SC - European teaspoons

[Nanna Rognvaldardottir]

- -----Original Message-----
From: UlfR <parlei-sc at algonet.se>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Date: 4. janúar 2001 13:12
Subject: Re: SC - European teaspoons


>On Thu, 4 Jan 2001, Philip & Susan Troy wrote:
>
>> SPOON AND CUP MEASURES
>
>> IMPERIAL----METRIC----AMERICAN
>> 1 tablespoonful--18 ml--1 tablespoon
>> 2 tablespoonfuls--35 ml--3 tablespoons
>> 4 tablespoonfuls--70 ml--6 tablespoons or 1/3 cup
>
>Uhh? I think you or the Mrs B. editor just proved that 4=6. Or is the
>conversion IMPERIAL <-> AMERICAN only approximate?


The problem with Mrs. Beeton (this edition at least, I´m not sure Isabella
Beeton ever thought about metric measures) is that the standard used in the
book is Imperial measures, and this only tells us how to convert from the
measurements used in the book into measurements used in other countries.

Since my standard is the metric system, these are the equivalents in
milliliters:

1 Imperial tablespoon = 17.75 ml
1 metric tablespoon = 15 ml, except in Australia, where it is 20 ml for some
reason
1 American tablespoon = 14.2 ml

When you are dealing with just one tablespoon of something, the difference
between 14.2 ml and 17.75 ml isn't all that great (half a teaspoon), so
usually you say an American tablespoon is the same as the Imperial and leave
it at that. And the American tablespoon is virtually the same as the metric
15 ml one.

With 4 Imperial tablespoons, the situation is a little different. That's
almost 71 ml, but 4 American tablespoons are only 57 ml, a difference of
almost a whole tablespoon, which can alter the outcome of a recipe. However,
I don't really understand the 6 tablespoons - 71 ml is exactly 5 American
tablespoons, not 6. Oh well.

To confuse matters even further, many older British cookbooks use rounded
spoons, not level, which means that one tablespoon should actually be read
as two. So if a British recipe tastes a bit bland, that might be the
reason - I've run into this several times so I always check any information
on weights and measurements in a British cookbook to see if this is the
case - it isn't always mentioned in the recipe itself.

To confuse matters further still, the Imperial measuring cup is 284 ml, the
American one 237 ml, the metric cup - which isn't really a standardized
metric measurement - is usually 250 ml but can be 200 ml or 300 ml, and any
cup you come across in an Icelandic recipe is likely to be Aunt Sigga's old
blue cracked coffecup, which may measure just about anything from 150 ml
upwards.

Nanna