Sheldon wrote:

> Experienced cooks can pretty accurately eyeball solid shortenings..
> especially since shortening is sold in standard packages; sticks,
> cans... even a chimpanzee can be trained to eyeball a 1/4 or 1/2 pound
> of crisco from a 1 pound can. In commercial kitchens recipes are
> based on commercial sized packages, ie. 5, 10, 30 pound buckets of
> shortening... they simply use the entire container of each
> ingredient... how do yoose think package sizes came to be, it was not
> by accident. Not nearly as much precision measuring goes on in
> commercial kitchens as one may think, or even home kitchens, not when
> the cook is experienced. Actually experienced cooks/bakers can very
> accurately measure ingredients, and with exquisitely accurate
> consistancy, while blind folded and with no other tools but their bare
> hands... you need to observe a professional baker scale muffin batter

I am by no means a professional. I probably make more pies than the average
person, but fewer than a lot. I buy shortening in one pound blocks. To get
the one cup of shortening I set a sharp knife at the middle of the block,
slide it over about 1/4 inch and slice. I have done it so many times I can
guesstimate accurately off a partial block. Don't ask me the exact length
of the piece, I just know it to see it. I don't measure the salt. I just
pour some into my hand. The egg obviously does not have to be measured, but
i do measure the 1 Tblsp. of vinegar and two of water. Liquid probably
makes a lot more difference to a pie crust than having a little too much or
two little shortening. You can try to adjust by adding a little more flour
or a little more water, but that involves working the dough a lot more,
which is more likely to mess it up than not having exact measures.