I know every once in a while some of us get a recipe that has metric measurements instead of US measurements. It is very simple to convert if you know how.

Example: You have a recipe that calls for 2 kg of flour. Heres how you convert it.

This one is easy there is 2.2 pounds in 1 Kg therefore it will call for 4.4 pounds of flour in your recipe. I usaully round down if its under 5 and up if its over 5. So I would round this down to 4 pounds.

Suppose you have a recipe that calls for grams, lets say 300. You multiply 0.035 x 300 = 10.5 ounces or 1 1/2 cups (1 cup is 8 ounces) You just divide 10.5 by 8 and it gives you 1 1/2 cups.

Really nothing to it once you understand the formula.
Hope this helps those of you that get those recipes with metric numbers.

you can go to www.onlineconversion.com and it will help with everything....I used it all the time while I was in Europe!

Hey! Good tip. I did not know that. Guess I wasted good space huh. Hey I checked out that site great I bookmarked it so I will have it if I need it.

As I´m more familiar with the metric mesurements, I´ve two sets of mesurement equipment: one metric and the other one US mesurements. I think for the metric one you only need a good scale, as most recepies call for Gramms and to convert that into US, it´s really confusing.

Good tip too. But I am having a hard time coughing up $30 for one of those with the metric conversions on it. Really do not want to go cheap but you get what you pay for I guess.

Maybe I should start an metric scale export buisness?

My metric conversion is simple..

To change ounces to grams multiply by 28 ( 28.35 to be exact!)

to change pounds to Kilograms multiply by 0.45

tsp to ml multiply by 5
tbl to ml multiply by 15
fluid ounces to milliliters by 30
cups to liters by 0.24
pints to liters by 0.47
quarts to liters by 0.95
gallons by liters by 3.8

we used these all the time...

actually, they seem to be rounded up, I copied them from my charts

the formula to change F to C degrees:

degrees F minus 32...divide by 1.8 will equal ...degrees C

to convert C to F:
degrees C multiplied by 1.8 plus 32 will give degrees F

we had to convert pounds to ounces to grams to percentages then decimals when we did our bread class. This is a handly little chart to keep!

Just remember that the Australian metric system is different than that of Canada and Great Britain. Just a few of the measurements, but you have to be careful.
Also if you are using a Canadian recipe from before the metric system was put into place in Canada, our Canadian Imperial quart is 40 ounces, not 32 like in the U.S. And of course that means that our gallons are also larger, by one full U.S. quart, 160 ounces rather than 128.
A lot too depends on if you measure your ingredients by weight as commercial bakers and Europeans do or if you measure by volume displacement, which is the typical domestic way in Canada and the U.S. There is a big difference.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Okay this is going to sound really stupid but I'm going to ask it anyways....why are there recipes that measure in pounds or kilograms??? Why not cups??

For instance in one recipe it calls for 1 kilogram (2.25 lbs) of powdered sugar...

Wouldn't that be easiest for all????

Maybe I'm just stupid???

Haha, see that is why you really need to know where the recipe came from before proceeding. Because even though we use the metric system in Canada, we still use measuring cups when using a domestic cookbook.
Hugs SQuirrelly

[quote="Cake_Princess"]

It's all about getting consistant results. If you measure a pound today and you measure a pound tomorrow you will always end up with a pound. Unless the earth's gravitational Force changes. But that's not very likely.

However, If you measure one cup today and measure another tomorrow. They may appear to be the same amount but in actuality they may differ. That small amount can be the difference between a successful recipe and a failed one.

That's the reason it's the preferred way.

Heehee, well it is the preferred way for commercial purposes, but I don't really find it matters much for the domestic baker using a cookbook. Part of the theory is based on the fact that you expect to be using a well calibrated baking scale also. These baking scales are very expensive to get one of commercial quality, at least here in Canada. And you must insure that it is calibrated and accurate, from time to time, it isn't a constant.
I suppose too that a lot of it depends on the quantity you are baking. An ounce or two won't matter it in a two layer cake, but multiple that a few times for a larger commercial recipe and you could be in a trouble.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

also when you are working in "pounds" or Kilos...it's easier to "tweak" the formula.

A recipe works from cups and measuring spoons.

a formula is more..."scientific" and works by "WEIGHTS" so you can easily convert them into percentages.

Which is what you would need to change a formula.

for instance we have a recipe that calls for....let's say....25% fat. Well then..you can make that...15% butter and 10% shortening or the other way around.

We have even gotten down to the "TYPES" of flour.

Hard winter wheat. Soft winter wheat. First press ...so on and so on...


so, always remember that when it's cups and ounces and teaspoons..it's a recipe.

when it's by weights....it's a "FORMULA".

That's why it's called BAKING SCIENCE...lol

Hahaha here we go! Actually a recipe should be based on a formula if it is a good recipe. The problem is, unless we are aware that all baking successes are built around good formulas, we may well devise a recipe with less than optimum results.
There was a time when all recipe cookbooks available for domestic use, were written and the recipes were devised by people that had backgrounds in Home Economics and were also culinary experts. These days, everyone and their monkey, is putting out a cookbook. Frequently, the recipes are not even tested, so it is a question of buyer beware.
Yes there are very basic formulas for spongecakes, poundcakes, chiffon, angel food etc. All recipes should be based on the formulas that have specific ratios for flour, sugar, leavenings etc.
Even when using the ratios, there is risk of failure. For example, when baking during peak hydro use, you are not getting the same consistent energy produced, so the times will vary and the way your cakes etc. cook will also vary as you have surges and downfalls of the amount of energy your oven is producing. So baking between say 5pm and 7pm, in most areas, will make your products take longer to bake.
Also, baking scales have to be checked and calibrated frequently, they are not consistent forever.
The degree and quality of your ingredients varies, flour will get stale, eggs even when weighed are not always the same ratio of egg white to yolk.
The ingredients and the form that the ingredients take, are not always available to the domestic baker.
In a lot of cases, the formulas used by commercial bakers were also adjusted to be cost effective which sometimes means that the quality and taste is not the same from one commercial bakery to another.
I use both commercial and domestic recipes or formulas.
And then, there is always the built in possibility of human error, which means that even with a good formula, you can make an error and not be producing a consistent product.
The flours we use produce different results and the recipes or formulas are developed in combinations with the specific flours and leavenings, to produce these result. Want a finer crumb, use a cake flour etc. Want a fluffy springy texture, use only a higher quantity of egg white. Want a more dense cake texture, use more whole eggs and butter. Etc. But as you adjust one ingredient, all the other ingredients come into play.
The results of adjusting ingredients should be fairly predictable when you understand how baking formulas work.
Even the ratios devised with baking formulas are not an exact science, usually there is a variance of about 5% for example in the amount of fat used in ratio to flour, eggs etc.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Sounds like I started a complicated math class ooooooooops!

WOW!! Didn't realize there was so much to baking! It does make sense though! Thanks everyone who helped answer my question I always wondered why there were recipes measured in weight versuses cups, tsp's etc... and now I know!

THANKS!!

What SHE said!..lol

Hhhmn, that was a Canadian gallon post...about a quart longer than any normal person's er American post, haha!
Hugs

I agree with absolutely everthing SquirrellyCakes and PastryDiva said, but I want to add that I love using a scale for baking becasue I can put my bowl on the scale and add each ingredient to the bowl by weight, and I never have to wash any measuring cups! I HATE DOING DISHES!!!!!!!

As I was typing this, I came up with one question. Flour, for example can measure differently by volume depending on humidity, how much it is sifted, etc. Wpuld humidity also have an effect on weight? In humid weather do flour and sugar weigh more?

Well, a pound is a pound world 'round..unless it's milk, water and eggs. those are the only things you can weigh by liquid measures.

Itsacake...now you're getting into the REAL science of baking...and I just avoid that..living in Miami...lol..eighter I don't bake when it's super humid..or my AC is always on.

So, I can not add my 2 cents here...but I"m sure someone can!

So, let's bring all the smarty pants out on this one...I can' t wait for the answer myself!

Flour varies a lot in its ability to absorb moisture. Rainfall levels during the growing season, moisture content of the actual grain during the harvesting of it and how it is milled, stored and the humidity levels in your kitchen affect flour. It actually hydrates and dehydrates according to season and humidity level. So likely yes, a pound of flour in a bag when exposed to high humidity likely does absorb some moisture and weight a negligible amount more and the same is also likely true with sugar.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes