Cooking For Engineers

[Bill]

Hi. New to the forum so please excuse if this has been discussed elsewhere.
I'm an Industrial/Manufacturing Engineer and really appreciate the approach taken on this site. So on to the question.
I've noticed that when my wife cooks she manages to dirty every measuring cup (both dry and liquid) and measuring spoon we own. Sometimes I think it’s because if she cooks, I clean and vice versa. I know why she is really though; to measure out 1/3 cup of this, 1/4 cup of that, 1 1/2 cups something else. When a recipe calls for the same amounts of different ingredients, she measures 1, puts it in a bowl, washes the measuring cup, and measures 2. I was looking for a way to bypass the measuring, wash and bowl cycle, with a measure, use and wash once device. I thought prep bowls would be the way to go, but was looking for prep bowls that have graduations on the side, akin to liquid measuring cups that would stack like normal serving bowls. I would like a set of like 8, each measuring up to 2 cups. Has anyone ever seen such a set or device? If so, where could I buy it? I've looked everywhere I can think of on the internets, but may not be using the right search terms to return what’s in my head. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

[Michael Chu]

Dry ingredients should always be measured by filling an appropriate measuring cup (one designed for dry ingredients - they fill to the top) and levelling off. Some dry measuring cups don't do this (Nigella Lawson's set comes to mind) and should not be used. Since you measure dry ingredients this way, you can't just have containers with measuring lines. However, you can use a digital scale if you know the mass of the ingredients you cook with. For example, when I measure out sugar and flour, I don't dirty any measuring cups. I pour the flour into a bowl set on a digital scale. Then I get another bowl (or the same one if they are to be combined anyway) and measure the next ingredient.

For liquids, you can use a WonderCup or Adjust-A-Cup which allows you to measure liquid ingredients (that can be combined) one after another while adjusting the cup for each subsequent ingredient.

[Cucina Pro]

Mario Batali markets a set of 5 graduated sized prep bowls with interior lines that will allow two measurements per bowl. (The one cup has a line at 1/2 cup, etc.)

iSi makes a 3 piece set of all the same sized silicone prep bowls with plastic lids. Silicone is nice for heat resistance and the bowls are flexible so you can pour ingredients.

Try looking on the Internet for sources for either of these.