#215: Not All Measuring Equipment is Equal

Volume, metric, spoons, or teacups?

Let’s talk about measuring equipment—Volume, metric, and spoons from the cutlery drawer. Do they all measure the same? Let us know in the comments what you use.

Not All Measuring Equipment is Equal

This tea cup was given to me by Sadie, the next door neighbor when I was six. She was my first baking mentor. I don’t think either of us would have ever imagined that this little cup would have lasted nearly sixty-five years and held such a special place in my life all this time.

For decades on nearly a daily basis, I used it not for tea but for baking. It’s a good luck charm for me in the kitchen and calls up Sadie’s sweet energy and the special times I spent in her kitchen baking cookies at a very young age.

Using a teacup for measuring is nothing new. In my research on pie, a subject I have dedicated many decades to, I found the recipe for “Plain Pie Crust” from The White House Cook Book (1898) by Hugo Ziemann (Steward of the White House) and Mrs. F. L. Gillette, calls specifically for a half a teacupful of cold water. Of course I pulled down Sadie’s cup from the cupboard shelf to see how it measured up…or down.

Plain Pie Crust from The White House Cook Book (1898) by Hugo Ziemann (Steward of the White House) and Mrs. F. L. Gillette

Yes, it did measure just about the right amount of water for a double-crust pie dough give or take, but teacups can measure differently. There’s the standard teacup that holds 6-ounces, the British teacup that holds 8-ounces, and the Japanese teacup at 200 ml. And what about table, tea and other size spoons that Sadie and my grandmother taught me to bake with? The amounts when we measured were not exact but these masters of home cooking and baking had “chops” and taught me how dough should look and feel even after the ample taste tests I made with the big spoon or my fingers when making chocolate chip cookies.

That’s all well and fine when one is using the same tea or coffee cup in the kitchen with recipes that have been passed down. But when I wrote 2 mounded soupspoons baking powder in a recipe for scones, my editor said, “Kate, no way!” It made perfect sense to me, but others might have a soupspoon that is larger…or smaller. Simply put, measuring equipment is not equal, and a tablespoon that varies from 8 to 17 grams, as you can see in this example below, could really make a difference in a recipe.

From the September 1999 issue of the late and great Gourmet Magazine

Digital Scale Time

A digital scale is now de rigueur in my kitchen for teaching and recipe development, but as much as they can provide more accurate results, scales can be a little wonky, too. I have eight for teaching—four of one brand and four of another—and have found that a bowl of flour can weigh in at slightly different amounts on them. Nothing really seems to be consistent. Maybe that’s a little like life.

So, below are a few measuring tips for you.

A few measuring tips for you

• If you have both kinds of measuring equipment–scale, and measuring cups and spoons–test the amount in the recipe you are making for the first time with both.

• Get two scales so you can compare accuracy if you have room and your budget allows.

• Double check that your scale batteries are fresh.

• If the recipe is written in both volume and weight (grams are most accurate), measure out first using a cup, and then see how it weighs up on your scale in grams. Is it the same as what the recipe calls for? If not, defer to what the recipe writer specifies.

• If the amount that shows up on the scale is way off from what the recipe writer has given, zero the scale out and re-weigh it, or pull out that second scale and see if you get the same result.

• If both scales are way off from what is specified, than you may have some very different results.

• And always try a recipe once as written. Below is a little more on that subject. 😉

On occasion I do resort to my old ways—a spoon from the drawer, a tea or coffee cup from the shelf—just to make sure I can still bake the way I was taught.

Here’s another piece you might

And while we’re on the subject, here’s a something I wrote on how much pie pans hold. They’re not standard either.

What I’m Listening To

Anyone else have Tracey Chapman’s “Fast Car” on endless replay right now? Her performance at The Grammy’s was exceptional! If you have a subscription to Rolling Stone (I don’t) you can listen to the performance with Luke Combs here or listen to this solo version from some years back. A classic for all time.

Happiness Calendar for February 2024

A new calendar I just discovered that you might like to know about is The Happiness Calendar from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Here’s a link to the PDF for February.

Kindness Calendar for February 2024

And here’s a link to the Kindness Calendar for the month, too.

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