Have you ever come across a nice dish and would like to try out it's recipe only to realise you did not have the necessary measuring tools to measure the ingredients for the dishes? Or worse, the measurements are not in the form that you are used to (generally most recipe measurements are either in metric form[grams or kilograms] or imperial form[pounds or ounces]).

I used to struggle when it comes to measuring an ingredient for a dish item as I did not have all the measuring tools with me because I mean well, I did not think I need to have every single kitchen tools available commercially or else I would need a warehouse to store all these things. (okay, maybe not as exaggerated, but you know what I mean, lol.)

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Of course it is always better to have the right tools in hand for better accurate measurements but it is okay not to have them either (if you do not mind not getting the exact measurements). Therefore, I would like to share a short post about one of the most common measuring tool we will encounter in almost every recipe books available in the market or online.

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Yes, THE measuring spoon.

As most of us would know, the metric form and imperial form for a measuring spoon would usually be in milliliters and either a tablespoon or a teaspoon. And it may be surprising to a few, but these measuring spoons are measured according to the general spoons that we use to eat our meals. So if you do not own any measuring spoons, fret not! Because you can use your own spoons as a replacements!

Most table spoons are design to have the same diameter regardless of the brands, therefore if you are not sure which spoon is the right spoon, if you have a weighing machine near you, you just need to fill up the spoon with water and weight one full spoon of water. As long as it's more or less close to 15ml, that particular spoon should be safe to be used as a measuring spoon.

The above picture is a normal tablespoon and I've tried to roughly break down the different measurements in one spoon. Basically the numbers represents the different measurements in both metric and imperial form. If you ever come across a recipe that requires 1/4 tablespoon or tbsp in short(some just put tbs instead of tbsp), or if it is in metric form which should be 3.75ml, you just need to use the tip of the spoon to pick up whatever ingredient you want to take. Same goes with recipes that says 1/2 tbs/ 7.5ml, 3/4 tbs/ 11.25ml or just one whole tablespoon which is 15ml in general. (Do bear in mind that this type of measurement might not be as accurate as a proper measuring spoon, but it should help in most cooking if not all). All you need to do is just pretend that the surface of the spoon is made up of 4 parts and there are 4 invisible lines on the spoon, so every time when you pick up something, you can estimate how much you are taking.

The same goes for teaspoon measurements. Yes, the measurement is base on our everyday teaspoon, the ones we use to stir our coffee or tea. Just like the tablespoon, all you need to do is imagine there are 4 invisible lines on the spoon, then you can estimate how much to take. one full teaspoon is 5ml and 1/4 teaspoon or tsp in short, is 1.25ml. Yes, 3tsp equals to 1tbs and 16tbs equals to 1 cup. (though in some countries, 1 full cup is 250ml instead of 240ml)

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So if you ever wonder is it a must to have all the measuring tools in the world when it comes to measuring ingredients for cooking or baking, I would say, if you can utilise whatever you have in your kitchen and save yourself from spending on things that you would only use once or twice, why not just grab whatever you can find that is similar with what the recipe books says and use them? But of course, it would be great to have some basic measuring tools like the measuring cups, measuring spoons and a mini scale/weighing machine (would be best if it is digital as it would be more accurate).

Here is a link for those of you who would like to know the general cooking measure conversions in metric and imperial forms.

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On a side note, recently I made some cranberry sauce using dried cranberries for my turkey dish (it is very difficult to find and very expensive to buy fresh ones here in Malaysia) and wanted to share with you guys on how I made it. It is super easy and fuss-free and my goodness, the taste is really something after it is done! All you need is:

• Dried Cranberries
• Apple Juice
• Cinnamon Stick
• Lemon Concentrate/Lemon Juice
• Cornstarch

I boiled 1 cup of cranberries with 1 cup of apple juice, 2 tablespoons of lemon concentrate and 1 cinnamon stick on high heat. Once it starts boiling, I reduced the fire to small heat and let the cranberry and apple juice simmers. As the juice starts reducing and the cranberries starts softening, I slowly add in more apple juice, a little at a time, making sure it is not too watery.

I simmered the sauce for another 15 minutes and once I am satisfy with the liquid amount, I added 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and mix it with lukewarm water before pouring it into my sauce to thickens it.

I took out the cinnamon stick, poured my sauce into a big cup and using a hand blender I roughly blend the cranberry sauce.

My cranberry sauce is done and ready to be served with my turkey dish!

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LAST BUT NOT LEAST

I HOPE THIS HAS BEEN AN ENJOYABLE AND ENTERTAINING READ! THANKS FOR DROPPING BY!!