How to Use Measuring Spoons and Cups
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Most of us have measuring cups and spoons in our kitchens, but do we know how
to use them? Measuring your ingredients carefully and correctly helps to
produce a consistent outcome. Click any photo to enlarge it.
Steps
Know the difference between liquid and dry measures, and use
the appropriate one for each task. While they hold the same volume, they are
used differently. Measurements are labeled on each measure.
Use a liquid measure for liquids, such as water,
milk or oil. Fill the cup to the appropriate line, place it on a level surface,
and read it with your eye at the level of the liquid. Water surface curves
downward, so use the bottom of the curve for accurate measurement and not the
edge that is against the measuring cup. This is helpful for bread recipes in
which the exact amount of water is crucial.
Use a dry measure for powders, such as sugar, salt, and baking powder. Spoon or
scoop the powder lightly into the cup. Run a knife or spatula across the top to
level the surface and scrape any excess back into the jar or cannister.
Measure a liquid in a measuring spoon by filling it full.
Use measuring spoons for dry ingredients by filling and then leveling with the
straight edge of a spatula or knife. Many baking powder cans come with a
built-in edge for leveling. In a pinch, you can also use the edge of the lid.
Measure a "heaping" or "rounded" tablespoon, teaspoon, or
(less frequently) cup. This quantity is not so precise, but it is generally a
moderately sized, round mound, or heap of the dry ingredient in addition to
that which fills the spoon.
Measure a "scant" cup or spoon by filling the measure not completely
full, or by shaking or pouring a little bit out. Again, this is an imprecise
measurement.
Add measurements if you do not have a measure that size. For instance, 1 3/4
teaspoons is 1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon.
Tips
When cooking, cook to a recipe. When baking, bake to a
formula. For instance, if you would like a little more or less salt in your soup,
taste it first, then go ahead. On the other hand, if a muffin recipe says to
add 1/2 tsp of salt, you should add exactly that much. Altering baking recipes
can result in a less-than-tasty product. (Anything with baking powder in it
needs a little salt to help things along.)
If you are trying a new recipe, try it exactly as written the first time. Make
adjustments once you have tasted it and you know how it works.
U.S. measurements used in the kitchen have these proportions:
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon = 0.5 fluid ounces
16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces
2 cups = 1 pint = 16 fluid ounces (a pint of water weighs one pound)
4 cups = 2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon
Tablespoons are abbreviated T or Tbsp. Teaspoons are abbreviated t or tsp. Cups
are abbreviated c.
Butter often has measurements marked on the
wrapper in tablespoons. To use these measurements, use a sharp knife to cut
straight through the stick, wrapper and all. Generally, one stick of butter is
1/2 cup.
Flour is best measured by weighing it, but if you wish to measure flour by
volume, sift it first and spoon it into the dry measure gently, without
pressing or packing it in. Then level with a knife as usual.
Measure brown sugar by packing it moderately firmly into a dry measure with the
back of a spoon.
To measure things like grated cheese or chopped nuts, pack them loosely into a dry
measure until they are about even with the rim.
To measure a substance with the consistency of peanut
butter or shortening, use a spatula to pack it into a dry measure. Then,
use the spatula to scoop it out again.
Spraying the measuring cup with non-stick spray before filling it with peanut
butter helps the peanut butter slide out more easily.
An alternative method for measuring large (over half cup or more) things of an
awkward consistency (margerine, peanut butter etc) is displacement measurement.
To do this take a large liquid measuring vessel (e.g. 2C measuring glass), fill
it with water to a particular point (e.g. 1C) and then scoop the food you are
trying to measure into the water. Add the measure you want (e.g. 1/2C) to the
measure the water was at (e.g. 1C), and when the water level is to the new
measure (1 1/2C), pour off the water and use tthe amount of substance you
measured.
A jigger or a shot is .1875
You may see definitions and even measuring spoons or tools for a
"pinch", "dash", and so on. You can measure these
quantities if you want, but they usually connote a generic small amount, to
taste. These spoons contain quantities as follows:
Tad: 1/4 tsp.
Dash: 1/8 tsp.
Pinch:1/16 tsp.
Smidgen: 1/32 tsp.
A "dollop" is not a specific measurement, but rather a smallish lump
of a semisolid food or a splash of liquid. It is to taste, perhaps however much
will stick to a spoon.
Warnings
Do not put a wet or oily spoon into a cannister of a dry
ingredient. You will only make a mess. Whenever possible, measure all the dry
ingredients first. Otherwise, clean and dry the spoon.
US to metric
1/5 teaspoon = 1 milliliter1 teaspoon = 5 ml1 tablespoon =
15 ml1/5 cup = 50 ml1 cup = 240 ml2 cups (1 pint) = 470 ml4 cups (1 quart) =
.95 liter4 quarts (1 gal.) = 3.8 liters
Related wikiHows
How to Scale Ingredients for Baking
How to Convert Metric Weight to Pounds
How
to Bake Corn Muffins
How to Bake an Apple Pie from Scratch
How to Bake a Sweet Potato Pie
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