On Sun, 2 May 2010 07:53:23 -0600, "graham" > wrote:

>
>"sf" > wrote in message
.. .
>> On Sat, 1 May 2010 13:43:07 -0600, "graham" > wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"sf" > wrote in message
...
>>>> On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:08:42 -0600, "graham" > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>But with scales, one never has these problems.
>>>>
>>>> We're not scientists and we don't need scales.
>>>>
>>>
>>>As Emeril, on Emeril Live, often used to say: "Baking is science! Get
>>>yourself some scales!"
>>>
>>>No serious baker uses cups. In fact arguably the best non-professional
>>>baking book published in the USA* recommends weighing as do the
>>>Williams-Sonoma books. Both give "bi-lingual" recipes for those stuck in
>>>the
>>>age of the covered wagon. All the serious bread-books for the home baker
>>>also push the weighing of ingredients.
>>>A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from ~100g to ~150g. If you are making
>>>a
>>>spongecake, that's the difference between a light, fluffy cake and a
>>>doorstop!
>>>
>>
>> We're not "serious" bakers, we're home bakers and we don't pretend to
>> be professional.
>
>Well I'm a home baker but I take it seriously, as did my Mother who was
>known in her village as a fine baker. She even weighed the eggs as they came
>straight from the farm and were not graded.
>Using cups just leads to sloppiness.

Using a kitchen scale really has nothing to do with sloppiness... it
has to do with practicality. There are so many ingredients that much
more easily lend themselves to measuring by weight rather than
volume... all one need do is look at how food producers sell
ingredients, all those sold by weight are because it's more practical
to do so... it's much more practical to sell dry ingredients like
grains, beans, flours, etc. by weight and so it is also more practical
for the folks who use those ingredients. When I want say a half pound
of pasta or white beans it's much more practical to weigh out the half
pound from a five pound package than to guess, even from a one pound
package weighing ensures I'll have a half pound remaining for next
time. I almost always weigh bulk ingredients, even frozen veggies are
more practical to weigh... sure I can eyeball half from a pound bag of
peas but it's more practical to weigh out half so that I know that
there is half remaining for next time. A scale is so much more
practical for dividing ingredients... imagine how much more difficult
if your butcher/deli sold meat by volume.... imagine a recipe for stew
with 1/2 gallon beef chuck, or a sandwich with a 1/2 pint of ham.
Sloppiness is a whole separate issue, slobs will be just as sloppy
with a cup as a scale... kitchen scales entail placing ingredients
into a container too. My 20 year old Polder (cost $4 then from a NYC
street vender) is accurate to within 1/4 ounce, I even use it to check
for postage.... takes no more space in the cupboard than a stack of
three cans of tuna... hardly a day passes I don't use it for
something.