andere länder, andere sitten

... that would be the german equivalent of "when in rome, do as the romans do!".

i was always really bad in converting the values and measures from american or british recipes. i usually cook very intuitivly and when i must follow a recipe i tend to make mistakes. in my world it does not make any difference if i use a level spoonfull or a heaped spoonfull. when it comes to foreign recipes these inaccuracies usually turn into a mini-disaster. as i really want my food to actually look as delicious as it tastes, my americanstyle cakes tend to be a mashed up something (still good to eat though!) and my americanstyle muffins don't rise or melt away.

for future reference i want to point out a webpage i have known for years and might be usefull for all the (german speaking) europeans out there: usa kulinarisch. the site is devoted to american cooking and gives an insights in american traditions, regional dishes, holidays and saisonal recipes ... and they have a great section for all those troubles an european girl has with the "cup", the "ounce", the "fluid ounce" and the "pound" ... don't even get me started on fahrenheit! another great section is the part dealing with replacement of american ingredients that are either hard to get or very expensive import articles here in europe.

convert measures, temperatures / replace traditional american ingredients

and now i will roll up my sleeves and dig into your archives for a nice (and healthy) american recipe for a desert ...