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Addie

Chef Extraordinaire
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You know those tiny bowls on ATK that they use to dump their ingredients in after measuring them out? Well, every time I look for the smallest ones I can only find them as part of a graduated set. I don't need the whole set, I just want the small ones that ATK place their teaspoons of ingredients.

Any idea where I could find them in multiples of the same size?
 
Addie, I have a bunch of little SS "sauce cups", that I place my ingredients in, both dry and liquid, when setting up a recipe, mise en place. When measuring the ingredients out, I measure them into a cup, looking at when they will be added to the dish - this way, only one addition, with maybe 3 or 4 ingredients - much easier and quicker this way, esp. in many of those Asian dishes I make.

Here's a photo showing an example. is this the type of thing you are thinking of?
IMG_20181214_190319130 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here's a page from a restaurant supply, showing the variety of these cups. The ones I have are the 2.5 oz. SS, which stack up inside each other, so that I have about 20 of them in about a 2" stack.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ch...-steel-round-sauce-cup-pack/176SAUCE25SS.html

And here's what Amazon has - a little higher price, but this includes shipping - you don't have to buy a huge amount to get free shipping!
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sauce+cu...prefix=sauce+cups,aps,470&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_6_10
 
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You know those tiny bowls on ATK that they use to dump their ingredients in after measuring them out? Well, every time I look for the smallest ones I can only find them as part of a graduated set. I don't need the whole set, I just want the small ones that ATK place their teaspoons of ingredients.

Any idea where I could find them in multiples of the same size?

Or...just use your cutting board or a paper plate for the small tsp measurements. Works great for a small household such as yours, and mine. Less to wash. :)
 
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+1 Cheryl.


ATK and other shows use those little cups for TV teaching purposes. Why would I bother with them in my own kitchen? I use one custard cup for all the dry spices, and another one for wet. It works perfectly for me.
 
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I agree with others that measure things out onto a plate, waxed paper, etc...

I have a couple of the tiny bowls from a graduated set that I found in a thrift shop. I use them to hold small amounts of various condiments like salad dressing, catsup, melted butter, etc... for dipping.

If you are set on the idea of using the cups head for the Dollar Store and buy a package of plastic shot glasses.

Good luck.
 
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Little cups are a nuisance in the dishwasher. I have some cheap small plates, several different sizes. Like others, I put the dry ingredients on one plate. Cut veggies, etc. go on larger plates as required. I also use the little plates for spoon / utensil rests. After contact with raw meat they go into the dishwasher, along with the utensil.
 
I have used small plates for mise en place for years. I often find that tiny, shallow bowls would be more convenient, at least for some of it. DH says he has a bunch that were bought for another purpose, but he hasn't gotten around to using them yet, so I can have them. We actually just discussed it last night during supper. I haven't seen them yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
 
For years I have been standing in front of my cabinet where all my seasonings and spices are. With the recipe taped to the inside of the door, I have my measuring spoons in hand, and go down the list and add them into a coffee cup. Or if they are to go into flour, I measure out the flour first. But there have been moments when I am interrupted I find myself asking "Did I already add that?"

Since part of my recovery is learning to do chores while standing on one leg, I think I would do better if I found a better way to measure out small amounts of ingredients. I find myself trying to play a balancing game along with measuring. Right now I am more concerned with learning to balance than worry about washing numerous small items. There is no danger in washing small dishes, but there sure is if I take a tumble in the kitchen because I lost my balance.

Since I tend to avoid recipes that have a very long list of ingredients, the most I would need are approximately ten.

Thanks everyone for coming to my rescue. Now onto the road to recovery!

I will let you know which ones I chose to go with.
 
For years I have been standing in front of my cabinet where all my seasonings and spices are. With the recipe taped to the inside of the door, I have my measuring spoons in hand, and go down the list and add them into a coffee cup. Or if they are to go into flour, I measure out the flour first. But there have been moments when I am interrupted I find myself asking "Did I already add that?"

You need a method of setting up a mise en place (everything in its place), but a bunch of little dishes isn't the only way to do it.*

I first pull out everything I will need for a dish - this also ensures that I have everything, and enough of everything, that I will need. Then I measure and prepare each ingredient and put it in a pile on an extra cutting board or in a measuring cup, etc. As I measure each, I move the container or whatever to a different area of the counter. That way, I know what I have added and what I haven't, without the need for a bunch of little dishes.

*In my case, though, DH has bought me a bunch of little dishes over the years for Christmas stocking gifts that are perfect for this purpose. Sometimes I use them and sometimes I don't. But they're certainly not necessary, and he cleans up the kitchen since I cook ;)
 
You know those tiny bowls on ATK that they use to dump their ingredients in after measuring them out? Well, every time I look for the smallest ones I can only find them as part of a graduated set. I don't need the whole set, I just want the small ones that ATK place their teaspoons of ingredients.

Any idea where I could find them in multiples of the same size?

Addie, I am a huge believer in Mise en Place. I have a about a dozen prep bowls. I got mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They hold a lot more than a teaspoon, but who cares. The only thing that matters is that you can put your herbs and spices in them before you start cooking.

IMO, get the cheapest prep bowls you can find. Use measuring spoons to fill them.

CD
 
Casey, I'm a big believer in Mise en Place also, but I can't think of any recipe I cook where the dry spices need to be separated from one another, rather than mixed together in one container. Then again, I'm just a simple home cook.
 
Casey, I'm a big believer in Mise en Place also, but I can't think of any recipe I cook where the dry spices need to be separated from one another, rather than mixed together in one container. Then again, I'm just a simple home cook.

If you are going to add your dry spices all at the same time, then there is no reason to separate them. Well, unless you are like me, and don't remember what you did ten seconds ago. For me, the best thing about Mise en Place is that it makes up for my short attention span.

CD
 
I do as mentioned above and move the jars (or whatever) off to the side after I've added them, so that I know I'm done with them in case I get interrupted.

Those little mise en place bowls in videos are cute, and with edited videography, they make it look easy and fun to throw together a multiple herb/spice/seasonings meal. They're clever in editing out all the extra work it takes to make something look 'easy'.
 
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Those little mise en place bowls in videos are cute, and with edited videography, they make it look easy and fun to throw together a multiple herb/spice/seasonings meal. They're clever in editing out all the extra work it takes to make something look 'easy'.

It is really not much more work -- very little. But, to each their own. Those "cute" bowls help idiots like me cook better. If you don't need them, then don't use them.

Getting back to the OP, America's Test Kitchen did a YouTube video on prep bowls -- they were kind enough to reach out to those of us idiots who are stupid enough to need such things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkvAhaAC0ms

CD
 
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It is really not much more work -- very little. But, to each their own. Those "cute" bowls help idiots like me cook better. If you don't need them, then don't use them.

Getting back to the OP, America's Test Kitchen did a YouTube video on prep bowls -- they were kind enough to reach out to those of us idiots who are stupid enough to need such things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkvAhaAC0ms

CD


Wow...I'm really sorry if I offended you, Casey. :( No one is an 'idiot' for using mise en place bowls. I enjoy your foodie posts.
 
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Wow...I'm really sorry if I offended you, Casey. :( No one is an 'idiot' for using mise en place bowls. I enjoy your foodie posts.

We are cool. I got a bit miffed, but I got over it within maybe ten minutes. Probably closer to five.

I really love to cook, but if I don't do mise en place to the extreme, I will ruin a lot of groceries. If you were to visit my kitchen, you would probably wonder why I have so many prep bowls... and so many cutting boards... and so many tongs.

This quote from Hunter S. Thompson just popped up in my head...

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.

Cooking is like that, to me.

CD
 
You know those tiny bowls on ATK that they use to dump their ingredients in after measuring them out? Well, every time I look for the smallest ones I can only find them as part of a graduated set. I don't need the whole set, I just want the small ones that ATK place their teaspoons of ingredients.

Any idea where I could find them in multiples of the same size?

Addie, I agree with the paper plate method as well the small dishes too.

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I use paper plates for the bigger stuff mostly and then Shoyu Dishes (they're easier to wash) for the spices and smaller stuff like minced garlic, ginger, etc.

The cutting board works good as well to group together chopped veg/meats ...

I too lose track of what I've measured out all ready, so plunking salt, sugar, spices into a bowl along with say the flour is not always a good idea for me.

On top of that, I don't follow directions well, as in reading a recipe all the way through and then starting to put everything together... I'll read a recipe and get the wrong amount so often ... 1/2 teaspoon dear, not 1/2 a tablespoon of Corn Starch! :LOL:

I do much better with some sort of mise en place, for sure! :chef:
 
Addie, I agree with the paper plate method as well the small dishes too.

I too lose track of what I've measured out all ready, so plunking salt, sugar, spices into a bowl along with say the flour is not always a good idea for me.

On top of that, I don't follow directions well, as in reading a recipe all the way through and then starting to put everything together... I'll read a recipe and get the wrong amount so often ... 1/2 teaspoon dear, not 1/2 a tablespoon of Corn Starch! :LOL:

I do much better with some sort of mise en place, for sure! :chef:

K-Girl, you and I should get together sometime and mess up your kitchen. Hopefully your DH likes to clean. :LOL:

TSP and TBS look a lot alike on a recipe, and if you confuse them, things can go very wrong. A TBS of cumin is VERY different than a TSP of cumin (I learned that the hard way). So, when I do follow a recipe, I get OCD about measuring and mise en place.

CD
 
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