Test Your Knowledge!

[Isa]

Found this in a kitchenware catalog:

The three 4 inch long measuring spoons, link by a split ring, measure a dash, a pinch, and a smidgen, respectively, and are a great help when exact measurements are not supplied but a consistent result is desired....

I did horrible..
School starts soon.
Danielle

[Nick.Shu]

perhaps im worng, but from where i stand,

1 pinch approx 7 grams
1 teaspoon approx 15 grams
1 tablespoon approx 30 grams
1 cup is 250 grams
1 kg is 1000 grams

sometimes and i means sometimes (specific or relative gravity laws applying) liquid and mass weights definitely differ. However, as a token weight measure being used, unless the specific or relative weight differs to a point where weighing is the only option, you should be able to convert metric to imperial.

i.e. 1 pound is approximately 500 to 550 grams metric.

well ...

1 kg is 1000 grams, you'll get no argument about that from me. As for the rest ...

There is no relation between teaspoons/tablespoons/cups and grams/kilos, because the first set measures volume, the second weight. A cup of flour is 120-150 grams (you would end up with disastrous results if you weighed 250 grams of flour for each cup in a recipe); a cup of sugar 210-225 grams. I can't think of any foodstuff that would weigh as much as 15 grams per teaspoon - sugar probably weighs around 5 grams per teaspoon, 15 grams per tablespoon. Don't know about pinches but a 7 gram pinch would be more than a teaspoon.

To convert cups, etc. accurately into metric measures, you need to use milliliters and liters, which are used to measure volume in the metric system. 1 cup is about 237 ml (usually rounded up to 250 ml). 1 tablespoon is 15 ml; 1 teaspoon 5 ml.

1 pound is 454 grams, usually rounded off to 450 grams if you need to be exact, 500 grams if not. 550 grams would be too much in many recipes.

[Katherine]

I bought that set of spoons at Walmart. I don't use them much, but they are SOOO cute.

Katheren :
cc

The only sensible way to measure stuff is:

dry ingredients by weight
liquid ingredients by volume

So there.

[momoreg]

True.

Yup,back to school.
I have a copy of Escoffer and everything is
mesured in odd pints 5th pints and that sort of thing.That may explain some boo-boo's I make...Before "Adjustments" of course.I'm pretty taken back about the brown sugar thing,I usually semi-pack it and wing it from there.Cool.....

CWK:

You mean YOU don't have a 1/5 pint measure in your collection of tools? Shame! Shame!

Originally posted by Crudeau:
CWK:

You mean YOU don't have a 1/5 pint measure in your collection of tools? Shame! Shame!

To be honest,I should have worte in past-tense since I havent used that book in about 8 or 10 years.Nevertheless It still doesn't excuse me from not knowing this stuff
off the top of my head.Since I mostly line cook now I just don't really think about those things.As far as a tool collection goes
I usually only carry a knife wrap,It's for my
own good ;-).Bill

[momoreg]

You're not the only cook who doesn't know that stuff. I still have to help the chef and the sous at my job, when they can't figure out how many so-and-so's in a so-and-so.

[mudbug]

Sisi,

It's not really our choice.

[Isa]

I know Cchiu but it's really too bad because metric makes things so much easier.

[Isa]

I don't know why you don't convert to the metric system. It is so much easier to use.