Weights & measures

For years I cooked – in particular, baked – in pounds and ounces; imperial weights. My first pair of scales were inherited from my Grandmother, a set of cream Salter balance scales with brass weights. I suppose I could have bought a set of metric weights, but I never did. My Mother taught me to bake. She was a talented and prolific baker, stalwart of the church garden fete and the Cat’s Protection coffee morning. I copied out all of her favourite recipes, and I just carried on using the same quantities – a half pound fruit loaf, Victoria Sponge and traditional Madeira cake. Then, I discovered digital add and weigh scales, and now I wouldn’t use anything else. Since attending the Vegetarian Cookery School back in 2000 I’ve converted to metric, although I’ve still got my Mother’s balance scales on the dresser. Now they’re just an ornament, but I wouldn’t rule out using them in the event of a battery failure emergency.

Since starting to scour the internet for new vegetarian and vegan recipe ideas, I’ve come across lots of interesting recipes from the United States. A few do have metric alternative measurements, but many I wanted to tackle had American cup measurements. This can be a bit discouraging for the British cook. Initially I thought about buying a set of US cup measures (and I haven’t rules this out), but first I decided to do a bit of research to find out exactly what was the capacity of a cup and see if I had a suitably sized receptacle. Then, I discovered a Tala dry measure funnel with American cup measures marked and an ancient Pyrex jug (another heirloom) with some just about legible cup markings in the back of the cupboard – and I was converted.

Apparently, the US is one of only three countries in the world that have not adopted the metric system of measurement as their official weights and measures system. The US Customary Measurement system at first glance appears to be very similar to the old English Imperial weights and measures, but there are differences, in particular in relation to liquids, that could ruin a recipe. As far as I can tell, weighing in pounds and ounces should not present too much of a problem. A US pound contains the same 16 ounces and both systems have agreed since 1959 that a pound equals 453.59237 grams. Most US recipes quote dry goods in cups. I established that a legal US cup measure (as agreed by the Food and Drugs Agency) is 240 ml – that’s good enough for me. I did find out that there is also an Imperial cup measurement, equal to half a pint but fortunately this is rarely used.

The next problem was liquid measures. A US fluid ounce is not the same as a UK fluid ounce – and neither is metric, of course. The US fluid ounce is slightly smaller: one US fluid ounce is 1.0408 UK fluid ounces. Probably not a deal-breaker if you get it wrong. The teaspoon and tablespoon measurements are different too, although only marginally. A US teaspoon = 4.928 ml, whereas a metric teaspoon is 5 ml. The difference is rather more noticeable with pint measurements as a US pint is 473.18 ml and a UK pint is 568.26 ml.

My conclusion following this foray into the world of mathematics and measurements was that the metric system isn’t really as bad as my Mother obviously feared it was. Thank goodness cooking a French recipe should be easier as they have been metric since 1799. I just need to remember that a cuiller à soupe is a tablespoon and a cuiller à café is a teaspoon. I’ve decided that I need to standardise my recipe measurements, converting where appropriate into metric. Proportions are the key to achieving the right flavour balance in cooking, so whilst my rough chart below might not be exactly scientifically accurate the results should still be edible. It’s really only in cake baking that getting the proportions right is crucial to the success of the cake. In savoury cooking, unless it’s something like a soufflé or muffins, I’m not worried about weighing, substituting or leaving out ingredients.

 

My rounded-up guide (not official measurements!!)

Teaspoon	5 ml
Dessertspoon	10 ml
Tablespoon	15 ml
US cup	240 ml
US stick	113 g
US ½ stick	56 g
US pint	475 ml
UK pint	568 ml
US fluid ounce	30 ml
1 oz	28 g
2 oz	56 g
4 oz	113 g
8 oz	225 g
One pound	454 g