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How do I interpret the second item in the ingredients list in this recipe?

Picture of Recipe 1 cup Grape Tomatoes, Halved

Do I measure out 1 cup of grape tomatoes and then cut each one in half? Or should I start cutting them in half and put all the half pieces into my measuring cup until it's full?

I can certainly fit more grape tomatoes into my measuring cup if they are all chopped in half than if they are whole.

I realize of course that most of the time the difference is probably too small to matter. But what if it did matter?

rumtscho
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Aldus Bumblebore
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2 Answers2

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It probably doesn't matter. I bet the difference isn't more than a few grape tomatoes. The way I read it, if the author wanted you to cut first, it would state "1 cup halved grape tomatoes," indicating that you should measure the halved tomatoes.

When it is important, a good recipe would specify in the procedures section. If accuracy of this sort is necessary, a good recipe would be even more useful if it listed ingredient weights, rather than volumes.

moscafj
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    I wholeheartedly agree that if it mattered it would've been specified much more clearly, but it may be helpful to move your answer to "What if it did matter?" to the top of the answer. – BThompson May 30 '21 at 23:04
  • Sorry, this is incorrect. The recipe is already following an unambiguous convention, giving a cook who knows it all the information needed. I would argue that a recipe which explains it in the directions instead is not a *good* recipe, quite the opposite, it is an unnecessary wordy recipe which puts information where it shouldn't be. I know that not all cooks know the convention, but that's a case for the convention getting more widespread, not for replacing it with lengthy explanations in the directions. – rumtscho May 31 '21 at 09:06
  • Thank you for your response! I think you're correct. But the other answer is also correct. And--they suggested eating a few of the tomatoes during prep, which is something I cannot resist anyway. – Aldus Bumblebore Dec 26 '21 at 05:24
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It really doesn't matter.

First off, I think that it is worth discussing whether or not it really does matter. From the looks of the recipe, it appears that you are putting together some kind of noodle salad—cooked and cooled noodles, some veggies and fish, and a dressing. There is no real chemistry going on here, hence the recipe is going to be very forgiving in terms of quantities of ingredients used. "One red onion" is a very inexact measure (and a red onion 40 years ago is probably half the size of a red onion today), and a cup of grape tomatoes (measured either before or after chopping) could vary quite a bit, depending on the size of the tomatoes you get your hands on. Personally, I would likely use significantly more salmon, as well—in my very rural community, I'll be lucky to find smoked salmon at all, let alone a 4 oz package; I'll use whatever I can buy.

Basically, the rough, inexact nature of the recipe is a reflection of the fact that these measurements don't really matter. Use as much or as little as suits your taste.

But what if it does?

As moscafj points out, if it really mattered, then the recipe would likely have been written more clearly. Instead of using volumetric measure, the recipe would have given a weight or mass (e.g. I would guess that a cup of halved grape tomatoes is probably somewhere around 6–8 oz), or perhaps a (slightly less precise, but still useful) count (such as "12 grape tomatoes, halved").

That being said, the construction of the ingredient list should tell you what's going on (assuming that the recipe's author thought about this at all). The ingredient is given as

  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved.

This is a distinct instruction from

  • 1 cup halved grape tomatoes.

In the first case, I would measure out a cup of grape tomatoes, then halve them. In the second case, I would halve grape tomatoes until I had filled a one cup measure.

Note that both of these constructions are relatively common. Standard, even. In most professionally edited recipes,

  • [measurement] [ingredient], [modification]

means "measure the ingredient, then do something to it"; whereas

  • [measurement] [modification] [ingredient]

means "do something to the ingredient, then measure the modified ingredient".

Indeed, I have a brownie recipe which uses both: it calls for "1/2 c chopped walnuts" and "1 c semisweet chocolate chips, melted". In the first case, chop the nuts, then measure them. In the second case, measure the chocolate chips, then melt them (and the actual procedure reinforces this interpretation).

What should you actually do with this recipe?

With this recipe, my game plan would be as follows:

  • grab a measuring cup, a knife, a cutting board, and some tomatoes
  • measure the tomatoes into the cup; eat a few and refill the cup
  • dump the cup out onto the cutting board and start halving the tomatoes
  • eat a few tomatoes; grab a few more out of the bag to replace those that I have eaten
  • prepare the other ingredients, eating a few halved tomatoes as I go
  • halve more tomatoes as replacements
  • notice that my original container of tomatoes is almost empty; halve the remains, eat a few, and throw the rest into the recipe for good measure
Xander Henderson
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  • I like your procedure, but honestly I would probably skip the measuring cup and grab a handful, then look at the composed (such as it is) salad and decide if it looks a little light on tomatoes, add a few more. – Damila Jun 01 '21 at 15:19
  • @Damila Indeed, that is much more akin to what I would do. Chop tomatoes, eating a good number as I go, until the salad looked right. However, I thought that the narrative was funnier if measuring was happening, as well. :D – Xander Henderson Jun 01 '21 at 18:56
  • It is! Seven careful steps to eat a whole pint of tomatoes and throw a few into the salad :) – Damila Jun 01 '21 at 19:12
  • Thanks for your response! I think you're correct. The other answer was good also, but yours went into more detail and suggested nibbling the tomatoes during prep, which I can't resist! – Aldus Bumblebore Dec 26 '21 at 05:26