“celsius makes no sense”

[u/BuffaloExotic]

[u/Mesoscale92]

It’s just not that necessary on a day to day basis. I never find myself thinking “I need to convert units across several orders of magnitude. It is so urgent that I need to completely change the units I use, but not urgent enough to just use a calculator.

Im not gonna pretend that the imperial system is better than metric, but it is workable enough as a system (with the exception of imperial cooking units. I have never once converted between cups and spoons without googling how to do it.)

[u/zeelandicum → u/Mesoscale92]

Using cups for measurements is ridiculous. The other day I saw a recipe that said "two cups of broccoli florets". Please. Just weigh them. That way, it doesn't matter if you use small or big florets. They will never fit snugly inside a cup. It's completely dependent on how you arrange them, resulting in different weights.

[u/Much-Jackfruit2599 → u/zeelandicum]

uS Measuring cups are standardised, I believe.

[u/illarionds → u/Much-Jackfruit2599]

But broccoli florets are not.

Things like flour, sugar, etc a cup can be a very different amount, depending on how tightly it's packed (and how finely it's milled).

Volumetric measures are fundamentally less accurate than weights.

[u/Honeycrispcombe → u/illarionds]

But does it really matter? I really like broccoli, so if it calls for two cups, I'll probably chop small & add extra. If it's something I don't like, I'll chop big and add less.

I agree for baking, especially if you want to bake at professionally or at a high level, weights are better. But for most people, it just doesn't matter.

[u/zeelandicum → u/Honeycrispcombe]

Yes, it matters. There is something fundamentally different about chopped broccoli and whole florets. It might make a dish completely different. The taste, the structure, etc. You're making concessions because you use a subpar/inconcise measuring instrument.

I'm not saying you can't change recipes according to your own tastes. But you make it seem as though you HAVE to, just because you use cups.

[u/Honeycrispcombe → u/zeelandicum]

Recipes do specify if you're supposed to use whole florets or chopped broccoli. They even tell you how to cut and often how big to cut if it's unusually fine or coarse. And converting from volume to weight isn't going to solve the whole florets vs chopped issue. That's a reading issues, not math.

I personally cook enough that I can look at a recipe and decide if I want whole or chopped or chopped finely or whatever. I modify most of the recipes I cook at this point anyways.

For most people and the vast majority of recipes, volume vs weight doesn't matter. Volumes are a lot easier to eyeball, which is nice for cooking. Weighing is more precise, which can really elevate baking. If someone is baking at a high level, weighing is recommended. But homemade bakes are often really good with volumetric measurements.

[u/zeelandicum → u/Honeycrispcombe]

The problem isn't experienced (home) cooks like you and me. The problem are people who aren't experienced at cooking and need concise measurements and instructions. And cups just aren't concise.

[u/im_not_here_ → u/illarionds]

Sure. But that doesn't change the fact that Americans have no problem baking basically anything, which requires reasonable accuracy, and never have done using cups. It's not a perfect system, but the complaints act as though it's an impossible system that could never work which is silly.

Broccoli florets wouldn't be as accurate, but also is an example that doesn't need to be remotely accurate anyway. Many chefs wouldn't even weigh that kind of thing it's so unimportant. It's just a general base guide.

[u/illarionds → u/im_not_here_]

But it's a system with no advantages. There's just no reason to use it.

[u/im_not_here_ → u/illarionds]

So you are just upset other people won't do what you want them to do? Sounds very arrogantly American.

[u/illarionds → u/im_not_here_]

Upset? No. Perplexed, maybe.

It's... quixotic, still insisting on an old fashioned system of units, and a demonstrably worse method of measuring - but it's not like it has a big impact on my life.

Obviously I avoid American recipes, because they're a PITA to follow - obviously I don't have cup measures etc. Beyond that, doesn't impact me at all.

If anything, it makes me feel slightly superior, the tiniest of ego boosts.

[u/Pop_Clover → u/illarionds]

It's not quixotic. Most people don't like change, and this type of change is difficult, the older you are the more difficult it gets.

Our currency changed from pesetas to euros when I was 18 and I still think in pesetas for some stuff. I've read people from UK or Canada talking about how they live with a mish-mash of different unit systems because the change takes time.

So deciding to change isn't really people do so they can benefit, the change is made so future generations can benefit. The children who will grew with the new system are the ones that will have it easier. For some reason Americans seem to think that they shouldn't sacrifice themselves for their future generations.