[Sca-cooks] Measurement query for European members

[Nanna Rognvaldardottir]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kirrily Robert" <skud at infotrope.net>

> A metric cup is 250 mL.
>

Yeah, well, in the Icelandic metric system at least, there is no such animal
as the "metric cup". It isn't an internationally standardized unit. We are
vaguely aware that there are things like the American measuring cup (237
ml), the Imperial measuring cup (around 284 ml, IIRC) and the Australian
measuring cup (approximately 250 ml, according to my Australian cookbooks.
My Danish recipes seem to indicate that the Danish metric cup is around 150
ml, and I've seen other sizes specified in other countries. If I saw a cup
specified in an Icelandic recipe I would probably use something like 200 ml,
and so on.

My point is that cup sizes - even metric cup sizes - vary from country to
country and if I used cups in my recipe writing, I'd have to specify each
time what size cups I were using, which wouldn't be very convenient. I would
be better off using the old Icelandic measuring unit "peli" - close enough
to 250 ml, and most people know that, at least. But I see no reason to. I'm
trying to get people to use fewer measuring units, not more.

Nanna