UK/US

[akesingland]

Hi guys

When talking gallons are we talking US (3.785L) or UK (4.546). I ask because I want to know if my biggest pan is big enough.

Cheers
Adam

[saucisson]

If you are talking about Rik's recipes I have always used 1 gallon = 8 pints = 4.55(ish) litres. Could be completely wrong though

Dave

[jenny_haddow]

I go with 8 pints to the gallon also, and I use a plastic bucket which more than accomodates the milk. Depends which recipe you are using though, I tend to go with Riks, but I have used American recipes and used UK gallons with no ill effects.

Incidentally, on the subject on cheese matting. I find the matting I get from the suppliers has a large mesh, fine for stilton and harder cheeses, but rips into camembert, brie and the more delicate types. Today I was in a hobbycraft centre looking for something for a class I teach when I saw a fine plastic mesh for doing cross stitch embroidery/tapestry. 89pence for a piece ten and a half inches by thirteen and a half. Never mind the cross stitch, it looks perfect for cheese!

Jen

[saucisson]

Oh dear, it's taking over isn't it Walking home from school with the girls this afternoon I saw a piece of stainless steel mesh that must have fallen off someones car, my first thought was: I wonder if that is food grade stainless steel...

[BlueCheese]

LOL, I know the feeling, now when I go into a store i try and spy stuff I can use in cheese making, I thingk its called obsesive.

[johnc]

If you are talking about Rik's recipes I have always used 1 gallon = 8 pints = 4.55(ish) litres. Could be completely wrong though

Dave

The US gallon also has 8 pints, just smaller pints

In general, in bars if you order draft domestic beer, they will serve in a (straight) US pint glass, but Guinness and other imports etc are usually quoted and served as a "full pint" i.e. UK size

[saucisson]

That's quite a difference per glassful

473ml versus 568ml

Dave

[johnc]

It gets very strange when you go lower

1 UK pint has 20 fluid ounces, while the US pint has 16 fluid ounces

So which measure really does weigh 1 oz dry weight?

1 ounce [US, liquid] = 29.573 529 688 milliliter
1 ounce [UK, liquid] = 28.413 062 5 milliliter

as 1000 milliliter of water weighs 1 kilo, and 1 kilo is 2.205lb

1 ounce [US, liquid] = 1.043 dry ounces
1 ounce [UK, liquid] = 1.002 dry ounces

So the UK fluid ounce is consistent with dry weight, the US one being oversized relative to dry weight.

This begged my curiosity to look up the history of these measures. It seems that up to 1824 there were in fact 3 different series of measures in use in both countries for different purposes.

The corn gallon, or �Winchester gallon�, of about 268.8 in� (4.405 L)
The wine gallon, or �Queen Anne�s gallon�, which was 231 in� (3.79 L)
The ale gallon of 282 in� (4.62 L).

Britain adopted the Imperial measures based on the gallon being the volume of 10lb of water when weighed in air, and similarly for the fluid ounce. The US continued with the (Wine Gallon) system in most common use, since known as "Customary Measure"

Well we can be thankful that another "customary" measure ...the SHOT...is 1 1/2 US fl oz which is close to 50ml and gets you more tipple than otherwise

[andrewqld]

Boy, am I glad here in Australia we use metric measurements, such a simple system .

Cheers
Andrew