Dear Michael,
on 2003-06-14 20.01, Michael-O at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > this is kinda weird, such strange sizes never evolved in true metric > countries. > > e.g. 3 L, 700 mL, 600 mL I don't know about the reasons for 3�L and 700�mL, but there was a definite reason for the selection of 600�mL as a retail container size in Australia, especially for milk and cream. A 600�mL container is about 6�% more than an old imperial pint. For cooking recipes this slight increase fits well with other cooking increases. By choosing 600�mL as a standard retail container, Australian cooks were able to adapt their old recipes fairly quickly and easily. However, as time has gone by, and with changes in packaging technologies, most milk is now sold in 1 litre, 2 litre, and 3 litre containers, but cream is still sold in 300�mL and 600�mL packages. 500�grams is about 10�% more that an old imperial pound. 1�kilogram is about 10�% more that the old imperial 2 pounds. A metric cup (250�mL) is about 10�% more that an old imperial cup. A 60 gram egg is about 9�% more than a 55 gram egg. 30 grams is about 10�% more that an old imperial ounce. This will make more sense if we look at a real recipe. I have chosen a recipe for a beef stew from a book that came from the USA. I have quoted the recipe from the book, I then give an exact conversion to metric measures, and then I give an approximate conversion based on the Australian method of rounding up to the next, reasonably rational, number, but using USA spoon and cup sizes. Beef stew Exact Approximate Increase 2 pounds stewing steak 907 g 1�kg 10�% 4 ounces salad oil 57�mL 60�mL 5�% 1/3 cup chopped onions 76�mL 83�mL 9�% Few dashes of pepper no conversion 3/4 cups boiling water 170�mL 190�mL 12�% 4 potatoes (2 lb.) 907 g 1�kg 10�% 4 carrots (1 1/2 lb.) 680�g 750�g 10�% 1/2 teaspoon salt 2.4�mL 2.5�mL 4�% Chopped parsley no conversion As you can see the new metric recipe gives a stew that is about 10�% larger than the original, but the proportions, more or less, remain the same. In this case, both the exact conversion and the approximate conversions will work well enough, but more care, and maybe test cooking, is necessary where proportions are more critical than stews; say in bread and cake baking. Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS Geelong, Australia Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --
