Patel

Two sticks is one cup of butter. That’s a direct relationship, something I like in my baking, as it makes seeing amounts easier than making careful measurements of each substance. A half stick is a quarter cup. A stick and a half are three quarters. No need for graduated cylinders here. Math has become something … Read more

You see the phrase “whites of 4 large eggs (or 1 cup)” all over recipes and have no idea what “large” even means, much less how any other size might differ from that. For something like scrambling an egg: just get whatever seems appropriate and go for it. But you might be trying to stabilize … Read more

Most people purchase a bag of mini marshmallows believing it will be sufficient for whatever recipe they’re making. More often then not, this is false. There’s a problem of density and also volume here which affects how much you think you’ll get out of a package versus what you actualy do. For example, one cup … Read more

The problem with strawberries is strawberries. It is not the fruit, but the air around it. A pint of red berries includes some empty space among them. The stuff that lets a platter appear full, even though your pantry remains light. But when you slice those berries for a shortcake, or smash them for jam, … Read more

When you’re trying to convert bananas into CUPS, it never seems to work out exactly the way your gut says it should. For example, three medium banana might not turn into two cups of mashed banana. How can you reliably know when that’s going to be the case? Enter a calculator that figures out the … Read more

You have purchased A beautiful loaf of sourdough. It’s big on the countertop. When you pick it up, it’s weighty. You’re going to make some sandwich for eight and think: Two loaves should be fine. And then you begin to slice. Because bread is still soft, initial slices is generous. By mid-loaf, you’re thinning them … Read more

Here’s the dilemma: You’re in produce aisle, clutching a carton of promising-looking berries. Can you judge how many berry there are, to know if it’ll be enough? You have a recipe calling for two cups of something. Is this the correct amount of fruit for that rhubarb crumble? Do those big berries packs densely into … Read more

Bought a bushel of apples? Not sure what’s in there until you open it? Panic sets in as you hold a bag containing forty-eight pounds of fruit and stare at the recipe calling for nine-inch pie. How many of these are we going to get, anyway? Will it all dissapear between now and baking time, … Read more

Have you ever felt potato panic? You’re planning to have a dinner party for eight people, and then you realize that the grocery store bag says five pounds and your recipe calls for four servings of mashers. What gives? Why doesn’t math work out? Potatoes come in all sizes. One big russet can be a … Read more

The recipe calls for 3 cups of chopped onion. You open your produce bag and find five medium yellow onions. You know how to do the math in your head; you pick ’em up and start chopping, and before you’ve reached bottom of the pile you realize you’re out by a half-cup. And then it … Read more