The Dsp = 2 Tsp is about as accurate as you can get, John. My research shows that In Britain, traditional tablespoons varied somewhat in size, and various older references give sizes in the range from 1/2 to 5/8 Imperial fluid ounce (14.2-17.6 milliliters). Under the metric system the tablespoon has become more or less standardized at 15 milliliters in Britain and In Britain, a traditional teaspoonful in the kitchen was equal to 1/8 Imperial fluid ounce or approximately 3.55 milliliters, but the medical teaspoonful was usually 5 milliliters. In metric kitchens in Britain, a teaspoonful is exactly 5 milliliters. >From this hodgepodge, we can ascertain that an imperial tablespoon might >equal 3 imperial teaspoons. Or it might equal 4 imperial teaspoons. Hope this >helps! Alternatively, it is all set out rationally in metric............
--- On Mon, 13/4/09, John M. Steele <[email protected]> wrote: From: John M. Steele <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:44659] Re: Even with "dual," you can't please everybody To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Monday, 13 April, 2009, 6:48 PM Thanks, I've made a note in my cookbook that a dessertspoon is two teaspoons. Do you think the UK Tablespoon was originally one-half Imperial fl. oz.? If so, you round a little further than we do, but neither is far off 15 mL. --- On Mon, 4/13/09, Ken Cooper <[email protected]> wrote: From: Ken Cooper <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:44658] Re: Even with "dual," you can't please everybody To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Monday, April 13, 2009, 2:03 PM John said "I suspect all the odd dessertspoons, etc used in former UK cooking all have precise meanings too, if only we could find them. Precisely determining their meaning and documenting it in metric equivalents is the way to preserve those old recipes." My set of measuring spoons is clearly marked 1/2 Tsp 2.5 ml 1 Tsp 5 ml 1 Dsp 10 ml 1 Tbsp 15 ml When it's my turn to cook, I tend to do Chinese. Both Ken Hom & Ching-He Hueng (well known Chinese chefs) tend to give measurements in a mixture of metric (sometimes dual) and spoonfuls. The spoonful measurements are usually for little amounts of ingredients like cornflour (cornstarch in US?), light & dark soy, rice wine, hoi-san sauce etc. The weights are used for meat/veg etc. --- On Sat, 4/4/09, John M. Steele <[email protected]> wrote: From: John M. Steele <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:44340] Re: Even with "dual," you can't please everybody To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, 4 April, 2009, 6:19 PM Because the ratio of that ingredient to other ingredients measured accurately won't be right. The set of 240:30:15:5 is not exactly right, but they are in the right proportions. The recipe is just scaled about 1.4% larger. You are free to weigh everything. I am not advocating one style of cooking over another. I am merely challenging the claim that American terms are unclear. They may be unfamiliar, it may be necessary to dig to learn what they mean, but there is no uncertainty in what they mean.. I suspect all the odd dessertspoons, etc used in former UK cooking all have precise meanings too, if only we could find them. Precisely determining their meaning and documenting it in metric equivalents is the way to preserve those old recipes. --- On Sat, 4/4/09, Jeremiah MacGregor <[email protected]> wrote: From: Jeremiah MacGregor <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:44331] Re: Even with "dual," you can't please everybody To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, April 4, 2009, 12:23 PM Since the US cups with metric on one side is up to 250 mL, then why not just use 250 mL to define a cup? It would be easier to use then to try to fill to the 240 mL line. Jerry From: John M. Steele <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, April 4, 2009 10:35:46 AM Subject: [USMA:44329] Re: Even with "dual," you can't please everybody Pat, You understandably write from a Commonwealth or Australian perspective (I don't mean spelling), and as a metric consultant, you may have a vested interest in making old measurements sound more confusing than they are. I am confused by spoons and cups in recipes from Commonwealth nations. However, if you receive a recipe from the US, there is no confusion; the terms are well-defined and have been for some time. I regularly use a recipe from my greatgrandmother which dates to around 1890. Common cups and spoons may be of any size, but measuring cups and spoons are well defined. They are as important to us as your scales (most are marked in metric as well). Each term is followed by a definition in Customary units, an overly exact metric conversion, and a practically rounded metric conversion: cup: 8 US fl oz, 236.5882 mL, 240 mL ounce: 1 US fl oz, 29.573 53 mL, 30 mL Tablespoon: 0.5 US fl oz, 14.786 76 mL, 15 mL teaspoon: 0.1666... US fl oz, 4.928 922 mL, 5 mL Dry and wet measuring cups are of different designs, but the same capacity. Dry cups are brim fill, stricken level with the back edge of a knife. Wet cups are fill-to-mark. American cooking is entirely volumetric, and it is probably easier to convert to metric volume than determine the density of everything. The cup and tablespoon are noticably different than Australian, but no confusion as the terms are well defined and standardized by NIST (handbook 44 Appendix, C, SP811, etc) Now, if only we could get Americans to convert the above volumes to metric. --- On Sat, 4/4/09, Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> wrote: From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA:44327] Re: Even with "dual," you can't please everybody To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, April 4, 2009, 9:34 AM Dear John, I have posted a response to this that you can find at the same address at http://www.t-g.com/blogs/bettybrown/entry/26458/ Cheers, Pat Naughtin PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/ to subscribe.
