*snickers*

[conuly]

You brits...

How do you boil water? I'm reminded of the classic complaint "he doesn't even know how to boil water". *grins some more at the silliness*

Although, honestly, I hope youse guys never lose power over there. You'd be helpless. Apparently.

Edit: Actually, this reminds me of the time I slept over at Lizziey's and made pancakes. All the time, Kassondra (whose name I never can spell) was going on and on about not having pancake mix and I was just grabbing the flour and salt and baking soda and whatnot.

Comments

[phoenixdreaming.livejournal.com]

...I had no idea that Americans didn't have electric kettles. I'm amazed. Heh. That's destroyed my childhood illusion of America as a land of luxury.

I can remember when we didn't have one, years back, and boiled a whistling kettle on the stove instead. Am fairly sure it wasn't as fast as the electric kettle, but all I can really remember is my mother being irritated by the whistle.

Actually, my flat here has an electric cooker as well as an electric kettle, and no open fire. I'm technically helpless if the power goes out, I suppose, but don't often have a use for boiling water.

European Quisene

[evilsibe.livejournal.com]

All recipies :

-Step 1
Boil Water

Re: European Quisene

[conuly]

Never "preheat oven"?

[missfahrenheit.livejournal.com]

Wow. The kettles thing is actually really weird. But I feel the need to add that mum ditched the electric kettle a few years ago for a whistly hob that goes on the hob, because it looks cooler, she likes the sound, and it ends up with less horrible limescaley white stuff in it.

As for the pancake thing: we hardly ever do stuff like cake mix on packets. And those of us that don't look down on those who do, because we are Horribly Smug And Domesticated.

(Also, wtf is up with meaturing things in cups and having sticks of butter? It makes it such an arse to translate an American recipe!)

[conuly]

Also, wtf is up with meaturing things in cups and having sticks of butter?

Just get yourself some American measuring cups and spoons if you translate recipes so much. Or go proportionally - 1 part this to three parts that.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

I remember a particularly stupid commercial showing the kids making the parents breakfast in bed, including orange juice and blueberry pancakes, and just as the father is about to eat some, the mother whispers, "Uh, honey...we don't have the stuff for pancakes."

How do you not have the stuff for pancakes? They're milk, eggs, flour, leavening. I happen to prefer buttermilk, which we do run out of from time to time, but jeez.

And I boil water by putting it in a teakettle and lighting the burner on my stove. (I did once spend $40 on an electric teakettle and it lasted for a couple months before dying. Primitive, my aunt Fanny.)

[conuly]

If you don't bake much, you might not have flour or baking soda.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

It's just as bad as the British recipes that have everything in weights. Not everyone has a kitchen scale over here, and they're much more expensive than a set of measuring cups.

[conuly]

In fairness, my previous snarky reply notwithstanding, kitchen scales are much more reliable than measuring cups. A cup of sifted flour is less flour than a cup of unsifted flour, but an ounce of flour is always an ounce, sifted or otherwise.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

That's what has me puzzled about the stupidity of the commercial--she said "stuff" like they possessed NONE of the ingredients. I can see saying "Psst, we're out of flour" or whatever the hell.

[conuly]

Well, I tend to think that she meant mix, and is an idiot, but that's beside the point. I'm just arguing for fun now.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Ah, unless the humidity is acting up on you.

But that's why most American recipes specify sifted or unsifted and why most cookbooks place great emphasis on correctly measuring flour. (Spoon and level, not scoop and tap.)

[conuly]

I know that's why recipes specify it, but it's still annoying.

[missfahrenheit.livejournal.com]

My scales were less than $2, and they're not swishy or interesting or anything, but they work.

Weights are universal- a gram is a gram wherever you are. This is what's confusing about cups, because I have many different sized cups and have yet to find any properly-standadised measuring type things.

[conuly]

This is what's confusing about cups, because I have many different sized cups and have yet to find any properly-standadised measuring type things.

*giggles*

You need to buy a measuring cup. Hold on, I'll find a link.

[conuly]

A measuring cup.
A set of larger measuring spoons.
A smaller set of measuring spoons.

It's completely standardized - one cup is always the same size. A tablespoon is always three teaspoons, 16 tablespoons will always make one cup. A stick of butter is always one quarter pound (eight tablespoons).

[scarletdemon.livejournal.com]

When my American friend told me he didn't own an electric kettle I almost cried, I felt so sorry for him. And tea has to be made with BOILING water, not hideous "microwaved" water. You heathens.

[conuly]

I'm stunned that only some people over there have actual coffee pots. Freaks o' nature.

[scarletdemon.livejournal.com]

Coffee, don't talk to me about coffee, it makes me shake. Tea is the way forward. Tea made with water boiled in a kettle.

[conuly]

What about cocoa?

[scarletdemon.livejournal.com]

Haha! I have no idea! I haven't had any for about 15 years.

[marveen.livejournal.com]

conuly already told you about standardization, so I'll restrict myself to the WTF about the scales.

Two dollars? Are you sure that's not a typo? My mother has kitchen scales that I thought were pleasingly inexpensive, and they were $14, fourteen dollars, plus tax.

King Arthur Flour carries a rather pricy model: http://shop.bakerscatalogue.com/items/catC82subC148.html .

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

Eh. I go by the finished dough anyways - by feel that is. Too wet? More flour. Too crumbly? A bit of water, or more butter as the case may be. Occasionally more egg, with cookies.

I do most of my cooking by the "how does it feel" method. :-)

[conuly]

Well, I suspect it's the same thing with the electric kettles. Over there, they seem to be fairly cheap (judging by the comments on the post) because they're used by everyone. Here, they're only used by real afficionados, so they're expensive.

Over there, everybody uses scales. They're cheap. Here, it's only serious cooks who use scales. They're expensive.

[conuly]

That's how God intended us to cook.