Translating Vintage Measurements for Modern Cooks

Submitted by: HOST GFS Nance@aol.com
From OH-MEMORIES-L@rootsweb.com mailing list

 

Have you ever opened an old cookbook and read a recipe that goes something like this? Add a jigger of this, a salt spoon of that; mix in a penny weight and a drachma of the other thing and stick it in a hot oven.

What? How hot is hot? What the heck is a drachma and what year should the penny be?

The cooks of yesterday had very different ways of measuring ingredients than we do today. Instead of the standard measuring utensils we now have, our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used whatever they happened to have on hand, knowing that one "kitchen spoon" amount was the same the world over, more or less.

If you've discovered a vintage recipe you'd like to try, but are confused by the measurements of ingredients listed, try this handy guide to bring grandma's recipes into the 21st century.

Weights & Measurements:
1 wine glass = 1/4 cup
1 jigger = 1.5 fl. oz.
1 gill = 1/2 cup
1 teacup = a scant 3/4 cup
1 coffee cup = a scant cup
1 tumbler = 1 cup
1 peck = 2 gallons

dry ingredients:
1 pinch or dash = 1/8 tsp.
1/2 pinch = amount pinched between thumb and forefinger
1 salt spoon = 1/4 tsp.
1 kitchen spoon = 1 tsp.
1 dessert spoon = 2 tsp.
1 spoonful = 1 Tbsp.
1 saucer = 1 heaping cup
1 penny weight = 1/20 oz.
1 drachma = 1/8 oz.
60 drops thick fluid = 1 tsp.
1 oz. = 4 1/2 Tbsp. allspice, cinnamon, curry, paprika, dry mustard
or
4 Tbsp. cloves or prepared mustard
or
3 1/2 Tbsp. nutmeg, pepper
or
3 Tbsp. sage, cream of tartar, cornstarch
or
2 Tbsp. salt
or
2 Tbsp. liquid

1 lb. = 2 cups liquid
or
4 cups flour
or
8 medium size eggs with shells
or
10 eggs without shells
or
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, packed brown sugar
or
4 cups grated cabbage, cranberries, coffee, chopped celery
or
3 cups cornmeal
or
2 cups uncooked rice
or
2 3/4 cups dried fruit

Butter the size of an egg = 1/4 cup
or
2 oz.

Butter the size of a walnut = 1 Tbsp.
Butter the size of a hazelnut = 1 tsp.

Oven Temperatures:
Very slow oven = below 300ºF
Slow oven = 300ºF
Moderately slow oven = 325ºF
Moderate oven = 350ºF
Moderately hot oven = 375ºF
Quick oven = 375 - 400ºF
Hot oven = 400-425ºF
Very hot oven = 450-475ºF
Extremely hot oven = 500ºF or higher

 

 

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