Practical Conversion Tables
– and something for the Purists

Ounces, Pounds, Grams, Kilos
Fluid Ounces, Millilitres, Dashes and Drops
Oven Temperature Conversions
For the Purists

These are equivalents to the nearest convenient amount.  The exact equivalents are provided at the end of this section for any purists fixated on weighing 0.67354 ounces or 93⅞ grams.  But remember, cookery is not an exact science and you need to allow a little flexibility in your methods.  Your motto should be ‘Near enough for all practical purposes’!
 

Ounces, Pounds, Grams, Kilos

Fluid Ounces, Millilitres, Dashes and Drops

Sit down in a quiet room to read this!  A fluid ounce in the UK is ever so slightly smaller than in the US.  However, the UK Imperial pint has 20 fluid ounces, but the US pint has 16: the practical result is that when you buy a pint in a UK pub you’re getting a fifth more beer than when you’re holidaying in Florida.  Another consequence is to make tables like this incredibly complicated, so remember the motto we taught you!

Oven Temperature Conversions

Isn't it maddening when an otherwise great recipe leaves you flummoxed by saying the dish should be cooked in a 'Slow Oven'?  Slow?  I haven't noticed any kind of movement from our oven!  So here's a table which can give a guide, although remember that ovens can vary slightly and no table can replace the cook's judgement as to when something is 'done'.  It's been averaged from a variety of sources as there's some slight difference of opinion even between the 'experts'.  If you want a really rough and ready rule of thumb you'll notice that the temperature in Centigrade is about half the Fahrenheit figure.

For the Purists

1 ounce (oz) = 28.349523125 grams (g)

1 pound (lb) = 0.45359237 kilogram (kg)

1 gram (g) = 0.035273961949580414 ounces (oz)

1 kilogram (kg) = 2.2046226218487756 pounds (lb)

And for the Ultra Purists, we should note that the metric (SI) system actually measures mass rather than weight!  That’s because weight is defined as a measure of how heavy something is, whereas mass measures of the amount of matter. To most of us, that’s nitpicking irrelevance but scientists get quite excited about the difference, more so since the age of space travel.  Something that weighs 6 lb on earth would only weigh around 1lb on the moon (it’s all to do with gravity).  However an object weighing 6 kg on the earth would still have a mass of 6 Kg on the moon (as the amount of matter is still the same). 

Thus while we say that a kilogram is about 2.2 lb that’s only true while we stay on this planet.  If, as we hope, this recipe collection becomes a world classic and is still around in a few decades hence, may we point out to any space travellers intending to recreate any of these culinary masterpieces in their new home on Mars that they are responsible for their own conversions for the quantities of ingredients.  (Unless our next volume ‘Cooking with Beer for Cosmonauts’ has appeared by then.)

When recipes talk about a pinch of salt it means the amount which can be held between a thumb and finger – this of course depends on the size of the finger and thumb, the tightness of the pinch and how much a particular chef likes or dislikes that ingredient.

A drop and a dash are also approximate measures. A drop of liquid varies according to the size of the dropper or surface it is leaving, as well as the viscosity (thickness) of the liquid. Opinions in print vary from 0.025 to 0.099ml, so the largest interpretation is four times that of the smallest. There are different official definitions, and cooks have their personal opinions, so the quantities of ingredients given in these smaller units should be considered approximate only.

The term "cup" is officially defined as half a pint BUT a US half pint only equates to 0.41633709231449445 of a UK pint.  Then again, if you use a real cup, will you choose a breakfast cup, coffee cup, cider cup or that metric cup you bought from the cookshop thinking it would solve all your problems?????

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