Basic Kitchen Measurements

I love baking because it follows some very basic rules of mix and match and the result is always something delicious. It is essential to measure each and every one of your ingredient properly before mixing them all together. Just imagine if you added extra salt or leavening agent in your batter. Mistakes happen when we eye ball ingredients because no two ingredients are same. Cracking and dropping an egg directly into the batter looks appealing but have you ever dropped a piece of shell along with the egg yolk? Same goes for the butter, try creaming it without bringing it first to the room temperature and you will be at it for quite some time. It’s the little tips and tricks which make our life easier and baking so much fun. So today I am going to share with you a few tips:

Buy measuring spoons and cups:

Now this may seem unimportant but believe me it makes everything so easy when you are using 1 teaspoon as per the standard unit of measurement. The spoons we use everyday in our kitchen are not fit for this job and should not be used for it. The same goes for measuring cups, do not use your tea or coffee cups when it comes to baking, always use standard measuring cups. 

How to measure liquids?

To measure liquids like Buttermilk, Milk or Vanilla Extract, place the measuring spoon or cup on your kitchen counter or any flat stable surface. Then fill it till it’s full. Make sure that you are not measuring any liquid over your mixing bowl as you may easily spill thus increasing the amount of the liquid in your batter.  

How to measure dry products?

To measure dry products like Flour, Baking Powder, Soda, Salt and Sugar, one technique is to fill the spoon or cup with another spoon and then level it off with the straight edge of a knife. I usually follow the dip and sweep method, which is done by dipping my measuring cup or spoon directly into the container in which I have my flour, sugar etc. I fill the cup with the product and lift it out. Then I use the straight edge of a knife to level off the top. 

To measure Brown Sugar or Cheese fill the spoon or cup and then lightly press it to release any air pockets. 

To measure Cream Cheese and Butter, I prefer to use the measurement given on the pack or wrapper itself. The lines clearly indicate where you need to cut to get the exact number of tablespoons or ounces. 

Eggs – Large or Extra Large:

You must be thinking why am I mentioning Eggs in this article because we don’t measure eggs with cups or spoons. The reason is, they are an integral part of our baking world. We need eggs for almost all the recipes and although it is the simple part, it can be quite challenging at times. 

Now, you will always find clear instructions in your recipe about eggs and the simplest way is to buy the type of eggs mentioned in the recipe itself (large or extra large). Remember using a different size of egg in your recipe will change the overall outcome.

Now, sometimes the recipe will ask you just for the egg white or yolk of a large egg. For a new baker this may seem overwhelming and this maybe one of those things where once you try it, it becomes easy. Believe me, it’s really easy to separate the egg white and yolk and you can easily do it at home, yourself without having to spend extra money on it. 

First make sure you are using refrigerated cold eggs, this will prevent the yolk from breaking out. Place a bowl in front of you, tap the center of the egg on a flat surface like your kitchen counter. Hold the egg over the bowl and slowly pull apart the two cracks to widen them. When it starts breaking, place your other hand below it in a cupped form. The white will run through your fingers while the yolk will stay on. If you have to crack more than one egg, use a different bowl every time so that in case of any mistake your previous batches are not ruined. Check the bowl for any shell fragments. You can keep the yolk in a different bowl and if you are not using it for the recipe, don’t throw it away. I usually mix a little milk in the yolks, whisk them with some salt and pepper and make myself scrambled eggs.

My final tip to you, find a good recipe and trust it. Most of our home baking fails because we start improvising too soon. Remember extra flour will dry up the baked product and extra milk will make the batter too thin thus increasing the baking time. You can bake the perfect cake; all you need to do is follow the instructions as they are.

I hope you use these tips for your next baking adventure. 

Photo features: Homemade Pecan cake with Rum frosting

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