So, the people who write recipes must know.

[MoseySusan]

It’s not all going to make it into the bowl. A little splash here, a poof of flour there. What are the chances every last snot of two eggs is going to make it into the recipe, instead of, say, all over the cook’s fingers? 
Asking for a friend. 

[Longjohn ★]

I think the recipe is just a suggestion. I sometimes look at a recipe to see how they say to do it and then I do it my own way.

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

Like garlic. If the recipe calls for two cloves they meant four. It works fine 

[Forum Administrator]

6 minutes ago, Old#7 said:

Like garlic. If the recipe calls for two cloves they meant four. It works fine 

One of the first times I ever cooked, I did not know the difference between a clove of garlic and a bulb.  It was the best spaghetti sauce I have ever made.

[ChrisL]

Recipes for cooking really are suggestions and subject to personal tastes & preferences.  I think it’s interesting how different family members have different methods of making satay.  It’s hard to screw up grilled meat on a stick but each of us does it a little different but it’s all tasty.

[groupw]

My brother and his wife really liked my fried rice. He asked for the recipe. I told him I cut a couple strips of bacon and put them in the bottom of the wok to render down. Toss the green onions and garlic in the bacon grease for a few seconds. scramble a couple eggs in the mix. When they are soft scrambled, pour the rice over the top add some frozen peas and corn. Splash on the soy sauce and some ground ginger. Stir it all up until the color of the rice is even, but before the rice gets mushy. 

My brother is an engineer. He wanted exact amounts of ingredients and how long for each step. I had no idea on amounts. I just add until it looks right. The cook time varies based on so many conditions, you have to do it by feel. 

And that is a pretty mean fried rice if I do say so myself! Sometimes I add a little chicken, too. Just cook it in the bacon before you add the onion and garlic. 

[Kzoo]

You morans missed the whole point of the OP.  The questions is, does Roadsue her friend lick her fingers while cooking or does she wipe her hands on her apron?

#COVID-19

[Razors Edge ★]

1 hour ago, roadsue said:

It’s not all going to make it into the bowl. A little splash here, a poof of flour there. What are the chances every last snot of two eggs is going to make it into the recipe, instead of, say, all over the cook’s fingers? 
Asking for a friend. 

These sorts of questions have Julia spinning in her grave

[Wilbur ★]

Cooking is an art, baking is a science.   So said my 8th generation baker, grandfather.    

[Wilbur ★]

1 minute ago, Kzoo said:

You morans missed the whole point of the OP.  The questions is, does Roadsue her friend lick her fingers while cooking or does she wipe her hands on her apron?

#COVID-19

Eww.  Why would her friend lick RoadSue's fingers? 

[Digital_photog ★]

so are you suggesting that cooking does not require the precision of an experiment that we did in analytical chemistry lab?  Who would have thougth that?

 

[Wilbur ★]

41 minutes ago, Digital_photog said:

so are you suggesting that cooking does not require the precision of an experiment that we did in analytical chemistry lab?  Who would have thougth that?

 

No, he was suggesting one not screw around with quantities when baking.   

At least not if you want consistent results. 

[MoseySusan]

I dropped most of an egg white on the countertop instead of getting it into the bowl. Then I thought I could pick it up. As my good friend RG would say, WRONG! 
The cookies baked up just fine, though.

I ditched Chemistry class to play at the lake. 

[MoseySusan]

1 hour ago, Kzoo said:

You morans missed the whole point of the OP.  The questions is, does Roadsue her friend lick her fingers while cooking or does she wipe her hands on her apron?

#COVID-19

I wipe fingers on my apron, but I lick finished batter off mixer paddles and spoons before they go into the wash. 

[MoseySusan]

1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

Eww.  Why would her friend lick RoadSue's fingers? 

 

[Wilbur ★]

2 minutes ago, roadsue said:

 

Don't be such a twat!  I like the subject just fine, thank you.  

[Airehead]

3 hours ago, Longjohn said:

I think the recipe is just a suggestion. I sometimes look at a recipe to see how they say to do it and then I do it my own way.

I am with Wilbur on this one. If cooking lick and taste all you want. If baking be scrupulous in your measuring and avoid finger licking. 

[MoseySusan]

12 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Don't be such a twat! 

 

[Wilbur ★]

2 minutes ago, roadsue said:

 

Don't be such a twat!  

 

[Digital_photog ★]

14 minutes ago, Airehead said:

I am with Wilbur on this one. If cooking lick and taste all you want. If baking be scrupulous in your measuring and avoid finger licking. 

I don't know about that.  When we made the Whole wheat/oatmeal bread the first time we followed the recipe. It was not a sourdough recipe and we used yeast to make it. Bread was good but we thought it could be better.  This time we used sourdough and changed the recipe a little to work with that.  Now we have a very good bread.  We were pretty precise about our measurements.  Also we had experience replacing yeast with sourdough in other recipes so we weren't just throwing things in. We wanted a lighter bread and we got it. You can experiment with baking if you know something about what you are doing.  I will agree you can't just throw things in.

[Wilbur ★]

4 minutes ago, Digital_photog said:

I don't know about that.

 

4 minutes ago, Digital_photog said:

I will agree you can't just throw things in.

OK

[Kzoo]

36 minutes ago, roadsue said:

I wipe fingers on my apron, but I lick finished batter off mixer paddles and spoons before they go into the wash. 

As it should be AND always make a little extra frosting for graham crackers or sugar  cookies.

[shootingstar]

3 hours ago, groupw said:

My brother is an engineer. He wanted exact amounts of ingredients and how long for each step. I had no idea on amounts. I just add until it looks right. The cook time varies based on so many conditions, you have to do it by feel. 

And that is a pretty mean fried rice if I do say so myself! Sometimes I add a little chicken, too. Just cook it in the bacon before you add the onion and garlic. 

Then your brother would like baking sweet desserts. Cakes, etc. require more precise measurements and specific steps for successful edible creation....that looks good too.

[groupw]

1 hour ago, shootingstar said:

Then your brother would like baking sweet desserts. Cakes, etc. require more precise measurements and specific steps for successful edible creation....that looks good too.

And he is a very good baker. He became a stay at home dad when they moved to Chicago. He was featured in the Chicago Tribune and later on Good Morning America because he was ahead of the curve on that social development. He became quite a good cook, but he likes to have a recipe. 

[MickinMD ★]

15 hours ago, roadsue said:

It’s not all going to make it into the bowl. A little splash here, a poof of flour there. What are the chances every last snot of two eggs is going to make it into the recipe, instead of, say, all over the cook’s fingers? 
Asking for a friend. 

A great point! I got into cooking late in life and the inexactness often drives me crazy, after a lifetime of doing chemistry, where exact amounts are specified in setting up reactions, solutions, etc.

Usually, variations due to the lack of specificity mean the recipe works within the possible limits of those variations, but when you get something like "four potatoes" that can mean 3 lbs or 1 lb!

With the "two eggs" you mention, what size are they? Two Jumbo eggs are 5 oz. and two Large eggs are 4 oz.

The recipes for various breads can come out all wrong when you're using an automatic bread maker and just throw all the ingredients together and start mixing.  A cup of flour's weight can change based on humidity, even when measured the right way by not tamping down on it and by sweep sideways above the measuring cup to remove any excess,  So I did an extensive internet search plus trial-and-error bread making and put together a list of how much a cup of bread, all-purpose, rye, etc. flour is supposed to weight and I WEIGH out the flour to get a more accurate measurement:

Weight per cup Measurements of Flours and Liquids

 

Per Cup:

Bread Flour: 135 g, 4.75 oz.

Whole Wheat Flour: 128 g, 4.50 oz.

All-Purpose Flour: 121 g, 4.25 oz.

Rye Flour: 114 g, 4.00 oz. (102 g, 3 5/8 oz?)

Cake Flour: 114 g, 4.00 oz.

Water: 227 g, 8.00 oz.

Milk: 236 g, 8.30 oz.

Note: 1 oz. = 28.35 g, 1 lb = 453.6 g.

Weight of flour PER CUP (http://www.recipesource.com/misc/hints/flour-weights = if you get a warning about enter the page, ignore it) :

 4 3/8   ounces  or 125  grams   all-purpose flour   (USDA)

 4 5/8   ounces  or 130  grams   all-purpose flour   (Gold Medal)

 4 1/4   ounces  or  120 grams   whole wheat flour  (USDA)

 4 1/2   ounces  or  128 grams   whole wheat flour  (Gold Medal)

 4 1/2   ounces  or  127 grams   bread flour     (USDA)

 4 3/4   ounces  or  135 grams   bread flour     (Gold Medal)

 3 5/8   ounces  or  102 grams   rye flour       (USDA)

King Arthur says ALL flour types weigh 4 oz (113 grams) per cup. If I used the KA 4 oz., I'd have mud, not dough. And, in the case of a rye loaf, it would be much too dry.

[MoseySusan]

@MickinMD Yes! I’ve seen numerous on tv bakers weighing ingredients. Eggs, though... that’s an interesting graphic you’ve posted. 

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

My understanding on eggs is that if a recipe calls for eggs, the standard is large. One large egg is equivalent to 1/4 cup liquid measurement. I’ve never had a recipe go wrong using that as my rule. 
I measure flour by weight given in the recipe. A few grams over isn’t going to effect the end result too much. I made pie dough yesterday. Weighed the flour and salt. Weighed the butter and shortening made cleanup easier as everything went into one bowl without measuring cups or spoons.