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

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.

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.

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

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