Fitting dough to a pizza screen for one of around 80 pizzas I made for a pizza cookbook — including one with a questionable ingredient. (Photo by Kris Montgomery)
Based on all the great feedback and discussion on last week’s post about recipe copy-editing, I’m asking about writing recipes with non-standard ingredient sizes.
Case in point: How big is a lamb sausage?
One of the USA of Pizza’s recipes called for “1 lamb sausage link” (not merguez). I purchased the link at a butcher. It weighed 5 1/2 ounces.
The copy editor asked if it should be 6 ounces.
Okay, I thought. Maybe 6 ounces is a standard size. But I didn’t know for sure, so I researched it. I Googled “lamb sausage” and clicked on images. I found an image of packaged lamb sausages but couldn’t see the weight. A further search of the manufacturer’s website showed that each sausage weighed 2 ounces.
Undeterred, I continued by searching for recipes calling for lamb sausage. I found this one specifying a 10-ounce sausage. This one didn’t specify a size at all. Several others called for loose sausage meat, so those were no use. In the end, I figured the copy editor must know something I didn’t, so I went with 6 ounces. I couldn’t really go with a range of 2 to 6 ounces.
Even so, I felt unsatisfied, like I had failed to find the real answer. What do you do when there is no standard size for an ingredient?
I like to specify as an alternative, either in parenthesis (my favorite) or a clause after a comma. So I might write:
1 link lamb sausage (about 2 ounces)
or
1 link lamb sausage, about 2 ounces
or
1 2-ounce link lamb sausage
Because so much of my work includes nutritional analysis where exact quantities matter, I feel that level of specificity is necessary. But even if I didn’t need it for analysis, I think there are few ingredients that come in only one size anymore. When chicken broth finally broke out of it’s 15-ounce can rut (praise the lord!) I figured it was time to specify as much as possible.
I think it helps 99% of home cooks to have that level of detail. The 1% more sophisticated cooks reading my recipes aren’t hurt by it, and will alter the recipe to suit their needs.
This all sounds very logical and I agree with it. My problem is that the sausage I used weighed 5.5 ounces and the copy editor suggested 6 ounces. So why would a packaged sausage be 2 ounces? That is what confused me. I couldn’t figure out which weight to use.
Dianne, this is a common question 🙂
My two cents is if you are using the exact amount in your recipe, then you state that recipe. So if your sausage weighed 5.5 ounces, then you say 5.5 ounces. I am assuming the copy editor was rounding up, rather than stating a standard size?
At least, this is what I would do. A lot of my recipes use non-standard sizing (for example, the size of a lime in India is very different from one here) so I go with the quantity I used in the recipe.
Loving these questions, by the way. It’s helping me really clarify my thought processes while writing recipes too.
OH good, Michelle. I was worried that this was a dumb question to ask. So the copy editor was just rounding up? That makes sense. Maybe she didn’t know more about sausage sizes. Hah!
I actually realized this later on when I cooked some more. In cooking per se, it would be best, the ideal, if we can get weighed ingredients for accuracy.
But somehow that’s what I like about cooking, you have a bit of a license to go freestyle…unlike baking. That is IF you do cook fairly often and are really consciously tasting all the way to the end.
The exact measurements are needed more for beginner cooks. So maybe using exact, down to the letter measurements are best if you target beginner cooks.
I agree! I’m all for it. I guess people will figure it out. If I say a 6-ounce sausage, people will use 3 2-ounce sausages. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Where this drives me nuts is when a bunch of parsley, cilantro or a large, medium or small onion is required! These definitions can be different depending on where or when (in what season) you are. It might be better to stipulate a final volume of chopped or sliced or however it will be used in the recipe.
Oh yes, definitely. I didn’t mention bunches when I specified herbs and the copy editor still asked, “How much of a bunch.” So then you have to say 1/2 cup chopped parsley (about half a bunch) which still makes no sense because bunches are not all the right size.
I agree Susan. It can be confusing for people, especially newer cooks. I used to write a recipe and say “half an onion”, then realized that’s just not good enough. I now will write, as you mention, the final chopped volume. More accurate and replicateable (is that a word?) for people. But I will often but in parentheses (1/2 an onion) so at least people have an idea on the general quantity.
To start, what a cute picture of you making pizza! Have to start calling you the pizza queen after 80 pizzas. This is such an interesting chat thread. Helpful and interesting to see how everyone does things. Keep learning, stay open, and get better. I agree with many commenters. I would check in to the most widely available national brand and note that. Sounds like it is two 3 ounce links. Although really, a 1/2 ounce difference is not going to make a difference on a pizza. I like to note info like this in headnotes and in sidebars to help people. I would probably say 6 ounces of lamb link sausage. That way whether it is one 6 ounce link or two 3 ounce links people can buy what they can find locally. Just my two cents!
Thank you! I do feel like the pizza queen.
I did not find 3-ounce links. I agree that I could have put more info in the headnote about them. A few other people have suggested that as well and it’s a good idea .
This is why I love it when it’s possible to write those breezy, narrative-style recipes for an audience with a really high level of kitchen literacy. Not because cooks with less footing don’t deserve better, but because it’s so hard to be specific and accurate without the whole recipe existing in a vacuum. Maybe this challenge is what draws me (and a lot of us?) to write and revise recipes in the first place.
Anyway, it appears that with sausages, you get what you get. You could say “5 ounces lamb sausage (about one link), not merguez.”
Oh wouldn’t that be nice, to not have to explain everything? I suppose if we were big-name chefs writing for very accomplished cooks and other chefs, that would be possible. But in the meantime, we are left with this kind of issue.
Re “5 ounces lamb sausage (about one link), not merguez,” it sounds good. I did not think to add “not merguez.” Maybe I should have. I am concerned that people will think I mean ground up meat if “link” appears in brackets. I saw that kind of thing when I researched the recipes.
Shaking my head a bit on this one, but maybe I’m missing something.
If you are putting the sausage on a pizza, aren’t you taking it out of the link anyway? or are you cooking it and then slicing it? In either case, how much sausage (in WEIGHT) was required to artfully/sufficiently scatter over the whole pizza? THAT’s the measure you want in your recipe. But pizza eaters/makers aren’t going to agree on this, so approximations should be fine. State how much (in WEIGHT) you used that looked/tasted the best. If you made 80 pizzas, don’t you have a sense of approximately how much topping is best? (And as I said last week, it’s okay to know/acknowledge that the folks using the recipe are going to play around with some of the amounts; I would even encourage this!)
I’ve been making pizza for over 30 years (Chicago Deep-Dish that took all day was my specialty in high school :). My favorites have been at parties where I asked everyone to bring their favorite ingredient. Then we mixed and matched and scattered . . . (pineapple, avocado, mushrooms and green peppers was a surprisingly big hit). Yes, you may have topping ingredients left over . . . so what, put them on a salad.
Here’s my question. Which recipes (or types of recipes) require exact weights or volumes of ingredients? When is a range probably more reasonable? (I’m not counting baking . . . I’m pretty sure most folks would agree that precision is necessary there.)
I’m definitely enjoying these discussions on ingredients!
The sausage is going to stay in the link. It’s sliced in rounds. I agree, the weight is the issue. That is the point of this post, that since the weight is paramount, I can’t find a consistent weight to use.
Re how much topping is best, since I am writing this book for a chef, it is whatever he decides is the right amount. Of course, sometimes I think he has used to much and we discuss it.
To your questions:
If you ask for a link, you should give the weight, because weight sizes vary. That is my problem!
I can’t use a range in this case, because 2-6 ounces is too much of a variance.
Thanks for your input, Lucinda. You are going to love this pizza book.
I misunderstood. Didn’t realize you were writing the book for someone else. And unfortunately, I’m now gluten-free and dairy-free (and corn-free) so probably couldn’t use the recipes in the pizza book any more. I did make pizza last week, but it was GFDFCF!
But thanks for the discussion! I’m still pushing for using weights much more than is current practice.
Diane, maybe the issue isn’t so much the specificity of the quantity, but with the procurement and packaging. How about specifying fully cooked or packaged versus fresh, uncooked, or from the butcher counter. Once you get past that language, the cook’s margin of error has already been narrowed.
Or would this information be more appropriate for the sub-head?
I always wonder/struggle where to put information like this because everyone reads recipes differently and as our ingredients become more complicated (case in point with the variety of sausages available today), there’s more information than ever that the cook/reader can be fed (sorry!). How much is too much?!
Exactly, Sophia. “How much is too much?” has been the question of the day for both these posts. I suppose I could have said in the headnote: “Most lamb sausage is merguez, but this sausage is not. It will be uncooked and most likely available at a good butcher counter.” That might have helped.
With something like the sausage it is necessary to give the weight for nutrition analysis (and precision recipe duplication) and helpful for shopping to provide the number of sausages. And especially for Americans particularly, with our weights/measures issues. For my recipe work I would try to round the weight to something similar to national brand retail item, and even buy a more common retail brand for testing.
As for the 1/4 cup almonds or celery in last post, I think you were fine. Asking how much of an onion for such small amount is unnecessary. Usually in savory recipes those amounts are not too critical if a bit more or less. Baked goods of course need more accuracy, usually, though nuts and dried fruits have leeway.
I agree with all you have said. So which weight should I use? 6 ounces? The national brand — the only packaged lamb sausage I could find — is 2 ounces. So that means I should specify 3 2-ounce links instead of 1 6-ounce link? Or should I have bought the package to see the quantity for myself?
See what I mean?
When in doubt I think weight is the way to go! List 6 ounces lamb sausage. In the headnote can specify types or how the product is often seen but it doesn’t seem like a standard exists for this item so weight seems safest. As opposed to say, 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, which would make sense. Just my two cents. First comment but love reading your blog!
Hey, thanks for commenting, Jen. I’m glad you spoke up. It’s a good idea to explain about the sausage in the headnote, to limit confusion.
Given the variability of ingredient unit sizes, I would approach it a bit differently as a CE. Some readers will take the weight (or length, if you say something like “One 4-inch-long lamb sausage”) as gospel and if they can’t find that EXACT size, figure they can’t make the recipe. But of course they can! So I’d ask for a range, if there will be room (“One 5- to 6-ounce sausage” “One 4- to 5-inch-long sausage”). I think that’s much more reader-friendly than requiring an EXACT size. which can scare the less-confident shopper who doesn’t have a good feel for yields.
Oh gosh, I have to give a range in ounces? I suppose it’s okay. A little more or less isn’t going to make any difference on a pizza topping, and if it makes people feel like it’s a flexible amount, maybe they will be okay about chasing down a non-merguez sausage.
OK, so that’s what — 30 minutes? of research about one ingredient in one recipe. I feel like your copy editor isn’t giving cookbook users enough credit, the way food magazine editors do when they say something like “Oh gosh, we couldn’t run a story about galangal. Readers are just barely coming to grips with lemongrass.”
Also, I sure hope that she is an anomaly. And that she’s not my copy editor. (I know, she is just doing her job.)
If there was no standard size for an ingredient, I would most likely list the ingredient, followed by the weight that I used in my recipe. 1 lamb sausage – 5.5oz.
Right, Susan. That’s exactly what I did!
Whether you’re a veteran or newbie cook does make a difference, as others have mentioned. Since this is a pizza, I would never even question the difference between a 4, 5, or 6 oz sausage. It’s not that important. I always read through a recipe first, then determine if might really matter. If this were a cake or pie recipe (baked goods), that’s different.
Well, one person said that a newbie cook might not even make the recipe if he or she couldn’t find the exact ingredients! In this case, there is nothing exact, because it’s a specialty product. I should have addressed that in the headnote, I guess.
Re baked good, yes, precision is much more important.
One thing I’ve noticed with recipes is, if you’re new to the style of cooking, you don’t know when an ingredient needs to be exact and when it is personal preference. Like with baking, the ratio of flours to each other and flours to baking soda/powder or yeast, eggs, milk, liquid, etc really matters. If you’re not much of a baker, it can be a bit scary to make changes because you don’t know how the recipe will turn out.
While it should be obvious that, when slicing up sausage to top a pizza, amounts don’t matter, it can still be a bit nerve-wracking. And I’ll mention that it’s not just for new cooks. I can take most savory recipes and alter them in my head. I have a good feel for what I can and can’t change, including allergy substitutes. But give me a recipe for a baked good and I feel paralyzed about changes.
So what I’d try to convey is both the amount of sausage you felt was the right amount for your pizza and the fact that changing the amount doesn’t matter. Unless it does matter…like if the sausage is balancing out another topping ingredient.
I like to say things like:
Sausage link (mine was 5.5 oz).
If coupled with a picture of the sliced sausage on the pizza, the reader would get a good idea of how much sausage that really was for the recipe and can alter accordingly.
In addition to conveying accurate nutritional information, I think giving a suggested amount is very useful because it helps people shop. Not a huge deal if you’re making one pizza. But what if you’re using the recipe for an event and you’re making 4? Or 20. Weight is good here because that’s a shopping amount. Saying “2 cups” for something like onion is hard because how much onion do you buy if you’re making 4 iterations of the recipe? (I include both measurements if I know them and I try to weigh ingredients like that (my receipt tells me too) and note the weights for my personal reference, as well as for any recipes that go on my blog.
Very thoughtful comments, Cyndi, and you make a number of good points. I confess that it did not occur to me that a recipe might be hard to scale up. Thanks.