I don't.
In Julie & Julia, Ms. Child's collaborator says it doesn't matter; Julia says it does matter. I can see its being important when writing a book but how about when cooking up daily fare?
Thanks,
CoCo Un Rien de Sel
Do you measure ingredients when cooking?
by compound complex 17 Replies latest social entertainment
-
-
cantleave
My early career was spent as a Chemist, so I follow cookery instructions as if I am repeating a chemical experiment, I weigh things out to the gramme +/- 0.5%.
-
compound complex
Thanks, cantleave!
Makes sense, given your background.
Cantgowrong!
Take care,
CoCo Cooks
-
new light
I measure when cooking from a printed recipe. But generally I just eyeball with reasonable success.
-
blondie
When I cook something I have for many years, no measurements. Something I have only cooked a couple times, I measure.
-
Lady Lee
It depends on what it is.
Bread machine recipes have to be exact or you wind up with something inedible.
Cake or cake-like recipes - I need to measure
Anything else is whatever I feel like. I will substitute ingredients, add, omit, increase one thing and decrease another or just throw in whatever I have on hand
-
Podobear
Yes I do measure things, but I am becoming more skilled in "guess.ti.mating" the quantity. I am diabetic, so it is good discipline for me. Also, I avoid white flour as it contains a substance called Alloxan which is a poison used to induce diabetes in lab. rats. So I measure out most of my ingredients for the sake of my health.
Podo
-
dssynergy
I think the point of Child's comment was that since they were writing a cook book presumably for people who couldn't cook, they needed to measure so the receipe was consistent and turned out the way they intended. If I am learning a new technique, or a new receipe, I measure. Once I understand the basic idea of a receipe, I don't. I fundamentally don't ever measure when I cook. I think people who are natural cooks work based on principals of cooking and flavor rather than measurements.
Just my 2 cents
-
snowbird
NEVER!!!
My late mother would turn over in her grave.
Syl
-
frigginconfused
If you know why the ingredients do what they do you can disregard the recipe for your own taste. I usually can improve on a recipe. But baking is more of an exact science. I measure for that. Baking soda and powder are more chemistry than cooking.