Measuring Sticky Ingredients: The Food & Wine Guide to Precision in the Kitchen

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  Published in Food and Wine on Tue, Dec 12th, 2025 by Food & Wine

Measuring Sticky Ingredients: The Food & Wine Guide to Precision in the Kitchen

When you’re baking or cooking a dish that involves sticky, thick, or viscous ingredients—think chocolate ganache, peanut butter batter, or caramelized sauce—you’ll quickly discover that the standard “pour the bowl into the cup” technique can lead to disastrous results. In a recent feature on Food & Wine titled “This Is the Best Way to Measure Sticky Ingredients,” the authors break down the pitfalls of measuring sticky substances and present a set of practical, step‑by‑step techniques that will keep your recipes on track. Below is a concise summary of the article’s key insights, with extra context drawn from the linked resources in the piece.

1. Why Sticky Ingredients Are a Measuring Menace

The article starts by explaining the physics behind the problem. Sticky ingredients tend to adhere to the inside of measuring cups, making it hard to get a true reading. If you just pour, the liquid can cling to the cup’s walls and leave you with an over‑measurement. Conversely, if you scoop sticky batter and then let it drip back into the bowl, you’ll end up with an under‑measurement. Even small errors—especially with sugar or flour—can throw off the whole balance of the recipe, leading to a dense cookie or a gummy cake.

2. The “Scoop‑and‑Level” Method

For dry, sticky foods such as powdered sugar, cocoa, or shredded coconut, the article recommends the “scoop‑and‑level” method:

1. Scoop the ingredient into a dry measuring cup (not a liquid measuring cup).
2. Use a flat spatula or the back of a butter knife to level off the top.
3. Tilt the cup at a slight angle and let any excess fall back into the bowl.

This simple technique ensures you’re using a measured quantity of the sticky ingredient rather than relying on the stickiness to guide you.

3. The “Wet‑Cup, Tare‑Me” Strategy

When dealing with truly liquid or semi‑liquid sticky ingredients—such as melted butter, caramel, or thick sauces—Food & Wine’s authors advise using a liquid measuring cup that’s lined with a non‑stick surface or is made from a material that won’t cling (plastic or glass). After pouring the sticky liquid into the cup, they suggest:

1. Tare the measuring cup (set it to zero) if you’re using a kitchen scale.
2. Fill the cup to the exact volume using a ladle or a small spoon.
3. Use a rubber spatula to push the sticky surface into the cup until it’s level.

If you don’t have a scale, the same principle applies: use a liquid measuring cup, fill it to the mark, then use a spatula to “squeeze” the remaining bits out of the bowl. This prevents the stickiness from “sticking” to the cup’s walls and gives you an accurate measurement.

4. The Role of a Kitchen Scale

The article cites a Food & Wine side note that a digital kitchen scale can take the guesswork out of sticky ingredient measurement entirely. Many professional bakers will weigh everything in grams, as grams are less susceptible to error than cups or teaspoons. Food & Wine recommends the following routine:

• Place a bowl on the scale and tare it.
• Add your sticky ingredient to the bowl until the scale reads the desired weight.
• Remove the bowl from the scale, then transfer the measured amount into your recipe.

The Food & Wine article points readers to a detailed guide on how to use a digital scale for both dry and wet measurements (see the link embedded in the article for more on this technique).

5. Handling Sticky Dough and Batter

When the sticky ingredient is part of a dough or batter, Food & Wine suggests a slightly different approach:

• For dough: Use a dough scraper to gather a portion of dough into a measuring cup.
• For batter: Use a spoon or ladle to scoop into a measuring cup, then level off the top.

In both cases, the goal is to remove the dough or batter from the mixing bowl with a clean instrument, ensuring you’re not carrying over extra flour or sugar.

6. Special Tips for Sticky Sweet Treats

A fun section of the article is devoted to “sweet” sticky ingredients, such as melted chocolate or caramelized sugar. The authors highlight a few tricks:

• Melted chocolate: After melting, pour the chocolate into a silicone mold or a small, non‑stick glass measuring cup. Use a spatula to push any remaining chocolate into the cup, then level off.
• Caramel: Once the sugar is fully melted and the caramel is in a smooth, liquid state, use a small ladle to pour the caramel into a liquid measuring cup. The liquid measuring cup’s ridges help prevent sticking, and a spatula can push out any remaining bits.

7. Follow‑up Resources

The article is peppered with links to deeper dives:

• A Food & Wine “How to Measure Ingredients” page (linked in the text) that offers a side‑by‑side comparison of measuring tools.
• A recipe for a “Classic Ganache” that demonstrates the scoop‑and‑level technique in practice.
• An instructional video showing how to use a kitchen scale for batter measurement.

These links serve as practical references for readers who want to see the techniques in action.

Bottom Line

Measuring sticky ingredients is less about the particular ingredient and more about employing the right tools and technique. Whether you’re measuring a dry, powdered sticky sweet or a glossy, liquid glaze, Food & Wine’s guide demonstrates that the simplest methods—scooping, leveling, and, where possible, weighing—provide the most reliable results. By following the scoop‑and‑level method for dry sticky items, the wet‑cup, tare‑me strategy for liquids, and a digital scale for everything else, you’ll avoid the common pitfalls that can ruin a batch and elevate your baking to a professional level.

In short: Use a dry cup and spatula for dry stickies, a liquid cup and spatula for liquids, and a scale whenever possible. These tricks, highlighted in the Food & Wine article, will help you achieve perfect portions every time.