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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,172
Registered: ‎11-15-2011

Do you ever try to follow a recipe that doesn't give enough information?

Examples:
1 box Jello
1 Tablespoon relish
1 can milk, corn, beans, etc!
1 tub Cool Whip

 

Maybe Jello was only one size when the recipe was written but today, sizes are so helpful.

 

Care to give some examples you have found in your recipes?

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,901
Registered: ‎05-27-2015

Should I cover or not cover the casserole when I bake it????

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,172
Registered: ‎11-15-2011

I had one cook book that was so old it said to "take a handful of lard about the size of an egg" to add to the flour bowl to make biscuits.  You mixed them by "feel."

Honored Contributor
Posts: 20,163
Registered: ‎10-04-2010

@Zhills wrote:

I had one cook book that was so old it said to "take a handful of lard about the size of an egg" to add to the flour bowl to make biscuits.  You mixed them by "feel."


@Zhills, I have one or two that are like that, but I treasure them.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,322
Registered: ‎02-22-2015

@Zhills  Ewww . . . does it suggest how to remove lard from under fingernails? Smiley Wink

Money screams; wealth whispers.
Valued Contributor
Posts: 884
Registered: ‎03-31-2010

I hate the ones that tell you to use a size #12 (or whatever the # is) can

cookin

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,968
Registered: ‎05-23-2015

I saw a lady named Lily make them like that on "A Chef's Life", and I guess they were delicious.

" You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,172
Registered: ‎11-15-2011

They are after you have made them long enough to recognize the "feel."  It comes with practice!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 41,255
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

@cookinfreak wrote:

I hate the ones that tell you to use a size #12 (or whatever the # is) can

cookin


 

 

A #2 can holds 1 pound 4 ounces, or 2 ½ cups.

A #10 can holds 6 pounds 6 ounces, or 96 fluid ounces, which is 12 cups or 3 quarts.

 

https://food.unl.edu/documents/can-sizes.pdf

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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,322
Registered: ‎02-22-2015

@sunshine45  My 50-year old Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook has a "cheat sheet" with all the measurements and those can sizes listed! I've used that many times over the years when using my grandmother's receipes which list a #XX can or something for lard (but I use butter). 

 

@Zhillsis absolutely correct. A good baker "knows" the texture by feel after making many, many batches.

 

Does anyone else collect cookbooks? Both old and new? I have many from both grandmother's homes, a couple Aunt's, my mother-in-law's kitchen, and my mom. Over the past 50+ years, I have also purchased many cookbooks as I learned to cook Thai, Indian, French, Italian, Mexican, Vegetarian (primarily lentils and nuts), diabetic, etc., and so many different styles as healthy eating changed.  

Money screams; wealth whispers.