When to Measure

It matters when you measure an ingredient. For example:

"1 cup walnuts, chopped" = 3.4 ounces (the walnuts are measured, then chopped)

"1 cup chopped walnuts" = 4.2 ounces (the walnuts are chopped, then measured)

In the second example, there are 20% more nuts than in the first. Apply this principle to other ingredients and you can see how this makes a significant difference in the final outcome of a recipe.

How to Measure

For accurate measurements, follow these tips:

Dry Ingredients:

• Pull out the Scale: For accuracy, nothing beats weighing dry ingredients on a digital scale.

• Dip and Sweep: Dip the measuring cup into the flour or sugar and sweep away excess with a straight-edged object, like the back of a knife.

• Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is so moist and clumpy that it must be packed into a measuring cup to get an accurate reading. To do this, use your fingers or the bottom of a smaller cup to tap and press the sugar into a larger cup.

Wet Ingredients:

• Read the Meniscus: For an accurate reading in a liquid measuring cup, set the cup on a level surface and bend down to read the bottom of the curved surface line of the liquid, known as the meniscus line, at eye level.