Philip Poburka on mon 23 jul 01
Deat Janet and All,
Some while ago, I was beginning to write a small 'Cook-Book', which I have
not finished, and my resolution was to have the recipes so layed out, as to
allow the measurements to be in several 'systems'...alleviateing the tedious
bore of 'conversion' tables and so on.
As well as to have the proper 'Tables' set up in the back, for such ready
reference or amusement or what, as may be handy to have acess to.
In order of their emminence, the "U.S." systems, "Imperial", other odd and
sundry 'Eastern' or 'foreign-notions', and in less ignominy than it
deserves, the 'French-System', or 'metric' as some would have it.
Or as I would term it, the 'French-Complaint'...
Maybe something like that would soothe the vexation?
Against the bill-of-ingredients, one would have horizontal lines, with
vertical lines and headers, proclaiming the 'system' in which the items are
so calculated, or the name IN that 'system' of the quantity desired.
This would also be a nice way to learn of the various ingenious and not
quite so 'ingenious' of, such methods of Measure, as are presently suffered
or celebrated by different Peoples and Cultures.
Or, if the Book were wide enough...and it may be...to allow even of some
wonderful systems to be recalled, which have now been trampled to dust by
"Adidas" and 'metrification' ...
Just a thought...might be fun.
Oh...while we are at it...
I do not recall that U.S. Measurements combine weight with volume...a 'Cup'
is volume...'fluid Ounces' are volume...wights are weights...volumes are
'volumes'...certain Volumes have at times been obliged to be within a
certain weight, but regular people are not likely to encounter this in
Cooking or other passtimes.
A 'Cup', is two Gills...or, eight fluid ounces...or, a 1/2 Pint...or, 16
Tablespoons...these are expressions of Volume.
Four 'Cups' to a Quart, sixteen Cups to a Gallon...
Most 'Tea-Cups' tended to be about one Gill...whether 'here' or 'there'...
As 'ounces' are used in the term 'Fluid-Ounces' there may be some confusion
sometimes as to if this denotes Weight.
Also, there are 'dry' pints and quarts, being as well, of Volume.
And tending to be as well, as fractions of a Bushel...as, Two Pints
to-a-quart...Eight Quarts to-a-Peck...four Pecks to-a-Bushel...thirty-six
Bushels to-a-Chaldron.
There you have it!
Philip
Las Vegas...
> Just thinking about the problem of US vs. Imperial vs.
> Metric measurements when writing a book, whether on
> glazes or cooking. Most people use one only and will
> not want to even try recipes in any other measurement.
> So how about a conversion chart for all books with any
> sort of recipes, weights and measures? The three
> systems in a neat chart as an absolute necessity and
> should be included in all such books IMHO!
>
> I am fully conversant with Imperial and Metric, but
> have difficulty in practice, when it comes to actually
> using the US measuring system. In theory it is OK, but
> using cups (especially for ingredients like butter and
> syrup) is rather hard when you are not used to it.
> Mostly because US measurements combine weight with
> volume, it is difficult for Europeans who weigh using
> scales 99% of the time and have a cupboard full of
> various sized cups, from mocha to half-pint mugs.
>
> Temperatures are another difficulty. Some are
> Fahrenheit, others Centigrade/Celsius and it took me to
> live in Germany to realise that the gas "regulo"
> numbers are NOT universal. No one says it very often,
> but the cones given with glaze recipes mean many of us
> have to look up what temperature is meant.
>
> Could people writing recipes for the cook book Lisa is
> working on also try not to use brand names and products
> please? Those "X amount of Crisco" and "one small
> carton of yoghurt/cream" are a big problem, not least
> because Crisco is not a universal product and what is
> "small" in one country could be the largest size
> available in another.
>
> This is all rather late in the day, but maybe the
> editors could take a hand?
>
> Janet Kaiser
> The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
> HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
> Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
> E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
> WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
>
>
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Janet Kaiser on mon 23 jul 01
Just thinking about the problem of US vs. Imperial vs.
Metric measurements when writing a book, whether on
glazes or cooking. Most people use one only and will
not want to even try recipes in any other measurement.
So how about a conversion chart for all books with any
sort of recipes, weights and measures? The three
systems in a neat chart as an absolute necessity and
should be included in all such books IMHO!
I am fully conversant with Imperial and Metric, but
have difficulty in practice, when it comes to actually
using the US measuring system. In theory it is OK, but
using cups (especially for ingredients like butter and
syrup) is rather hard when you are not used to it.
Mostly because US measurements combine weight with
volume, it is difficult for Europeans who weigh using
scales 99% of the time and have a cupboard full of
various sized cups, from mocha to half-pint mugs.
Temperatures are another difficulty. Some are
Fahrenheit, others Centigrade/Celsius and it took me to
live in Germany to realise that the gas "regulo"
numbers are NOT universal. No one says it very often,
but the cones given with glaze recipes mean many of us
have to look up what temperature is meant.
Could people writing recipes for the cook book Lisa is
working on also try not to use brand names and products
please? Those "X amount of Crisco" and "one small
carton of yoghurt/cream" are a big problem, not least
because Crisco is not a universal product and what is
"small" in one country could be the largest size
available in another.
This is all rather late in the day, but maybe the
editors could take a hand?
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
Tom Buck on tue 24 jul 01
Ah! PB:
you show the typical USA bias towards the "metric" system, calling
it French-compliant or some other description that suggests France calls
the shots. NOT so. while French scientists took the first steps to invent
a more reasonable system of weight and measures, in fact the system, now
called SI (Systeme International, to honour the first notions), was put
together by scientists and engineers from every country with some
industrial activity. Every decade (perhaps more often) there is an
International Congress held to review the status of SI.
For people working in science and technology, SI has one major
innovation to eliminate confusions: every scientist and engineer using the
SI around the world use EXACTLY the same names and symbols, irregardless
of language used:
These are the base units:
Unit...................name...................symbol
length.................metre (meter)...........m
mass...................kilogram................kg
time...................second...................s
electric current.......ampere...................A
thermodynamic temperature...kelvin..............K
amount of substance......mole...................mol
luminous intensity.......candela................cd
There is a precise defintion for each of the above fundamental units, and
all other units stem from these, eg, the unit of force is the newton (N)
which is kilogram x metre per second squared. In addition, there are
seconday units that are incorporated into SI, eg, the minute = 60 s and
the litre (L) = 0.1 m cubed.
Also, Americans are led to believe that the SI is not used in USA.
This is wrong: all US autos are built using SI to be in step with
automakers worldwide. ditto aircraft manufacture. world aviation uses SI
for all activities, including weather, and the units are translated into
Imperial units strictly for local purposes in USA. and there are other
segments of society that use SI in USA. Indeed, SI is one of two LEGAL
systems of weights and measures in USA, has been for a long time.
Perhaps in another generation, when today's schoolkids become
voters, there will be a thrust to make SI the dominant W&M system in USA.
When USA goes SI only and joins the rest of the world doing so, very
little will change, just the names, temperature in degrees Celsius
(centigrade) vs degrees Fahrenheit: it will just as hot at 38 C instead of
100 F, distances: kilometre vs mile (160 km = 100 miles). But we will
still buy our eggs by the dozen.
til later. peace. Tom B.
Tom Buck ) tel: 905-389-2339
(westend Lake Ontario, province of Ontario, Canada).
mailing address: 373 East 43rd Street,
Hamilton ON L8T 3E1 Canada
Helen Bates on wed 25 jul 01
To Clayarters, re: Weights & Measures (& volumes)
I spent a year in Orkney, in the mid-1970's. Being on a Canadian
salary I was nearly "rich" so spent money on UK cookbooks. Some had
conversions to U.S. and to metric measurements. (None had conversions
to Canadian measurements.)
UK measurements at that time were by imperial weights. U.S.
measurements by volume. (Canadian uses volume as well, but pints and
quarts and anything based on them were larger, ie: Imperial volume.)
By the way, metric litres and U.S. quarts are nearly the same
volumes.)
I was taught that a Canadian quart was 5 cups. (A cup being 8 fluid
oz., which is a volume measure, by the way.) An American quart, on
the other hand, was 4 cups, also 8 fl. oz.
I don't know if spoon measures differ too, between the UK and
USA/Canada. Some cup measures may differ, as well.
Then, what about the "Antipodes"?
;-))
Helen
--
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Helen Bates
mailto:nell@quintenet.com
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