Read the recipe before you start
A recipe is a set of proportions and a sequence. The Iowa State University food preparation lab manual opens its measurement chapter with the reason measurement matters: standard techniques are what give accurate proportions of ingredients and consistent results from one batch to the next. Reading the whole recipe through before you start is how you catch the steps that cannot wait, such as an ingredient that has to be softened, chilled or soaked, or a pan that must be hot before anything goes in.
Once you have read it, set out what you need. Measure the ingredients, cut what needs cutting and put each item within reach. That habit matters most for fast methods such as sautéing and stir-frying, described in the dry-heat guide, where there is no time to measure once the pan is hot. It also lets you notice before you start that you are short of something.
Use real measuring tools
Mississippi State University Extension's measuring guide starts with tools. Coffee mugs, teacups and the spoons you eat with are not reliable for measuring, because they are not a consistent size; they can make you add too much or too little. A well-stocked kitchen, it suggests, has a liquid measuring cup, a set of dry measuring cups and a set of measuring spoons. Choose cups and spoons with the markings moulded or engraved into them, so they stay readable after the printed ink wears off.
The same guide adds a sensible rule: use the tool that needs the fewest measurements. Measuring 2 cups of flour with a quarter-cup scoop means counting eight scoops, and it is easy to lose count. A 1 cup measure, used twice, is quicker and safer. It also advises against guessing or "eyeballing" amounts when you are new to cooking or using a new recipe, and against estimating at all when baking.
Measuring dry ingredients
Dry measuring cups are made to be filled to the brim and levelled. Mississippi State Extension's method:
- Pick the cup that matches the amount. Most sets include quarter, third, half and 1 cup sizes; some add an eighth and two-thirds.
- Fill it all the way. For most dry ingredients, such as sugar or rice, scoop from the container or pour into the cup.
- Level it. Run the flat edge of a knife, not the sharp edge, across the top to scrape off the excess. Do it over the container or the sink so that the spill is easy to deal with.
Teaspoon and tablespoon amounts are measured with measuring spoons, and Mississippi State Extension notes that the same spoons serve for dry and liquid ingredients. Level a spoonful of a dry ingredient the same way as a cup.
Flour, brown sugar and soft fats
Three ingredients have their own rules, because how tightly they are packed changes how much ends up in the cup.
- Flour. Do not scoop the cup into the bag, and do not pack the flour down. Mississippi State Extension says to hold the cup over the container or sink, spoon flour into it until it overflows, then level it with the flat side of a knife. Flour packed down by scooping or tapping fills the cup with more than the recipe meant.
- Brown sugar. This is the opposite: press it into the cup with a spoon. If the recipe says "lightly packed", press lightly; if it says "packed" or "firmly packed", press until there are no air spaces. Turned out, firmly packed brown sugar should hold the shape of the cup.
- Soft fats. For softened butter, margarine or peanut butter, spoon the ingredient into the cup and press it down to remove air pockets, adding more until the cup is full, then level it. Mississippi State Extension also notes that one stick of butter or margarine is half a cup.
The Iowa State manual adds that some ingredients must be packed or weighed to get a correct measure, and gives grated cheese as an example: 1 cup grated is about 4 ounces, or 114 grams. Weighing on a kitchen scale avoids the packing question altogether.
Measuring liquids
Liquids need a different cup. Mississippi State Extension recommends a clear liquid measuring cup with a pouring spout and large, easy-to-read markings. Two habits make the reading accurate:
- Set the cup flat on the counter so the surface of the liquid is level.
- Bend down so your eyes are level with the marking. Looking down from above gives a wrong reading.
For thick liquids such as molasses, a rubber spatula gets the last of it out of the cup.
Equivalents worth knowing
Equivalents let you measure with fewer tools and convert between the sizes on a recipe and the sizes on a package. The Iowa State manual and Mississippi State Extension give the same core set:
| Measure | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons |
| 4 tablespoons | a quarter cup (2 fluid ounces) |
| 16 tablespoons | 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) |
| 2 cups | 1 pint (16 fluid ounces) |
| 2 pints | 1 quart |
| 4 quarts | 1 gallon |
| 1 pound | 16 ounces, about 454 grams |
Scaling a recipe up or down
To scale a recipe, multiply every ingredient by the same factor, then convert awkward results into measures you actually have. The Iowa State manual sets this as an exercise: take a recipe to one-third of its size, then choose the utensils that need the fewest measurements. A third of 2 tablespoons is 2 teaspoons, because 2 tablespoons are 6 teaspoons. A third of a cup, measured with tablespoons, would be 5 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon.
Some things do not scale neatly. A smaller batch fits a smaller pan, and a different pan size or depth changes how quickly heat reaches the middle, as the guide to how heat cooks food explains. Check doneness rather than trusting the original time.
Fahrenheit, Celsius and altitude
US recipes give temperatures in Fahrenheit; most others use Celsius. The Iowa State manual gives the conversions: to get Celsius, subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit figure and divide by 1.8; to get Fahrenheit, multiply the Celsius figure by 1.8 and add 32. Every Celsius figure on this site is worked out that way. Water's boiling point at sea level, for example, is 212°F (100°C).
Altitude changes recipes too. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) explains that water boils at lower temperatures as altitude rises, that liquids evaporate faster, and that at altitudes above 3,000 feet recipes may need changes in time, temperature or ingredients. If you live high up, look for recipes written for high altitude.
Times are estimates
A recipe's cooking time is the writer's estimate for their pan, their oven and their ingredients. Yours will differ. Use the time to plan, and the signs the recipe describes, such as colour, texture or bubbling, to judge. For meat, poultry, fish, egg dishes and leftovers, the check that counts is a food thermometer in the thickest part of the food, as FSIS advises, read against the figures on the safe temperatures page.
Example: halving a batter
Worked example
An illustration of the arithmetic, not a recipe; it describes no real kitchen. A batter calls for 1 cup flour, 3 tablespoons melted butter, half a cup milk and 1 teaspoon baking powder. The cook wants half.
- 1 cup flour becomes half a cup, spooned into a half-cup measure and levelled.
- 3 tablespoons butter becomes 1 and a half tablespoons, which is 1 tablespoon plus 1 and a half teaspoons.
- Half a cup of milk becomes a quarter cup, read at eye level in a liquid measure.
- 1 teaspoon baking powder becomes half a teaspoon, levelled.
- They use a smaller pan and start checking for doneness well before the original time.
Accurate measuring is what lets a recipe work the same way twice. The last guide covers the habits that keep that food safe to eat.
Up next on the range: Kitchen food safety: clean, separate, cook, chill