As an American, many of my recipes have originated from websites or cookbooks written and/or posted from America. The fundamental units of measurement for most ingredients in all American recipes are: Volume
cup, tablespoon, teaspoon
Weight
pound, ounce
While shopping at Ashan or Ikea, I was very pleased to see the familiar measuring spoons and cups that I might commonly see in America! It seemed to me that cooking in Russia wouldn't be that complicated after all... that is, until I read the volumes printed on the spoons more closely:
1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5 mL
1 tablespoon (TBS) = 3 teaspoons = 15 mL
So far, so good! Using the small measuring spoons will not be a problem here... WHEW! Everything should be fine... right?
Oh no... something's NOT right... I'm starting to see a problem with the bigger measuring cups. According to my conversion charts, things aren't adding up:
1/4 cup = 4 Tablespoons = 4 x 15 mL = 60 mL
1/2 cup = 8 Tablespoons = 8 x 15 mL = 120 mL
So this nice, pretty measuring cup that looked like it would be approximately 1/2 cup (120 mL) is actually a 100 mL measuring cup! Ugh! I should have known it wouldn't be easy... so my options to measure 1/2 cup of something are:
1) Measure one 100 mL cup of ingredient and add one extra tablespoon and one extra teaspoon to make it exact, or...
2) Measure out a "heaping" 100 mL cup of ingredient and pray really hard that it's close enough, so you don't have to wash any extra dishes when you're done. I've made peace with using this second option to reduce my cleanup time when I'm done... :-)
Now, you might be thinking, "what about that nice glass measuring cup I saw earlier? Can't I measure cups and half-cups using that? Wouldn't it be easier and more accurate?
Ok... let's investigate this option... but be afraid, my friends! Be verrrrry afraid! Because I was shocked when I came across something very unsettling about this particular glassware!
Take a close look at the measurements...
8 ounces = 1 cup = 1/2 pint = 240 mL
16 ounces = 2 cups = 1 pint = 480 mL
Do you see the problem? According to the right side of this measuring cup, 1/2 pint (or 1 cup) is equivalent to 10 ounces! I don't know who made this measuring cup, but it certainly wasn't made in America. When I first began using it, I wasn't sure whether to use 8 ounces or 1/2 pint to measure one cup. Two ounces of ingredients above or below the required amount can make a big difference! After doing the calculations, I decided to use 8 ounces (240 mL) because that seemed to work out correctly, mathematically, in the metric system.
So, be warned, my friends! Although converting volumes and weights mathematically is not difficult, you must always check your measuring cups and spoons to make sure they are accurate! Just because they are sold at the big stores in the city does not mean you can necessarily trust them.
Oh, I'm not done... there's more! In regards to weight, everything in Russia is sold in grams or kilograms. So we must understand what conversion units to use to relate grams to ounces, kilograms to pounds, etc. Remember, most American recipes, because of our lazy nature, are based upon standard sized cans, boxes, jars, etc., that can be easily found in stores. Few such standards seem to exist in Russia. Therefore, a 15 ounce (oz.) can of corn, for example, that can be found in any store in America, in 10 different brands, might be found in 10 different varieties in Russia - 380 grams, 420 grams, 350 grams, 400 grams, etc. This doesn't usually cause a problem, however, since a few more or less grams of corn (for example) doesn't usually cause a problem in most recipes. So, for weight, the following conversions are helpful:1 pound (lb.) = 450 grams (g) = 16 ounces (oz.)
1 kilogram (kg) = 2.2 pounds (lbs.)
Oh yeah... I almost forgot... In America, we also have a unique unit of measure for butter: "sticks" - as in one stick of butter, 1/2 stick of butter, etc. This is because butter is sold in precisely packaged "sticks" or bars, each of which measures approximately 1/2 cup by volume. Therefore, when using butter, the following conversion is helpful:
1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons = 113 grams
113 grams of butter? Seriously? If I bought a 200 gram block of butter here in Russia, I would have to somehow measure how 113 grams of butter for a recipe? No. You don't. During the 5 years I have cooked here, I have never owned a scale to measure out anything according to weight. And I don't plan to do so any time in the near future. Just estimate. Butter is one of those magical ingredients that usually does not cause problems if you use too much or too little. As long as you are close, you will be fine!
If you ever need any other conversion factors, check out the online cooking unit converter at: http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking.htm
Ok... I think that's all you need to know about converting. Does it sound difficult? It is! Does it sound like a pain in the neck? It is! Which is why you should be very thankful that I, your wonderfully thoughtful and considerate blogger, have already done all the hard work for you in every recipe I will post! For most recipes, I will give you the Russian amounts of ingredients to help minimize your struggles as you try to cook like an American in Yekaterinburg. =oD
Fundamental job! Surely, it is very useful. Thank you for link.
ReplyDeleteIn Russia, when we are cooking to a homemade (mom's, grandma's, friends' and so on) recipes we use similar units: "a glass" (basic big unit, it is about 250 mL), "a tablespoon", "a teaspoon". But it is right that we don't care about accuracy =) 200 mL or 220 mL? It is no matter. A dish would have a slightly different taste, but it wouldn't be spoiled. As a rule =)
Russian recipes often offers to use just proportions of ingredients: 1 part of first ingredient, 3/4 of part of second ingredient and so on. So we have a freedom for experiments.