Put a Ring on It

Posted: January 12th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: On the Basics | 1 Comment »
Photo from EatMoreDrinkMore.com

 

This is the second post in the Multiple Measures series. See Post 1 here.

 

Today, we’re going to talk about those little measuring tools that come in a set on a ring. I have about five sets of measuring cups (two new ones from Christmas) and three sets of measuring spoons. I use all three sets of measuring spoons separated from their rings corralled in a shallow plastic dish in my utensil drawer. I keep two sets of measuring cups (nested together to save space, naturally) in my utensil drawer, another set is dual-purpose as decoration because it’s so cute, yet another set is relegated as scoops in certain canisters of ingredients (flour, sugar, popcorn, etc.), and, finally, I have one for household measuring. Wait…you don’t measure things around your house? I’m not interested in reusing a set in the kitchen after it’s come in contact with a chemical so they live in their respective places for their respective uses.

 

  • I keep the 1 cup measure in the laundry room to measure bleach.
  • I keep the ½ cup measure in the dog food. Two scoops, twice a day for two dogs.
  • I keep the ¼ cup measure under the sink to measure the dishwasher cleaner. We have hard water that causes problems sometimes, but the cleaner should never come in contact with the food preparation process.

Why do I have so many measuring spoons? When you’re cooking 398374 dishes at the same time, like I do over the weekend prepping meals for the week quite often, you just need this many. You can’t measure honey and then turn around and measure flour. I try my best to measure less messy dry ingredients first then on to wet ingredients to keep from having to wash so many, but sometimes you just need several. I also don’t want to contaminate some containers of an ingredient. I use salt in sweet and savory dishes so I usually measure out salt first. For my marinara sauce, I use 1 T of Italian seasoning and 1 T of brown sugar, but I don’t want herbs in my sugar so I measure the sugar first. (Note: You’ll notice I use t for teaspoon and T for tablespoon around here. I just like the abbreviation.) If you measure oil first (or spray the measuring cup/spoon with cooking spray) before sticky ingredients like honey and peanut butter, it slides out easier. Planning out your measuring order is important!

My favorite is my ⅛ teaspoon. I didn’t even realize I had such a jewel for the longest time, and now, I cherish it. I halve recipes a lot, and it bugs me to estimate. I use this one quite often, and as far as I know, it isn’t common for this one to come in a set.

Do you have a favorite measuring spoon? Is that weird? How many sets of measuring cups and spoons do you have?

One Comment on “Put a Ring on It”

  1. 1 Teresa, foodonfifth.com said at 12:50 am on February 10th, 2012:

    Becca, Thanks for the comment you made today on my blog. I, for some reason, had never taken a look over here at your blog and wanted to say I am signing up and I love it. This series about “measures” is a great idea. I enjoy your writing very much. I am signing up so I can keep up with the next of the 398,374 recipes you will no doubt be cooking!

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