Alex Rock
@djlink
Then you realize that "chopping the carrots" has at least 5 different definitions of it, and the recipe doesn't specify any.
Next, there are so many ways to heat and boil them in that stew: do you add water, how much oil, too much oil will make them mushy, too few and they stick to the pan. Too hot and they get roasted, not hot enough will blow your electricity bill.
No, cooking is JUST LIKE programming: give fucking precise specs.
Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE
@jxrxme @pierstoval @djlink Mine aren't, and yours may not be. But I gather that USA recipes are targeted at people who buy "measuring cups" and "measuring spoons" which *are* all of the same size.
Grumpy Old Techie 🕊️
@TimWardCam @jxrxme @pierstoval @djlink The size of a cup is well defined but changes depending on where you live.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup_(unit)
See also
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cooking_weights_and_measures&wprov=rarw1
It is probably useful to find out where your recipe originates from.
Jérôme
@pierstoval @djlink A spoon, a cup of…yeah like all our spoons and cups are of same size….
David
@TimWardCam
In Canada, butter comes in blocks with markers for 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup. Once you've removed any butter from one end, the ticks are less useful. And usually recipes call for a tablespoon which is smaller than any of the markings. I usually eyeball it or lookup a conversion to grams.
I think the US gets their butter in smaller pieces called sticks -- recipes often call for 1 stick of butter and I always need to lookup that conversion.
Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE
@idbrii @pierstoval @grumpyoldtechie @jxrxme There is that. A cup of sugar is reasonably well defined, but flour? - how hard do you pack it down?
And I've never understood how you're supposed to measure a cup of butter. I guess if you've got a whole churn full in your dairy you can scoop it out, but if all you 've got is those blocks from the supermarket?
David
@pierstoval @TimWardCam @grumpyoldtechie @jxrxme Even further than metric, British recipes tend to use mass. Get a nice kitchen scale and find some UK recipes and enjoy the increased precision of weighing your ingredients instead of trying to level off a measuring cup!
Alex Rock
@TimWardCam @grumpyoldtechie @jxrxme @djlink
Your discussion is one of the holy reasons why the metric system was invented.
Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE
@grumpyoldtechie @jxrxme @pierstoval @djlink In the UK the only usage of "cup" as a measure for food that I've ever heard is "borrow a cup of sugar" as an excuse for going round to chat up the fit looking new neighbour. Yes I know they're on those measuring jugs but they're not in UK recipes so I've never had reason to use them.
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