5 ms·

It wouldn't hurt for all recipes to convert over to grams except perhaps for very small measures. "Four cups of flour" can have a substantial swing by weight,

It wouldn't hurt for all recipes to convert over to grams except perhaps for very small measures. "Four cups of flour" can have a substantial swing by weight, making a real difference in something like a loaf of bread. If you aren't an experienced baker or never made a particular loaf before, it is really hard to know by feel if the hydration is right or wrong. Every kitchen should have a scale so cookbook authors can count on this. And please please please don't use ounces instead: they are too coarse, and they are inexcusably used for both weight and volume. I'd also like the phrase "medium heat" outlawed but I know that is a bridge too far. My stove has four burners in a ridiculous range of heat output. Each has a "medium" setting. My pancakes are much better off now that I've got an IR thermometer and can keep the pan around 350 - 375F.

bombcar 5y ago
Medium heat is the worst - and having at least some references for what temperature you’re looking for would help tremendously. I’m surprised oven manufacturers don’t sell cookbooks designed and tested on their actual ovens.
- cratermoon 5y ago
  Ovens used to come with pamphlets of recipes. Microwave ovens, too.
  - bombcar 5y ago
    The original ones are amazing - put the venison in the microwave on high for 40 minutes.
    - bartvk 5y ago
      What does that do to the venison?!
      - adamauckland 5y ago
        I think it brings it back to life!
      - cratermoon 5y ago
        Turns it into a useful material for making tires.
bertr4nd 5y ago
I agree so much about “medium heat” or really any subjective measure of heat. When I was learning to cook I smoked up my apartment so many times before I learned that what recipe authors called “high heat” was really about 50% up my range’s dial, and anything above that was mostly suitable for boiling water.
- bashinator 5y ago
  Using a simple infrared thermometer changed how I cook so much for the better.
jorvi 5y ago
What would be interesting is if stove burners would be required to have their watt-equivaleng heat output as markers, instead of 1-2-3-4-5. That way would know that 3 on the middle burner is equal to 5 on the small burner, and recipe books can now mention you need ~800 watts of heat output, which is neatly usuable for induction and coil cooking as well.
- ryandrake 5y ago
  Thank you! It's one of the things mildly infuriating about learning to cook, especially from recipes. They don't quantify everything. What's "high heat" exactly? What is a "pinch" of salt, and how does it differ from a "dash" of it? Are these volume measurements or weights? When it says "sprinkle some X" how much should you sprinkle? What's a spoonful? Are they referring to a US teaspoon (approx. 5mL), or somebody else's spoon? How much oil is in a "drizzle"? What about a "drop"? Are we talking about the metric drop (0.05mL)? How many grams is a "medium potato"? Or an onion? I can get onions in sizes that vary by 3X, but the recipe just says chop up an onion. Maddening!
  - ThrustVectoring 5y ago
    The answer is that a recipe is a seed idea for a creative process, not a fixed set of steps that you have to follow exactly or ruin the magic. > What's "high heat" exactly? A suggestion that you want caramelization and/or browning > What is a "pinch" of salt, and how does it differ from a "dash" of it? Doesn't matter, you should salt to taste anyhow, this is merely a reminder to do so > When it says "sprinkle some X" how much should you sprinkle? Smell it or taste a little and guess > How much oil is in a "drizzle"? Enough to tell that it's there, not enough to soak it through > How many grams is a "medium potato"? Or an onion? Doesn't matter, you'll wind up with a range of vegetable quantities and they all roughly work, just end up in slightly different places.
    - a1369209993 5y ago
      > a recipe is a seed idea for a creative process, not a fixed set of steps that you have to follow exactly or ruin the magic. No! It is not a creative[0] process! I am attempting to make food, to eat, not a bloody painting, and pretentions of artistry are, as ryandrake just said, infuriating[1]. 0: I assume you mean "involving creativity", not "that has the effect of creating something", since the latter applies equally well to, for example, working in a assembly line. Edit: 1: case in point, apparently.
ThrustVectoring 5y ago
Bread sure, bust out the scales, but most recipes don't actually need anything more than a vague outline of what you're trying to do. Tolerances on soup, for example, are extremely wide, and any measurement is picking an arbitrary point in flavor space and declaring it "correct" when much of anything will do. And the idea of a "correct" way to do it encourages home cooks to treat the process like a black box where any misstep will ruin things, rather than having levers to adjust things to taste.
- bigyikes 5y ago
  Learning to “let go” has really helped out my mediocre cooking skills. We really need a Bob Ross for the cooking world; someone to help us embrace all of our tasty little accidents.
  - finnh 5y ago
    Sam Sifton (mentioned in the article) has a "No Recipe Recipes" book that I just received for Father's Day. Perfectly suited to how I like to cook.
5etho 5y ago
>350 - 375F want gram, still use freedom units instead of celsius :)
- stephencanon 5y ago
  Actual units are less important than the mass vs volume distinction.
  - walshemj 5y ago
    That did (from the UK) strike me as odd the way cups are used in us recipes. I use a conical cooks measure for speed now - for things like rice flour etc
- irrational 5y ago
  I’d be happy with flour measurements being given in ounces or grams, my scale has both. I don’t care as long as it is by some unit of weight instead of volume.

bombcar 5y ago

Medium heat is the worst - and having at least some references for what temperature you’re looking for would help tremendously. I’m surprised oven manufacturers don’t sell cookbooks designed and tested on their actual ovens.

cratermoon 5y ago
Ovens used to come with pamphlets of recipes. Microwave ovens, too.
- bombcar 5y ago
  The original ones are amazing - put the venison in the microwave on high for 40 minutes.
  - bartvk 5y ago
    What does that do to the venison?!
    - adamauckland 5y ago
      I think it brings it back to life!
    - cratermoon 5y ago
      Turns it into a useful material for making tires.

bertr4nd 5y ago

I agree so much about “medium heat” or really any subjective measure of heat. When I was learning to cook I smoked up my apartment so many times before I learned that what recipe authors called “high heat” was really about 50% up my range’s dial, and anything above that was mostly suitable for boiling water.

bashinator 5y ago
Using a simple infrared thermometer changed how I cook so much for the better.

jorvi 5y ago

What would be interesting is if stove burners would be required to have their watt-equivaleng heat output as markers, instead of 1-2-3-4-5. That way would know that 3 on the middle burner is equal to 5 on the small burner, and recipe books can now mention you need ~800 watts of heat output, which is neatly usuable for induction and coil cooking as well.

ryandrake 5y ago
Thank you! It's one of the things mildly infuriating about learning to cook, especially from recipes. They don't quantify everything. What's "high heat" exactly? What is a "pinch" of salt, and how does it differ from a "dash" of it? Are these volume measurements or weights? When it says "sprinkle some X" how much should you sprinkle? What's a spoonful? Are they referring to a US teaspoon (approx. 5mL), or somebody else's spoon? How much oil is in a "drizzle"? What about a "drop"? Are we talking about the metric drop (0.05mL)? How many grams is a "medium potato"? Or an onion? I can get onions in sizes that vary by 3X, but the recipe just says chop up an onion. Maddening!
- ThrustVectoring 5y ago
  The answer is that a recipe is a seed idea for a creative process, not a fixed set of steps that you have to follow exactly or ruin the magic. > What's "high heat" exactly? A suggestion that you want caramelization and/or browning > What is a "pinch" of salt, and how does it differ from a "dash" of it? Doesn't matter, you should salt to taste anyhow, this is merely a reminder to do so > When it says "sprinkle some X" how much should you sprinkle? Smell it or taste a little and guess > How much oil is in a "drizzle"? Enough to tell that it's there, not enough to soak it through > How many grams is a "medium potato"? Or an onion? Doesn't matter, you'll wind up with a range of vegetable quantities and they all roughly work, just end up in slightly different places.
  - a1369209993 5y ago
    > a recipe is a seed idea for a creative process, not a fixed set of steps that you have to follow exactly or ruin the magic. No! It is not a creative[0] process! I am attempting to make food, to eat, not a bloody painting, and pretentions of artistry are, as ryandrake just said, infuriating[1]. 0: I assume you mean "involving creativity", not "that has the effect of creating something", since the latter applies equally well to, for example, working in a assembly line. Edit: 1: case in point, apparently.

ThrustVectoring 5y ago

Bread sure, bust out the scales, but most recipes don't actually need anything more than a vague outline of what you're trying to do. Tolerances on soup, for example, are extremely wide, and any measurement is picking an arbitrary point in flavor space and declaring it "correct" when much of anything will do. And the idea of a "correct" way to do it encourages home cooks to treat the process like a black box where any misstep will ruin things, rather than having levers to adjust things to taste.

bigyikes 5y ago
Learning to “let go” has really helped out my mediocre cooking skills. We really need a Bob Ross for the cooking world; someone to help us embrace all of our tasty little accidents.
- finnh 5y ago
  Sam Sifton (mentioned in the article) has a "No Recipe Recipes" book that I just received for Father's Day. Perfectly suited to how I like to cook.

5etho 5y ago

>350 - 375F want gram, still use freedom units instead of celsius :)

stephencanon 5y ago
Actual units are less important than the mass vs volume distinction.
- walshemj 5y ago
  That did (from the UK) strike me as odd the way cups are used in us recipes. I use a conical cooks measure for speed now - for things like rice flour etc
irrational 5y ago
I’d be happy with flour measurements being given in ounces or grams, my scale has both. I don’t care as long as it is by some unit of weight instead of volume.