If it calls for 1/4 tsp it’s probably a pretty potent ingredient, so it needs very precise measurement and I will use a measuring spoon. If it’s half a tbsp, i might eyeball it depending on the ingredient.
I know where the measuring spoons should be, and if they’re there then great, we’ll use em. But if they’re not, well, fuck it, we’re eyeballin’ this shit. I ain’t got all day. I mean, I do, but I ain’t wastin’ it organizin’ the kitchen.
For soup or stir fry, we don’t need no measurements. It’s all about flavoring to taste.
Baking, on the other hand, is an exact science and prone to catastrophic failure. Measuring is mandatory. And it’s a good idea to actually read the label to be sure you have what you think you have. (Powder and soda are not interchangeable…)
If it’s heroin I’ll measure. If it’s weed I’ll put in a full teaspoon or “to taste.” If it’s shrooms or acid, sky’s the limit since you can’t OD on that shit. PS: I’m in Oregon.
Under “Oregon Measure 110 Drug Decriminalization initiative” that was on the ballot a few weeks ago & approved by over 58% of the voters, you can have up to 12 grams of 'shrooms (psilocybin), and 40 hits of acid.
You can also have have up to 1 gram of heroin, 2 grams of cocaine, 2 grams of methamphetamine, and 40 Oxy pills (plus a few others.)
All for personal consumption I presume! (?)
BTW, be careful with the acid. You can apparently OD. While a “recreational” dose can range from 100 to 200 mcg (that’s micrograms), the lethal dose is reported to be 320,000 mcg, or 320 mg, or less than 1/3 of a gram. And that’s a lot less than 1/4 teaspoon!
@ELJAY I’ve never done drugs of any kind other than alcohol and I don’t even drink anymore. I guess you missed my weak attempt at sarcastic humor. As far as the stupid people who voted for 109 and 110, they can all OD as far as I care.
@tweezak I got your sarcasm, I was expounding on it, and adding some details that perhaps sheds some light into what was really going on in the streets of Portland recently…
And I hadn’t even heard about Measure 109. So now they are setting up dispensaries for “psilocybin-producing mushroom and fungi products”…
@ELJAY@tweezak from what I understand, psilocybin is one of the best antidepressants around. I’m assuming that’s why they are getting a dispensary like medical marijuana. I had read that if you trip, you can go almost a month without antidepressant pills.
@ELJAY@RiotDemon@tweezak I bet if you exercise, i.e. go for a walk, dance to your favorite songs, etc. every day you might reduce or eliminate antidepressant pills too. Not sure dropping acid is a good idea for long term depression remediation.
@ELJAY@tweezak My understanding of measure 109 is that the psilocybin will only be available for administration by licensed professionals in clinical settings. No (legal) self-medicating.
(I’m also in Oregon.)
@ELJAY@macromeh LOL!! If you read the full text of the bill, the “clinic” is basically any building and the person administering the “treatment” need only be over 18 years of age and can only be required to have a high school education. There is no medical oversight. This is a sham. It’s the camel’s nose under the tent on the way to shroom legalization just like was done with weed (medical-dispensary-recreational). These are going to be this century’s opium dens.
Baking: measure precisely. Cooking sometime new: I’ll measure. Taste.
Add more if needed and adjust. Cooking something I’ve made repeatedly: meh. Whatever. Eyeball it. Season how I feel it needs it.
@rockblossom For me, it’s pretty much the same thing. You see, I’m a chemist (organic Ph.D., retired). Good lab skills are much the same thing as mise en place. I use weights in grams for most of my cooking, so that I can calculate calories accurately and reproduce that which I have cooked and recipes consistently. It takes very little extra effort to do this, once you have the skills. You also become very efficient producing your dish and a clean kitchen at the same time. (And yes, I keep a notebook when I cook.)
A teaspoon (U.S.) is 5.9 ml or cc, if you prefer. A metric teaspoon is 6 ml. That said, a quarter of a teaspoon translated to weight (mass) all depends on the bulk density of what you are working with. The bulk density of say instant yeast (3g/teaspoon) and salt (6g/teaspoon) are quite different.
But wait, there’s more!
If your recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of neutron star, aka neutronium, (density ~ 10^14 g/ml), this would be 1.5 x 10^14 g or 150,000,000 metric tons. Going for a whole teaspoon would make a bit of a difference at 600,000,000 tons. A little bit of neutronium as they say goes a long way. It would smart like heck if you dropped it on your foot, say.
So what if your recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of black hole? Given that a black hole is presumably a singularity and has zero volume, we will for the purposes here just assume that the event horizon radius will be sufficient. A black hole with an event horizon volume of 1 cc would weigh ~6 x 10^27 grams (roughly the weight of the Earth) or about 30 x 10^27g/teaspoon, give or take.
Why adding just a bit too much neutronium or worse yet black hole could change your whole recipe, dontchaknowed? Which is why we no longer keep either our neutronium or black hole in a shaker any more. It is just too easy to get carried away and sprinkle on too much.
It takes a lot of baking powder to make a neutonium biscuit rise and more yet for a black hole biscuit. And don’t get me started on cake or sour dough bread.
@Jackinga If I’m at home in my kitchen, I just leave out the neutronium because I never liked the taste. I also avoid any recipes that call for a pinch of black hole, as (although I would like to be a bit taller and thinner) I prefer not to get spaghettified.
If it’s a recipe where I’m going to care how it tastes, I really should trust the recipe and not my proven-terrible ability to eyeball a volume. Made some cottage pie the other day and … the parsley.
If it’s garlic: just be sure there’s enough. Those cloves look kind of small. Better grab three times as many to be on the safe side. That powder might be old, better use tablespoons. This gonna be good.
I really try to make myself exactly follow a recipe the first time. After that, it is a matter of how I feel about the particular ingredient. The cook rules.
If it’s something like garlic I’ll put a heaping spoonful.
If it’s something like a leavening agent then I’ll measure it.
If it’s salt I’ll just put a little (I don’t like salty foods).
@kittykat9180 if anything asks me for a ¼ tsp of garlic, I will probably avoid that recipe unless it’s for something that is a couple tablespoons volume worth once made, haha.
As with most things, it depends. If I’m cooking, I’ll just throw in a pinch of whatever. But if I’m baking, I’m breaking out my cute little 1/4 teaspoon and measuring. Baking rewards precision, cooking rewards experimentation. Usually.
If I’m baking, I’m almost always going to be using weight measures instead of volumetric, but if for whatever reason I’m forced into it, maybe grandma’s famous molasses cookies and I want to make sure they turn out just like hers, sure I’ll break out the ¼ tsp measure. If I’m cooking, usually the recipe is just a wise suggestion. I’ll take into account the author and presumed testing conditions before deciding how much precision to use.
pinch it
If it calls for 1/4 tsp it’s probably a pretty potent ingredient, so it needs very precise measurement and I will use a measuring spoon. If it’s half a tbsp, i might eyeball it depending on the ingredient.
Set it on fire.
I know where the measuring spoons should be, and if they’re there then great, we’ll use em. But if they’re not, well, fuck it, we’re eyeballin’ this shit. I ain’t got all day. I mean, I do, but I ain’t wastin’ it organizin’ the kitchen.
Do I like the stuff? Eyeball it and add a bit. Is it icky or am I out? Skip it or use something close.
For a quarter tsp., that’s a very small amount so I will measure that. For a tablespoon, I’ll just use one of my actual table spoons.
Depends what it is, if it’s just seasoning or flavor I’ll estimate it (1/4 tsp = 2 pinches), if it’s something important like yeast I’ll measure it.
Must be very potent. A pinch will do.
Add whatever I want…gosh!
I’ll measure it with the the quarter tsp. Unless we’re talking garlic or chile powder, in which case I’m going to at least quadruple it.
Depends on what I’m making.
For soup or stir fry, we don’t need no measurements. It’s all about flavoring to taste.
Baking, on the other hand, is an exact science and prone to catastrophic failure. Measuring is mandatory. And it’s a good idea to actually read the label to be sure you have what you think you have. (Powder and soda are not interchangeable…)
@2many2no
And then there is the recipe of my grandmother’s that says, “put in enough flour that the spoon stands up straight”.
@2many2no @Kidsandliz I’m with Grandma!
At least the recipe didn’t ask for 3/17 of a dram.
@PocketBrain lol Don’t give them any ideas.
If it’s heroin I’ll measure. If it’s weed I’ll put in a full teaspoon or “to taste.” If it’s shrooms or acid, sky’s the limit since you can’t OD on that shit. PS: I’m in Oregon.
@tweezak Even in Oregon, they have limits…
Under “Oregon Measure 110 Drug Decriminalization initiative” that was on the ballot a few weeks ago & approved by over 58% of the voters, you can have up to 12 grams of 'shrooms (psilocybin), and 40 hits of acid.
You can also have have up to 1 gram of heroin, 2 grams of cocaine, 2 grams of methamphetamine, and 40 Oxy pills (plus a few others.)
All for personal consumption I presume! (?)
BTW, be careful with the acid. You can apparently OD. While a “recreational” dose can range from 100 to 200 mcg (that’s micrograms), the lethal dose is reported to be 320,000 mcg, or 320 mg, or less than 1/3 of a gram. And that’s a lot less than 1/4 teaspoon!
@ELJAY I’ve never done drugs of any kind other than alcohol and I don’t even drink anymore. I guess you missed my weak attempt at sarcastic humor. As far as the stupid people who voted for 109 and 110, they can all OD as far as I care.
@tweezak I got your sarcasm, I was expounding on it, and adding some details that perhaps sheds some light into what was really going on in the streets of Portland recently…
And I hadn’t even heard about Measure 109. So now they are setting up dispensaries for “psilocybin-producing mushroom and fungi products”…
Unreal.
@ELJAY @tweezak from what I understand, psilocybin is one of the best antidepressants around. I’m assuming that’s why they are getting a dispensary like medical marijuana. I had read that if you trip, you can go almost a month without antidepressant pills.
@ELJAY @RiotDemon @tweezak I bet if you exercise, i.e. go for a walk, dance to your favorite songs, etc. every day you might reduce or eliminate antidepressant pills too. Not sure dropping acid is a good idea for long term depression remediation.
@accelerator @ELJAY @RiotDemon @tweezak True - acid messes with serotonin, not good for those prone to depression.
@ELJAY @tweezak My understanding of measure 109 is that the psilocybin will only be available for administration by licensed professionals in clinical settings. No (legal) self-medicating.
(I’m also in Oregon.)
@ELJAY @macromeh LOL!! If you read the full text of the bill, the “clinic” is basically any building and the person administering the “treatment” need only be over 18 years of age and can only be required to have a high school education. There is no medical oversight. This is a sham. It’s the camel’s nose under the tent on the way to shroom legalization just like was done with weed (medical-dispensary-recreational). These are going to be this century’s opium dens.
Baking: measure precisely. Cooking sometime new: I’ll measure. Taste.
Add more if needed and adjust. Cooking something I’ve made repeatedly: meh. Whatever. Eyeball it. Season how I feel it needs it.
@ivannabc
I was just gonna say the same thing.
@ivannabc @Star2236 I’ll ditto your ditto.
I immediately look up the metric equivalent.
Depends. Am I in a kitchen or a chemistry lab?
@rockblossom For me, it’s pretty much the same thing. You see, I’m a chemist (organic Ph.D., retired). Good lab skills are much the same thing as mise en place. I use weights in grams for most of my cooking, so that I can calculate calories accurately and reproduce that which I have cooked and recipes consistently. It takes very little extra effort to do this, once you have the skills. You also become very efficient producing your dish and a clean kitchen at the same time. (And yes, I keep a notebook when I cook.)
A teaspoon (U.S.) is 5.9 ml or cc, if you prefer. A metric teaspoon is 6 ml. That said, a quarter of a teaspoon translated to weight (mass) all depends on the bulk density of what you are working with. The bulk density of say instant yeast (3g/teaspoon) and salt (6g/teaspoon) are quite different.
But wait, there’s more!
If your recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of neutron star, aka neutronium, (density ~ 10^14 g/ml), this would be 1.5 x 10^14 g or 150,000,000 metric tons. Going for a whole teaspoon would make a bit of a difference at 600,000,000 tons. A little bit of neutronium as they say goes a long way. It would smart like heck if you dropped it on your foot, say.
So what if your recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon of black hole? Given that a black hole is presumably a singularity and has zero volume, we will for the purposes here just assume that the event horizon radius will be sufficient. A black hole with an event horizon volume of 1 cc would weigh ~6 x 10^27 grams (roughly the weight of the Earth) or about 30 x 10^27g/teaspoon, give or take.
Why adding just a bit too much neutronium or worse yet black hole could change your whole recipe, dontchaknowed? Which is why we no longer keep either our neutronium or black hole in a shaker any more. It is just too easy to get carried away and sprinkle on too much.
It takes a lot of baking powder to make a neutonium biscuit rise and more yet for a black hole biscuit. And don’t get me started on cake or sour dough bread.
@Jackinga If I’m at home in my kitchen, I just leave out the neutronium because I never liked the taste. I also avoid any recipes that call for a pinch of black hole, as (although I would like to be a bit taller and thinner) I prefer not to get spaghettified.
If it’s a recipe where I’m going to care how it tastes, I really should trust the recipe and not my proven-terrible ability to eyeball a volume. Made some cottage pie the other day and … the parsley.
If it’s garlic: just be sure there’s enough. Those cloves look kind of small. Better grab three times as many to be on the safe side. That powder might be old, better use tablespoons. This gonna be good.
@InnocuousFarmer There’s no such thing as too much garlic, IMO.
it depends - baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, measure it properly. anything else, just eyeball it. (and i often use quite a bit more.)
I really try to make myself exactly follow a recipe the first time. After that, it is a matter of how I feel about the particular ingredient. The cook rules.
If it’s something like garlic I’ll put a heaping spoonful.
If it’s something like a leavening agent then I’ll measure it.
If it’s salt I’ll just put a little (I don’t like salty foods).
@kittykat9180 if anything asks me for a ¼ tsp of garlic, I will probably avoid that recipe unless it’s for something that is a couple tablespoons volume worth once made, haha.
@kittykat9180 It if is something with garlic I don’t need to measure. I don’t put it in.
Who follows a recipe?
As with most things, it depends. If I’m cooking, I’ll just throw in a pinch of whatever. But if I’m baking, I’m breaking out my cute little 1/4 teaspoon and measuring. Baking rewards precision, cooking rewards experimentation. Usually.
If I’m baking, I’m almost always going to be using weight measures instead of volumetric, but if for whatever reason I’m forced into it, maybe grandma’s famous molasses cookies and I want to make sure they turn out just like hers, sure I’ll break out the ¼ tsp measure. If I’m cooking, usually the recipe is just a wise suggestion. I’ll take into account the author and presumed testing conditions before deciding how much precision to use.
I measure precisely unless it is vanilla (add a little more) or rum (add a lot more and prolly drink some)
As the famous Justin Wilson says, and does, you just “measure dat real careful now”.
It will be spot on, I guar-an-tee.
Got to measure at least the first time. So many recipes you see online and in the comments people say they changed multiple things and didn’t like it.
@kevinrs yes! That drives me bonkers!