Aleks question and introdution

[rebel100]

It's the paramedic in me
We don't typically use Tablespoons or teaspoons.......gotta go with what you know !

Do kitchens use ml's ? ml = cc

And really my cc answere is less than exact as t=4.93ml, T=14.79ml............so technically I was wrong anyway !

1T = 1/2 fluid ounce ("Cooking" by James Peterson)
1/2T = 1/4oz ????

[cookderosa]

It's the paramedic in me
We don't typically use Tablespoons or teaspoons.......gotta go with what you know !

Do kitchens use ml's ? ml = cc

And really my cc answere is less than exact as t=4.93ml, T=14.79ml............so technically I was wrong anyway !

1T = 1/2 fluid ounce ("Cooking" by James Peterson)
1/2T = 1/4oz ????

Nice effort.
*no disrespect to my students, but understanding the difference between 1 fluid ounce and 1 ounce by weight is too hard. Conversion from volume to weight requires a multiplier- which since none of us have memorized the weights of 1 million foods, must be done at the time you write the recipe...not gunna happen. It can be done, we do it, but it involves weighing out a unit and then converting. (1 c honey= x oz, 1 c flour = x oz.....)

The real answer is very simple:
Since Tablespoons are measured in whole units, whenever you break down to less than 1, you have to convert into ~3 teaspoons. So, a half of a Tablespoon must be written as (rounded) 2 teaspoons. (technically, you'd round up or down depending on the ingredient, if it serves a chemical or flavor function...not all do...round chili powder down but round parsley up)
Kitchen math must be rounded into units that are available to the staff. For instance, if you reduce a recipe and end up with something like 15/16 of a cup, you must write that as 1 cup even if it isn't mathematically accurate.
*I'll stay off my soap box against volume as a measure, as I measure everything in pounds/ounces- but many (MANY) kitchens do use volume, and so my students must know how to handle volume measure.

(so a student who used an answer calculator like mathway might then think that they must simply convert all T to t. When the next question asks to double 1 T and they write 6t, they unfortunately miss that question because the answer wasn't in its simplest form and measuring 6 of anything without distraction isn't happening in any kitchen I can imagine)


So, if you missed this question on my quiz (what is 1/2 of 1 Tbsp?) I'd need to know why you missed it. That's what I meant by having the answer isn't necessarily helpful unless you know why-and how- to arrive at answers in the future.

*****blah blah blah, I get it, it's used to pass an assessment.