Measuring Support for Metric System

Bravo and thank you for Emily Green’s column (“Measure for Measure,” Sept. 15) about the refusal of America to adopt the metric system! As a pastry cook at Campanile restaurant, I’m sure my co-workers are tired of hearing me complain. We use many recipes that began as home recipes and have been adapted to accommodate restaurant quantities. We have some recipes that call for 11 cups of flour or 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of liquid. Depending on who’s doing the measuring, those 11 cups of flour could vary from 41 ounces (1,162 grams) to 52 ounces (1,474 grams). A recipe could call for a measurement of 1 quart, 2 pints or 4 cups--all the same measurement. I try to convert these recipes to grams because it saves me a great deal of time. I’ve never understood why America, a country which prides itself on its adaptability, should cling to this archaic system.

JOAN RUGGLES

Los Angeles

I am German and like to try American recipes--or I would like to try them if there wasn’t the chore of having to convert them first. Thanks to an engineering degree and the formulary that I keep, I am able to convert degrees Fahrenheit into degrees Celsius. All the conversions aren’t too much of a problem when you take your time. But finding out how much the American cup holds was a real problem. How am I supposed to know that it holds 250 milliliters? Same with a “stick” of butter. Here butter is sold in blocks of 250 grams--ooops I meant 7.8 ounces. And doesn’t every tablespoon on earth hold a different amount of liquid?

In Europe we have to change our habits and get used to the Euro, which in two years will be our new currency. As the exchange rate between the Euro and the U.S. dollar is minimal, you could say we are getting used to the dollar. Let’s make a deal: We are getting used to your currency, so please U.S. and other imperial measurers, get used to the metric system!

MARLENE ETSCHMANN ZEISSELSTR

Frankfurt, Germany