I made a handy chart

[nibot]

Clicky-clicky to download printable PDF.

What we need now is Volume-Mass conversions for common substances, i.e. what is the volume of 1 lb of dry black beans, etc.

By the way, the above chart makes the U.S. system look reasonably simple, but there are something like a million different definitions for, say, the ounce: fluid or dry, troy, tower, avoirdupois, apothecary, imperial, british, U.S., etc. Also I omitted cubic linear measure (i.e. cubic inches, acre-feet, etc), minims, drams, gills, fifths, pecks, bushels, fluid scruples (!), and fluid drachms from the conversion. I realize some of those are synonyms and some are not directly comparable, but do you know which? Don't tell me about the metric system; you'll be preaching to the choir.

On another note, I spent about 45 minutes today studying quantum mechanics, and then an hour making a chart showing how to convert cups into tablespoons.

Comments

[janviere.livejournal.com]

The new Joy of Cooking has a pretty section listing food weights and volumes in the back.

1 lb dry black beans is about 2 cups.

[auressiel.livejournal.com]

Why not just get a kitchen scale?

[nibot.livejournal.com]

I suppose that would be the easy way out for Volume-Mass conversion, though it would be handy to have an idea of these densities for purchasing purposes, i.e. recipe calls for mass (volume) and we can tell the shoppers how much to get in volume (mass).

[barks.livejournal.com]

nice use of decilitres. they're truly underrepresented in today's world, frequently eclipsed by their twin sister centilitres!

speaking of handy

[barks.livejournal.com]

ps. this is a fairly decent conversion tool in the event that you really do want to know about minims, gills, etc.
http://www.onlineconversion.com/index.htm

Re: speaking of handy

[nibot.livejournal.com]

Google is fairly handy too--you can put in something like "1 gallon in tablespoons" or "6 meters in furlongs". But I wouldn't trust it completely—last time I checked they used an incorrect definition of "keg" (as in "1 keg in gallons").

[nibot.livejournal.com]

I do find it disturbing that the metric system doesn't settle on a single spelling of liter/litre. Even in the U.S. we use both spellings (consider a 2 liter soda bottle versus a 2.0 litre engine).

[barks.livejournal.com]

it's not just the metric system - there are lots of re to er changes. centre, theatre, etc.

[nibot.livejournal.com]

right -- but the metric system is supposed to be completely regular and the same everywhere.

[vyncentvega.livejournal.com]

Conform. CONFORM. CONFORM!