Doing some recipe testing this evening (Spicy Peanut Chicken and Caponata, for those of you keeping score...not together, mind you) and something occurred to me, after watching my lovely wife sweat the math prep portion of her GRE. Granted - this doesn't involve quadratic equations, but I've assisted on enough cooking classes now to observe many fine people earnestly scouring the kitchen for measuring spoons and panicking when there are none to be found.
For those of you who want to, or already like to, cook at home - don't be so hasty to yank that lovely measuring spoon set out of your cluttered gadget drawer. (Use the Force, Luke...)
Baking is, for the most part, pure science...so when you are baking, hells yes pull out the measuring cups, the scale and spoons and have at it. But savory cooking, dear ones, is much more art than science. I don't suppose Jackson Pollack was carefully measuring out a 1/4 cup of burnt umbre to whip out across his canvas and you shouldn't either. Think more of recipes as guidelines, rather than paint by the numbers, and get yourselves more accustomed to eyeballing amounts. It'll save you some dishes to wash and make you feel way more cool while you're cooking.
I'm not suggesting you take a wild stab at guessing amounts, but start to use your eyes and your hands to get an idea of what is what. Next time you measure out a tablespoon or a teaspoon of the spice or ingredient called for, dump it in the cupped palm of your hand. Look at it. (Don't you have such lovely hands? No, not your HANDS!) Look at what that little mound of spice is size-wise and remember it. After a while, you're going to know what a tablespoon or a teaspoon of something roughly looks like - and the next time you're fixing up something nice, forego the measuring spoons and just eyeball it.
The same goes for a cup of diced veggies or even liquids (although I am not promoting dumping said cup of liquid in your hand). When you're measuring out these things, start paying attention to how much they look or feel like. What does a pound of something feel like, weight-wise, when you're lifting it. Next time, try and go from memory. I promise you, where savory cooking is concerned, a little more or a little less of anything is not going to be insurmountable BECAUSE I know you are using your eyes to see how your intended dish LOOKS and tasting as you go along to make sure the seasoning is to your liking. ('Cause you promise me you're doing this...right? Some recipes, you'll find, are just plain wrong...or wrong for YOU...and the people at Bon Appetit or wherever are going to say 'cry me a river' if you complain that you added the called for 1/4 teaspoon of salt and found the dish to be bland if you didn't TASTE it before you served it.)
Get comfortable with the big ones...a tablespoon, a teaspoon, a cup, and from there you can eyeball a half, a quarter or an eighth of one of those. Leave the exacting science to those preparing a wedding cake or finding a cure for cancer.
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3 comments:
This is a great post. I think you are touching on a Great Divide in cooking (at most levels, though maybe not the professional level, like you). You have Group I, the Careful Measurers who are careful, by the rules people. Think CPAs and people who drive 55-58 MPH on dry empty highways. Group II, the Intuits (not the ones in Alaska), who *feel* the right amount. They are not CPAs, by and large, and I have no info on their driving habits. I am a Measurer and feel guilty about it. I come from Measurers, though I married an Intuit.
It is with shame I confess that I used to be a Careful Measurer. I was bound to my spoons and cups out of fear and insecurity in my cooking prowess. Then the great Jamie Oliver gently took my spoon and cup crutches from me, held my trembling hand and showed me the freedom of using "a knob of butter" or a "bash of ginger" or a "glass or so of wine." At first, it was frightening, and then, thrilling! I now cook with wild abandon, wind in my hair (yeah, I am now an Intuit and my driving reflects that.)
I'm not sure I could live with such abandoned. Holy smokes...is it not enough that I sky dive, run with scissors and dump my entire 401K savings on a pyramid scheme? You want me to not use a measuring cup?
What if I make something that doesn't work? I mean....what if I make something that doesn't work...again?
Cool idea, I never thought of that. Less cleaning, and not washing my 1/2 teaspoon thing will help my carbon footprint.
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