Actual volume is the same, no conversations.  It is in the use case that the design varies.

theyolksonyou

Meniscus dude

Ozzie_Isaac

theyolksonyou said:

Meniscus dude

I silently mouth that every time I measure in graduated cylinder.

Legume

Can’t wait for someone to start a shoelace thread

Ozzie_Isaac

Legume said:

Can’t wait for someone to start a shoelace thread

Hillary uses a lot of shoelaces.

theyolksonyou

Agglettes are the key to good laces. 

JohnInCarolina

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Legume said:

Can’t wait for someone to start a shoelace thread

Hillary uses a lot of shoelaces.

Only to hang her enemies.

GrateEggspectations

Legume said:

Can’t wait for someone to start a shoelace thread

You must be enjoying this one a fair bit, given you’ve thrice commented. 🙂

kl8ton

caliking said:

danhoo said:

I use SS for dry measure

I have this one and like it for liquid. Sturdy and the markings are not going to wear out as they are part of the glass. 




https://www.webstaurantstore.com/anchor-hocking-94793ahg18-1-cup-8-oz-triple-pour-spout-glass-measuring-cup-with-lid/55094793A.html

I've never understood this... Measuring dry vs. wet, by volume. 

Volume is volume. One cup of shredded/dessicated cocounut=1 cup of uncooked rice. 

In terms of weight, 1 cup(8oz)= approx. 230g. If you scoop 1 cup of shredded coconut,  it's not quite close to the weight of 1 cup of uncooked rice. So confusing. 

Using weight measures helps, I guess. But, it's somewhat assumed that ingredients scale linearly. I've found that spices don't. Maybe they scale logarithmically in some way.

Moral of the story- Measuring shmeasuring.  Except when baking. Baking is chemistry. Stoichiometry is a thing. And, always double the garlic (at least). 

Measuring Shmeasuring - The title of a cookbook authored by @caliking

I'm still waiting for one of my kids to ask how I know how many tablespoons of oil I'm pouring into the pancake batter.  I just pour directly in the batter and count 1 TBSP, 2 TBSP, etc.  

Legume

GrateEggspectations said:

Legume said:

Can’t wait for someone to start a shoelace thread

You must be enjoying this one a fair bit, given you’ve thrice commented. 🙂

Has it been thrice already?

Mark_B_Good

Do not forget this method...

JohnInCarolina

kl8ton said:

caliking said:

danhoo said:

I use SS for dry measure

I have this one and like it for liquid. Sturdy and the markings are not going to wear out as they are part of the glass. 




https://www.webstaurantstore.com/anchor-hocking-94793ahg18-1-cup-8-oz-triple-pour-spout-glass-measuring-cup-with-lid/55094793A.html

I've never understood this... Measuring dry vs. wet, by volume. 

Volume is volume. One cup of shredded/dessicated cocounut=1 cup of uncooked rice. 

In terms of weight, 1 cup(8oz)= approx. 230g. If you scoop 1 cup of shredded coconut,  it's not quite close to the weight of 1 cup of uncooked rice. So confusing. 

Using weight measures helps, I guess. But, it's somewhat assumed that ingredients scale linearly. I've found that spices don't. Maybe they scale logarithmically in some way.

Moral of the story- Measuring shmeasuring.  Except when baking. Baking is chemistry. Stoichiometry is a thing. And, always double the garlic (at least). 

Measuring Shmeasuring - The title of a cookbook authored by @caliking

I actually love that title.  I think it would be a great title for a cookbook, and that if @caliking wrote it, I would surely purchase a copy.

I think I mentioned this before on the forum, but David Chang is apparently working on a new "cook book" that isn't so much recipes but one designed to teach people how to cook.  Based on what he said during the interview (I think this was on Maron's WTF podcast) it's not going to tell you how much to use of various ingredients.  Basically I got the sense that Chang subscribes to the @caliking world view when it comes to this kind of thing.  

EggNorth

Interesting thread, as I ordered and just received these:

Measuring Cups   and Measuring spoons

Lee Valley  is a Canadian store which I always found to have quality stuff.    

These will replaced my old plastic ones with broken handles.

Also got this butter measuring tool  

The measuring cups have a great feature: they include other measurements on them also.  For example the 1 Cup also shows the 1/2 and 3/4 mark.   So if I need 1 and 1/2 cup of something, I only need to take out the one cup (of course you can guess with a standard cup) 

Ozzie_Isaac

EggNorth said:

Interesting thread, as I ordered and just received these:

Measuring Cups   and Measuring spoons

Lee Valley  is a Canadian store which I always found to have quality stuff.    

These will replaced my old plastic ones with broken handles.

Also got this butter measuring tool  

The measuring cups have a great feature: they include other measurements on them also.  For example the 1 Cup also shows the 1/2 and 3/4 mark.   So if I need 1 and 1/2 cup of something, I only need to take out the one cup (of course you can guess with a standard cup) 

Butter is pretty easy to measure.  Just round to whole sticks, then add 1/2 stick to be safe.

Ozzie_Isaac

JohnInCarolina said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Legume said:

Can’t wait for someone to start a shoelace thread

Hillary uses a lot of shoelaces.

Only to hang her enemies.

I am glad my joke was not wasted.  It was subtle.

YukonRon

I don't measure, just add the ingredient(s) until I get the flavor profile we desire. Always more than what is listed in any recipe which is either a pour or a dash and always more herbs. I have recipes that are very good, but I improvise. garlic, black pepper, bleu cheese, onion, are always abused.

RyanStl

I like the silicone cups that fold in for easy storage. I got two headed spoons from Amazon awhile back which is nice when you don't want to wash and dry when using different ingredients. The have magnets to keep nested, but my kids never bother when unloading the dishwasher 

danhoo

caliking said:

danhoo said:

I use SS for dry measure

I have this one and like it for liquid. Sturdy and the markings are not going to wear out as they are part of the glass. 




https://www.webstaurantstore.com/anchor-hocking-94793ahg18-1-cup-8-oz-triple-pour-spout-glass-measuring-cup-with-lid/55094793A.html

I've never understood this... Measuring dry vs. wet, by volume. 

Volume is volume. One cup of shredded/dessicated cocounut=1 cup of uncooked rice. 

In terms of weight, 1 cup(8oz)= approx. 230g. If you scoop 1 cup of shredded coconut,  it's not quite close to the weight of 1 cup of uncooked rice. So confusing. 

Using weight measures helps, I guess. But, it's somewhat assumed that ingredients scale linearly. I've found that spices don't. Maybe they scale logarithmically in some way.

Moral of the story- Measuring shmeasuring.  Except when baking. Baking is chemistry. Stoichiometry is a thing. And, always double the garlic (at least). 

if I'm baking or making pizza dough and want precise hydration I'll weigh dry and wet ingredients.

When I'm making pancakes or waffles I use a 1 cup SS measure and skim the top level with the lid of the flour jar. doesn't need to be precise but its a 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 1 egg kindof recipe. I'm not so good at eyeballing a cup of flour or a cup of milk.

I like the one I posted because it doesn't take much room in the dishwasher and is easy to read and the readings don't wear out. 

I also have pyrex that I can no longer read due to age, and one of the plastic ones that you can see the amount from the top but the glass one is my go-to.

Foghorn

RyanStl said:

I like the silicone cups that fold in for easy storage. I got two headed spoons from Amazon awhile back which is nice when you don't want to wash and dry when using different ingredients. The have magnets to keep nested, but my kids never bother when unloading the dishwasher 

THIS is the most remarkable comment on this thread.  Well done.  That's some good parenting right there.

BigGreenKev

The private label Target glass measuring is private label Anchor Hocking/Oneida for what it's worth.  

Botch

Foghorn said:

RyanStl said:

I like the silicone cups that fold in for easy storage. I got two headed spoons from Amazon awhile back which is nice when you don't want to wash and dry when using different ingredients. The have magnets to keep nested, but my kids never bother when unloading the dishwasher 

THIS is the most remarkable comment on this thread.  Well done.  That's some good parenting right there.

Depends :insert diaper emoji here:  
We would've been switched with a spring poplar branch if we failed to properly stack the measuring spoons.
If  we even had a "dishwasher", and
If  we even had magnets.  
 
Spoiled (what's the word?) bourgie  kids....    
 
    

paqman

EggNorth said:

Interesting thread, as I ordered and just received these:

Measuring Cups   and Measuring spoons

Lee Valley  is a Canadian store which I always found to have quality stuff.    

These will replaced my old plastic ones with broken handles.

Also got this butter measuring tool  

The measuring cups have a great feature: they include other measurements on them also.  For example the 1 Cup also shows the 1/2 and 3/4 mark.   So if I need 1 and 1/2 cup of something, I only need to take out the one cup (of course you can guess with a standard cup) 

Products sold by Lee Valley are typically top notch!

I have a set of generic stainless steel measuring cups that I purchased elsewhere over 20 years ago. They have markings with other sizes too.  Some sets don’t include all sizes so this is something to look for, same goes for measuring spoons.

@Botch is right  about getting the long flat measuring spoons.  I hate having to clean them in the middle of measuring a recipe so I have two sets!

For cold liquids, the OXO ones are very nice, I have several of the smaller 2oz ones that are also nice when mixing drinks.  For hot liquids, I use borosilicate glass measuring cups from Ikea but I will eventually replace them with lab beakers when I find some with the right set of measurements that I can purchase by the unit.

All that being said, I typically weigh ingredients when making a recipe for the first time and I typically use that when subsequently making it so I rarely use measuring cups after that.

kl8ton

@caliking

I felt this was a good thread to place this.... it pairs well with the measuring shmeasuring theme.