How do you prefer to measure?

Olliebeak

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

........... But I also have the dubious achievement of asking ex if the reason his homemade central heating was leaking everywhere was due to his mixing metric radiators with imperial pipes 'as the difference is x mil...'. got cut off with a blunt 'don't be so stupid, that's not what it is, it's the faulty radiators'. DD2 reported the following day that he had spent the weekend replacing things 'because the pipes were in a different type of measurement to the radiators'

Love it, love it, love it! They HATE being told they're wrong - especially by a woman who's more savvy than they are !

Bitsy_Beans

I prefer imperial despite the fact I am a child of the metric age LOL.
I can't get to grips with cups and will avoid receipes with these in like the plague

beemuzed

I prefer imperial measures too, although my scales will do coth imperial and metric. Not often used cup measures for baking although DH has a set of SS ones.

ubamother

Having eschewed american cups for a long time, I'm now slowly becoming a convert. I have a set a cups bought in america which I use with american recipes. My cups have fluid oz measures on them as well which is useful. My 9yr old boy finds cup measuring quicker and less of a faff for baking so that's helped my conversion. There is something rather nice and oddly satisfying about using american cups in an american recipe for american muffins!

ALIBOBSY

Hmm another 70's baby here too. So taught in metric (I remember books etc at school also refering to "new pence" as well lol). I did science based a levels so again worked in mm,mls etc. But my gran and mum showed me how to bake so still use some rec in imperial and spent a while working on a fish/deli counter so know the conversions (at least roughly).
I do have some cups I use as well, especially for nigella and some US rec I have.

To be honest with all mixes I check the consistancy as I go, flour absorbs different amounts of liquid depending on the make and the humidity. I buy local farm, free range eggs who don't have as standardised a size as the supermarket ones which again can effect the mix. So its a case of experience telling me a mix is too dry or too wet or just right.

So a real mish mash here really lol.

ali x

bexta

LOL at Whistling Gypsy for 'my superior knowledge'. I'm just going by what I vaguely recall from Home Ec in the 90s, and my little measuring cup at Mums I used to use for just about everything. I think it does depend on whether it's an 'old' Australian cup, which I 'thinkl' is more like the UK size, but, cos most things are 'American' now, it's normally the 250mL.

chem_j

I much prefer using weight to cups - you have to keep washing the cups between ingredients, where as you weigh into different bowls or tare the scales and weigh into the same one. It's also a real nuisance trying to measure stuff like butter or peanut butter in cups - and messy!
I prefer grams to ounces mostly if the recipe is given in both but tend to judge butter in ounces, because I was taught by my mum who prefers imperial measures - I know roughly how much butter is 4oz, but would have to convert it if it is in grams!

LameWolf

It depends what I'm making. I'm happy enough with cups; you just have to make sure to use the same one, to get the proportions right, and I did treat myself to the set of 3 (1cup, half a cup and a quarter cup, I think they are) from John Lewis. These are very good for doing ice cream.

I have a special spoon that I use for Yorkshire pud; it's a non-standard size, but 3 of it heaped with flour works.:D

For weighing, its lbs and oz every time; I can visualise 4 oz of something, but however many grams is meaningless to me. I still ask for my F&V in lbs at the market, too, if I want it weighed (often I just grab 4 or however many of the item).;)

Any recipe books in metric get little pencil notes in the margins of the lbs oz equivalent.:rotfl:

Same with knitting - inches every time for me, can't visualise centimetres.:o

LameWolf

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

Hmm another 70's baby here too. So taught in metric (I remember books etc at school also refering to "new pence" as well lol).

I still convert back to "old" money. ("What?? Fifteen shillings and eightpence for a loaf of bread??:eek::eek::eek:"):rotfl:

brokeinwales

Most of the time I can't be faffed - I read 100g of lentils as "some lentils" and 200g potatoes as "more potatoes than lentils."

For baking I pay a bit more attention - I usually use the metric measurements, and then guess from the size of the packet I'm using.