Keeping the kitchen clean as you move along will help save time and make your cooking experience fun. As you finish using the measuring utensils and mixing bowls put them in the sink to soak in hot soapy water. If you want your recipes to turn out good every time, you must measure everything exactly and in the right way. To understand the abbreviations used in recipes for measuring see Standard Cooking Abbreviations , and also see Common Cookery Measurements . Check your recipe to see what measuring utensils you will need.
All recipes use level measurements unless the directions state differently.
So if your recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, it means a cup leveled off at the rim, not a heaping cup. To measure sifted flour, sift flour onto wax paper. Use a spatula or edge of a table knife to run across the top of the measuring cup to level off the flour. Spoon sugar into the cup and level off using spatula or the edge of a table knife. For brown sugar, first roll out the lumps on wax paper with a rolling pin.