The publisher of “Hip Pressure Cooking: Fast, Fresh & Flavorful” requested that we only list US quantities of ingredients -not both as we do on every recipe on the website. Since our readers pressure cook all around the world, we’ve provided metric equivalents for the cups and ounces called from the cookbook in the document, below.
Click on the Download link, below to open and print.
Leave a comment if you find that we missed something and we’ll run into the kitchen to weigh it and update the document.
Thanks,Laura! You’re a star!
Thank you! My one frustration with the book was the lack of weight-based measurements. Please tell your publisher that with the advent of much more affordable kitchen scales, there is no reason not to specify ingredients by weight; it’s much easier and more repeatable.
Thank you! What a short-sighted publisher, though.
If it weren’t for you and this addendum, I’d most likely never buy this book.
You’re welcome, Aurora. I’m going to stand my ground with the next book and/or publisher about having metric measurements, too!
I hope you enjoy the book,
L
Adding a second set of measurements is in my view a weakness (causes confusion, measuring errors, and so on). It tries to be all things to all people, like restaurants that “specialize” in sushi and Italian.
I think your publisher was right about leaving out metric. The reason is marketing. Many bad cookbooks are churned out overseas and dumped into stores. Over time, a cookbook fan learns to avoid these books–they typically include parenthetical measurements in metric. These books were originally sold internationally, and hastily, incompletely (and with errors) converted for an American audience. The quality and accuracy of this type of cookbook is often poor. Not to mention the weird colors in the photos!
On the other hand, I agree that weight-based measurements are quite desirable. Your book is creative and solid. I gave it a great review on Amazon.
I know this is really late in terms of commenting but you are joking when you suggest that only cookbooks using antiquated measurement systems stubbornly held onto by former superpowers in decline is laughable. Maybe we should measure The Donald’s foot and make that the new standard. You sound like the old American I ran into 30 some odd years ago in Northern Ontario who suggested using the Metric system was akin to surrendering to Nazi, Germany. Great cookbook, great blog, great food. Laura, stick to your guns and get your Metric on for the next book!!!
At the risk of ‘stirring up a hornet’s nest’, I must reply to the claim of the inclusion of metric measurements being a ‘weakness’.
Does the writer realise that most of the Western world uses metric measurements ? My country (Australia) has been a ‘metric user’ since Feb.14th,1966. My adult children know nothing else. If I was to say something weighed a pound, they would have no idea what I was talking about!
Out of interest, I referred to Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_weights_and_measures
for more information, and see that the USA seems to be the only large country still using what we know of as ‘imperial’ measurements.
As the readers/buyers of cookbooks etc come from MANY countries around the world, it makes sense to have metric units included in ALL cookbooks.
I have a lot of difficulty as it is, when baking, if the measurements used are, for example, tablespoons and cups, as, for some reason unknown to me, these units differ in mls between the USA, the UK, and Australia. Is the cup mentioned from the USA, the UK, or Australia? I actually keep 2 sets of cups and 2 of spoons from the USA and Australia!! If I can be sure of the country of authorship (and that isn’t always that easy to find), I can then be fairly sure I’ll be OK with the chemistry that is cooking.
We are fortunate to get very high quality cookbooks here in Australia- considering the high price we pay for them (there used to be a high government tax on books, but that might have changed…Greg???). Our bookshops have HUGE cookery departments, as the subect is extremely popular throughout the wide community. If I did buy a poorly produced book, cheaply, I just might get ‘weird’ colours in the photos, but that hasn’t actually happened to me for a very long time.
Stand your ground,Laura,please.
Thanks for your comment, and review, earth. I think the key issue here is “poorly written books”. Aless6, in the defense of the American publisher, they were probably not aware of the International market for this book – I will have to make it clear with the next publisher.
I too, while living in the U.S. have seen cookbooks and they ask for 17.6 ounces, instead of a pound of meat. These books are “converted” in a vacuum using a unit converter by someone who not only doesn’t cook but is not aware of the common package sizes and weights in that country. Europeans, too, get frustrated when a “translated American cookbook calls for 453 grams instead of 500.
I don’t know any cookbook “translators” so I just translated the measures myself according to the basic measure of THAT country – I am fortunate enough to have lived and cooked in countries with each measuring system. So you’ll see a recipe asking for a pound of meat in the book, and this paper will ask for 500g. A cup is translated to 250ml – these non-exact “translations” work because the relative proportions remain the same.
I left in the tablespoon measurements and only specify the equivalent grams or ML in the “baking”-type recipes where the measurements need to be exact.
Until cooking unit conversions are done intuitively by cooks and publishers, we’ll just have to settle for an insert or accept a book that contains two units of measure.
BTW, whenever I go and visit a new country UK, Germany, Switzerland , Canada, Bruxelles- the first thing I do is go to their supermarket to see what foods are available and in what sizes/packages. I was really surprised last year in London, to see such a LARGE selection of “fresh prepared” foods in all of the supermarkets. It really made me wonder if the British cook, anymore!
I also have family that lives in different places in the U.S. So I checked-out the supermarkets in Seattle, Portland, Indianapolis and even Nashville – in addition to the ones in my “native” San Francisco Bay Area and, last year, New York and Brooklyn.
The reviews of this book that complain about “exotic” ingredients confound me as I have seen almost all of the ingredients I regularly use and cook with in Italy available for sale at American supermarkets and even Costco! You can be sure that I’ll never call for “Gorgonzola” in my next cookbook – but when you see “blue cheese” you’ll know what I mean!! ; )
Ciao,
L
I guess people of good will can disagree on this point about parenthetical alien measurements. But I say: if Lorna Sass and Julia C. don’t do it, well…don’t do it.
I have to confess that more than once I’ve relaxed with a cocktail or two while cooking and then messed up a recipe because I read the wrong (parenthetical) number for salt or sugar or something! You could say I was too relaxed.
So let’s be fair: Nearly all of the great cookbooks, then and now, list only the familiar American measurements, like teaspoons and cups. Maybe a good compromise would be providing your metric translation insert as an appendix or something.
As a kindness to those of us who become increasingly loosened up as the prep progresses, please no double numbers for the ingredients. This is a plea, Laura, for understanding.