Grams and Kilograms or Ounces and Pounds
Had an interesting conversation with a sales associate in one of the NYC cookware stores yesterday. He shared with me that scale sales are increasing and interest in cooking by weight is on the rise, at least among customers in his Manhattan store. Here is my questions for those of you out there who would rather use the scale than mess with the cup. Do you prefer the weight measurements in grams or ounces? Metric measure or Avoirdupois?
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14 Comments
When guessing during measuring, I guess the lb/oz better. Fewer increments required.
I rarely use cup or other volume measures unless I am following a recipe precisely.
We do need to have a feel for imprecision, especially if a recipe has been mindlessly converted from one of units to another.
Now with cheap electronic scales finding their way into the kitchen the landscape is changing.
They're especially useful for baking as flours have different 'cup weight' measurements. An all purpose flour cup in the South (like Martha White, or Gold Medal) will weight differently from a AP flour of the same brand in a Northern Supper market.
I failed at making "no kneed" bread many time before I used a scale for Gold Medal AP flour..With Gold Medal weighing in as 130g/cup and USDA AP flour at 125g/cup. The scoop sweep method for Gold medal flour comes in a bit shy of 130g/cup resulting a wet dough.
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/hints/flour-weights01.html
For flours it's very seasonal and regional for the weight of brand vs a 'cup' of flour. It adds up.
Where precise measurements matter is in baking. Most kitchen scales you can buy today toggle back forth between grams and ounces; ditto for kitchen thermometers.
Interesting question. I measure coffee in grams but the rest of my recipes are recorded in pounds, ounces and teaspoons.
Habit mostly, plus it's easier to use the same system from store to storage to mixing bowl (if the recipe calls for 350 grams, how many pounds do I buy?) Grams are more accurate for small quantities, teaspoons are faster where you don't require the accuracy.