In for a Penny, in for Half a Kilogram

I have been reading the Jan. 9 Food section with amazement. It appears that an editor went through already written stories on truffles and replaced every appearance of “one kilogram” with “about two pounds” to make it sound palatable for the average village idiot. The result is a collection of apparently nonsense phrases like “the price is $360 for about two pounds” to which the village idiot would rightfully respond, “Why couldn’t they just give the price per pound?” An editor myself, I find this practice unacceptable. If you are going to convert the material to a provincial form, at least go one step further and convert all the units.

VICTOR STEINBOK

Needham, MA