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by Symbiote 1624 days ago
Assuming we're talking about measuring spoons (since table cutlery can be any volume, according to the design), I first wrote "a metric tablespoon measure is 15mL exactly, by definition." The US one is almost the same, and Australia is weird with 20mL.

But now I see Germany changed the definition at some point, and a 15mL spoon is an Alter Esslöffel, with a Moderner Esslöffel being 7.5mL. Can a German confirm this, or clarify which is used in practise?

The other European countries I've checked use 15mL (if they use the measure at all).

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essbesteck#Verwendung_als_Ma.C...

1 comments

We don't care for how much volume fits onto a spoon, we use it because it's normal cutlery. We have bigger spoons for eating soup (Esslöffel) and tea spoons (for desert or something like that). It's not really for measurement but it's used because everyone has it. I think a tea spoon would most probably have something around 2-3ml and not 7.5. Don't trust everything that's on wikipedia. Here they have different measurements for example: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCchenma%C3%9Fe

So basically TL and EL are not for measurement but used anyway. Things get funny with a "gestrichener" (flat filled spoon) and "gehäufter" (as much as you can fit onto a spoon imho) Löffel.