Thread 21541730

Do people really cook using precise measurements? My brain hurts whenever I see something like 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup flour, 50 grams bacon. Half crack of pepper? It's all nonsense to me. If I know the basic ingredients I just cook by dropping everything in one by one and going by feel. Anyone else? It's a lot easier. I've never run into a recipe where I needed to measure. It just works.

Do you mean physical pain like a headache or migraine, or emotional pain like sad or frustrated?

>>21541731
Both.

>>21541730 (OP)
Same. Reading people arguing about how much water to put in with the rice makes me sad. Am i a robot that i need to put in the exact same amount of liquid everytime i cook? I also just go by feel and never measure anything.

>>21541734
Based

>>21541733
Try counting colours

>>21541730 (OP)
I only follow exact measurements for spice mixes and baking. For some basic dishes I don't even look at a recipe, making vegetable soup isn't exactly rocket science.

>>21541734
Sounds like your rice would be shit.

>>21541730 (OP)
Depends on what you're cooking. If you're never doing it at all, you're simply too dumb to cook and should stick to simple meals and convenience food.

>>21541762
Sounds like you don't know how to cook.

>>21541730 (OP)
when I was beginning to learn cooking, I did. I think there's a fear as a newbie of not doing things "properly". which I think is valid, to an extent. I kind of liken it to jazz. a great jazz musician won't necessarily play the notes as they're written on the page; but to play outside of those notes effectively or to play a good improvised solo, you do need to know some of the fundamentals of music theory first or you're gonna sound like shit. so I do think it's good to pay attention to measurements and stuff when you're starting out. I try to encourage people not to rely on it too heavily though. I remember when I started I was REALLY anal about following recipes to the letter, and looking back I think that's sort of counterproductive. follow them loosely, but the goal should ultimately be to let intuition take over when you have enough experience.

>>21541730 (OP)
For baking yes, when boiling buckwheat or rice I just eyeball it.

>>21541829
What's the worst that could happen?

I usually measure out the ingredients by weight for dough. Everything else I eyeball, EXCEPT I often measure out 500g of peeled potatoes since that's a good amount to eat

I'll read/watch like ten recipes for a certain dish until I understand the common themes among them, until I understand what the core ingredients are, and what the main flavors are supposed to be.
If one recipe says to add (spice) but the other 9 don't, that's not a core ingredient.
This is very difficult for Indian recipes though, which are pure chaos

>>21541843
I don't like recipes that require a blender so indian food just doesn't happen for me

I have been getting angery about trying to cook and while google serves me nothing but SEO spam blogs when I finally get to recipes they dont use metric and use some clown measurements that I cant connect to grams in my head and while its easiest thing in the world for a computer to automatically change the units they dont employ that software. Prob because google seo doesnt care.

like jfc I just want to make food instead of suffer this shit

>>21541859
Follow your heart and just drop the ingredients in until it feels right. It'll work out. Trust me.

I never cook by the book. In my opinion cooking is a field of learning. You try a few times until you get the feel for the measurements.
The only measuring tools I use are rough ones like a specific cup or a spoon.

Also where is he?
You posted such a delicious anime picture one would expect him to bite immediately. It should be irresistible. I demand my little clown dance with my breakfast dammit.

>>21541730 (OP)
When I bake I will, either confectionery or bread. Just cooking I typically wing it and taste as I go because my intuition usually serves me well.

>>21541730 (OP)
eg dough is better when measured because you can reproduce the same dough that you like every time

>>21541730 (OP)
I like having precise measurements in recipes because I am eyeballing them anyway, and if the measurements were eyeballed I'd be eyeballing eyeballs and I'd get square eyeball results

>>21541891
>I never cook by the book
You gotta do the cooking by the book
You know you can't be lazy
Never use a messy recipe
The cake will end up crazy

https://youtube.com/watch?v=G5KxZ5Lc_YA

>>21541891
Cookbooks are for inspiration anyways. Until recently they had vague recipes because everyone knew how to cook from their family. Nowadays we have the situation where people are raised to adulthood without being taught to cook.

>>21541730 (OP)
i never measure anything because i'm an impatient adhd retard and almost always my food turns out fine but i cannot bake consistently because baking is much less forgiving

>>21541923
BRRING IT DOWN MAN
LET ME SEE YOU BACK IT UP
TAKE THAT ASS DOWN LOW AND PICK THAT MOTHER FUCKER UP

>>21541730 (OP)
Some recipes allow this, while others i would suggest following the measurements to understand what each thing does and how it develops into a dish and once you understand these core components, it's far more forgiving to go by feel. So you need a bit of experience and understanding of what's going to to be able to just eing it like that.

>>21541891
Lol

I've never baked before but this thread is making it sound like the boogeyman of cookery

>>21541859
Metric or imperial is fine, cups on the other hand is utterly retarded. It's inferior even to 'one small potato' which is at least somewhat standardised because volume is just a terrible way to measure non-liquid ingredients.

>>21541730 (OP)
>Half crack of pepper?
oh, you mean "dash of pepper"

Baking measurements are needed. And your brain should already know that your thread is pretty stupid. If you are coating flour molecules with fat, making a roux, you'll have equal parts butter and fat, duh. If you are cooking rice, you'll deal with a ratio of water to rice. You'll use the same measuring cup in that case.e If you're making a cocktail, you'll measure your booze or not know when it's safe to drive again, or never make the same cocktail the same ever again.

>>21542090
>I've never baked before
and yet you made this thread to say your instincts are how you cook

>>21542116
I do cook. I just made some perfectly seasoned tendies and fries with my own healthier homemade version of raising cane's sauce.

>>21541833
NTA but for baking too much or too little of certain ingredients can create imbalance and not produce the right results when it comes to specifics like raising, dryness, wetness, flakiness, flavor, etc

When I cook I say to myself, what would my favorite anime girls prefer? How would they want it prepared? Have I budgeted enough this month to make sure I make something a little special every week or so that they would like. Does Costco have any new unique Japanese items that she would like? Online only? What time of year is it? Does H-Mart have anything unique that she would love? Being selfless is close to godliness and when you constantly think of others, your own life improves. It just sort of happens. It's a great way to live.

>>21542090
Nah, its just that baking requires more precise amounts because of chemical interplay. Too much or too little of something like baking powder can wildly throw off the taste or consistency of the finished dish.

>>21542457
Measuring grams with a scale is also by far the fastest method.
Theres a scale, a cup and you pour the shit in. No need to think. No need to wash measuring devices.

>>21541730 (OP)
>>21541861
>>21541894
>>21542004
>>21542090
>>21542122
>>21542448
>Anime
How many times do have to tell you this?
YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE

>>21541796
With desserts and baking you should follow closely, everything else is right and as you say. The ratio book and the cordon bleu book on the basics are good to begin with

>>21541843
Indian food has beats, like vindaloo for example it should have predominantly chilli and cumin and use vinegar but after that you can use whatever you have and it’ll still be vindaloo

>>21542591
Anime website retard stay mad

>>21542614
It's not all one guy typing exactly the same btw. Not mad btw. You're not welACCCCCCCCCCK

I eyeball everything unless im baking or curing meats
Just trust yourself

>>21541730 (OP)
I would eat anything that goblin cleric made, measured or not

>>21541730 (OP)
I just eyeball the measurements and I usually end up with something good, the only thing I'm precise with is baking because if you fuck something up you might end up with an entirely different product. I tried making buttermilk biscuits once and they came out as pieces of sodabread, lesson learned don't eyeball baking.

>>21542090
baking is not that totally strict, it's just more strict. when you know what you're doing, you can follow your intuition a bit. the margin of error is just more narrow than with cooking.
basically, cooking is jazz, and baking is classical music. classical does have some room for expression, but it's going to be in how strongly you play the notes or your timbre. you're not going to want to go off on wild, improvised solos like you do in jazz.

>>21543353
Is it about ratios too? I've seen people try to balance putting too much flour by putting more liquid, or balance that by putting more egg, just making the same thing but bigger while maintaining a ratio. It's kind of funny. I can imagine an infinite escalation of baking.

>>21541731
autistic pain like OCD and forever alone.

>>21541730 (OP)
>Do people really cook using precise measurements?
depends on what it is.
>bread that I want to always be the same?
yes precise bakers percentage measurements
>bread that I just want bread?
no.
>lasagna?
no
>enchiladas?
no
>steak?
no
>mashed potatoes?
no
>cookies?
yes
>chili?
no
>southern biscuits?
yes for consistent fluffy ones
>baked deserts?
yes
a shitty cook never measures.
a good cook knows when it does not matter.

you are a shitty cook.

>>21541730 (OP)
>I've never run into a recipe where I needed to measure. It just works.
that's because you have no sense of taste or smell.

>>21543361
yeah that is a thing for sure. I had to do that the other day with some bread I was making. cause I'm actually not as confident a baker as a cook, so I usually measure everything exactly when I bake. but this dough I was making was just way too dry and crumbly. so I just added some more butter and a bit of water by feel, and it ended up turning out perfectly. I'm starting to get. or confident doing stuff like that. but I would still follow measurements to begin with and just adjust as I go along.
>>21543380
it's the opposite. if you have a good sense of taste and smell, you can rely on those senses instead of measuring. as others have pointed out, there are instances where measuring is important, mostly in baking, but with cooking it rarely is if your senses are hones.

>>21541730 (OP)
>Do people really cook using precise measurements?
Yes. For baking. I don't need to for the slop I am making on the stove or anything smoker related.

>>21541833
Crunchy rice is what you get when not enough water, and squishy mush rice when too much water. I got crunchy rice from a Panda express once.

>>21543566
>I got crunchy rice from a Panda express once.
My aunt took me to panda express once when I was young and loudly asked "this is a chinese restaurant, why are all the cooks mexican?!" Nobody responded but we got a few looks. I think they were actually puerto rican.

>>21541730 (OP)
>>21541861
>>21542614
source please
thanks
:)

>>21543627
Kono healer
Mitsuboshi colors
Amamaan to izuma

For cooking, yeah, you can measure ingredients any way you like it, but for baking...

>>21543632
based ty

>>21543656
But what if his name is not Ty?

>>21543636
people keep saying this, but baking is honestly way more forgiving than people think it is. experienced bakers absolutely can eyeball stuff, and work more in ratios and by feel than you would expect. you measure for consistency. to produce the same results time and time again. but the same is true of cooking. but if you're just throwing together a quick loaf of bread or some pastry, you can absolutely do it without measurements if you've done it a good handful of times before. it does require some experience, but that's also true of cooking.

>>21543811
it is now

>instinctual cooking
What would be an example of Ultra Instinctual cooking?

>>21545475
Minimalistic sourdough focaccia pizzamakers:

kneading is a meme
commercial yeast is a meme
pizza ovens are a meme
pizza stones are a meme
autolyse is a meme
banneton baskets are a meme
cold fermentation is a meme
shaping dough on a counter is a meme
dusting with unfermented flour is a meme
shredding cheese is a meme
traditionalist gatekeeping is a meme
paying for pizzaslop is a meme

NOT memes:
no knead
sourdough
toaster ovens
cast irons
high hydration blobs
same day room temp ferment
stretch and folds
coil folds
hand-torn cheese chunks
sauce on top
Focaccia style
hybrid pizza syncretism

>>21545861
Its about getting to the heart of the matter (the essence of a dish), cutting through superstitious fluff and traditionalist gatekeeping, boiling down to essentials through preternatural intuition and innate gustatorial genius, with a dash of suprahuman insight disposing one to culinary auto-revelations (through attunment with the Master Spirit Chef Within).

>>21541788
Sounds like you don't know how to cook honestly.

>>21541733
undiagnosed ADHD. I'm not joking either.

>>21541734
Rice is one of the few things that benefits greatly from proper measurement.

>>21541730 (OP)
i do to get exact macros of iron and vit k etc per day

>>21546087
>no u!
got him.

>>21546239
meh. you watch asians cook rice, they never measure shit out. they just use the knuckle method. which I guess is a way of measuring, but it's not like they're busting out the measuring cups. I started doing that too, and have perfect rice nearly every time. you don't measure shit when cooking a risotto either, you add ladles of broth until it's cooked to the right consistency.
and if you undershoot a little, you just add a bit more liquid when you notice it starting to go dry. if you overshoot a little, the rice just absorbs the extra liquid, but it's unlikely you're going to overshoot so much that it becomes overcooked mush. you'd probably notice well before that happens anyway if you're keeping an eye on it, and could just drain out any excess liquid before it overcooks, but I've never had to do that. if you cook rice often enough you'll get a feel for the ratios and your margin of error is going to be in the MLs, not enough to make a significant difference.

will measuring precisely give you more consistent results? yeah of course. but the difference when eyeballing isn't going to be great enough to make or break a weeknight meal.

>>21541861
>Follow your heart

>>21547235
I prefer measuring cups to knuckle method because fingers in food is not desirable.