Measuring Spoons

1. Select the correct spoon from your set based on the recipe's instructions. A standard set of measuring spoons includes one tablespoon, one teaspoon, one 1/2 teaspoon, one 1/4 teaspoon and one 1/8 teaspoon. Double-check the markings on the handle, making sure you have the correct one.

2. Scoop out the spice using the measuring spoon. If the spoon doesn't fit in the jar, pour some spices into a small bowl and scoop them up. Level the mound using a butter knife scraped across the top. Put this in your mixing bowl.

3. Return any excess spice to the jar carefully using a funnel, then cap the jar. Measure the next item in your recipe, following the same process for other spices listed. Mark off each ingredient used after you put it in the bowl using a light pencil mark (you can erase those later). This insures you have everything required before mixing and cooking.

Hand Measuring and Adjustments

1. Practice hand measuring after you work with measuring spoons for several recipes from beginning to end. Older recipe books may not include specific teaspoon or tablespoon measurements. This practice helps with those kinds of recipes.

2. Take a pinch of any spice. This equates to about 1/8 teaspoon, so put it into your measuring spoon to see how close you come. If the recipe calls for a dash, it's about 1/2 of a pinch or 1/16 of a teaspoon. Repeat a few times until you have a strong sense of the difference between a pinch and dash between your fingers.

3. Underfill a measuring spoon just a little. This represents the term "scant" in a cookbook. By comparison, a heaping spoonful piles beyond the edge of the spoon a bit, mounding in the middle without falling off. Practice these two measurements several times. The more you pay close attention, the easier it becomes.