1. Measuring, Scaling, & Reading a Recipe

2. Measuring accurately is probably the most important cooking skill in the kitchen.
Home Economists in test kitchens spend many hours testing recipes with varying measurements in a process called 'tolerance testing'. A recipe must perform well even though the ingredient amounts are changed; if it fails, it is not published.

3. Common Abbreviations t = teaspoon tsp = teaspoon T = tablespoon
Tbsp = tablespoon
c = cup
oz = ounce
pt = pint
qt = quart
gal = gallon
lb = pound
# = pound
t = teaspoon
tsp = teaspoon
T = tablespoon
Tbsp = tablespoon
c = cup
oz = ounce
pt = pint
qt = quart
gal = gallon
lb = pound
# = pound

4. To begin, make sure that you have actual commercial measuring utensils:
Nested (graduated) measuring cups are used for dry ingredients.
Measuring spoons are needed – a regular spoon just isn't the correct tool!
For liquid ingredients, you need a clear glass or plastic cup with a pouring spout.

5. Graduated measuring cups are made in 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, 1 cup, and 2 cup sizes.
Liquid measuring cups are usually either 2 cup or 4 cup.
Measuring spoons usually range from 1/8 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon.
It's possible to find other sizes including 1/8 cup, 2/3 cup, and very small spoons.

6. Measuring equivalents
Dry Measuring Equivalents
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 15 ml
1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons = 30 ml
1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons = 50 ml
1/3 cup = 5-1/3 tablespoons = 75 ml
1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons = 125 ml
2/3 cup = 10-2/3 tablespoons = 150 ml
3/4 cup = 12 tablespoons = 175 ml
1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 250 ml
Liquid Measuring Equivalents
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces = 1/2 pint
2 cups = 16 fluid ounces = 1 pint = 1/2 quart
4 cups = 32 fluid ounces = 2 pints = 1 quart
8 cups = 64 fluid ounces = 4 pints = 2 quarts
Remember liquid measurements this way:
2 cups in a pint,
2 pints in a quart,
4 quarts in a gallon.
Memorize that!

7. More Equivalents Unit: Equals: Also equals: 1 tsp. 1/6 fl. oz.
1/3 Tbsp.
1 Tbsp.
½ fl. oz.
3 tsp.
1/8 cup
1 fl. oz.
2 Tbsp.
¼ cup
2 fl. oz.
4 Tbsp.
1/3 cup
2¾ fl. oz.
¼ cup plus 4 tsp.
½ cup
4 fl. oz.
8 Tbsp.
1 cup
8 fl. oz.
½ pint
1 pint
16 fl. oz.
2 cups
1 quart
32 fl. oz.
2 pints
1 liter
34 fl. oz.
1 quart plus ¼ cup
1 gallon
128 fl. oz.
4 quarts

8. Basic Guide to Measuring Common Ingredients
Flour:
Stir flour in the storage container or bag.
Using a large spoon, lightly spoon flour from the container into the measuring cup.
Do not shake the cup and do not pack the flour.
Using the back of a knife or flat blade spatula, level off the flour even with the top edge of the measuring cup.
Don't use the measuring cup to scoop the flour out of the container. You can end up with 150% of the correct measurement if you do this!
One cup of correctly measured flour should weigh about 112 grams.

9. Baking powder and soda:
Stir in the container.
Using the measuring spoon, lightly scoop out of the container.
Use that knife to level off even with the top edge of the measuring spoon.

10. Brown sugar: This needs to be packed into the measuring cup.
The sugar should retain the shape of the cup when it is dropped into the other ingredients.

11. Shortening and solid fats:
Butter and margarine have measuring amounts marked on the sides of the paper wrapping.
One quarter pound stick of butter or margarine equals 1/2 cup.
You can also use the liquid displacement method for measuring solid fats. For instance, if you want 1/2 cup of shortening, fill a liquid measuring cup with 1/2 cup of cold water. Then add shortening until the water level reaches 1 cup when you look at it at eye level. Pour out the water and use the shortening.

12. Liquid ingredients in spoons:
Liquids need to be measured at eye level.
Using the liquid measuring cup, pour the liquid into the cup.
Then bend over so you are on the same level with the measuring marks. The liquid should be right at the mark, not above or below.
Liquid ingredients in spoons:
Make sure that you don't measure small amounts of liquid ingredients over the mixing bowl. It's just too easy to spill, and you don't want 2 teaspoons of almond extract when the recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon!

13. Chopped ingredients:
Pay close attention to whether or not an ingredient is to be chopped, diced or minced, and whether they are measured before chopping or after.
Then the foods are placed in the measuring cup so the top is level with the surface.

14. Remember...
When you bake cookies, cakes, breads, pie crusts, and candies, measuring accurately is really critical to the success of the recipe.
When you are cooking casseroles, soups, stir fries, and meats, you can vary amounts more and the end result will still be good.

15. A Quick Review of Measuring...

16. How to Scale a Recipe (aka. changing the yield)
Let's say you have a recipe that serves 6 people, but you want to make it for 2 people instead. Or even trickier, what if a recipe serves 4 people, but you need to make it for 6? Or 14?
It doesn't matter whether you're increasing a recipe or decreasing it — the procedure for adjusting the ingredient quantities for a different number of portions is the same. We call this scaling a recipe.

17. How to Scale:
The first thing you need to do is calculate your conversion factor, which is a number you're going to use to convert all the quantities. There's a tiny bit of math involved, but it's OK to use a calculator — that's what they're there for! To find your conversion factor, simply divide the desired number of servings by the original number of servings. The resulting number is your conversion factor. Here's the formula:
desired servings ———————— = conversion factor original servings
Scaling that 10-portion recipe down to six portions involves two steps: Divide 6 by 10, which gives you a conversion factor of 0.6.
Multiply each ingredient amount by 0.6.

18. Reading a Recipe
Just for fun, before we begin...

19. Reading a Recipe Simple Spaghetti
1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 pound ground turkey 2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce 1-1/2 cups water 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. dried parsley 1 tsp. dried basil 1/4 tsp. pepper 4 oz. uncooked spaghetti pasta, broken in half
Heat olive oil in heavy skillet over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Cook and stir until translucent. Add ground turkey and cook and stir until turkey is browned and vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except for uncooked spaghetti. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 3 minutes.
Add uncooked spaghetti to the simmering sauce a little at a time, stirring to keep it separated. Cover tightly and simmer for minutes over low heat or until pasta is tender, stirring frequently. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 3-4
The very first step in cooking is to read the recipe all the way through, from beginning to end. This way you will know that you have all the ingredients and tools on hand. You will also be able to look up terms you don't understand so cooking proceeds smoothly.
Most good recipes start with the ingredient list, and the ingredients are listed in the order they are used. In this case, the olive oil goes in the pan first, followed by the onions and the garlic.
Measurements in recipes are critical. When a recipe calls for a tablespoon or teaspoon, the author means for you to use actual measuring utensils, not spoons that you use for eating and serving.
Tbsp. = tablespoon
tsp. = teaspoon
oz. = ounce
Even the order of words in an ingredient list changes the preparation of the foods. For instance, if a recipe calls for "1 cup nuts, chopped", that is different from "1 cup chopped nuts". In the first case, you should measure 1 cup of unchopped shelled nuts first, then chop them. (In the case of walnuts, a 'whole' nut is actually half of the nut. Don't get too literal!) In the second case, the nuts should be chopped first, then measured. The comma placement changes the measuring technique.
In the recipe above, the onions are chopped and then measured.
After you have read the recipe, gather all the ingredients, pots, pans, bowls, and measuring utensils you will need. Go slowly and double check all the steps and ingredients.
The body of the recipe contains the instructions about combining and heating the ingredients. In the spaghetti recipe above:
Heating the olive oil means place it in a skillet, turning on the heat to medium, and leaving the oil on the heat for 1-2 minutes, until you can feel the warmth when you hold your hand 3-4" above the pan.
The degrees of heat are usually marked on your oven dials. I always turn the dial so it points to the lowest part of the heat setting. You can always turn the heat up, but overcooking food is permanent! Medium heat is right in the middle of the dial. Low heat is also marked, and is the bottom 1/4 in the range from off to high.
Cooking the onions until translucent means the color of the onions changes from pure white to a softer white that is more transparent.
Browning the ground turkey means to cook just until the pink or red color disappears. Stir with a fork so the chunk of ground turkey breaks up as it cooks and you are left with small uniform pieces. This does NOT mean to cook until the meat turns the color of dark woodwork.
Cooking vegetables until tender means that when you poke or pierce them with a fork, the tines of the fork slide easily into the flesh, with little resistance.
Simmering and boiling are degrees of cooking. A simmer means small bubbles rise to the surface of the liquid slowly. Simmering liquid doesn't make much noise. Boiling means large bubbles rise to the surface of the liquid quickly. Boiling liquid is quite noisy.
Pasta is tender when it is cooked all the way through. To test that, remove one strand of pasta from the sauce, rinse it with cool water and carefully cut it in half. There should be no white areas inside the pasta, or only a thin white line if you like your pasta to have more texture. Then taste it. The pasta should not taste of flour, and the texture should be tender but still firm.
Stirring frequently means to manipulate the ingredients with a spoon every 2-3 minutes.
All recipes have a cooking time range. These times are tested using tolerance techniques in test kitchens. Begin testing for doneness at the beginning of the time range. In the recipe above, start checking the tenderness of the spaghetti at 20 minutes. You shouldn't have to cook the dish beyond 25 minutes, although many factors can influence timing. Just remember to start testing at the beginning of the cooking range, and remove the food from the heat when it tastes good to you!