Question:

[changeling]

For all you Americans on my flist, I have a cooking question:

Are your standard measurements the same as ours? Is a teaspoon = 5 mLs, a tablespoon = 20 mLs, and a cup = 250 mLs?

Comments

[metyounow.livejournal.com]

Well, we don't commonly use mLs as a standard of measurements. The only time we really use the 'liter' measurement is in 2 liter bottles of soda. We use ounces. A teaspoon = .17 ounces, a tablespoon = .5 ounces, a cup = 8 ounces. That is the cooking standard.

With that said, of course, medical measurements are done in cc's which are the equivalent of milliliters, but I can't remember ever using mLs outside of scientific realms.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Jeezus. You guys like to make it difficult. *blinks* How can a teaspoon hold .17 ounces all the time? Isn't an ounce a measurement of weight? A teaspoon of gold would not weigh the same as a teaspoon of flour, surely.

[metyounow.livejournal.com]

In Imperial an ounce can be used to measure liquid or solid and the difference is simply in knowing which it is. It simplifies things so that you don't have to have a liquid measuring device AND a solid measuring device when cooking. Would slightly suck if you had to have one thing to measure flour and one thing to measure water. Food isn't usually measured by weight, unless it's meat, butter, cheese, or potatoes.

A pound of butter is sixteen ounces, or two cups. Sixteen ounces of water is two cups. It can be done either way. These are just the cooking standards, not really that of metals or other substances. I'd say your best bet if this is for a recipe of some nature is to use an online converter.

So confused...

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

My brain, it bleeeeeeds...

(Thank you. Really. :)

Re: So confused...

[metyounow.livejournal.com]

*pets* there there, it will be okay.

(You're welcome! *smiles*)

[metyounow.livejournal.com]

*smiles* I found one for you!

http://www.metric-conversions.org/

[nys.livejournal.com]

pretty sure tblsps are 15ml

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Nope. They're 20. The only "tablespoons" we have at the moment are 15 and 25. The "real" tablespoon we used to have, before it broke, was 20 mL.

[nys.livejournal.com]

in america isn't it 15?

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Yep. According to twelveeyes, anyway.

[dorukai.livejournal.com]

We've got a set of American measuring cups and spoons with the ml written on them too, so you can check net time you're around if you like ;-)

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'd prefer an answer before Thursday... but thanks.
BTW, I have Top 10 for you.

[dorukai.livejournal.com]

Well, according to the cups/spoons (which Sara's mother posted us from the US)
1 cup = 235 ml
1 tbsp = 15 ml
1 tsp = 5 ml

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Someone else told me 225 mL per cup. Wah.

Um.

[twelveeyes.livejournal.com]

Am not American, but mum always likes to complain about the irregularity of the American "standard" measurements...

Teaspoon = 5mL
Tablespoon = 15mL
Cup = 225mL

Re: Um.

[delirieuse.livejournal.com]

Ah, great. We've actually got a 15mL tbsp at home, so that's not a prob. The cup measure could be slightly more difficult. :)

Re: Um.

[twelveeyes.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Well, you could just take a normal 250mL cup and mark the 225mL line by taking ... 5 teaspoons' worth of water out of it...