It is very often that you need to measure multiple items into consistent amounts. For instance, when making cookies the other day, I grabbed a scoop and all my cookies came out the same size. Matzoh Balls is another great example. To make them all look the same, and allow them to cook at the same rate, I use a scoop, or disher as we call them in the biz.
WHAT TO GET
You can purchase regular ice cream scoops from the store, and the will work just fine. Usually though, the scoop is not a measurement like the ones we use in restaurants. We tend to have many sizes, some can be very large, some can be very small, it all depends on your needs.
SIZES
Scoops/dishers that we use are numbered. These numbers can usually be found in one of two places. Either on the sweep in the middle (like the 8 in the photo), or around the handle, usually in the metal part that your thumb would rest on. It is going to be a number anywhere from 6-60.
What the numbers mean, is a whole different ball of wax. The numbers are a quick math calculation based on a quart, or 32 ounces. The number basically means how many scoops it would take to make up a quart. Colors do differentiate the sizes but each make will differ with their standards.
Example:
#8 scoop is = 4 ounces = 1/2 cup
32/8=4
(32 / Scoop # = Ounces)
| Scoops | ||||
| Size | per Cup | Oz | Tbsp | Cups |
| #4 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 16.0 | 1.0 |
| #5 | 1.3 | 6.4 | 12.8 | 1.3 |
| #6 | 1.5 | 5.3 | 10.7 | 0.7 |
| #8 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 0.5 |
| #10 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 6.4 | 0.4 |
| #12 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 5.3 | 0.3 |
| #16 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0.3 |
| #20 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 0.2 |
| #24 | 6.0 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 0.2 |
| #30 | 7.5 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.1 |
| #40 | 10.0 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.1 |
| #50 | 12.5 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.1 |
| #60 | 15.0 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.1 |
WHERE TO GET IT
The chef’s favorite restaurant supply store is a great place to start. If not there are many online resources available to locate them. I prefer the Volrath brand myself. Amazon has many different sizes available.
Personally I keep a #8, #30 and a #16 around for normal jobs. They do make life very easy when you have to do tasks that are repetitive in nature to be sure!
http://uncrate.com/stuff/robot-tea-infuser/
