Bakers Use Grams, and Chefs Do Too!

The following is an article I wrote for Edible Vineyard magazine. If you haven’t already gotten on the gram train… I suggest you do.

Several months ago, I submitted a recipe for a simple pasta dough to an editor at The MV Times (and one of the editors of this formidable magazine). Without thinking, I submitted the recipe using grams as the unit of measure. As a chef, this is standard practice, and I am regularly interpreting and creating recipes this way. And bakers will tell you there is no other way. Little did I know this reliance on grams would spark an ongoing conversation about why exactly they are used in recipes. 

There are several answers to this question. The first being, you can’t confuse grams. The gram is a unit of measure for weight, and weight only. Ounces can be a unit of volume or a unit of weight, and there is the problem: Dense liquids such as heavy cream don’t have the same volume as water. If you’re eyeballing these two liquids by volume, you’ll end up with a lot more cream than you need. The volume-to-weight difference might be minor on a small scale of one ounce by volume. However, when you multiply that exponentially in a recipe that calls for measurements by weight, it can completely change a recipe. 

Secondly, grams are very small, which means you rarely need to deal with fractions. Though I occasionally measure things like yeast to the tenth of a gram, a gram is small enough that you rarely have to break it down further. With grams, I never have to do anything like dividing ⅓ of a cup by seven. When cooking fresh vegetables or fish for a family meal, I am not weighing anything. I cook by feel, instinct, and muscle memory. Flavor, and texture can be adjusted by adding ingredients as you cook. But when baking, making dough for pasta, or even a complex mousse or sauce, I’m sticking to grams. I measure everything as accurately as possible, because you cannot change the flavor or texture of most things once they are baked. When I cook for large groups I often multiply a recipe several times. Using grams when I multiply by two or even ten times, my recipe will be just as good as a single recipe and consistent across the board. 

Measuring everything by weight is also extremely helpful when understanding proportions. Not everyone knows off the top of their head that there are three teaspoons in a tablespoon, or 16 tablespoons in a cup. The difference between 5 grams and 500 grams is a lot easier to understand, break down, and multiply. 

Then there’s the fact that not all measuring cups are actually the same size. Different brands of measuring cups are slightly different in size and shape. When the average cook eyeballs a measurement, it can easily be off by a significant percentage. In order to illustrate this point, I asked two friends to measure out a cup of flour using the exact same measuring cup. I weighed them using a digital scale set to measure grams. Though both appeared to be full and level, the two measurements were different by nearly 30 grams. If you were making a large batch of biscuits and had to multiply a recipe by ten times, you could have ended up with an extra 300 grams of flour in our recipe. Additionally, grams are an internationally used and understood unit of measure. It’s mostly just in the U.S. that cooks are still weighing things in pounds and ounces. When you’re able to use grams, it allows you to open up your tastebuds to recipes from around the world, and share your own recipes with cooks outside the U.S. (and vice versa).

Don’t be intimidated by a recipe that uses grams. If you don’t already own one, get yourself a digital kitchen scale. They can be found in any cooking store, and even some grocery stores. Simply flip it on, and hit the unit button until it reads grams. Each time you weigh something, place the empty container or measuring cup on top of the scale and hit “tare.” This will zero out the weight of your container, allowing for easy measuring. Simply put your ingredients in the preweighed container, and voilà, grams are your new best kitchen friend. 

Gavin Smith is a fishing columnist for The MV Times, a frequent contributor to The Times and this magazine, and a private chef. 

Whole Scup- Delicious and Underutilized

Scup are an abundant and easily caught resource on Martha’s Vineyard. Many people avoid them, as they are certainly not a sport fish, and they are full of bones. But the meat is absolutely delectable, and well worth eating! The following is a recipe I submitted to the Martha’s Vineyard Times.

This week I didn’t get out fishing much. With only one day to wet a line, and the ambition to cook my catch, my friend and I set our sights on bluefish. We did quite a bit of moving around, but never got into the blues. We did however manage to catch a couple of beautiful scup. 

Cooking fish whole is a lot less work than fileting, especially when working with smaller boney fish like scup. Scup collar and cheeks are delicious, but are very small and are a lot of work to cook separately for a little payoff. Cooking the scup whole allows for you to enjoy these treats without taking the time to cook them separately. Scup is an abundant resource on the Island, and in my opinion is vastly underrated. They are sweet, and light with a very mild flavor.

Grilled Whole Scup with Tomatillo Sauce

Fish Ingredients:

1 whole scup (guts removed)

2 tsp Olive Oil

½ tsp Salt

2 inch piece of ginger sliced thin

1 lemon sliced into thin rounds

1 bunch Chives 

Neutral oil (for brushing grill grate)

Tomatillo Sauce:

8-10 tomatillos 

1 large red onion sliced into thin rounds 

1 bunch cilantro

2 Tbsp Olive Oil (plus a little to brush onions)

2 tsp sherry Vinegar

2 tsp honey

For the Tomatillo Sauce:

-Heat your grill to a medium high setting

-Brush onions with olive oil and a pinch of salt

-Place onions and tomatillos directly on the gril

-Cook tomatillos until the color darkens, and the juice inside begins to bubble

-Cook onions until they are visibly charred and begin to soften

-Combine all of your ingredients in a large blender (I prefer a Vitamix or other high powered blender) 

-Blend until smooth, taste for sweetness and salt (if you would like a little more sweetness add honey)

For the Scup:

-Turn your grill down slightly to a medium heat 

-Stuff the body cavity with ginger chives and lemon

-Coat the outside of the fish thoroughly with olive oil and salt

-Brush the grill grate with neutral oil (This helps keep the skin from sticking)

-Place the whole fish onto well oiled grill surface 

-Cook for 5-10 minutes per side depending on the size of your scup

-Use a thin fish spatula to turn the fish ( a thick spatula will damage the skin, and flesh)

-Place your whole fish on a plate or platter, and cover with tomatillo sauce.

-Enjoy!

Scup have quite a few bones, and are often thought of as “too much work,” but I assure you it’s worth the effort to eat around the bones. I have adopted the technique of pulling the flesh away from the fish in the direction of the bones making them easier to spot. 

Recipe originally appeared in the Martha’s Vineyard Times

Ginger Brussels Sprouts

Growing up, my family had several recipes that appeared at every holiday feast, none of which I will be sharing with you. Not because they are particularly good, or something I keep close to the vest. But because they are all dishes that are outdated in style and frankly unhealthy.  I have distinct memories of visiting my great aunt’s house in central Kansas. Even in the early nineties they would still serve things called “Jello salad” that contained cream cheese, canned fruit, canned beans and mushrooms, really anything out of a can. Pour these concoctions into a pound cake mold with some flavored gelatin, and like magic you have dishes like the infamous  “Under the Sea Pear Salad.” Nothing seemed off limits in these gelatin creations, canned olives, even canned fish. There were casseroles mounding with frozen vegetables, velveeta and butter toasted ritz crackers. The ironic thing is we were deep in the heart of farm country but fresh vegetables were never on the table. All of the farming in that area was commodity grains, soy, and sunflower by the time I was a kid. 

These days we spend Thanksgiving with my wife’s family in central Massachusetts, or “metro west” if you are my wife. Several years ago, I was asked to prepare some brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving dinner. Every Thanksgiving since, I have been asked to  cook brussels sprouts. Christmas came, and I was asked to cook more brussels sprouts. Now I cook brussels sprouts for every family holiday. In an effort to keep things interesting I often prepare them in different ways. If you would like to try something a little different at your holiday feast this year, this recipe went over wel,l and I have been asked to share it several times.

Ginger Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

-1 lb. Brussels Sprouts (ends trimmed, cut in half lengthwise)

-3 inch piece of fresh ginger (peeled and diced small)

-3 Tbsp Coconut Amino (or sub w/ low sodium tamari)

-1-2 Tbsp Honey

-2 tsp Rice Vinegar 

-3Tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil

-Salt

(optional toppings- Lime zest, sesame seeds, cilantro, lime juice) 

Method:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

-Coat a large heavy skillet with olive oil over medium heat

-Once oil is hot place brussels sprouts cut side down in the pan

-Sprinkle with salt 

-Allow brussels to brown before stirring (if you have a small heating element you may need to move the brussels around the pan to make sure they all brown evenly)

-Add fresh ginger then stir pan 

-Cook until aromatic (30-60seconds)

-Add rice vinegar, coconut amino and honey

-Stir pan to coat all of the brussels sprouts evenly

-Move skillet to the oven for 3-5 minutes (Brussels should be tender but firm)

-Serve with desired toppings

text originally appeared in the Martha’s Vineyard Times

Beginning of the End

Here it is... the Beginning of the end for my old, and admittedly outdated Blog....

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This blog will be your exclusive look into my kitchen.  Practical knowledge, recipes, food handling, preparation, and experiments hopefully gone right.  My passion for cooking has driven me to constantly peruse the best methods, flavors, textures and practical skills in the kitchen.  Stay tuned, and join me on my culinary adventures!  

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Feel free to contact me foodmindedfellow@gmail.com with any questions, or the recipe for the thing I made that one time that you can't stop thinking about.