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?

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!

Jim

In article >,
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.

How about you know how much you start with (say four cups) and when it
*looks* like maybe you're down to a cup, you pour it into a measuring
cup and look at how much is in there? I think you're trying to
complicate this, Jim. :-)
>
> 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?

Anytime you're evaporating something, the more surface area you have,
the faster it will go. I'd use a skillet.

>
> And is there a pan with markings on the inside?

I've never seen a skillet with inside markings. My 6-quart pressure pan
had a 2/3 mark 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!
>
> Jim


--
Barb,
http://www.barbschaller.com, as of June 6, 2012

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.

On Jul 18, 8:58*am, 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?
>
> 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!
>
> Jim

Funny...I thought the subject of your post said "Bed pan for reducing"!

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
>
>I apparently don't do a lot of 'reducing' in my kitchen.

Then stay out of your kitchen, hanging around all that food is very
tempting... go for a walk outdoors instead. Of course if you are
speaking culinarilly the correct nomenclature is 'reduction'.