Grandma just before her marriage at age 17.
From Grandma's House
Do you know how many apples are in a peck?
If you are curious about old recipes and decide to try a few, you may run into a problem trying to determine the correct measurements. Liquids were measured in ounces and gills and dry things were measured in pints, pecks and bushels.
How many apples are in a peck? Because it’s a dry measurement of volume, there is no precise weight for a peck and it varies depending on the food. Experience and some excellent resources tell us that there are about 12 pounds of apples in a peck.
Things are measured many ways. We count them by the dozen and the gross. We pour liquids into containers of various sizes. We also weigh them by the pound and by the kilogram. We stuff them into baskets and barrels and determine how much volume they take up.
 | Escali Pana V136, Volume Measuring Scale Amazon Price: Too low to display List Price: $79.95 |
When recipes were written in the old days, they often cited measures that we don't use much anymore, especially for things like pickles, relishes, canned fruits, compotes, jams and jellies. We also see recipes from Britain or other European nations that measure ingredients by weight in both imperial and metric. This makes a good kitchen scale essential.
The one I use is by Escali and it reads in grams, kilograms, ounces and pounds. It also measures in volume and I find this indispensable for European recipes. I even use it for dividing my dough into equal portions for bread and buns.
Counting in "Batches"
12 things = 1 dozen (doz.)
12 dozen = 1 gross (gr.)
12 gross = 1 great gross
20 things = 1 score
Four score and seven years... sound familiar?
Measuring Liquids
U.S. measurements:
1 gill = 4 ounces (oz.) or 1/2 cup
2 gills = 1 cup (8 oz.)
4 gills = 1 pint (pt.) or 2 cups
2 pints = 1 quart (qt.) or 32 oz.
4 quarts = 1 gallon (gal.)
1 gallon = 231 cubic inches
Measuring Dry Foods
U.S. measurements:
2 pints (pt.) = 1 quart (qt.)
4 quarts = 1 gallon (gal.)
8 quarts or 2 dry gallons = 1 peck (pk.)
4 pecks = 1 bushel (bu.)
10 pecks, 2-1/2 bushels = 1 barrel (bbl.)
1 bushel = 2105.42 cu. in.
Fruits and Vegetables: Quick Reference for Canning
Food | Weight in pounds per bushel | Processed Food | How Much Does it Make? |
|---|---|---|---|
Apples | 48 | Applesauce (unsweetened) | 12-15 quarts |
Winter Squash (acorn, butternut etc) | 40 | Canned | 16-20 quarts |
Snap Beans | 30 | Canned | 15-20 quarts |
Corn (in husk) | 70 | ||
Pears | 56 | Canned | 20-25 quarts |
Plums | 53 | Canned | 24-30 quarts |
Peaches | 50 | Canned | 18-24 quarts |
Tomatoes | 53 | Canned | 15-20 quarts (10-12 qt. juice) |
Garden Peas | 30 | Canned | 6-7 quarts |
Remember that all weights are approximate. Bushels measure in volume, not weight but this may provide a general guide if you are planning on processing some of your own harvest and "putting a few things by".
Berries don't usually come by the bushel but are purchased by the quart or pint.
Most people freeze berries but if you are trying to be independent of electricity and have something on hand that you can enjoy without the worry of power outages, then count on 1 quart of berries making about 1 pint of canned berries. This applies to blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.
In other words, you will get about half the quantity of canned as you have fresh. This is only an approximation and when you are canning you will see that it may vary depending on the size of the berries and amount of syrup added.
Jam is different. You are adding sugar and volume and this varies greatly depending on the fruit used.
Points to Remember:
Tablespoons and teaspoons were not the same as the ones we use today to carefully measure things. They used what was in the kitchen drawer and it was always slightly rounded to match the curve of the bottom of the spoon. Exception: when you read the words small or scant then make it level. The same is true of cups but it is a bit safer for cakes to use a measuring cup. In the old recipes, the same cup was used so everything was in the right ratio.
"Give and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over..." ~ Luke 6:38
More Measurement Conversions
- Vegetarian Recipes - Measurement Conversion Chart
I have noticed that many recipes have different weights and measurements. A lot of recipes are in grams and not in ounces. Here is a chart I hope will help you to convert them. 2 1/2 cups = 1 pint 1/2...
No comments:
Post a Comment