Baking at Home with the CIA (lots of pictures)

[Rachel Perlow]

In particular (and correct me if I'm wrong, Rachel), if the CIA lists one cup of flour as 4.4 ounces (or 125 grams, which is even more accurate), do they specify weights for sifted AP flour, lightly spooned AP flour and dip-and-sweep AP flour?  Sure hope so.  Or perhaps they avoid this by stating in the beginning of the book that they use only the dip/sweep method in ALL their recipes?  All this should be clearly stated in order to obtain as close to perfect as possible results.

From the sidebar on page 21: "Dry ingredients throughout this book were measured using the scoop-and-sweep method: Whisk the dry ingredient to aerate it if necessary and then scoop it into the measuring cup. Overfill the measuring cup or spoon and then level it off with a knife. Flour should not be packed into a measuring cup, whereas brown sugar should be."

[Fat Guy]

How many people have posted here with strong opinions in favor of metric weight measures? Enough to represent a sampling that no author or publisher would want to ignore, I think. I mean, you've got to figure that for every consumer who is willing to take the time to articulate an opinion in a publicly readable forum there are thousands of silent ones who agree. And almost everybody (Wendy is the only exception that jumps out at me) who has posted here is an amateur home cook -- and I bet a lot of us are significant cookbook consumers.

[formerly grueldelux]

How many people have posted here with strong opinions in favor of metric weight measures? Enough to represent a sampling that no author or publisher would want to ignore, I think. I mean, you've got to figure that for every consumer who is willing to take the time to articulate an opinion in a publicly readable forum there are thousands of silent ones who agree. And almost everybody (Wendy is the only exception that jumps out at me) who has posted here is an amateur home cook -- and I bet a lot of us are significant cookbook consumers.

Add me to the sampling. I won't be buying any more cookbooks without weight measures.

[Steve Klc]

And let's put an end to end to any sense that having conversion tables in the back of the book is an adequate compromise or middle ground on this weight versus volume issue. That's just more laziness on the part of the dumbed-down cookbook cabal.

[SethG]

And let's put an end to end to any sense that having conversion tables in the back of the book is an adequate compromise or middle ground on this weight versus volume issue. That's just more laziness on the part of the dumbed-down cookbook cabal.

Okay, fine. You sold me. I'm not willing to forgive them any more.

But this newfangled metric stuff-- do we have to insist on that too?

[Fat Guy]

It doesn't make any difference to me whether the weights are in grams or ounces, because I can just flip a switch on my scale to do one or the other and the quarter-ounces provide sufficient precision, but the standard in every professional pastry kitchen I know of, everywhere in the Western world including the US, is grams.

[JerzyMade]

And let's put an end to end to any sense that having conversion tables in the back of the book is an adequate compromise or middle ground on this weight versus volume issue. That's just more laziness on the part of the dumbed-down cookbook cabal.

Okay, fine. You sold me. I'm not willing to forgive them any more.

But this newfangled metric stuff-- do we have to insist on that too?

Now, if my scale could display decimal fractions of an ounce instead of quarters of an ounce, and if it didn't have to switch to pounds:ounces as soon as it goes over one pound it wouldn't make any difference to use metric or imperial. But many of the newer digital scales have 1/4 ounce resolution in imperial and 1 gram resolution in metric -- it's as if suddenly the scale becomes eight times smarter when you switch to metric. There's a big difference between 1/4 and 1/2 ounce of salt or yeast in bread for example.

Anyway, the CIA Home Baking book will have a list price higher than a low end digital scale, so there's absolutely no economic rationale for not using weights in the book. Laziness doesn't explain it either, because they actually had to "dumb down" existing recipes (OK, formulas). The only explanation left is that they think their intended readers are too dumb to handle the weights.

Guess I won't be buying "Baking for dummies with the CIA"

Edited a typo.

Edited May 20, 2004 by JerzyMade (log)

[bloviatrix]

Flour should not be packed into a measuring cup, whereas brown sugar should be."

Does anyone know how much one cup of brown sugar, packed weighs? There are different degrees of packed so this actually makes a difference. And therein lies my complaint with volumes.

[kitwilliams]

Flour should not be packed into a measuring cup, whereas brown sugar should be."

Does anyone know how much one cup of brown sugar, packed weighs? There are different degrees of packed so this actually makes a difference. And therein lies my complaint with volumes.

I go with the 7.66 ounces/218 grams for light brown; 8.4 ounces/240 grams for dark brown, firmly packed.

[Rachel Perlow]

I see someone's already answered, but I thought you'd like to see the amounts from the book in question's table: Brown Sugar, 1 cup = 7.75 oz or 220 g.

[BettyK]

No weights? Add me to the list of non-buyers. I didn't buy Sherry Yard's book for the same reason. CIA, wake up!

[SethG]

But this newfangled metric stuff-- do we have to insist on that too?

I was kidding, people.