[Sca-cooks] Re: equivalents - OOP

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

>      So, most of the divisions are easy and clear, but how do you divide 1
> teaspoon of baking powder, when there is no 1/3 t measuring spoon? I have
1/8,
> 1/16, and 1/32 spoons, but my math won't work to convert. (They used 1/8 t
> baking soda, 1/8 t salt, and 4 T buttermilk instead of juice.)
>
>      1/4 plus 1/8?  a scant 1/2? 1/4 plus a pinch?
>

Devra, believe it or not, while with baking, you need to be _fairly_
accurate, you really don't need to be precise. The original measurement is
basicly "pretty close" to the ideal amount of whatever in proportion to the
whatever else, and experience with both your materials and similar recipes
will tell you how to slant things- that's why being an intuitive cook is so
useful. One tsp of baking powder to one cup of flour is not necessarily the
absolutely perfect proportion, it's merely pretty close. And, if you
noticed, in your example, and I quote, "and noticed that what they had down
was divide a normal recipe by 3.  Thus, 1/3 C sugar and flour instead of a
cup, and 1 egg yolk instead of 3 eggs." One egg yolk is NOT 1/3 of three
eggs. OTOH, three eggs might be just a dab more than absolutely needed, so
the reduction is compensation for the smaller amount- eggs, generally, are
not particularly divisible, other than by yolks vs whites, or by individual
eggs, unless you're using something like <shudder> powdered eggs.

That said, the only way to be absolutely accurate is by weight. When you're
trying to figure out how much of which to use, you can convert the amounts
to what they weigh- 1 tsp baking powder converts to .5 g (if that's what it
is) of baking powder.

You can also play with decimals, to help get a better guess as to how much
you should use. In your example, 1 tsp of baking powder has a value of  1.0,
or 100%. One third, therefore, has a value of .333333... or 33.333... %.
Using the measuring devices you have,

a half tsp is a value of 0.50, or 50%,
a quarter tsp has a value of 0.25, or 25%,
an eighth tsp has a value of 0.125, or 12.5 %
a sixteenth tsp has a value of 0.0625 or 6.25%
and a thirty-second tsp has a value of 0.03125 or 3.125 %

Adding this up, attempting to get as close as possible to .333... or
33.33...%, you have

1/4 tsp- .25 or 25%
plus
1/8 tsp- .125 or 12.5%
for a total of .375 or 37.5% which is a bit more than you want.

Adding
1/4 tsp- .25 or 25%
plus
1/16 tsp- .0625 or 6.25%
for a subtotal of .3125 or 31.25%
which is a bit less than you want, so if you add another
1/32 tsp- .03125 or 3.125%
you get .34375 or 34.375 5,
which is closer to your target of .333...
but still more than you want.

All of this is a royal PITA, and a waste of time, considering this level of
accuracy is not needed. Act like a civilized person, and just throw in a
scant 1/2 tsp, or a slightly heaping 1/4 tsp, and move on- it ain't worth
your time and aggravation ;-)



Saint Phlip,
CoD

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....



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