Preserving Family Recipes: How to Save and Celebrate Your Food Traditions(University of Georgia Press, 2015), by Valerie J. Frey provides useful tips for successfully gathering and preserving family recipes. The book offers advice on interviewing relatives, documenting family food traditions, and collecting oral histories to help readers savor their memories. The following excerpt is from Chapter 6, “Orphaned Recipes and Conducting Research.”
Please note that, in general, the older the recipe, the greater the likelihood that measures were “rough” or estimated. Also, I have come across contradictory sources, so the list below is not foolproof but rather a good starting place.
Blade of mace = scant 1/4 teaspoon
Bushel = 8 gallons (dry measure)
Coffee cup = scant cup
Coffee spoon = 1/2 teaspoon
Dessert spoon = 1 to 2 teaspoons
Drachm/dram = 3/4 teaspoon
Drop = about 1/60 teaspoon
Firkin = 9 to 10 gallons (liquid measure)
Fistful (usually flour or cornmeal) = 1/3 cup
Gill/Jill = 1/2 cup (liquid measure)
Glass = 1/4 cup (liquid measure)
Goblet = scant cup
Half-pinch = amount lifted between thumb and first finger
Hogshead = large barrel, usually 63 gallons
Jack = 1/4 cup (liquid measure)
Jigger = 1-1/2 fluid ounces, about 3 tablespoons
Jill, see Gill
Kenning = 4 gallons (dry measure)
Kitchen spoon = 1 teaspoon
Lump of butter = 1 rounded tablespoon
Mouthful = 1/2 ounce (liquid measure)
Noggin = 1/2 cup
Nutmeg (whole) = 2 to 3 teaspoons ground spice (stronger than bottled)
Peck = 2 gallons (dry measure)
Pinch = amount lifted between thumb and first two fingers
Pint = 2 cups
Pottle = 2 quarts
Salt spoon = 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon
Saucer = 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon
Size of an egg (chicken assumed) = 1/4 cup
Size of a goose egg = 3/4 cup
Size of a guinea egg = 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons
Size of a hazelnut = 1 teaspoon
Size of a hickory nut = 1 to 2 tablespoons
Size of a quail egg = 1-1/2 teaspoons
Size of a turkey egg = 1/3 cup
Size of a walnut = 1 to 2 tablespoons
Soup spoon = 2 to 3 teaspoons, scant tablespoon
Spoonful = 1 tablespoon
Teacup = 4 to 6 fluid ounces, usually around 2/3 cup
Thimbleful = scant teaspoon
Tumbler = 1 cup
Wine glass = around 1/4 cup (liquid measure)
Turkey, chicken, and quail eggs. Turkey eggs weigh an average of 70 grams. Chicken eggs, which vary by breed and other factors, range from 25 to 65 grams, with store-bought large eggs weighing around 60 grams. Quail eggs average 6 grams.
More from Preserving Family Recipes:
• Recipe Hide and Seek
• General Tips for Recipe Projects
• Re-creating a Remembered Dish
• Collecting Family Recipes: A Group Effort
Excerpted fromPreserving Family Recipes, by Valerie J. Frey. Used with permission from University of Georgia Press, © 2015.
