I have a confession, it's time to get this out in the open, and this is hard for me to do since I'm some what of a perfectionist.
I have suspected it for some time now but wasn't able to confirm it until a few nights ago. You see there are certain recipes on this site that have incorrect and inconsistent measures in them. I know, it's horrible, I've mislead you, and yes, I am an awful person.
With that I offer you this explanation.
I have suspected it for some time now but wasn't able to confirm it until a few nights ago. You see there are certain recipes on this site that have incorrect and inconsistent measures in them. I know, it's horrible, I've mislead you, and yes, I am an awful person.
With that I offer you this explanation.
Unbeknownst to me the measuring cups I have been using are not metric, they are in fact imperial. It's quite a shock. You just don't expect these things to happen to you, especially not in a country like Canada. Because of this I have made statements in the past that simply aren't true.
Furthermore, I have also found inconsistant weights when using brown sugar. Unless molasses evaporates (and since I haven't seen any gooey brown clouds in my kitchen, I'm going to say no) my dark brown sugar has essentially gone stale. Drying out without turning into a solid block. Actually, I wasn't aware that this was possible. As a result the measurements of dark brown sugar for the last few weeks have been a bit off.
Perhaps more interesting (if any of this truly is) is that it seems the accepted weight for 1 cup of packed brown sugar is 240g and for light brown 220g. However, I have discovered from my own testing that both dark brown sugar and the golden yellow sugar I use as light brown weigh in at 240g per cup. I know that yellow sugar is considered a type of light brown but I have never seen it so I have never had a chance to test it. It's also interesting to note that both light and dark brown are listed as 1 tsp = 4g (obviously not packed), so I don't know how it was ever possible that one weighed more than the other (according to certain sources).
The end result of all this nonsense? First, I'm sticking with imperial measure. This makes it easier since most recipes are based on this. As well, for baking, the imperial system breaks down much easier than metric (crazy I know). Besides, we're only talking a difference of two teaspoons (which is apparently a huge deal for me, but I'm insane :) ). Second, from this point on I am defining a standard set of baking measurements that I will abide by. You may have noticed that for a little while I have been using 130g as my standard 1 cup measure for all purpose flour, and I will now do something similar for any ingredient I use. Third, I will be going through recipes that I have already posted and adding notes to correct the values listed. However, I will leave the originals as well since these are the values I based my impressions on.
Please don't hold this against me, I'm broken up enough as it is :).
You can click here to see my standard list.
~ Adam
Furthermore, I have also found inconsistant weights when using brown sugar. Unless molasses evaporates (and since I haven't seen any gooey brown clouds in my kitchen, I'm going to say no) my dark brown sugar has essentially gone stale. Drying out without turning into a solid block. Actually, I wasn't aware that this was possible. As a result the measurements of dark brown sugar for the last few weeks have been a bit off.
Perhaps more interesting (if any of this truly is) is that it seems the accepted weight for 1 cup of packed brown sugar is 240g and for light brown 220g. However, I have discovered from my own testing that both dark brown sugar and the golden yellow sugar I use as light brown weigh in at 240g per cup. I know that yellow sugar is considered a type of light brown but I have never seen it so I have never had a chance to test it. It's also interesting to note that both light and dark brown are listed as 1 tsp = 4g (obviously not packed), so I don't know how it was ever possible that one weighed more than the other (according to certain sources).
The end result of all this nonsense? First, I'm sticking with imperial measure. This makes it easier since most recipes are based on this. As well, for baking, the imperial system breaks down much easier than metric (crazy I know). Besides, we're only talking a difference of two teaspoons (which is apparently a huge deal for me, but I'm insane :) ). Second, from this point on I am defining a standard set of baking measurements that I will abide by. You may have noticed that for a little while I have been using 130g as my standard 1 cup measure for all purpose flour, and I will now do something similar for any ingredient I use. Third, I will be going through recipes that I have already posted and adding notes to correct the values listed. However, I will leave the originals as well since these are the values I based my impressions on.
Please don't hold this against me, I'm broken up enough as it is :).
You can click here to see my standard list.
~ Adam
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