A Bushel and a Peck: How to translate old recipe measures

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...

How to Bake Devil's Food Cake with Fluffy Icing

Source: Petrilli

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The Basics: How to mix a cake

You can bake this tender and delicious cake with icing as soft as a cloud! There are a few basic rules to follow when you bake cakes and they are very important if you want good results.

1. Have all your ingredients at room temperature. Sometimes when I forget to take eggs out ahead of time, I just drop them into a glass of warm water until they reach the right temperature. Don't make the water too hot or you'll end up with cooked eggs!
2. Sift your dry ingredients like flour, baking soda, salt and spices together in a bowl and set aside. All purpose flour is just fine.
3. Cream the soft butter until very light.
4. Add sugar a little at a time and beat until the mixture is very light and fluffy. Baking is a science and you are about to make an emulsion.
5. Lightly beat the eggs and add them one at a time to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. I also toss in a splash of vanilla but it is not in the original recipe. Mixture should be like whipped cream.
6. Combine wet ingredients like milk, buttermilk, melted chocolate or any other liquid your recipe calls for and mix together well.
7. Add dry ingredients, a third at a time, and wet ingredients, half at a time, alternately to the creamed mixture and beating about 2 minutes at medium speed. You do not want the gluten to form so don't overbeat. Start and end with dry ingredients.

Note: To make a cup of sour milk, put a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup, fill with milk to the 1 cup mark and let it stand about 15 minutes until it thickens. Stir and use. This can be used in place of buttermilk, too.

Grandma's Original Recipe

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs (beaten separately)
• 1/2 cup butter & lard mixed
• 1/2 cup sour milk
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or enough to flavour
• 1/4 cup cocoa dissolved in boiling water
• 2 cups sifted flour

(Flour, soda & spices sifted together)

Cream butter and sugar.

Source: Food Clipart

Explanation and Method

The old recipes gave few instructions but once you know how to combine ingredients, the rest is a piece of cake. This recipe calls for half butter and half lard. Feel free to use all butter if you like or you can use Crisco instead of lard.

You can also substitute puréed prunes for the lard. This works very well when combined with chocolate. Use 1/3 cup of purée to replace 1/2 cup fat. In this recipe, I'd just take a 1/3 cup measure and fill it generously halfway and ignore trying to convert it to tablespoons.

To Purée Prunes: Take 1/2 cup of prunes, 1/4 cup water and purée in a blender or food processor.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round pans. Hint: Use 1 part flour to 2 parts cocoa powder for chocolate or devil's food cakes.

Cream the butter and add the sugar a little at a time, beating until very light. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until well incorporated and mixture is like whipped cream.

Dissolve cocoa in hot water and let cool. I use 1/4 cup boiling water and stir to a smooth paste and then add another 1/4 cup and stir again. It will have the consistency of melted chocolate.

Sift dry ingredients together and set aside in a bowl. If you don't like nutmeg, leave it out because you will definitely taste it in this cake.

Mix sour milk and cocoa water when cocoa has cooled enough.

Add one third of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat. Add half the wet ingredients and beat. Add another third of dry ingredients and beat. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and beat. Add the last of the dry ingredients and beat at medium speed about 2 minutes.

Pour immediately (this is important!) into pans and bake 35 to 45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed or a wooden toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Cool a few minutes in the pan. Turn out onto rack to cool.

Fluffy Vanilla Icing

I remember having this icing on childhood birthday cakes and it's still one I crave. It is not too sweet and is light as a cloud. The best part is how easy it is to make.

• whites of 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• pinch of cream of tartar (1/4 teaspoon or so)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Eggs separate better when they are cold so do that in advance and let the egg whites warm to room temperature. They whip better at that point.

Stir water, sugar, and cream of tartar over medium high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is bubbling nicely.

Whip the egg whites in a mixing bowl with the vanilla until soft peaks form. Add the hot sugar mixture in a thin stream while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Slather all over your cooled cake and enjoy!