• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Fearless Fresh logo

  • Learn to Cook
    • Free Cooking Charts
    • My Cookbook
    • Recipe Archive
  • About

Published: Feb 13, 2024

What happens when you use too much?

Oxtail Soup

A few years ago I sat down to eat dinner with a friend of mine, a stew she’d spent all day making. She took the first bite. The look on her face was priceless. It was a combination of shock, confusion, and “what the hell just happened??”

She coughed hard, so I took a bite to see what the commotion was all about. Within half a second my eyes started to water and I, too, began to cough.

My friend had added WAAAAAAY too much red wine vinegar. Like, the stew tasted like straight vinegar with little bits of meat and vegetable floating in it. UGH! She was embarrassed, and I felt so bad for her.

With a little backtracking, we found the problem. She’d doubled the recipe and got confused with her numbers. What happened went something like this:

  1. The original recipe called for 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
  2. When she doubled the recipe, she needed 6 tablespoons.
  3. The tablespoon measuring spoon was in the dishwasher, so she decided to use a measuring cup instead.
  4. She [incorrectly] calculated in her head that 6 tablespoons = 2/3 cup.
  5. The actual amount she needed was roughly 1/3 cup (6 tablespoons = 0.375 cup).
  6. She’s accidentally QUADRUPLED the amount of vinegar instead of doubling it.
  7. She spent the rest of the night fretting over the wasted ingredients.

You can adjust ingredients to accommodate a slight mixup, like when you’re making a vinaigrette… but with that much extra vinegar, a quick fix wasn’t going to work.

What we ended up doing was putting the rest of the stew in the fridge, with her plan being to make another double recipe the next day with zero vinegar, combine the two batches, and then freeze an army’s worth for future meals.

Saved! We ended up going out for sushi instead.

What could have saved her to begin with is the Mega Measuring Cheat Sheet, 16 pages of kitchen calculations done for you, so you never have to do math in the kitchen again. Like, ever.

At first, I kind of made this cheat sheet for myself.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made mistakes because I’m bad at math… and trying to calculate on the fly, in the middle of cooking, is a recipe for failure (lol). Especially after a long day.

I ended up giving my friend a copy of the Mega-Measuring Cheat Sheet for Christmas, and she hasn’t made a measuring error since. She took this cooking mistake and learned from it. Huzzah!

I hope you’re having a great holiday season!

About Steph

I’m Steph, a classically-trained cooking teacher and professional recipe developer who’s going to show you how to COOK LIKE A BOSS.

Follow me for friendly-fierce guidance and training. Let's get you on the road to becoming a master home cook!

Previous Post: « Cheesy heartbreak
Next Post: Crumbly Cookies and Other Cookie Tips »

Primary Sidebar

Stephanie Stiavetti

I'm a classically trained chef and cooking teacher. I can teach you how to be a ninja home cook.

THIS WEBSITE USES COOKIES. We use cookies to deliver our services and improve your experience. By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy. These documents are located in the footer of every page on this site.

Footer

  • Copyright 2024 – Fearless Fresh® – All Rights Reserved

Find out more:

  • Help & Support
  • About Steph
  • Testimonials & Praise
  • Contact

Legal goodness

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy + Disclosures
  • Cookie Policy
  • Digital Downloading Terms of Use
  • Store Policies
  • Giveaway, Contest, and Sweepstakes Rules

Copyright © 2025 · Fearless Fresh® · Terms & Conditions · Privacy Policy.