Ingredient Size Definitions

Kris K. (Q&A ID 3769)

When Milk Street produces a recipe that states "Medium Garlic Clove," "Large Onion," "Small potato," etc. do they also have a published reference chart?

Elizabeth M. (Q&A ID 13500)

We do not have a published reference chart. The sizes suggested in recipes will give you a general idea of what was used to develop a recipe. Savory recipes are often pretty flexible; the cooking time and flavor might be affected by a big difference in the size of an ingredient, but we always offer sensory cues for recipes, in addition to timing cues. You can always adapt a recipe — more or less garlic according to your own taste preferences or use a small onion or a medium potato if that's all you have. Just use your senses and follow the cues as you adjust. Baking recipes usually require more precision.

Carl D. (Q&A ID 23523)

A medium clove of garlic is .25 ounces. So weigh out the amount of garlic you need

Avi S. (Q&A ID 23656)

1. I am an American and I am metrically inclined. Very much so. For me pounds and ounces are a bane.
2. Your concept of a large onion is different from mine and definitely my wife's. What I consider medium onion she considers a large one.
3. I have seen many recipes, for example on serious eats, that specify, in addition to descriptive size, a weight in ounces and grams. This is not hard. All you need to do is weight the ingredients you use (onion for example) and publish it as part of the recipe.

Regina S. (Q&A ID 23666)

Can you explain what you mean when cutting meat “across the grain”? How do I determine this?

Fred L J. (Q&A ID 23663)

For the last several years, I have been rewriting recipes within my collection, expressing volumes of dry ingredients with weight (mass) units, usually in grams. This practice isn't difficult, and the end results come out much more consistently and much easier to adjust when scaling a recipe up or down.

Elizabeth M. (Q&A ID 13500)

Regina.

The "grain" refers to the direction in which the muscle fibers are aligned in meat. You cut across those fibers rather than along them to make the meat easier to chew. You can find resources online that discuss this topic in depth. One good source is thekitchn website.

Elizabeth M. (Q&A ID 13500)

Fred – That's a great idea. We applaud and respect your diligence. In addition to making recipes more consistent, we find that weighing ingredients creates less of a mess than when cooking with the volume method.