I’m tired of guessing which country the author is from when they use cup measurement and how densely they put flour in it.

  • frazorth@feddit.uk
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    4 days ago

    Liquids expand and contract under different temperatures. They are not always the same.

      • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        This is true. If the recipe says sift first, do it or you’ll have too much flour. Otherwise most assume you’ll scoop, scrape, pour. If I think my flour may have settled too much I might turn my canister upside down once and back upright before scooping.

    • BonerMan@ani.social
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      4 days ago

      The difference of expansion is so little at room temperature ± 10°C that it makes less sense, especially because some liquids have varying density by default and the same temperature.

      Its not necessary to be accurate to the degree you want.

      • panicnow@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        We tested this in our kitchen. A glass pyrex used as precisely as possible was off by more than 5% in repeated tests. Our kitchen scale was off by less than 1% for weights over 5g.

        And honestly, I am comfortable just pouring the milk/water/vanilla directly into the bowl that is on the scale. No utensil to get dirty. I recognize that I could over pour and mess things up but it just doesn’t happen. I can hit 15g of vanilla more accurately with the scale than with a measuring spoon.

      • frazorth@feddit.uk
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        4 days ago

        I just disagreed with the statement

        They are always the same

        It may impact you, but the same would happen climbing and having different boiling points. It may be extreme, but we are talking about convincing folks who use a spoon as a standard.

        • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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          4 days ago

          Tablespoons and tea spoons are fine as a measurement because they are made to a standard size. That’s like complaining people are using a piece of tape as a measurement. That’s what i grew up with, and it is what i am comfortable with. I’m not saying it’s better, I absolutely agree that variables in cooking such as elevation and ambient temperature/humidity matter way more and the overwhelming majority of the population wont notice a difference if you measure by volume, by weight, or are so experienced you just eyeball it.