Post by Glen Carman aka Delmonico on Apr 6, 2019 18:21:27 GMT -6
Reference on Measurements
Since I work with historical American cooking I prefer to stick with the standard “American” measurements, despite the metric system slowly taking over.
Most of us still use those measurements and most likely will keep using them for the foreseeable future, this is the system most of the old one cook books we get our recipes use and I see no reason to change it. Our system can be confusing but it doesn’t have to be, one of the most confusing parts of our system is that the term ounce is used in what seems different contexts, as a weight measure, it is 1/16th of a pound and a volume measure it is 1/128th of a gallon. It is based on 1 fluid oz of water weighing one ounce, (The metric system is based on one cubic centimeter weighing a gram.) The exact standards of both are slightly different, because of density of water at varying temperatures and degree of purity, but this is close enough for our uses) a standard US gallon is 231 cubic inches.
To add to confusion there is another system that uses gallons in the United States; it is what is called dry gallons, there are 269 cubic inches in a dry gallon. This system was used in the past for grain and other similar commodities and dates from the 15th Century, it is not used in commerce today except the bushel, but was to some extent in the 19th Century. This system is sometimes called the Winchester System because it had it’s origins in southern England around the town of Winchester. The measurements peck and bushel are part of the Winchester system, and not the American system, although most don't realize it.
1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints
1 peck =2 gallons
1 bushel= 4 pecks= 8 gallons
This is not the same as the Imperial System, formally used in Great Britain; this system uses a gallon of 277 cubic inches. There were other systems that used gallons of slightly different sizes, but we need not worry out them because none of the others are used to any extent today.
Despite it being considered a system for liquids, we also use it for dry items like sugar, salt and flour in cooking although today the smaller teaspoon, tablesoon and cup are the ones most seen for dry items, recipes will call for 2 cups of flour, not a pint although historical cook books did.
1 fluid ounce = 2 tablespoons = 6 teaspoons
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons= 8 fluid ounces
1 pint = 2 cups = 32 tablespoons= 16 fluid ounces
1 quart = 2 pints = 4 cups = 64 tablespoons= 32 fluid ounces
1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces
Old recipes often use volume measuring terms many of us are not familiar with today, these can vary a bit in interpretation, but the following figures will be close and as I have pointed out before, most recipes only have to be close, the pinch and the handful will vary the most based on the size of the hands and fingers, of the person doing the measurements. One must remember a lot of us are much larger than the people of the 19th century and before one uses the pinch and the handful in camp you need to see where you stand. I have a size 11 hand which is very large and my pinch and handful are about 50% larger that what has been accepted as to what they meant in old recipes, I just keep that in mind and if anyone is watching and writing down a recipe I tell them to take that into account.
Pinch = 1/8th teaspoonful
Double pinch = 1/4th teaspoon
Dash = slightly less than 1/8th teaspoon
Speck = 1/16th teaspoon
Drop = 1/60th of a teaspoon or sometimes said to be what will fit on a ¼ inch square
To be truthful these and other like a hint or a smidgeon really mean that such a small amount is needed that exact measurement is not critical, for these it is best for the cook to add small amounts and taste, adding more as needed.
Others seen are:
Handful = 1 cup
Teacup- 6 oz
Coffee Cup = 8 oz
Tumbler = 6-8 oz
Gill = 4 oz
Wineglass = 2 oz
Salt Spoon = 1/4th teaspoon
Dessertspoon =2 teaspoons
Sometimes in recipes you will see semi-solids like butter or lard call for “a lump of butter the size of a walnut, or the size of an egg.” Well again, this is often not critical (if it was critical it would have said a weight and you would be expected to weigh the product). Simply do what it says get a lump of butter or lard as close as you can eye ball it to the size called for, it will be just fine.
There are some that are large enough you won’t see them in most cook books, but it’s good to mention them because they can come up often doing research.
Buckets and Barrels
The wooden buckets and barrels s of the time came in many sizes but there were some standard sizes more or less, these are as follow but one must remember the hand made barrels of the time could vary some between coopers. Also there are two types of barrels, one for dry products and one for wet or liquid products. The ones for liquid were made of several species of oak known as white oaks, these species have a tighter grain with smaller pores than the so called red oaks, generally the wood of the red oaks tend to have a more reddish grain but examination of the pores on the end grain is how they are distinguished. The smaller pores of the white oak barrels swell and seal the barrel better than the red oak barrels.
Dry barrels can be made of a variety of wood and cost less because of the cheaper woods and the skill level to make a barrel to hold liquid is greater.
The more or less standards for wooden buckets and barrels are as follows:
Bucket = 2 gallons
Firkin, sometimes called a quarter-barrel = 8 gallons
Kilderkin, sometimes called a half-barrel = 16 gallons
Barrel = 32 gallons
Hogshead = 64 gallons
Pipe/Butt = 128 gallons
Tun = 252 gallons
The standard 32 gallon barrel will hold about 265 pounds of water when full, the weight of the barrel will be 50-60 pounds empty and this was about the most practical size for connivance and still being movable, a barrel will hold about 130-140 pounds of flour or meal, depending on the type or around 250 pounds of sugar or salt.
The Tun holds around 2104 pound of water give or take for manufacturing differences, rounded off to 2000 pounds it gives us the present US Ton and the similar Imperial ton of 2240.
Other standard barrels:
The whiskey barrel that was used to age and ship whiskey in was set at 40 gallons to allow for evaporation during the aging process (called The Angels Share) this meant a barrel of aged whiskey would have around 32 gallons in it after aging. Today most whiskey barrels are 53 gallons, this is considered the largest practical size, and this came about during WWII due to material and labor shortages.
Petroleum barrel = 42 gallons
Mostly used for shipping crude oil and kerosene aka coal oil; this product was often sold out of one of these barrels at the General Sore or Hardware Store.
Since I work with historical American cooking I prefer to stick with the standard “American” measurements, despite the metric system slowly taking over.
Most of us still use those measurements and most likely will keep using them for the foreseeable future, this is the system most of the old one cook books we get our recipes use and I see no reason to change it. Our system can be confusing but it doesn’t have to be, one of the most confusing parts of our system is that the term ounce is used in what seems different contexts, as a weight measure, it is 1/16th of a pound and a volume measure it is 1/128th of a gallon. It is based on 1 fluid oz of water weighing one ounce, (The metric system is based on one cubic centimeter weighing a gram.) The exact standards of both are slightly different, because of density of water at varying temperatures and degree of purity, but this is close enough for our uses) a standard US gallon is 231 cubic inches.
To add to confusion there is another system that uses gallons in the United States; it is what is called dry gallons, there are 269 cubic inches in a dry gallon. This system was used in the past for grain and other similar commodities and dates from the 15th Century, it is not used in commerce today except the bushel, but was to some extent in the 19th Century. This system is sometimes called the Winchester System because it had it’s origins in southern England around the town of Winchester. The measurements peck and bushel are part of the Winchester system, and not the American system, although most don't realize it.
1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints
1 peck =2 gallons
1 bushel= 4 pecks= 8 gallons
This is not the same as the Imperial System, formally used in Great Britain; this system uses a gallon of 277 cubic inches. There were other systems that used gallons of slightly different sizes, but we need not worry out them because none of the others are used to any extent today.
Despite it being considered a system for liquids, we also use it for dry items like sugar, salt and flour in cooking although today the smaller teaspoon, tablesoon and cup are the ones most seen for dry items, recipes will call for 2 cups of flour, not a pint although historical cook books did.
1 fluid ounce = 2 tablespoons = 6 teaspoons
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
1 cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons= 8 fluid ounces
1 pint = 2 cups = 32 tablespoons= 16 fluid ounces
1 quart = 2 pints = 4 cups = 64 tablespoons= 32 fluid ounces
1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces
Old recipes often use volume measuring terms many of us are not familiar with today, these can vary a bit in interpretation, but the following figures will be close and as I have pointed out before, most recipes only have to be close, the pinch and the handful will vary the most based on the size of the hands and fingers, of the person doing the measurements. One must remember a lot of us are much larger than the people of the 19th century and before one uses the pinch and the handful in camp you need to see where you stand. I have a size 11 hand which is very large and my pinch and handful are about 50% larger that what has been accepted as to what they meant in old recipes, I just keep that in mind and if anyone is watching and writing down a recipe I tell them to take that into account.
Pinch = 1/8th teaspoonful
Double pinch = 1/4th teaspoon
Dash = slightly less than 1/8th teaspoon
Speck = 1/16th teaspoon
Drop = 1/60th of a teaspoon or sometimes said to be what will fit on a ¼ inch square
To be truthful these and other like a hint or a smidgeon really mean that such a small amount is needed that exact measurement is not critical, for these it is best for the cook to add small amounts and taste, adding more as needed.
Others seen are:
Handful = 1 cup
Teacup- 6 oz
Coffee Cup = 8 oz
Tumbler = 6-8 oz
Gill = 4 oz
Wineglass = 2 oz
Salt Spoon = 1/4th teaspoon
Dessertspoon =2 teaspoons
Sometimes in recipes you will see semi-solids like butter or lard call for “a lump of butter the size of a walnut, or the size of an egg.” Well again, this is often not critical (if it was critical it would have said a weight and you would be expected to weigh the product). Simply do what it says get a lump of butter or lard as close as you can eye ball it to the size called for, it will be just fine.
There are some that are large enough you won’t see them in most cook books, but it’s good to mention them because they can come up often doing research.
Buckets and Barrels
The wooden buckets and barrels s of the time came in many sizes but there were some standard sizes more or less, these are as follow but one must remember the hand made barrels of the time could vary some between coopers. Also there are two types of barrels, one for dry products and one for wet or liquid products. The ones for liquid were made of several species of oak known as white oaks, these species have a tighter grain with smaller pores than the so called red oaks, generally the wood of the red oaks tend to have a more reddish grain but examination of the pores on the end grain is how they are distinguished. The smaller pores of the white oak barrels swell and seal the barrel better than the red oak barrels.
Dry barrels can be made of a variety of wood and cost less because of the cheaper woods and the skill level to make a barrel to hold liquid is greater.
The more or less standards for wooden buckets and barrels are as follows:
Bucket = 2 gallons
Firkin, sometimes called a quarter-barrel = 8 gallons
Kilderkin, sometimes called a half-barrel = 16 gallons
Barrel = 32 gallons
Hogshead = 64 gallons
Pipe/Butt = 128 gallons
Tun = 252 gallons
The standard 32 gallon barrel will hold about 265 pounds of water when full, the weight of the barrel will be 50-60 pounds empty and this was about the most practical size for connivance and still being movable, a barrel will hold about 130-140 pounds of flour or meal, depending on the type or around 250 pounds of sugar or salt.
The Tun holds around 2104 pound of water give or take for manufacturing differences, rounded off to 2000 pounds it gives us the present US Ton and the similar Imperial ton of 2240.
Other standard barrels:
The whiskey barrel that was used to age and ship whiskey in was set at 40 gallons to allow for evaporation during the aging process (called The Angels Share) this meant a barrel of aged whiskey would have around 32 gallons in it after aging. Today most whiskey barrels are 53 gallons, this is considered the largest practical size, and this came about during WWII due to material and labor shortages.
Petroleum barrel = 42 gallons
Mostly used for shipping crude oil and kerosene aka coal oil; this product was often sold out of one of these barrels at the General Sore or Hardware Store.