Erbsenzaehlen

1…2…3…4…….4000 steps,
Karl Baedeker would have had to climb to get the amount of peas together for a side dish.

It is recorded that 1847 Baedeker, the publisher of guide-books, was caught in the act climbing the Milan Cathedral and stopping at every twentieth step to put a dried pea from his waistcoat to his trouser pocket. Multiplied by 20, plus the remaining steps, results in „Erbsenzähler“, the German colloquial term for nitpicker refers to a  Karl Baedeker to climb to get a right amount 490 dry beans you need for a serving as a side dish…. or 50 g, and 100 g as a main dish. This also applies for peas and lentils. After cooking, they weigh more than double. For example, 100 g dry lentils weigh around 225 g when cooked. So it’s quite easy to calculate even the quantity of canned pulses per serving by dividing by two. TIP: I usually cook a big batch and store the extra-portions in small containers in the freezer. This saves time on next meals. By the way, “Erbsenzähler”, the German colloquial term for nitpicker, refers to Karl Baedeker, publisher for guide-books.