Measuring Cups

[mfinder]

Hello!

My name is Matt Finder and I am a 3rd year product design student at Carnegie Mellon University. I love food and have recently been trying to become better at cooking, so, for my mid-semester project, I decided to design a product for measuring cooking ingredients to replace traditional measuring cups and spoons, and I hope to make the design more useful for blind and sighted users alike. I am trying to get as much feedback as possible so I can design something that will really make a difference for both blind and sighted users, so I have been posting around cooking forums that I have joined to hear what sighted cooking and food lovers have to say.

If you have anything to share, such as what types of measuring cups you currently use, how you use them, what you do or don't like about your measuring cups, or anything else about measuring cups, I would love to hear about it. If you have any visually impaired friends or relatives and know about how they use measuring cups, that would be amazingly helpful as well. Also, if you have any photos that you would like to share, that would be great, too!

Thanks so much!

Matt

[shipscook]

Hmmmm, what needs to be changed?? Have a couple of sets of dry measures--fill and shake or use edge to flatten, spoons that do the same. And a 1,2,and 4 cup clear liquid measure. All do the job, along with a scale for dry weights?
I have heard suggested dry sets with a cup and a half measure and a 3/4 one? Also a 3/4 teaspoon which could be used twice for a 1 1/2?

In over forty years in the business haven't seen much different--maybe, some galleys have 1, 2, and 4 liter metal measures for liquids

Nan

[mfinder]

Thanks for the reply!

I should have mentioned this earlier, but one of my major goals for the project is to make measuring cups more accessible for the blind, but still be useful for sighted cooking. I didn't mention this because I wasn't sure how many people would be able to help me with that aspect, but I'll change my original post to include this.

Matt

[shipscook]

Since the usual format works, how about braille (sp?) on the upper rim? Have you done research, these may already be available??
Janie, a good buddy here has a visually challenged husband, he must have some ideas--Yo, Jon, whatcha think??
Nan

[Mama Mangia]

I have a sight impaired friend - standard measuring cups are just fine with her.

[mfinder]

So far, I have been searching for as many different current solutions as I can find and reading reviews about them. I have also met with a local organization and talked to three of the blind members about ideas and current thoughts on measuring devices. I plan to meet with many other people in the coming week or two.

Thanks for the help so far,

Matt

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Hi Matt and we welcome you to SpicePlace! I myself am sighted, but have a brother-in-law and many close friends who are blind. I can suggest this: when a blind person pours a glass of drink he can hold his index finger just inside the glass from the rim and when he feels the liquid hit the tip of his finger he stops pouring and know his glass if full. When he needs to squeeze toothpaste on his toothbrush he can instead stick the very tip of the toothpaste tube between his two front teeth and bite off just the right amount to brush his teeth. Try turning off all lights and practice these two feats, grow to understand how tasks can be accomplished without sight. Begin to feel and understand what a blind person feels and then you will begin to have a better understanding of how you will better be able to make a decision on how to design a measuring cup set for both sighted and visually impaired and blind persons. Also you may want to check with the National Federation of The Blind (NFB) and see if they know of any vendor that has already made these available for blind consumers. There are alot of items already available for blind persons! Even playing cards I was astounded when I attended one of the annual NFB Conventions and saw all the items that are made for blind persons! I encourage you to do your homework, and really investigate the needs that may exist and then go from there!

Best Wishes, Cathy

Also....in the good old days there was a tupperware measuring cup that had the raised lettering on the outside, something along the lines of that could help a blind cook. Not all blind persons read braille. Many people find themselves blind as they age, or develop some eye injury, or disease, or illness later in life; braille is hard to learn and takes time, in the meantime they would need items that could easily mark out 1/2 cup, 1 cup, 2 cups ect.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

Welcome to Spice Place, Matt! My name's Kevin. I think you'll enjoy our l'il foodie site- we're a fun group made up of folks from all regions, all walks of life- and many diverse styles of cooking skills and preferences.

I'm a former chef who now works at a much kinder/gentler second career. Alaska was my home base for years and cooking remains a passion.

Let's see... measuring cups. I have an older set of heavy, stainless steel Kitichen Aid measuring cups that I really like- but it took many sets to finally find these. What I like about them is that they nest perfectly into one another for easy storage, but they also have a flat bottom so they sit still on a table without rocking/rolling or leaning. Even the handle is the perfect weight- keeps balanced without tilting-over when empty. These things might seem simple- but it's amazing how many sets of measuring cups out there don't have this built-in, quality-added feature.

[mfinder]

chubbyalaskagriz: It's great to hear from someone who has been through many sets to find what truly works best. Your comments about flat bottoms and balanced weight were very helpful!

Cook Chatty Cathy: Your post was amazingly helpful. I have tried to use the set of measuring cups that I have with the lights off and a blindfold on, but performing other, similar tasks in the same manner was a great suggestion. The three blind people I have spoken with so far also like to use the finger measurement method, but I never knew about how a blind person might measure toothpaste, so thank you for sharing that. One of the people I talked to used the blind-friendly playing cards and I thought that was very exciting. Another person I spoke with mentioned that she used an older measuring cup with raised markings, but the markings were on the inside so she could measure increments much more easily and only use one cup.

Thank you for all of the great advice!

Matt

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

You're welcome Matt and I wish you the best in your career, and studies!