Cooking Hints and Tips   

Measuring

When measuring molasses, honey, corn syrup, or other syrups lightly butter the measuring cup first. Syrup will pour out nicely - with no waste. When you measure sticky stuff like peanut butter and shortening, put some plastic wrap in the cup. To measure sticks of butter or margarine, follow the markings on the wrapper. For unwrapped butter or margarine, soften it, then measure in a measuring cup. Fill muffin pans easily and neatly by using an ice cream scoop. Use water to measure the volume of casserole dishes. Fill a casserole with a measured amount of water to determine its size. To measure soft bread crumbs, pile them lightly into a cup. Do not pack them down unless the recipe calls for soaking them in water, milk, or stock. To measure flour, stir it in the bag or canister to lighten it. Gently spoon flour into a dry measuring cup or measuring spoon. Level it off with the straight side of a knife. Sift flour before measuring when used in batters and doughs. (Nowadays, some/most flour has already been sifted for you. We suggest you follow miller's directions.) When measuring shredded cheese, let it fall lightly into the measuring cup - do not pack firmly. One pound shredded cheese equals four cups. Dip the measuring cup in water first when measuring shortening and it won't stick to the cup and will come out in one piece. To measure brown sugar, firmly pack it into the measuring cup and level it with a straight edge. It should hold its shape when emptied from the cup. To measure granulated sugar, spoon it into the measuring cup and level it with a straight edge. Measure small amounts of dry and liquid ingredients in measuring spoons away from the mixing bowl, so you do not spill extra ingredients into the bowl. Measure liquid ingredients in a spouted, clear measuring cup that allows extra room at the top to prevent spilling. Pour liquid into cup on table. Have measuring line at eye level. You don't want to hold measuring cup because your hand might not be level and you can get the wrong measurement. When measuring granulated sugar, sift only if lumpy. Spoon lightly into graduated measuring cup. Level off with a straight-edged knife. Do not knock or tap cup. Five pounds of granulated sugar contains approximately 10 cups of sugar. To easily measure 9 cups sugar, remove 1 cup of sugar from the 5 lb-bag and use the remaining 9 cups. To measure confectioners sugar sift through flour sifter to remove lumps. Spoon lightly into graduated measuring cup. Level off with straight-edged knife. Pack raisins, dates, figs or other dried fruit lightly into measuring cup. Press gently to level off top. Pack shredded coconut or shelled nuts lightly into measuring cup until level with top. Normally when measuring with a spoon (i.e. tablespoons or teaspoons) you measure by dipping the spoon into the ingredients and then sweeping off the excess with a straight edge.    To measure a rounded spoon full, don't sweep it off.    To measure a heaping spoon full, try to pile more on<G>. To measure dry ingredients such as flour and granulated sugar, spoon the ingredient lightly into a dry-measure cup and level the top with the straight side of a knife. Don't tap the cup on a counter to even the top, which will pack the ingredient down and alter the measurement. Often, a recipe using an ingredient such as brown sugar will call for it being firmly packed. Why? Its texture is coarser than a fine, granulated sugar, and air pockets will form that should be eliminated with packing.

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