to think there is something weird about regular cooks that measure oil for frying

[witchwithallthetrimmings]

I can see if you have never fried an onion before you might need some guidance but if a recipie calls for you to sweat some onions and carrots in xx tbsp of oil would you really count them out precisely?

[WilsonFrickett]

I do if I'm on WeightWatchers shudder

[OneOfMyTurnsComingOn]

It depends in your pan, surely? If your pan has a tendency for things to stick then you'd need more oil.

I don't measure anything. Drives DP mad cos he can't copy my chilli!

[Ephiny]

I don't, I just put in what 'looks about right'. DH would measure precisely though. Just different personality types, maybe?

[SammyTheSwedishSquirrel]

I do.

[Ephiny]

DH would also time it for exactly 10 minutes if that's what the recipe said , whereas I would just cook until the onions looked the right colour/softness.

[Tee2072]

Depends on what it is. Sometimes I bung, sometimes I measure.

[KnockKnockPenny]

Nope, I glug!

[GetOrfAKAMrsUsainBolt]

I would never measure oil, just go by what it looks like.

rarely measure anything actually, and I don't bake (where it presumably matters a bit more).

[WilsonFrickett]

Oh Ephiny my DH does that too. Which is fine, unless the thing he's cooking is still raw after the requisite time, when he'll just serve it up anyway.

Me: This is cold in the middle
DH: Can't be, I heated it for exactly 10 minutes.
Me: But it's still cold in the middle
DH: But I heated it for 10 mins

gaaaaah!

[gallifrey]

omg my DH is exactly like that too, he times everything to the last second, weighs everything on digital bloody scales and yes if a recipe said to use a table spoon of oil that is what he would do.

It must be a man thing!

[MsVestibule]

I measure, almost every time. Think this may say something about my personality, but don't know what...

[Ephiny]

It's infuriating to watch, isn't it? :)

[MsVestibule]

Gallifrey think I must be a man, then. But surely I can't be the only woman to weigh and measure accurately? In my defence, I've had an Aga for two years, and huge amounts of guesswork are needed for that!

[Inneedofbrandy]

Very infuriating! My dp weighs pasta ffs, doesn't matter how many times I say I handful per person plus a smallish handful at end he insists on getting the scales the bowl ect and weighing it out. Its always slightly short of what we all want to.

[Tee2072]

Oh I weigh pasta, because I have very small hands.

Also measure the first time I follow a recipe and then fling willy nilly after that.

[whois]

Inneedofbrandy pasta and rice are the only things I DO weigh (apart from baking) There a big difference between what I think looks the right portion of pasta, and 80g which is a standard portion.

[gallifrey]

The thing is he has got me doing it now, so I weigh and time things too, but not to the extent he does but then he is a bit of a geek!
I always weigh pasta and rice now because I either do loads too much or not enough then the smug sod says "well I always weigh it" grrr!

[Inneedofbrandy]

Well rice I do one cup per one and a half cups of water so my rice comes out soft and fluffy and perfect. But really pasta just needs a handful, if it's not enough put some more in, can't you just see!

[WilsonFrickett]

I weigh pasta and rice too but again that's a weightwatchers thing.

[JamesBexleySpeed]

Me: This is cold in the middle
DH: Can't be, I heated it for exactly 10 minutes.
Me: But it's still cold in the middle
DH: But I heated it for 10 mins

oh my God, Wilson, mine too. It drives me utterly bat-shit. My oven is a bit crap and everything needs longer and at a higher temp, but he just doesn't get it.

[MoreBeta]

I glug oil but weigh pasta and rice so I dont get to much or too little.

I have digital scales for cake/pastry recipes as they do have to be precise or they just don't work.

[WilsonFrickett]

James It's a PITA isn't it!

[THETrills]

"A handful" is a very silly thing for you to say to a different person brandy. They have different-sized hands and they might have a different idea of how full their hand should be.

[wanderingalbatross]

My DH measures exactly - oil, soy sauce, herbs and spices, vinegar, anything that can be measured! I, on the other hand, put in 'some' and see what it tastes like. Needless to say, we each think the other does it wrong and so have a long standing agreement not to interfere in each other's cooking.

[GalaxyDefender]

My mother uses her tried-and-tested "that much and a bit more" method for measuring such things as oil. Works every time