Ideally, no.

My goal for you is that you will be able to tell what a tablespoon of salt, or a teaspoon of thyme, looks and feels like in the palm of your hand.

In order to gain that intuitive touch, start putting measured amounts of dry ingredients in your hands. Take a meditative moment to look at the palm of your hand, and feel what that tablespoon of kosher salt is like. Do the same when you are pouring a cup of milk; think about how abundant that pour is.

Certain recipes have flexibility in measurements, and certain recipes have to be precise. Pastries, breads, and French desserts need to be exactly measured. (Since I’m not a baker, and since precision is not my forte, my healthy, gluten-free desserts have more leeway). Most savory cooking does not require precision. That being said, when you are experimenting with a new type of cuisine, like Moroccan or Indian, practice humility. Don’t expect that you can just throw in a little bit of this and a little bit of that, until you have a understanding of the unique quality and power of each spice.

TAGS: #askelana, ask, cooking, do I really need to measure ingredients, Elana, ingredients, learning to cook, measuring, spices

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