Scales

Measurements, do we really need them?

Scales
Scales

I tend not to use a lot of specific measurements in my cooking (as you’ve probably noticed) it’s more done by look, feel, smell and most importantly taste. But, naturally, recipes on the interweb do have measurements on them and a lot of them are confusing because they use the different formats – especially in America who use Fahrenheit for their oven temperatures.

Saying I have a free hand in my measurements obviously doesn’t apply to baking and dessert cooking – that’s a different art all together ! Unless you are very skilled at it like both my Nieces you really should measure everything, otherwise who knows what you’ll end up cooking. With this in mind, you’ll rarely see a dessert or any baking on this blog – I have no patients!

With The The Baking Queens - My Nieces Siân, Alice and I
With The The Baking Queens – My Nieces Siân, Alice and I

As I’ve said earlier in other posts, enjoy what you do – cook to your liking and your tastes, if you like something add some more (just remember you can rarely take away if you are a bit heavy handed on the spice pot!)

Below are some measurements I use in case you want a safety net, I have prepared a pdf for you which you can download and keep. Remember all measurements should be double checked for accuracy if you are cooking an important meal!

Oven Temperatures

Along with the Australians, we British use Celsius for our oven temperatures

°C Fan°C °F Gas Description
110 90 225 ¼ Very cool
120 100 250 ½ Very cool
140 120 275 1 Cool
150 130 300 2 Cool
160 140 325 3 Warm
180 160 350 4 Moderate
190 170 375 5 Moderately hot
200 180 400 6 Fairly hot
220 200 425 7 Hot

Weights

Metric Imperial US Cups
60ml 2fl oz ¼ cup
125ml 4fl oz ½ cup
175ml 6fl oz ¾ cup
250ml 8fl oz 1 cup
300ml 10fl oz/½ pint 1¼ cups
450ml 15fl oz 2 cups/
600ml 1 pint 2½ cups
1 litre 1¾ pints 4.2 cups

If like me you watch American cooking programmes you’ll know they use a stick of butter – what is that you ask?

1 Stick of butter = 115 grams

Confused about Teaspoons and Tablespoons – worry not!1 x Teaspoon (Tsp) = 5ml
1 x Desert Spoon (Dsp) = 10ml
1 x Tablespoon (Tbs) = 15ml

 

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