annajenkins•2d agoMost Upvoted

I used to laugh at people who weighed their ingredients... now I'm the one with a scale on the counter

For years I thought it was nonsense. Just extra dishes and wasted time. I mean I've been cooking professionally for 12 years, I can eyeball a tablespoon of salt no problem. Then my pastry chef quit last March and I had to cover the dessert station for 3 weeks. First batch of brioche came out like a brick. Second batch was too wet. Third try I finally grabbed the scale and followed the recipe exactly. Night and day difference. The crumb was perfect, the rise was consistent. Now I weigh almost everything for pastry and even some savory stuff like doughs and batters. Still refuse to weigh my damn garlic cloves though. That's where I draw the line. Anyone else come around to weighing things after swearing it off for years?

3 comments

3 Comments

west.casey2d ago

Honestly, "garlic's the real test of whether you've lost your mind" is so accurate it hurts. If I ever catch myself pulling out a scale to measure out two cloves of garlic for a pasta sauce, I'm checking myself into a home. Like, I've fully embraced weighing flour and sugar now, but garlic is the final frontier of kitchen sanity and I'm not crossing it. There's something about pressing that clove against my knife and hearing it crack that makes me feel like a real cook again, not a scientist in an apron. Ngl, if I ever start weighing my garlic, just assume the eyeballing part of my brain has officially given up.

barbara_grant42d ago

Garlic's the real test of whether you've lost your mind honestly.

the_fiona2d ago

What exactly do you mean by that? Like are you talking about being able to handle raw garlic without crying, or is it more about cooking with it in ways that other people find weird? I've seen people put cloves in their pockets for colds and that's where I start questioning things.