I was reading a recipe online, and the majority of comments below it were nothing to do with the finished food product, but all about the way the recipe was written. It was from the USA and all ingredients were listed in cups, rather than by weight.
I have a set of ProCook cups, bought in a sale years ago. They are strong, and the silicon grips make them easy to hold - and they do not distort. And the storage ring opens and closes easily.
I've also got some vintage Salter Balance scales, with two sets of weight - imperial and metric.
We also have a glass topped battery operated digital scale - and a Tala Cook's measure.
I think there are pros and cons for each of these systems
- The measuring cups are obviously essential for a cup based recipe - but I am concerned that if a powder is more densely packed/settled, then its weight will be significantly different from powder loosely gathered. That is bound to affect the resulting cake.
- I love my balance scales, but they are quite cumbersome and heavy. I use them for large quantities [fruit based stuff like chutneys, and my Christmas cake]
- The digital scales are Bob's favourite, he finds them most accurate* - and I must admit that the 'zero' button is useful if you want to use your bowl and add-and-weigh ingredients as you go along. But a larger bowl obscures the panel and you cannot see what the weight is.
- The Tala measure is useful if I am weighing out rice, or lentils to put in a casserole - and it also has volumetric scales [metric and imperial] and cup-measures printed in it. But I don't use it often. It may go to a CS soon!
But even with accurate scales, there are still unexplained disasters sometimes. We ate all the bread on Wednesday evening, so on Thursday morning, I made a 'rapid' loaf in the breadmaker.
It will provide hunks to accompany soup, and toast to be topped with beans - and if all else fails, bread pudding or crumbs!
Unattractive does not equate to inedible.
How do you weigh?
[not 'what do you weigh?' that is far too personal a question!]
Just digital scales and a measuring jug here and a second tiny jug for ml.
ReplyDeleteNo bread-maker, microwave, air fryer, toaster, electric kettle, bullet etc etc. we’re simple folk here in Dorset !
The Breadmaker was an unexpected belated wedding gift - and I don't need an air fryer.
DeleteNo criticism intended. A cost benefit analysis is always worthwhile when it comes to equipment, air fryers included!
DeleteYes, I agree - I worked out it would take about 5 years minimum for me to recoup the cost of an air fryer. Not worth it in this household. But an electric kettle is the most efficient & economical way for me to boil water.
DeleteWhat did the asterix next to Bob's assertion that digital ones are more accurate mean?
ReplyDeleteI tried using my digital scales on the carpet to weigh a parcel and they went all strange and inaccurate!
I use the digital scales as I don't have anything else but I am wondering where the Tala cup I used to have disappeared to?
Kx
* was a typo! Digital scales should be placed on a hard surface, not a carpet, or they will weigh wrongly.
DeleteDefinitely something very strange with that loaf. Hope the machine works properly next time.
ReplyDeleteOne set of scales is all I have.
Bob reminded me that my previous "rapid bake" didn't work either...
DeleteI have a non-digital scales which has pounds and kilograms marked on it and I have a smaller scales to weigh ounces. Then, I have the American cup measures and a 1 pint Pyrex jug for liquids (1 US pint = 16 fl. oz. or 2 cups).
ReplyDeleteMany of my recipe books are old, so in Oz not Gms!
DeleteI have digital scales that weigh in old and new money and like that they can be zeroed when putting a bowl on top. I also have stainless steel measuring spoons which came from the garden centre(think they were meant for measuring weedkiller etc) and were much less expensive than their Lakeland equivalents. Catriona
ReplyDeleteAs long as N doesn't use them for weedkiller, you will be ok
DeleteI'm with Bob on this one I use and prefer digital scales. I do have a set of cup measurements not unlike yours. An American friend told me to loosely pack flour but pack tightly sugar so to get accurate weights for recipes not really sure how this works but do use that approach and recipes seem to work out. I love Pyrex measuring jugs for the microwave too as handles are safer to grab hold of as you say. I did have some old scales with weights which had been my Grandmothers but I passed them on to my niece who liked them and has a much larger kitchen. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteThe old scales do look attractive!
DeleteI have a set of digital scales, 4 measuring jugs, one of which is tiny, for liquids up to 60mls, a set of measuring cups, (1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 cup) and a much loved battered old Tala measure!
ReplyDeleteThe digital scales and Tala measure are by far the most used.
I have even perfected the art of lifting the Tala measure by the plastic base when it's being used to measure hot liquids, years of burned fingers has taught me something! X
That's a neat trick!
DeleteI love my digital scales, but the battery does seem to run out fairly quickly. Also couldn't be without my numerous Pyrex measuring jugs. I have American cups but rarely use them. I remember Mum had one of those Tala thingies, think they were a must have but rarely used item in a lot of kitchens at one time.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
There is a certain attraction in such a "rustic" looking loaf. To me it begs chunks being torn off and enjoyed with good butter or cheese! JanF
ReplyDeleteI’ve had a similar result with my bread machine twice. The first time it was old yeast and the second time it was old multigrain flour (for some reason it doesn’t mind old white flour). Neither was a rapid loaf though. Rapid loaves use much more yeast so maybe your yeast has lost a bit of strength.
ReplyDeleteThe whole measuring by weight or volume thing gets very tangled. It’s interesting that a number of U.S. TV chefs now advocate measuring things like flour by weight because using a measuring cup is inaccurate. It’s all made worse by the fact that the measuring cups themselves aren’t necessarily accurate. I can measure one cup of liquid in one cup then pour it into another and it is slightly off a cup.
Recipe failures can also come from differences in ingredients. U.K. plain flour is made from soft wheat. Canadian all purpose flour is made from hard wheat and can be used in breadmakers. You need cake and pastry flour for more delicate recipes. U.S. all purpose flour cannot be used in breadmakers - they have to buy bread flour. I could make great shortcrust pastry in England but the flour, lard, and butter are different in Canada and I just can’t get it right. I CAN get U.K. flour in the British shops here (at an horrendous price) but it still doesn’t come out as well as it did in England.
And, a Canadian pint is the same size as a British one (20 fluid ounces) but because we use the American cup a Canadian pint is 2 1/2 cups. I always have to check where my recipe came from before starting so I know whether 4 oz flour is 1/2 a cup or should be weighed and just how much liquid is 2 pints of stock.
Oh goodness, I hadn't realised how complicated it is in Canada!
DeleteBlame the bread maker, Angela. I'm sure it wasn't your doing!
ReplyDeleteLiving in North America for over 50 years I got used to using cup measures, but I sometimes find recipes which partly call for ounces but my cups have liquid measure marked on them, as do the graduating spoons. I have a scale but it isn't good for small quantities.
Weren't there once some old recipes which called for ingredients to be measured in relation to the weight of the eggs being used?
Oops, my reply has gone to the bottom of the list!
DeleteOur digital scales are used for most things but I have a cook book which has a key for 'cups' into 'grams!' What a loaf!!
ReplyDeleteFortunately it sliced ok and was edible (odd shaped slices tho!)
DeleteI'm grateful that my digital scales weigh pounds and grammes and have a zero button. I only use measuring spoons for the bread maker. I recently discovered my husband always uses rapid bake, and I never noticed a difference!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think the women's institute had a sponge cake where everything (butter, sugar, flour) had to weigh the same as the two eggs
ReplyDeleteI have a digital scale and measuring cups. Which I use depends on the recipe. As Sensocue's friend said, flour is loosely packed and sugar (especially brown sugar) tightly packed. Usually a set of cups for different amounts are used, measured to the rim, and a knife slid across the top to level it off. Which is why I prefer the scale!
ReplyDeleteAccuracy is important in baking, so I agree - scales not cups
ReplyDeleteI use my scales daily; I wouldn't want to be without them. For larger bowls, some scales have a slanted front to see the numbers, and other scales have a pull-out part in front to read the weight.
ReplyDeleteThe other issue with American recipes is that measuring cups are for dry ingredients, liquids need the measuring jug in cups. Using the wrong 'cup' can change the results.
Some online recipes let you switch from one system to the other. I have converted some 'cup' recipes to weights because it's much easier.
I'm with Bob, scales rule! ~ skye
👍😊
DeleteI do all my weighing in the kitchen on my digital scales these days,. I like being able to zero them over and over again and just add things to the bowl one after the other.
ReplyDeleteAt school in 'Housecraft' we always used the Tala measures for our baking, like cup measurements I don't know how accurate these actually are, as the things you are weighing out could be tightly or loosely packed.
I never did cookery at school, sadly!
Delete