Where I come from a tablespoon is FOUR teaspoons. All your charts claim it is only three. And the teaspoon is a different size. And for that matter so is the cup
For me: 1 tsp = 5ml, 1 tb = 20ml, 1 cup=250ml
For you 1 tsp = 4.9ml, 1 tb = 14.79ml, 1 cup=227ml
And I know of at least three different measurements for a pint and two for a gill (I have an old recipe that uses a gill of lemon juice. The best cheesecake I have ever eaten) And don't get me started on pounds. 1 litre on the other hand is ALWAYS 1000 cubic centimetres.
Now I know for most things, these variations don't matter much, but for some things they do. Especially the tablespoon. Imagine the result of adding >25% extra yeast. Or chile!
It is hard to cook under these extreme hazards.
A suggestion would be to order some measuring devices from the US to have on hand when using recipes from here. Didn't realize the exchange was so far off, that would be discouraging and frustrating.
It's funny how these things work. I would never have guessed that they were different. Yet, I am not at all surprised!
Never heard of a gill as a measurement. Sounds... fishy
Never heard of a gill as a measurement. Sounds... fishy
The version at I use is 5 UK fluid ounces. Around 140ml. The US version is a little smaller at 120ml BTW it is pronounced with a soft 'g'.
It is referred to in the nursery rhyme:
The gill was introduced in the 14th century to measure individual servings of whiskey or wine. The term jill appears in the nursery rhyme “Jack and Jill.” Soon after ascending to the throne of England in 1625, King Charles I scaled down the jack or jackpot (sometimes known as a double jigger) in order to collect higher sales taxes. The jill, by definition twice the size of the jack, was automatically reduced also and “came tumbling after.”
Something I didn't know before now.
Incidentally my cheesecake recipe goes along the lines of Make a biscuit base in a family sized pie dish chill till set. Cream 1/2lb cream cheese (I use one block of Philly) Beat in 1 tin sweetened condensed milk When mixed, fold in 1 gill of lemon juice Pour mixture in to pie plate and leave to set. The lemon juice sets the mixture in a few minutes, but I find it benefits from an hour or so in the fridge. I used to use eureka lemons, but these days I can only get Meyers. They work a little differently but are still ok. I grate some nutmeg over the top, but it could probably take whatever topping you like
DONT use light cream cheese or low fat condensed milk. It won't set. Orange juice doesn't help the cause either.
Last Edit: Feb 3, 2014 18:42:57 GMT -6 by GregDarcy: Source of quote is brittanica.com
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I use a lovely app called HiCalc HD Pro that handles pretty much every conversion you might ever want. Though even that doesn't know about Australian tablespoons. Sigh.
I am not much of a cook, but the iOS conversion app I use called Convert Any Unit Free handles Australian tablespoons. Which I didn't even know existed until this thread!
I use a lovely app called HiCalc HD Pro that handles pretty much every conversion you might ever want. Though even that doesn't know about Australian tablespoons. Sigh.
I am not much of a cook, but the iOS conversion app I use called Convert Any Unit Free handles Australian tablespoons. Which I didn't even know existed until this thread!
ThaNks for that. I have had a quick play. It looks good. I particularly like that you can add your own conversions. The ads are more than a little annoying though I still like that my one can give you multiple conversions at once. So I will probably use both.
Main GCID: GregDarcy Secondary: GregDarcyToo All gems friends spoken for. Happy to accept friends for party hats. I blame Apple's auto incorrect for all my typos. I actively discourage challenges. All challengers are unfriended.
I am not much of a cook, but the iOS conversion app I use called Convert Any Unit Free handles Australian tablespoons. Which I didn't even know existed until this thread!
ThaNks for that. I have had a quick play. It looks good. I particularly like that you can add your own conversions. The ads are more than a little annoying though I still like that my one can give you multiple conversions at once. So I will probably use both.
I agree, I actually have the paid version. If you search just for Convert Any Unit you should find the paid version if you like the free one enough.
Sheesh, in the old days (days of dragons ) I'm sure everything was to taste! C'mon, throw in a little imagination and think as though fire had just been invented (by a dragon, I'm sure).
I guess, since I don't use flour much, I'm kind of used to approximates. Chef schools on this side of the Atlantic go by taste principles (sweet-salt balance, content in fats, herbs and aromas, the look of it, etc.) So mascarpone is never quite cheesecake, but don't knock it till you've tried it.
Yep. most cooking is to taste. And some dishes have so many variations they are a family rather than a recipe. My Spag Bol for example, I am sure, bears very little resemblance to a ragu cooked in Bologna. Heck. I don't even use spaghetti these days. It has evolved all the years I have been cooking it, and I got it from my mother & it evolved all the years she cooked it. And she got it from the Italian migrants who moved in next door. It probably evolved in their hands too. If only to cope with the availability of ingredients in this strange country.
But other things need to be very precise as they are based on chemistry. Baking is the obvious one here. you can't just add a bit of yeast, taste it & say "she'll be right" Well you can but you are more likely to end up with rock cakes than bread. That cheesecake I mentioned a few posts ago is also chemistry. The acid in the lemons sets something in the cheese/milk. Too little acid & it won't set. Too much & it splits & just tastes of lemon. And you cannot sneak up on the right amount. use the wrong cheese or milk & it won't set no matter how much lemon you use.
Also when you are trying something new, you need to follow the directions. Once you do that once you can lay down variations, but you need that benchmark. "This is how the maker intended it" If you are adding 25% too much (or too little) of just one ingredient you will never get that benchmark.
Main GCID: GregDarcy Secondary: GregDarcyToo All gems friends spoken for. Happy to accept friends for party hats. I blame Apple's auto incorrect for all my typos. I actively discourage challenges. All challengers are unfriended.
Put it this way: it's important to know the principle of the step. It freaked me out the first time my mother-in-law said, "make me some mayonnaise, quick". I'd always taken that out of a bottle. When I learned about the egg-and-lemon principle, it just took five minutes and every time it was fresh. Then my sister-in-law went and tweaked that "traditional" recipe to (of all things) milk, for people avoiding egg cholesterol. And ever since then mayonnaise for me has been "as you like it", including lactose-free.
Flour recipes are really more premeditated, I guess, but since there's a bit of intolerance in the family, I have to use as little flour as possible. (Which doesn't dampen my interest in those breads some people just seem to stick to the sides of their ovens. I once watched people making naan in India and they had no measuring cups.)
The challenge of adapting recipes to new ingredients is a whole chapter in cuisine altogether. There are parts of the world drowning in ketchup where tomatoes are a rarity and most of the stuff they serve is banana-based. Likewise, there are Spanish dishes the world over that taste familiar and have the same names, made with totally different ingredients.
Post by wOMantraNOM on Jun 30, 2015 10:38:31 GMT -6
Lots of tempting recipes here to try!
I'm learning more about the science of cooking. Lemmyloop's plea for a soft sugar cookie reminded me of a recent episode of Foodnetwork's The Kitchen where I learned how to modify the 6 variables of a chocolate chip cookie recipe (or any cookie - also explains the banana bread/banana cake mystery's science) to obtain exactly the texture wanted. Here's the link to the basic recipe and a slideshow of how the variables can change it: www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-kitchen/ins-and-outs-of-chocolate-chip-cookies-the-ultimate-guide.html
Thanks, GregDarcy, for the key to Jack and Jill - love that!
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Put it this way: it's important to know the principle of the step. It freaked me out the first time my mother-in-law said, "make me some mayonnaise, quick". I'd always taken that out of a bottle. When I learned about the egg-and-lemon principle, it just took five minutes and every time it was fresh. Then my sister-in-law went and tweaked that "traditional" recipe to (of all things) milk, for people avoiding egg cholesterol. And ever since then mayonnaise for me has been "as you like it", including lactose-free.
Freitag, I'm interested in your sister-in-law's recipe for "milk mayo" since I'm (oh, agony) allergic to poultry and eggs.
gcid: womantrarae / team: Iron Blossom 🐉🌸🛠🌸🐉 Now offering: Various
Welcome to the Whine Lounge, please whinge creatively and bring cheese. ~featuring "utterly rifted l'aissez faire conversation pit" - happy hours 24/7~
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Post by wOMantraNOM on Jul 4, 2015 10:22:53 GMT -6
Here's a strange recipe I discovered on a Retro-Mid-Century Cooking site. I don't eat much cake, but I'm thinking of trying this out on my friends (I can eat a little egg, but not every day). It was apparently developed by Campbell's Soup Co during WWII. I'm including comments by the baker and her husband:
It came out of the oven and the finished cake smelled so good, and it was so moist and delicious. And Tom kept eating so much of it.
“This cake is so good.”
“I know!”
“I am getting another piece.”
“No don’t! This is your third piece already. And it isn’t even 10:00 am yet!”
“I want it!”
“We have to get rid of this thing. It’s like tomato-chocolate-crack.”
Finally, we agreed that we had to send the cake away to be eaten by Tom’s co-workers, otherwise we were going to eat the whole thing by ourselves in two days.
But we couldn’t stop thinking about the cake. We daydreamed about it. We pined for it. We cursed the decision to give it away. And so, when our neighbors invited us over for dinner that Saturday, we knew exactly which cake we were going to make to take for dessert.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups AP flour (or 1 3/4 cups plus 2 T cake flour) 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup cocoa 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 2 eggs 1 can condensed tomato soup 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup oil 1 tsp vanilla Instructions
wOMantraNOM, With that much sugar I a not surprised it is addictive!
Main GCID: GregDarcy Secondary: GregDarcyToo All gems friends spoken for. Happy to accept friends for party hats. I blame Apple's auto incorrect for all my typos. I actively discourage challenges. All challengers are unfriended.
Put it this way: it's important to know the principle of the step. It freaked me out the first time my mother-in-law said, "make me some mayonnaise, quick". I'd always taken that out of a bottle. When I learned about the egg-and-lemon principle, it just took five minutes and every time it was fresh. Then my sister-in-law went and tweaked that "traditional" recipe to (of all things) milk, for people avoiding egg cholesterol. And ever since then mayonnaise for me has been "as you like it", including lactose-free.
Freitag, I'm interested in your sister-in-law's recipe for "milk mayo" since I'm (oh, agony) allergic to poultry and eggs.
She advises whole milk, always at room temperature. That's the first thing in. The basic proportion's 2 parts olive or sunflower oil (or a mixture of these) for every part of the milk. (Olive oil has some gluten, sunflower oil has none). Salt to taste or per doctor's advice, and then you start blending - basic salt is a third of a teaspoon for a half-glass of milk. Add the dash of lemon juice (or vinegar) as you go, to taste. Desired thickness depends on proportion: more milk = lighter mayo, more oil = thicker mayo.
You'll get something relatively white when compared to regular egg mayo, but you can use coloring. On the positive side, it's not as prone to salmonella.
PS: Hey, I'm finding out this is something regularly done in Portugal! They spice it up with parsely and garlic as well.
I pasteurize my eggs when I make mayo. No salmonella here.
Main GCID: GregDarcy Secondary: GregDarcyToo All gems friends spoken for. Happy to accept friends for party hats. I blame Apple's auto incorrect for all my typos. I actively discourage challenges. All challengers are unfriended.
I pasteurize my eggs when I make mayo. No salmonella here.
How d'ya do that?
I "cook" them in their shells @55°C for two hours. It helps to have a sous vide setup. The eggs come out pasteurized but for all intents and purposes raw. Sometimes the whites go a little cloudy. You need to hold them above 52°C
Main GCID: GregDarcy Secondary: GregDarcyToo All gems friends spoken for. Happy to accept friends for party hats. I blame Apple's auto incorrect for all my typos. I actively discourage challenges. All challengers are unfriended.
I "cook" them in their shells @55°C for two hours. It helps to have a sous vide setup. The eggs come out pasteurized but for all intents and purposes raw. Sometimes the whites go a little cloudy. You need to hold them above 52°C
Seems like I could do that with a slow cooker (crock pot) by fine-tuning the temp a bit. The article was very interesting, the guy must have unlimited time and eggs to do such exhaustive testing and all that runny yolk was making me fairly queasy , but the SCIENCE - very cool! Having only myself to test on, and no help from years of doctors ("It hurts when you do that? Don't do that."), my trials and errors have been timid things, just enough to know that I must be very careful about how much egg to consume without discomfort. However, since I didn't discover the problem until my 20's (@1966, watching Ayn Rand interviewed by Johnny Carson and eating chicken for the second day in a row), I've often wondered whether the problem was not in me, but in the chickens/feed/antibiotics/? Still willing to experiment (carefully), with factors I can control, I'm thinking of trading with my neighbor for some of her home-grown eggs to test. Am now wondering if pasteurizing could make a difference in how my body reacts to whatever bothers it.
As as a strange sidebar: I read years ago that people allergic to poultry are sometimes less allergic to male poultry! Hard to get rooster these days unless you really trust your coq au vin supplier, but I did try a Tom Turkey once, with inconclusive results. Chicken broth is the worst (concentrated) although America's Test Kitchen noted lately that many boullions aren't made with actual chicken any more! He was complaining, but my ears perked up at the thought that I might once again be able to enjoy the flavors that have been denied me for so many years! Must write Chris Kimball and ask for clarification.
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, but the SCIENCE - very cool!