Imperial or Metric

oh yes - just looked in the cupboard - there are one or two products that show ounces as well as gm - but the majority in gms. as they have been for a long time now.
I am sitting here waiting for Ben "Bad Science" Goldacre to talk on the radio. More or Less - brilliant prog on R4 about maths and stats. Ben heading for status as patron saint of science.

Yes, I do see that, granjura. It's hard to see why articles which are meant for export aren't made/measured to suit their intended market. That's just common sense, not kow-towing to Europe!

Not at all Anagram - but when it comes to machines, pipes, any kind of engineering, electrics, and any kind of engineering, architecture, etc - mix and match on an International level just does not work - and makes things too complicated and expensive.

Very different to us baking the odd cake, etc. (as said before I use both too as I lived most of my adult life in the UK and have many books in Imperial).

But I thought most things showed weights/measures in both Imperial and metric, so I don't see what the problem is. Do these other countries want us to completely abandon Imperial because they believe we think we're too high and mighty, and need bringing down a peg or two?

Bags- dollops and chucks are my kind of measurements - lol.

It's absolutely fine for us individuals to mix and match - but as a nation of exporters- it may well have a cost. It is true that many European and other countries are getting a tad irritated by the UK's refusal to adapt. I know, again that this is not going to make me friends here, but it is the sad truth.

Countries selling to the UK will make any necessary adjustments to get the business- However a very different kettle of fish if they are buying and have many other markets to tap into. With negative growth at the mo- I don't think the UK can afford to be 'high and mighty' over Metric and other adjustments.

yes I lived in OZ 1970-2 and adjusted very well to metric at age 30. But I visualise 75 degrees as my ideal temperature, all the Imperial measurements I can visualise as I said before, and yes 7 stone etc. 10/- for a packet of crisps help I hadn't thought that luckily I don't like crisps but what else is catching me?

Just put ingredients for my standard loaf in the bread machine bucket. I use these units: teaspoon measure (5ml) for the yeast and salt, American cup measure for the flour, a 'chuck' for the seeds, a 'dollop' for the lard, and British fluid ounces for the water. The amount of water that makes a perfect loaf is almost 380ml but exactly 13fl.oz so that's what I use.

What's political about that? (see which forum this thread is in ).

No, no - according to absentgran - sorry!

A US cup is 8 fl oz, jeni though (according to Butter)!

Surely if an us cup is 9oz an oz cup is 6oz

Bags Australian numbers aren't different (ho, ho) but US fluid ounces are. Also conversions from metric to imperial and vice versa are usually approximate rather than precise. So 250 ml = 8.7988 UK fl oz but only 8.4535 US fluid ounces. Of course you can still do arithmetic – just don't go there. If you are going to measure ingredients, just stick to one system and it will all be fine. However, a generous splash seems a perfectly satisfactory and precise enough quantity to me.

B. Mum used to say that, now I do, and now my son does .....

Okaaay. That means I can't do arithmetic any more . I thought an American cup was 8fl.oz. so one and a quarter of those would be 10fl.oz. Do Australian numbers work in a different way from ours?

I agree about guesswork in cooking. It drives my brother mad when he asks how much, say, milk, to put in something and I say oh, you know, a generous splash or two. How much is that? he asks. Till it looks right, say I.

I have a measuring jug which shows Mls, fl. oz, Cups and Pints. I had assumed the Cups were US measures, but I've checked and a Cup is around 9 fl. oz, so it must be an Oz measuring jug!

Australia is fully metric Bags so they don't have pints. An Oz cup is 250 ml, just under 9 fl oz. Like in the US, Oz cooks use cups to measure solid ingredients, such as flour and sugar as well as liquids. I only ever measure ingredients when making cakes and pastries or when testing recipes. Otherwise, I judge quantities by eye,smell and taste.

Switching from metric to imperial to US cups is second nature after all these years, but I still have difficulty stopping myself from expecting the weather forecast to give Celsius and Fahrenheit temperatures, plus the gas mark.

So that makes an Oz cup 10fl.oz. — i.e. half a British pint, whereas an American cup is half an American pint. Does this mean the Oz pint is the same as a British pint, or have they dispensed with pints altogether?

Butternut Not only are there American cup measurements, there are Australian ones as well. A US cup = 8 fl oz; 1 Australian cup = 11/4 American cups. 1 tablespoon = 15 ml in the UK, US and New Zealand, but 1 Australian tablespoon = 20 ml. Writing cookbooks for an international market is a minefield.

It amused me that the BBC said the Torch was travelling 8,000 miles with people running about 300m each!!

I can't think in kms, metres or cms (I know a metre is roughly about 39 inches). But I still think in feet and inches when it comes to people's heights (and notice the press do the same)

I can work in kilos and grams and litres and millilitres because of recipe books. But don't ask ask me what I weight in kilos - my weight is in stones and pounds (and again the press seem to use stones and pounds when writing about people dieting!).

Temperatures - well I can, again, work in either imperial or metric, but I do find I convert weather temperatures into imperial (double the metric number and add 30 - a very accurate conversion). If it's a case of "Phew what a scorcher! It's xxxx degrees" It would prefer it to be 82F rather than 26C. Feels hotter!

So as someone said - it's a mish mash!!

In my career (pharmacy) had to cope with imperial and metric -no problem.
Metric is much easier when it comes to multiplying or dividing.
In my kitchen I have old-fashioned brass scales with imperial weights but have recently bought an electronic scale-so much quicker and easier which can switch between metric/imperial.

Just come across an old conical glass medicine measure in kitchen cupboard marked in fluid drachms and fluid ounces!!.
Tucked in my favourite cookbook are 3 printed cards (issued by Metrication board in the 70s)showing all the metric comparisons -Weight/length/volume.
and temp. F/C comparisons .So I'm ready for anything !!

That's interesting, Butter, that they still quote francs as well as euros....

Back in the 1950s I was taught both imperial and metric units at school and have moved in and out of both as life required. I still cook in imperial units but convert metric recipes into imperial as I go.

Just though I'd lob this in...........then there are the American 'cups' measurements . Frankly, I sort of make a mush of all three when doing a recipe which isn't particularly precise.

French receipts still give the total in Francs, as well as Euros. If I'm feeling a bit tired, and read it incorrectly, it can give me a bit of a jolt!

Bags I have old fashioned scales with 2 sets of weights, Imperial and Metric. And a mixture of cookery books in both, including 2 of those Be-Ro baking books, 1 Imperial, 1 Metric. As said, keeps ze little grey cell going.

Apparently somewhere in australia there is a town that has a time zone down the middle... That must keep them on their toes - the time is different according to which part of town you are in!

Exactly Bags. I love all my old kitchenalia that has been in the family for many years, and old fashioned scales are easy to use. I noticed on a cookery programme that Tamasin Day-Lew did, she was using the most ancient worn out scales and pans in a tiny old kitchen, yet she turns out the most exquisite food.