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How much is a smidgen?

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Re: How much is a smidgen?

#41

Post by jahnu »

mr_toad wrote: post #24
jahnu wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't really limited to rural Ireland. MPH was on all speed limit signs and was because all vehicles were imported from the UK where MPH were and still are standard and the entire Irish fleet didn't yet have dual speed markings on the speedometer. Once they did then the signage was exchange countrywide within weeks, if I remember correctly. Distance signs were changed slowly over a longer period as it wasn't so c…

> With the exception of pints of beer which is still the standard today Maybe in Ireland. Round here ‘pints’ keep getting smaller.

Would be a quick way to either start a riot or kill your business :)

Re: How much is a smidgen?

#42

Post by eesmith »

doublepg23 wrote: post #31
seanc wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Baubi famously wrote all the recipes down wrong so no one else would make it quite like her.

Yes! My great-grandmother will give you recipes but always omit key ingredients.

At a Python conference many years ago, around the year 2000, Eric Raymond gave a keynote. This was when his "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" was widely discussed, and he was pushing the then new term "open source".

He used as an analogy how you can go to , taste something amazing, and ask for and get the recipe. Yet even though you could make it yourself, you'll still visit the restaurant because they have the skills and practice to make it more easily than you could.

By analogy, he argued, even if you release under an open source license, you'll still get people hiring your services because that's more effective.

Someone in the audience objected. He pointed out that he had worked at , that the recipes deliberately omitted detail, and that staff had to sign an NDA - it was nothing like "open source".

I already had my doubts about Raymond's understanding of things. That was the final nail.

Re: How much is a smidgen?

#43

Post by allannienhuis »

Lewton wrote: post #7
the-printer wrote: post #4

I’ve decided to entirely disregard the suggested measurements provided in recipes, which means that I guess I’ve decided not to follow recipes at all anymore. Except for bread, but as soon as I can commit a recipe for bread to memory, I’m through!

recipe for bread? throw a reasonable amount of yeast and some sugar in a bowl of room-temperature-to-warm water, wait 5-10 minutes, pour in flour while kneading, until you get a wettish dough, let it rise for 30 minutes, then put the dough in the oven on basically any temperature until it looks done

This is my approach too. I only ever measure the liquid - water or sometimes water with a bit of milk. And measure is a strong word - I just fill 2 cup measuring cup I have because that gives me enough for two large loaves. It doesn't seem to matter much how much starter you put into the batch, as long as it's 'enough'. I usually almost-empty my partly full quart jar of starter. A glug of oil or a pat of butter, a small palm full of salt. As long as you add flour gradually until you get the desired consistency, you're fine. Maybe you get longer/shorter rising times, but I usually do cool and slow rising for hours and hours so I don't really notice much of a difference there.

Re: How much is a smidgen?

#44

Post by JohnFen »

hotsauceror wrote: post #36

In one of the books I'm reading, it suggests that there used to be a set of codified colloquialisms for measurements of dried herbs etc, that were used by doctors, apothecaries, etc. It defined a "pugil" as "the amount you can pick up between your thumb and first two fingers". I wonder how many more of these eminently practical, useful terms have been lost to the centuries. Perhaps they're still in use, in the approp…

In cooking, I was taught that a "pinch" is between 1/16 and 1/8 of a teaspoon.

Re: How much is a smidgen?

#45

Post by JohnFen »

gniv wrote: post #39

I've been trying to cut down on salt and I realized how many recipes are handwaving when it come to the amount of salt. Yes, experience helps, but it can also cause you do add way more than needed, if that's what you've always done. Oftentimes you can halve it without affecting the taste.

This is why for most things, I don't actually add much or any salt during cooking. I've found that it's better to add it when eating. There are exceptions, though, such as in baked goods, brines, etc.

Re: How much is a smidgen?

#46

Post by JohnFen »

reaperman wrote: post #21
sharemywin wrote: post #19

I always figured it was part of the "made with love" measuring system. Metric, English, made with love.

One time my grandmother was trying to write down all the recipes of my Portuguese great-grandmother. My great-grandmother was having none of it (being used to oral tradition) and during one recipe while my grandmother was writing down the last ingredient, my great-grandmother dumped some extra water into the dough while her back was turned. My grandmother asked: "Hey! How much was that?" Great grandmother: "Just put…

Your great grandmother absolutely ruled.

Re: How much is a smidgen?

#47

Post by JohnFen »

the-printer wrote: post #4

I’ve decided to entirely disregard the suggested measurements provided in recipes, which means that I guess I’ve decided not to follow recipes at all anymore. Except for bread, but as soon as I can commit a recipe for bread to memory, I’m through!

> Except for bread, but as soon as I can commit a recipe for bread to memory, I’m through!

You should investigate using "baker's math" for bread. Seriously. It simplifies everything enormously by replacing the need for detailed recipes with formulas more akin to cocktail making (1 part this, 2 parts that). Your recipes become trivial to remember, and also it makes it trivial to scale them to different quantities.

Re: How much is a smidgen?

#48

Post by smegsicle »

gniv wrote: post #39

I've been trying to cut down on salt and I realized how many recipes are handwaving when it come to the amount of salt. Yes, experience helps, but it can also cause you do add way more than needed, if that's what you've always done. Oftentimes you can halve it without affecting the taste.

many recipes say use unsalted butter, and add a little salt? how about use salted butter and don't add any more- that's usually enough that it isn't offensively bland

Re: How much is a smidgen?

#50

Post by smegsicle »

doctor_eval wrote: post #12
rzzzt wrote: post #2

No tads? Edit: hmm, apparently labeled measuring spoons exist that were calibrated for tads and smidgens.

Woman: Miss? What exactly is "a tad?" Elaine Dickinson: In space terms, that's about half a million miles.

wow don't see a lot of quotes from the sequel in the wild
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