Gear: Measuring Up
After decades of Pyrex primacy, the last ten years have seen some advances in liquid measuring tools. The arrival of the angled "view from above" measuring cup spared home cooks the neck-craning, easy-to-mess-up chore of eyeballing the level. The innovation was cause for much rejoicing, and if you haven't bought one for your kitchen yet, you won't regret springing $7 on the OXO Angled Measuring Cup with its rubberized handle. Along similar lines, the narrow base and wide mouth of Emsa's Perfect Beaker makes smaller liquid measurements easier to accomplish.
On the dry-measure frontier, things aren't quite as rosy. There is plenty of variety in dry measuring cups and spoons but really no clear-cut quantum leaps. Not to say that kitchen suppliers aren't trying. I recently spotted a set of collapsible silicone measuring cups that pop up for use and snap flat for storage. It's an interesting idea that might benefit the cook whose kitchen drawers are too shallow for the ubiquitous stack of plastic measures. Williams-Sonoma is marketing the brightly colored cups as a tool for teaching your kids about working in the kitchen, although it's hard to see the benefit that makes the $20 price tag justifiable.
What's your favorite measuring tool? Anything revolutionary out there on the horizon?
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4 Comments:
love the plunger measuring cup that alton brown pimps
goodbyeohio at 11:09AM on 05/30/07
my favorite measuring tool: good eyesight!
à la mode at 2:47PM on 05/30/07
I am a HUGE fan of the magnetic measuring spoons from Crate and Barrel. http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=744&f=23707&q=measuring+spoons&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1 The oval sides are beyond ideal for spice jars, and the magnets convenient for keeping the spoons together and easily accessible. I highly recommend!
bobcatsteph3 at 5:20PM on 05/30/07
A digital scale, of course. No Alton Brown disciple is complete without one.
congmicj at 3:53PM on 06/01/07