Sometimes a person must think twice to understand fully what is meant by a given cooking term. For instance, a tablespoon of butter melted should be measured BEFORE melting. A tablespoon of melted butter should be measured AFTER melting. When a recipe calls for a cup of cream whipped it is measured BEFORE it is whipped. If the recipe calls for a cup of whipped cream measure it AFTER it is whipped.
When a recipe says to STIR it means to stir it with a circular motion to gradually blend the ingredients. To BEAT something means to mix it over and over until air cells are well incorporated. When the recipe says to FOLD it means to carefully turn the mixture over onto itself to not break the air-cells, as in folding beaten egg whites into a batter.
Always sift dry ingredients BEFORE measuring. If measured before sifting more than the required amount called for will be used. This is very important when baking cakes and breads. When a level cup is called for it means level with the top of the cup. Use a knife to make sure it is level. The same is true for spoon measurements.
Do you know that 12-tablespoons of a dry material equals 1-cup? 1-heaping-tablespoon of sugar equals 1-ounce? 2-rounded-tablespoons of flour equal 1-ounce? 1-rounded-tablespoon of butter equals 1-ounce? 1-heaping-tablespoon of butter equals 2-ounces? 1-cup of granulated sugar equals 1/2-pound? 1-1/4cups of powdered sugar equals 1/2-pound?
Just a slight variation will make some recipes fail. Some people blame the failure on the recipe, but most of the time the blame goes to the cook that did not understand terminology or measurements.
Everything I write about is from personal observation and life experiences. I love to cook and prepare foods in different ways. I like sharing my experiences about food and cooking. My website pothaven.com pothaven.com was created because of my interest in quality cookware and cooking.
