The art of french pastry phần 16

studentsduringthefirst
weekofclasswhenItell
themthatitisimportantto
scaletheiringredientsand
thatprecisescalingequals
consistentpastries.When
theyhearthattheywill
havetoscaleevery
ingredienttheywillusefor
thenextsixmonths,they
alllookateachotherin
disbelief.Somegetangry,
somescared,andsomeare


sadthattheywon’tbeable
tousetheirgrandmother’s
vintagemeasuringtoolsto
makeallthepastries
they’reabouttolearn.The
disgruntledstudentsask
mehowthey’regoingto
adjusttoscaling,andI
reassurethemthatpeople
havebeenscaling
ingredientsforcenturies
andthatitisveryeasyto
getusedtothisprecise


system.“Youputamanon

themoon!Ithinkthatyou
willbeabletomanage
puttingingredientsona
scaleuntilitregistersthe
rightweight.”
Thencomesmyfavorite
part.ToprovemypointI
alwaystakeameasuring
cup,fillitwithflour,and
scalethecontentinfrontof
them.Iwritetheresulton
theboard:123grams.Then


Imeasureanothercupof
flourandscaleitagain:125
grams.Irepeatthis
procedureanothereight
times,anditneverfails:
eachmeasurement
registersadifferentweight
ingrams.
Thisprovesthesimple
pointthatany
measurementdonewith
cupsortablespoonsisnot
preciseenoughforpastry.


Themoremeasurements

youdowithcups,
teaspoons,orliquid
measuringcups,thebigger
theinconsistenciesyouwill
havewithyouringredients
andintherecipes—and
inconsistenciesaredeadly
inpastry.Youmustalways
besureaboutthewaythe
ingredientsaregoingto
interactifyouwanttobe
sureofarecipe.Ifyour