Tip - How To Measure

  From http://asiarecipe.com/


How to Measure


Measuring is especially important to beginning cooks. As your proficiency 
grows, you will find that you're depending less and less on your measuring 
cups and spoons and more on instinct and eyeballs, but until then, here's 
all you need to know about measuring ingredients for cooking. The one 
exception to this rule is baking, which is a science that requires more 
precise measurements, regardless of your level of expertise.

The first step is to get yourself a good selection of measuring cups and 
spoons:

               1 Cup (C)
               1/2 C
               1/3 C
               1/4 C
               1/8 C
               1 Tablespoon (tbsp or T)
               1 Teaspoon (tsp or t)
               1/2 tsp
               1/4 tsp

A clear glass measuring cup is necessary to get precise liquid measurements.

Dry Ingredients - The most important thing to know about measuring dry 
ingredients is that they should be level with the top of your measuring 
cup. Dip your cup into the bin, fill to overflowing and level it off by 
sweeping the edge of a butter knife across the top. Be careful if you are 
using a cup larger than what is needed (as in a one cup measure to get 1/2 
C worth of ingredients). Because of the way certain foods settle, this will 
only be an approximation. The same leveling technique should be used with 
measuring spoons.

To pack or not to pack? That is the culinary question. Most ingredients 
don't need to be packed into the measuring cup. Granulated sugar does it 
for you. Flour should actually be aerated of fluffed up before measuring. 
Brown sugar is the one exception, this you want to pack down while 
measuring in order to get the proper amount.

Measure liquids at eye level. In other words, place the cup on a flat 
surface and crouch down so your at the same level as the cup in order to 
check the accuracy of the amount in the cup.

To measure solid fats (shortening, butter etc.): Most butter has 
measurements listed on the wrapper, so you can simply cut off the amount 
you need. Another method that works well for butter and especially 
shortening is water displacement (this works for any fraction of a cup 
measurement). For instance, if you need 1/2 C shortening fill a 1 cup 
measure 1/2 full with water. Carefully add shortening to the cup until the 
water reaches the top of the cup. Drain the water and use the shortening.

Measurement Equivalents:

               4C = 1 quart
               2C = 1 pint
               2 pints = 1 quart
               4 quarts = 1 gallon
               8 quarts = 1 peck
               4 pecks = 1 bushel
               16 ounces (oz) = 1 pound
               3 tsp = 1 tbsp
               2 tbsp = 1/8 C or 1 ounce
               4 tbsp = 1/4C