Helpful Hints

Jason Freundlich of Cincinnatti told Penelope, “My girlfriend is a little, um, finicky about, well everything, but especially what kind of measuring stuff she uses when she bakes. I don’t want to bring this into session, because it’s costing enough already, but does it really matter whether you use a glass or a metal measuring cup?”

”Sorry, Jason. On this one, she’s not off base. Glass is for measuring liquids. Metal is for measuring dry ingredients. You’ll never get the right 1 cup of flour if you use a glass measuring cup. Milk, yes. Heavy cream fine. But flour doesn’t like to be packed down or sized up in a glass. It prefers to be dipped (into a bin of flour) and edged (with a knife or spatula). Also, you can’t really even off the top if you’re trying to measure say, ⅓ of a cup of dry ingredients in a glass measuring cup. Even if the wrong kind of measuring cup is closer to hand, using the right thing for the right job always comes out in the mix. Probably best to look for an issue you can win.”