On Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:58:45 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:
> I apparently don't do a lot of 'reducing' in my kitchen as I just ran
> across a recipe for reducing 1 cup of mashed strawberries to 1/4 of a
> cup.
>
> As I was stirring them in my 1 qt saucepan I was thinking a smaller
> saucepan might be nice--- then I wondered if my little saute pan would
> have been a better choice.
>
> Then I had time to wonder if they make a nice little pot with some
> sort of makings on the inside so I'd know when half or 3/4 of my
> original volume was gone.
>
> I know for sure that the next time I do this, I'll be reducing 4 cups
> of mashed strawberries to 1 cup- that's a lot of stirring for 1/4
> pound of strawberry butter.
>
> But in general is there a preferred pan or method for reducing things?
To reduce, you need surface area so wider is better. I have a
saucepan that I'm pretty sure was built for reducing smaller amounts.
It's called a Windsor saucepan - sloped straight sides, wider at the
top than it is at the bottom.
http://iweb.cooking.com/images/produ...ge/167341e.jpg but when
If I planned to reduce 2c to 1/4c, I'd use a smaller saucepan
http://images.crateandbarrel.com/is/image/Crate/AllCladSSSaucePanWLid2QtS10?$web_zoom$&
It's the width of a one qt saucepan, but it's really 2qts because it's
tall - which means I can bring small amounts of things (even sugary
things) up to a hard boil and not worry about spill over.
>
> And is there a pan with markings on the inside? I can pour 1/4,
> 1/2, or 1 tsp of spiced into my hand with 'good enough' accuracy, but
> I so misjudged the amount of liquid in that pan as to make myself
> laugh -- twice!
>
It's a skill that you'll acquire over time if you make a point of
focusing on volume measures. You can estimate teaspoons, which is a
skill I've never tried to hone, so fractions of a cup shouldn't be
hard. 1/4c is 4T. I'm pretty good at estimating volumes, not so good
at estimating amounts in terms of cups or teaspoons. My skill is to
eyeball a volume and choose an appropriate container to store it in.
--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.