I don’t know about you but I enjoy watching food shows on the Food Network and Bravo. Top Chef and Iron Chef are two of my favorites. I watch in awe as they pour a little of this and a handful of that. They toss in some salt, a few grinds of pepper and whala, a delicious dish fit for special guests or your next pot luck supper.
As much as I like these shows, I know one thing for certain - when I bake I have to measure my ingredients. When I cook other types of dishes, sometimes I measure, sometimes I don’t. It depends on what it is. But, whenever I make a new recipe, I measure everything.
Use Caution: When measuring ingredients, do not measure over your mixing bowl. This is just a precaution in case you spill something.
Measuring Cups
There are two types of measuring cups - dry measuring cups and liquid measuring cups. Standard liquid measuring cups are glass or plastic; standard dry measuring cups are metal or plastic.
Measuring Dry Ingredients
Standard dry measuring cups come in sets that include 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/4 cups.
To measure most dry ingredients, spoon into the cup and sweep level with a knife. Sometimes people dip the cup into the flour or sugar, scoop and level off; however when you scoop, your flour or sugar gets packed into the cup and eventually you will end up with more than you need.
Brown Sugar is the exception to the dry measuring rule. Brown sugar should be packed into the cup and leveled off.
Measuring Liquid Ingredients
Standard liquid measuring cups are 1 cup, 2 cups, 4 cups and 8 cups.
Measure your liquid ingredients into a clear glass or plastic cup. To get an accurate reading, put the cup on a table or counter and get down to eye level to read the measurement unless you have the type of cup made to be read from above.
Measuring Spoons
A standard set of measuring spoons include 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon. They can be purchased at the grocery store, dollar store or discount department stores. The set pictured above, RSVP Endurance Spice Measuring Spoon Set, 
Measuring spoons are used to measure both liquid and dry ingredients. For liquid ingredients, fill the spoon; for dry ingredients, scoop into the ingredient and level off.