Hello my Foodie Friends!

The winter months often times bring us “snow days” from work and school. Snow day; you know what that means? It’s time to bake some sweet goodies with your friends or family.  There are standard baking essentials that are needed to make your favorite baked treats. 

Cooking and baking are really enjoyable if you can find recipes that are inspiring and delicious. Flipping through a cookbook, you’ll find that most cooking and baking recipes use precise measurements. Portioning ingredients in a dish balances flavors to create the best-tasting recipes. Dry measuring cups, liquid measuring cups, and measuring spoons are three of the fundamental kitchen tools that will help you measure your ingredients. The best measuring cups and spoons make it easy to portion your ingredients and wash up after you’re done cooking or baking. Dry measuring cups are important kitchen tools to have in your drawers. The best measuring cup sets consist of five different measuring cups, ranging from 1/3 cup to 1 cup for measuring dry goods. You’ll find that dry measuring cups are made from many different materials, including plastic and stainless steel. Both of these types of materials can be placed in the dishwasher, which makes it easier to clean up after you’re done cooking or baking. These materials are used in measuring cups because they will not react with food and then can even be placed in the refrigerator or freezer if you need to cool ingredients. If you are baking, make sure that you clean out your measuring cups after each use to ensure that you don’t contaminate any of your ingredients. A well-stocked kitchen has both dry and liquid measuring cups. There is a slight difference in volume between dry and wet ingredients, so it’s important that you have both styles of measuring cups. The best liquid measuring cup sets have three different sizes, ranging from 1 cup to 4 cups of liquid. A lot of liquid measuring cups have spouts on the end, which makes them easy to pour into your recipe. Most liquid measuring cups have handles so you can transport them across the kitchen. This is especially helpful if you are incorporating warm liquid into your recipe. The majority of liquid measuring cups are made from plastic or glass, so they can go right in the dishwasher alongside your dry measuring cups.

Aside from measuring cups, measuring spoons are also a must-have in your kitchen. A standard set of measuring spoons is great if you are baking in the kitchen because you can use the right portion of baking soda and baking powder to get the perfect texture for your best sweet treats. Measuring spoons can measure both liquid and dry ingredients so they're super handy to have in the kitchen.

Stop in to Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place and stock up on baking supplies.  Don’t forget to keep your eye on your little helpers when measuring the Cinnamon-Sugar as three tablespoons could become six! Remember my Foodie Friends that “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” Stay warm and have fun baking. 

 Take Care,
John & Paula