It has become common place to measure in cups and measuring spoons (also known as the Imperial System). We have largely done away with using a scale to measure ingredients, but in recent times, I have observed more people moving back to measuring by weight (also known as the Metric System).

It has taken me YEARS to finally switch to measuring by weight, and truthfully the final nail in the proverbial coffin to measuring by weight for me was that when I measure by weight, there are less dishes! WAY. LESS. DISHES.

So, in addition to less dishes, measuring by weight adds an element of consistency to kitchen creations, particularly of the baked variety. It was really frustrating that there was so much variation in my chocolate chip cookies from batch to batch. Even though I was using the same measuring cups and spoons, the air in the ingredients was enough of a change to vary the end results.

When I was finally frustrated enough to give the metric system a try, I spent a while trying to convert a few recipes to metric. Unfortunately, my measuring cups and spoons were so different from the standard conversion, it ended with everything I had made going into the trash. I gave up, went back to my measuring cups and spoons, and didn’t attempt measuring by weight for a couple of years.

At this point, right before getting dumped into the trash, I was feeling frustrated and defeated. Failing is hard, and I’m a bit embarrassed by how long it took before I felt up to trying again.

When I was ready to tackle converting recipes again, I took a very different approach. I also feel I should disclose that my second attempt at using metric for baking was at Christmas time, so no pressure. While I was very fortunate and things worked out well, it’s not something I would recommend if I had to do it over again.

Funny enough, when I started really looking at the cookbooks I had been using for years, I realized that in addition to having all of the quantities listed in the imperial system, they also had everything listed in metric! Using recipes I was already pretty familiar with, but going by the book’s metric units made converting a lot easier.

Baking by metric is a different approach, and for me, required changing my mindset. Using my books really helped me get the hang of it. Once I had a good handle on things, I was able to start playing with recipes and branching out more. For instance, I can adjust a recipe the first time I use it, I’m able to play with recipes with much higher accuracy and I am loving the end results.

Looking back, I realize trying to do just straight conversions and starting with my own recipes that I had developed was setting myself up for failure. It’s for this reason, I created a step-by-step guide for those interested in meandering into the world of metric. You can find my guide here.

Do you have any wild stories or photos from your own unit conversion story? I would love for you to share them so we can all learn, grow, and commiserate together!