Anyone know how much a "speck" is?
I'm baking a recipe for popovers that calls for a "speck" of baking soda. Anyone familiar with that measurement? Is it simply another term for "pinch"? When I search the web, I get suggestions for speck, the Italian meat.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
11 Comments:
smaller than a pinch .... just a tiny bit
goodcooker at 7:28PM on 07/17/09
thank you!
fiftycenthotdog at 7:43PM on 07/17/09
Why would a recipe ever even call for a speck of something? Does it really make a difference if your using LESS than a pinch of baking soda?
GinaPet at 9:21PM on 07/17/09
A quantity that tiny--it's not enough to make the popovers rise, and it's not enough to affect the taste--in a recipe this simple and plain was probably added to allow the author the illusion of originality. (Supposedly, if you change three things in a published recipe--ingredients, methods, baking times--you can call it an original, your own, and have it published or enter it in a contest without fear of a lawsuit. I'm not sure if this is a fact, but it sounds plausible.)
My popover recipe doesn't call for baking soda, and neither does Alton Brown's. It's milk, flour, eggs, oil (Alton uses melted butter) and salt. And beating. Steam created during baking is what makes popovers rise. Alton uses uses a food processor and popover pan; I use a whisk and muffin tin, unless I'm making Yorkshire pudding, when I use a ceramic souffle dish.
Alton's:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/basic-popover-recipe/index.html
Mine is from the original Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and I've been making it for 40 years:
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/breads/popovers/
betteirene at 1:03AM on 07/18/09
I'd use 1/8 tsp. So if your measuring spoon set has 1/4 tsp., use half. Less than that and the author of the recipe is just screwing with your head.
therealchiffonade at 5:27AM on 07/18/09
Same as a "dash" :P
****
Takat
Writing about my 3 week adventure through China at http://katacomb.blogspot.com
Takat at 11:31AM on 07/18/09
Thought Speck was the pointy eared first officer on The Starship Enterprise.
milesdga at 12:32PM on 07/18/09
@ milesdga, Nah, that's "Spock" :P
Takat at 5:37PM on 07/18/09
Thanks all. Glad I'm not the only one who found the use of "speck" a bit odd. I'm using the recipe that came with the popover pan I bought at the Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park. The first batch didn't turn out so well. The recipe says to increase the temperature from 350 to 425 after 15 minutes and do so without opening the door. This made me think popovers are very sensitive and I screwed something up. I posted pics at www.fiftycenthotdog.com.
Betteirene I'll give your recipe a try too.
fiftycenthotdog at 7:12PM on 07/18/09
A speck, I'd imagine, would be less than a dash or a pinch, making it about equal to a smidgen. http://www.organize.com/smmesp.html
Man, I'm glad recipes have modernized a bit. I had an old recipe from grandmother that actually asked me to count out FIVE red pepper flakes. "Spicy Macaroni Casserole." Insane.
Tally at 4:38PM on 07/19/09
fiftycenthotdog,
You misread the Jordan Pond recipe. Preheat oven to 425°; bake for 15 minutes then turn down to 350°. Try them again.
TailgateChef at 8:33AM on 11/28/09