Even The Simple Things - No More Measuring Spoons!

Tiny Utensil Drawer

    I like to cook. Sometimes you have to follow a recipe precisely. Most of the time I can estimate small amounts. I remember my grandmother would just say, "a Pinch." Until recently, I always thought of that as a subjective measurement. Nope...there really IS a measurement called a pinch! That got me thinking about how I measure stuff in the RV. Like many of you, I have a set of measuring spoons on a ring. You either use the one you need while still on the ring, or remove it then use. It works. You have to have quite a few of them on the ring to measure various amounts. What if you could do that with a single device? Reclaim the space and have less clutter in your utensil drawer. Sounded like a winner to me!

There is this cool company called OXO, they make any number of home gadgets. Every once in a while I find one at a liquidator store or at a deep discount. This was one of those times. This little beauty will let you measure liquids and solids from 0 to 1/8 of a cup. It consists of a clear polycarbonate measuring space with clearly marked red lines and numbers, A plastic base with a silicone rubber stopper. When assembled these work together to allow you to measure whatever you like.  Once you preset the measurement by twisting the base until the bottom lines up with the amount, simply fill the space and you're done!

The pieces disassemble easily for cleaning and went back together with a simple twist. So often I find gadgets that are more trouble to use than the work they are supposed to alleviate!! This one I like. The coolest thing it can do? Measure semi solid ingredients. Things like butter, shortening, brown sugar, etc. Simply pack the space with the ingredient and then level off the top. I use a butter knife, but any flat item will do. Once you have the right amount, push the base into the measuring space and it will drop its; contents into your work bowl. Way cool! And really less of a mess.

I thought it might have been difficult to read the small numbers, but if you hold them up to the light they are quite clear. No problems there.

It will measure Tablespoons, Teaspoons, Ounces and Milliliters. No muss, no fuss. I ran it through the dishwasher a couple of times on the top rack. No degradation of the numbers or lines. And it came out sparkly clean. Hand washing was also easy since the pieces come apart so easily. It's small size really reduced the clutter in my tiny utensil drawer. Always a good thing for me!

All in all, I like this measuring gadget. At under $3.00 it was a bargain. I'm sure they make this style of measuring device in larger sizes, but a simple measuring cup works OK for me and is far less complex. Maybe one a little bit bigger....say 1 Cup max would be helpful. I'll look around for one being sold at a discount...

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com