Chef Hive: what does this recipe instruction mean?

[cintinative]

I have never been able to figure this out.  I set up a poll. 

ETA: I always chop first. But I doubt.

Edited April 6 by cintinative

[regentrude]

Measure, then chop.

But it doesn't matter - how would the difference possibly be relevant in the recipe??

Otherwise, saving an excess amount of already chopped parsley doesn't work as well as keeping the parsley intact 

Edited April 6 by regentrude

[Pawz4me]

If a recipe says "one cup parsley leaves, chopped" then I would measure out a cup and then chop (how tight I'd pack the cup would depend on the recipe).

If a recipe says "one cup chopped parsley leaves" then I would chop and then measure.

That's how I was taught to interpret recipes.

[ikslo]

I think if it meant the second option, it would say, “1 cup chopped parsley”

[cintinative]

15 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

If a recipe says "one cup parsley leaves, chopped" then I would measure out a cup and then chop (how tight I'd pack the cup would depend on the recipe).

If a recipe says "one cup chopped parsley leaves" then I would chop and then measure.

That's how I was taught to interpret recipes.

Yeah, it is clearer with things like carrots.  1 cup carrots, chopped means 1 cup chopped carrots, not pack the cup with whole carrots, then chop. That's why I get confused. 🤷‍♀️

[marbel]

"One cup carrots, chopped" makes no sense, because it's impossible to measure whole carrots in a measuring cup! 

The way I was always taught was 

one cup (anything), chopped -- measure, then chop

one cup chopped (anything) -- chop, then measure. 

When I think about this, it seems like I mostly see it in terms of nuts. One cup almonds, chopped is going to yield a different amount than one cup chopped almonds.

This is why I like recipes that use grams! It's much clearer/more precise. Not that super precision is needed for every dish one is cooking.  

[EKS]

It means chop some parsley and put it in.

[Arcadia]

If the paisley is for drizzling after cooking, we just put whatever amount kids like. We generally put more for warm potato salad than for stew. If it is put before baking, we just put more. The amount also depends on whether we bought english paisley or italian paisley from the supermarkets.

[Clarita]

They say 1 cup and I just chop up what I have or a large bunch of parsley.  Honestly this is what I do for all things that have measurements that I can't actually measure I just put in what I have and hope for the best. I also don't measure teaspoons/tablespoons of oil I just put it in. 

[Laura Corin]

It means  - I need to find a British recipe instead that uses weight rather than volume.

An article on the issue https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/food/2024/apr/02/cups-v-grams-why-cant-american-and-british-cooks-agree-on-food-measurements

 

Edited April 7 by Laura Corin

[Pawz4me]

I like grams so much better than cups that I've done the conversion on most of my regular recipes where getting the ingredient amount accurate matters (like others, I eyeball a lot of things that won't make much difference if there's a little more or less than the recipe calls for). Not only is it more precise, but it's made for efficient lazy people. Weighing ingredients creates a lot less to clean up than using multiple measuring cups and spoons does.

[KungFuPanda]

I’d measure then chop, but if you like more parsley then you can chop first. I’d taste it and see what my heart says. 

[Drama Llama]

There are ingredients where precision matters, but parsley isn’t usually one.  I’d use about half a bunch and not bother with a cup.

My kid was majorly Gordon Ramsey obsessed for a while so I have seen all his videos. I have never seen him measure parsley either.