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Measure And Cooking Weights

Handy Table Of Old-fashioned Measure And Cooking Weights


Measure and cooking weights were important to nineteenth-century cooks. Many homes did not have the luxury of weigh scales and some didn't have measuring containers. Thus, ingredient quantities were often estimated.

And if the weight of one ingredient were known, the weight of another could sometimes be guessed.

For instance, if 1 cup of butter, pressed down, equals one-half pound, you could estimate that 1 cup of lard would also equal about one-half pound. The quantity will be close enough.

If some of the quantities called for in the old-fashioned dessert recipes seem unclear, simply refer to these historical measure and cooking weights. And if you're still unsure, you can always do what Grandma did, she took an "educated guess."





Table Of Measure And Cooking Weights

Measures Are Level Unless Otherwise Indicated


25 drops of any thin liquid = 1 teaspoonful

1 pinch of salt or sugar = 4-1/2 grains or less than 1/8 teaspoonful
1 tablespoonful of salt = 1 ounce

8 rounded tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar = 1 cupful
2 cupfuls of granulated sugar = 1 pound
1-1/2 coffee-cupfuls of granulated sugar = 1 pound
1 pint of granulated sugar = 1 pound

2-2/4 cupfuls of powdered sugar = 1 pound
2 coffee-cupfuls of powdered sugar = 1 pound
1-1/3 pints of powdered sugar = 1 pound

3-1/2 cupfuls of confectioner's sugar = 1 pound

2-1/2 cupfuls of best brown sugar = 1 pound
1-3/4 coffee-cupfuls of best brown sugar = 1 pound
1 pint of best brown sugar = 13 ounces

3 tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate = 1 ounce

4-1/3 cupfuls of coffee = 1 pound

2 teaspoonfuls of flour, heaped = 1 tablespoonful
4 tablespoonfuls of flour = 1 ounce
7 to 8 rounded tablespoonfuls of flour = 1 cupful
4 cupfuls of pastry or bread flour = 1 pound
3 coffee-cupfuls of sifted flour = 1 pound
1 quart of sifted flour, heaped = 1 pound
1 quart of unsifted flour = 1 pound 1 ounce

3-7/8 cupfuls of whole wheat flour = 1 pound
2-2/3 cupfuls of corn meal = 1 pound
4-1/2 cupfuls of graham flour = 1 pound
4-1/8 cupfuls of rye flour = 1 pound
4-3/4 cupfuls of rolled oats = 1 pound
2-2/3 cupfuls of oat meal = 1 pound
3-1/2 cupfuls of Indian meal = 1 quart
2-3/4 coffee-cupfuls of Indian meal = 1 quart
1 quart of sifted Indian meal = 1 pound 4 ounces

6 tablespoonfuls of baking powder = 1/2 ounce

16 tablespoonfuls of any dry ingredient = 1 cup

Butter the size of a walnut = 1 ounce
Butter the size of an egg = 2 ounces
1 tablespoonful of soft butter, well rounded = 1 ounce
4 tablespoonfuls of soft butter, heaped = 1 cupful
1 cupful of butter, pressed down = 1/2 pound
2 cupfuls of butter, pressed down = 1 pound
1 pint of soft butter = 1 pound

2 cupfuls of lard = 1 pound

2 cupfuls of finely chopped meat = 1 pound
1 pint of finely chopped meat = 1 pound

10 ordinary-sized eggs = 1 pound
9 large-sized eggs = 1 pound

2 cupfuls of milk = 1 pound

1-7/8 cupfuls of rice = 1 pound

3 cupfuls of raisins = 1 pound
2 cupfuls of raisins, packed = 1 pound

2-1/4 cupfuls of currents = 1 pound

2 cupfuls of stale bread crumbs = 1 pound

40 small prunes = 1 pound
28 large prunes = 1 pound

75 apricot pieces = 1 pound

3 large bananas = one pound

Metric Equivalents

1 ounce = 28.4 grams
1 pound = 0.5 kilograms
1 pint = 0.568 liters
1 quart = 1.136 liters





old fashioned cookbook Historical weights and measures often prove helpful in modern kitchens. These measure and cooking weights should prove useful when trying Grandma's old-time, easy dessert recipes.

If you are wondering about the size of a saltspoon, or how many gills it takes to make a cupful, then...

See The Table Of Old-Fashioned Cooking Measures




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