Why is the default tsp and tbsp in metric units?

[denehoffman]

I get that this project defaults to metric for the standard units, but I don't know a single instance when I would use metric tsp instead of an exact measurement in mL. It also makes some common cooking conversions confusing, like the fact that the conversion

>>> 1 cup -> tsp

yields 47.3176 tsp rather than the 48 tsp that most bakers might expect. I understand the urge to default to metric, but this seems like the one case where it would make more sense to use the US unit to be consistent with the cup.

[Goju-Ryu]

See issue #383 for the discussion leading to the current behavior.

I don't mean to argue against going back to us tsp and tbs defaults, but I just want to add some context to what you said here:

I don't know a single instance when I would use metric tsp instead of an exact measurement in mL

As a european I use the metric teaspoon and tablespoon almost any time I follow a recipe. Most recipes in my language uses the spoon measurement, not the ml one in a lot of cases.

I do agree that your conversion example is a confusing one and that should probably be addressed.

[denehoffman]

Thanks for finding that issue discussion. I think I understand why the choice for metric was made, but I don't think its crazy to assume that most recipes are not intending the use of metric tea/tablespoons (unless indicated), especially those that also use cups as a measurement for other ingredients, since there's no metric equivalent to a cup. However, issue #383 seems to cover my question, so I'll mark this as answered.

[sharkdp]

I think I'm fine changing that behavior again. I agree that metric tablespoons/teaspoons are not very common.

[denehoffman]

I'll leave that to your discretion! Alternatively, you could provide a short documentation for how to set aliases for it with an init.nbt file, or possibly have a config file opt-in/out.