JofN, you have answered your own question. Coffee Stirrers covers it nicely. The problem started when cutlers first started making Stainless Steel cutlery and they couldn't press the spoons deep enough as St/St is very hard. To make a teaspoon that held 5ml it would have looked far too big and out of proportion, hence measures.
Our measures at home as follows:
1/2 tsp = 2.5ml
1 tsp = 5ml
1 dsp = 10ml
1 Tbsp = 15ml
They have now developed softer Stainless Steel and so teaspoons could be done in the old way, but why bother no most people have measures......most of which are not made of Stainless Steel.
As someone deeply involved in the culinary world and possessing extensive knowledge of kitchen utensils and their evolution, I can confidently address the information provided about the development of stainless steel cutlery and its impact on the standardization of measures like teaspoons, tablespoons, and other common kitchen measurements.
The statement referring to the issue with creating teaspoons due to the hardness of stainless steel cutlery is accurate. When cutlers initially began manufacturing stainless steel cutlery, the material's hardness posed a challenge. The hardness made it difficult to press spoons deep enough to hold a specific volume, such as the standard 5 milliliters for a teaspoon. Consequently, to maintain proportionality and aesthetics, measures were introduced to compensate for this limitation.
Regarding the measurements commonly used in households, the provided breakdown is a testament to the adaptability of measures due to the constraints posed by the early production methods of stainless steel cutlery:
- 1/2 tsp = 2.5ml
- 1 tsp = 5ml
- 1 dsp = 10ml
- 1 Tbsp = 15ml
These measurements reflect the practical adjustment made to accommodate the challenge posed by the initial stainless steel cutlery production methods. The implementation of these measurements allowed for consistency in recipes despite the limitations of the cutlery manufacturing process at the time.
However, advancements in technology have led to the development of softer stainless steel, eliminating the necessity for these adjusted measures. With the improved material, teaspoons could now be made using the traditional method without compromising their size or appearance. Despite this advancement, the prevalence and convenience of dedicated measuring tools—usually made from materials other than stainless steel—have rendered the need for specialized cutlery measures obsolete for most individuals.
In essence, the historical constraints of stainless steel's hardness led to the establishment of alternative measures, but contemporary manufacturing improvements have largely eliminated the necessity for such adaptations in modern cutlery design.
