For those of you who read this blog, you’ll know that I’m a huge advocate for using a kitchen scale. It’s one of the few pieces of kitchen equipment that I feel will improve most everyone’s results in baking. But I get that not everyone wants to use a scale as the majority of Americans are attached to their measuring cups. In truth, the ONLY compelling argument I’ve heard about using measuring cups comes from Joy the Baker and her post on how to use measuring cups. But for those who insist on using your measuring cups, I offer this little kitchen tip to you. Measure your dry ingredients on a piece of parchment or wax paper before leveling them. That way you can pick up the paper after measuring, fold it up and pour the leftover ingredients back into the container. Because if it’s one thing I hate more than using measuring cups, it’s wasting ingredients!
Belinda @zomppa says
Gosh darn, so simple and brilliant!
Erin R. says
I know! I was transferring some of my precious Saigon cinnamon from the bag into a spice jar and a teeny dab slobbed out onto the counter. So I brushed it into my cereal bowl. I’m glad I know about your parchment trick now. No more waste! Thanks!
Adri says
This was sweet to see-it reminded me of seeing my mom doing this, using waxed paper . Yes, I am of an age that grew up with waxed paper. I’ve taken to using the pre-cut “Deli Sheets” for this task-the 10 x 10 3/4 ” size works particularly well. The truth is though, that when ever possible I use a scale – so much quicker, less mess, and it is more accurate and (scientifically speaking) produces repeatable results. This does, of course, beg the issue of weight in grams versus weight in ounces. The answer is go for grams. It is more accurate, and for ease of use, go for a high-quality scale that can alternate easily between the two methods – just in case you run up against a recipe that has ingredients measured only in ounces.
Shikha @ Shikha la mode says
I completely forgot about this trick until just now! We used to do this all the time at the restaurant I worked at – no waste!
Nicole says
Parchment paper is one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools. I use my kitchen scale daily but I still do plenty of measuring with cups and spoons and this trick not only helps save any ingredients that spill over, it also makes cleanup a breeze.