The Cooking Abbreviations Duff Goldman Always Uses

Former "Ace of Cakes" star Duff Goldman is a pioneer in the pastry field, but some things aren't up to the experts at the end of the day, especially when it comes to cooking. While technique is learned, recipes are shared, and creativity can come to you, a baker's way of baking can sometimes just be whittled down to simple preference. Take, for example, Goldman's approach to abbreviations.

A recipe's cooking abbreviations are the key to success for an amateur baker, especially considering the fact that baking is, well, science. Misinterpret a teaspoon of baking soda for a tablespoon, and you're sure to face a cookie disaster — that's why Goldman cleared the air on his own preferred ingredient style over Twitter, joking with his followers that "there's no debate" over whether his naming conventions are the correct ones.

In response to a fan asking for "abbreviation etiquette," Goldman explained that "T is a tablespoon, t is a teaspoon. # is a pound. Dō is dough. g is a gram. oz is an ounce. s&p is salt and pepper. Chix is chicken." And while some followers agreed, others started debates.

A few of these shortcut naming options are old school and nothing new — who can really debate "chix" for chicken, after all? Twitter user @BritaOlson replied in agreement, saying, "I have my MIL's handwritten recipes from the early '30s and the abbreviations were used back then." Another joked that any home economics class from the '70s would teach the same simple abbreviations, and Cooking Conversions would agree. According to the site, most of Goldman's measurements are standard choices. The capitalization of "T" for tablespoon vs. the lowercase "t" for teaspoon can be swapped out for "tbsp" or "tsp" respectively, but the general gist is the same: big T = big spoon, at least when we're in Goldman's kitchen.

A few of Goldman's followers had a field day with some of his more controversial note names, however. One follower joked that the octothorpe sign doesn't have a place in cooking, instead, it belongs in a game of tic-tac-toe (or as a hashtag, as another user called out). But Betty Crocker may be on board with Goldman on this one, which may be enough to call the debate once and for all — while lb is listed as an option for "pounds," the controversial pound symbol is fair game, too.