To think it odd that so many British still use Imperial measurements?

[Elouera]

Britain started using metric measurements in 1965, so I can only assume that majority of people under about age 50 learnt metric in school? I spend part of my schooling under a British system, but it was all metric. I'm just intrigued as to why, 50yrs later, some younger people are still referring to pounds and lbs???

And quite often, Imperial measurements are easier in practical applications; 4 flour, 4 sugar, 4 milk, 2 eggs, instead of 113.4g, for example, 6 inches rather than 152.4mm - using a 3,4,5 to ensure a corner is 90 degrees, rather than 914.4mm/1219.2mm/1524mm.
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That's only because you've converted from imperial to metric to get those fractions. If you start from a metric recipe and converted to imperial you'd get fractions too.

Anyway - having said that I'm 59, and having lived in the US I happily mix imperial, US pints, cups and metric when cooking. Work however, as a scientist is entirely metric - thank goodness, I just missed having to do applied maths and physics in whatever the old British units were. Temperatures in C - or Kelvin so that graphs go through the origin. The unit I use most often is the ängstrom.

The only thing that should certainly be measured in metric is temperature. 0 deg C for freezing and 100 deg C for boiling makes perfect sense. 32 deg F and 212 deg F are not user friendly.

For everything else imperial is fine for me.

I was taught metric (over 50), but the only metric I think in is temperature. I think this is because the weather forecast is always in degrees C.

I can not get my head around degrees F.
I like how the press uses C to emphasise very cold weather and F to make it seem like the UK is melting though!

You can still buy 1 pint of milk with it listed on the side, alongside the metric.

I love how the Daily Mail and the Daily Express make the most of Farenheit in their weather reports.

What do they do when it's cold though? I bet they sometimes refer to 'subzero temperatures' to mean freezing. I did get a bit caught out by that in the US, misunderstanding what 'it only gets below zero a couple of times a year' meant there.

A French cake recipe

1 génoise
1/2 l de crème pâtissière
1 kg de framboises
1/4 l d'eau
100 g de sucre
Pour le nappage:
100 g de chocolat
2 à 3 c. à soupe de fromage blanc
1 oeuf

They just use 1 egg and 100g of butter,chocolate etc

Works for them - it's just a different way of thinking

It isn't just the UK. I've noticed it in Australia as well, which is supposedly all metric. I've just been reading a current issue Australian caravan magazine and the dimensions given are all feet and inches.

I'm 32 I've always used stones, pounds, feet & inches.
I really don't know why.

I like and use both. Surprise to hear that younger people still use metric, but nothing wrong with that.

It's 300 yards to go.

Is that more or less than a 1/4 of a mile?

That's not a cake recipe, it's the ingredients to fill and cover it. It starts with 1 genoise which is the actual cake.

That's not a cake recipe, it's the ingredients to fill and cover it. It starts with 1 genoise which is the actual cake

The point still stands - it's what you get used to when you learn something.

I am sure many European cooks can easily make a cake using the numbers that they learnt when learning to cook.

I was taught only metric in school but use both systems. I think its quite good for us to use both systems, we might be useless at languages as a nation but at least we can think in two measuring systems :)

I'm glad we decimalised before I was born though, I wouldn't have wanted to get my head around pounds shillings and pence!

Anyone know what length rulers are used in European schools? Ours are obviously 30cm because of being equal to the old foot and three of them making a yard. I wondered if they were 25 or 50cm because 30cm would be pointless

I have a German one which is 20cm. However, it is also in the shape of a (very long and thin) cat, so I am not sure if it is particularly representative.

I wouldn't have wanted to get my head around pounds shillings and pence

£2 4 shillings 8 pence plus £4 8 shillings 6 pence

Then muiltplying that by 8

Fun and games

I was taught metric at school and use it for all measurements apart from height and weight. Just because people tend to to talk about weight and height in imperial measurements.

Pints
Stones and pounds
Yards and inches

LOVE me the American cup system though.. So easy

I'm 43 and check weight in st and lbs get very confused by kilos,cook in grand and ounces,height in feet and inches,opulent have a clue what I am in cms

I wouldn't have wanted to get my head around pounds shillings and pence

£2 4 shillings 8 pence plus £4 8 shillings 6 pence

Then muiltplying that by 8

Fun and games

^

Let's face it though, this increased mathematical literacy!

I was 9 in 1965. We were never taught metric and I mostly use imperial. I would have no idea what my weight in kilos was and no need to.

Pounds and ounces makes far more sense when you're baking, especially if you're halving a recipe and it's small amounts. Couple of ounces and you can judge it by sight/tablespoonfuls. But 62.5g ... what the hell is that?

Pounds and ounces makes far more sense when you're baking, especially if you're halving a recipe and it's small amount

Yet somehow people in Europe can bake and can half recipes using metric...

I guess they would say they can judge 100gm and have no idea what an ounce is!

I'm early 40s and anytime someone talks in metric I have to convert to imperial in my head

I weigh people in stone and pounds and will use either metric or imperial for weighing ingredients when cooking (although also use cups as it is easier than getting out scales). height I usually do in feet and inches, measuring with a ruler generally I would do in metric generally but sometimes inches works better, room sizes I might use either depending on what I am thinking of and as we have a very old house imperial tends to work better.
I am 40.