24. Uniform results in cookery depend on accurate measurement. Of
course, there are some cooks--and good ones, too--who claim that they do
not measure, but as a matter of fact they have, through long experience,
developed a judgment, or "sense," of measurement, which amounts to the
same thing as if they actually did measure. Still, even these cooks
cannot be absolutely sure of securing as satisfactory results time after
time as are likely to follow the employment of a more accurate method.
Therefore, to secure the best results, every kitchen should be supplied
with the proper measuring utensils, which are scales, a measuring cup,
and a set of measuring spoons, or a standard tablespoon and a
standard teaspoon.
[Illustration: Fig. 7]
25. SCALES.--In Fig. 7 is shown the type of scales generally included in
the kitchen equipment. The material to be weighed is placed on the
platform at the top, and the weight of it is indicated on the dial by a
pointer, or hand. Sometimes these scales are provided with a scoop in
which loose materials may be placed in weighing. Such scales furnish a
correct means not only of measuring materials, but of verifying the
weights of foods from the market, the butcher shop, or the grocery. To
use them properly, the housewife should learn to balance them exactly,
and when she is weighing articles she should always allow for the weight
of the container or receptacle, even if it is only the paper that
holds the food.
[Illustration: Fig. 8]
26. MEASURING CUPS.--Weighing the articles called for in a recipe is
often a less convenient method than measuring; therefore, in the
preparation of foods, measuring is more often resorted to than weighing.
As accuracy in measurement is productive of the best results, it is
necessary that all measures be as accurate and definite as possible. For
measuring the ingredients called for in recipes, use is generally made
of a measuring cup like that shown in Fig. 8. Such a cup is designed to
hold 2 gills, or 1/2 pint, and it is marked to indicate thirds and
quarters, so that it may be used for recipes of all kinds. If a liquid
is to be measured with such a cup, it should be filled to the brim, but
if dry material is to be measured with it, the material should be heaped
up in the cup with a spoon and then scraped level with a knife, in the
manner shown in Fig. 9. In case fractions or parts of a cup are to be
measured, the cup should be placed level and stationary and then filled
evenly to the mark indicated on the cup itself.
27. Many times it will be found more convenient to measure dry materials
with a spoon. This can be done with accuracy if it is remembered that 16
tablespoonfuls make 1 cup, or 1/2 pint; 12 tablespoonfuls, 3/4 cup; 8
tablespoonfuls, 1/2 cup; and 4 tablespoonfuls, 1/4 cup. If no measuring
cup like the one just described is at hand, one that will hold 16 level
tablespoonfuls of dry material may be selected from the kitchen supply
of dishes. Such a cup, however, cannot be used successfully in measuring
a half, thirds, or fourths; for such measurements it will be better to
use a spoon.
[Illustration: Fig. 9]
As a rule, it will be found very convenient to have two measuring cups
of standard size, one for measuring dry ingredients and the other for
measuring moist or wet ones. If it is impossible to have more than one,
the dry materials should be measured first in working out a recipe, and
the fats and liquids afterwards. Whatever plan of measuring is followed,
however, it should always be remembered that recipes are written for the
definite quantities indicated and mean _standard_, not approximate,
cupfuls, tablespoonfuls, and teaspoonfuls.
28. MEASURING SPOONS.--In addition to a measuring cup or two, a set of
measuring spoons will be found extremely convenient in a kitchen.
However, if it is impossible to obtain such a set, a teaspoon and a
tablespoon of standard size will answer for measuring purposes. Three
level teaspoonfuls are equal to 1 tablespoonful. When a spoon is used,
it is heaped with the dry material and then leveled with a knife, in the
manner shown in Fig. 10 (_a_). If 1/2 spoonful is desired, it is leveled
first, as indicated in (_a_), and then marked through the center with a
knife and half of its contents pushed off, as shown in (_b_). Fourths
and eighths are measured in the same way, as is indicated in Fig. 11
(_a_), but thirds are measured across the bowl of the spoon, as
in (_b_).
[Illustration: Fig. 10]
29. Precautions to Observe in Measuring.--In measuring some of the
materials used in the preparation of foods, certain points concerning
them should receive attention. For instance, all powdered materials,
such as flour, must first be sifted, as the amount increases upon
sifting, it being definitely known that a cupful of unsifted flour will
measure about 1-1/4 cupfuls after it is sifted. Lumps, such as those
which form in salt and sugar, should be thoroughly crushed before
measuring; if this is not done, accurate measurements cannot be secured,
because lumps of such ingredients are more compact than the loose
material. Butter and other fats should be tightly packed into the
measure, and if the fat is to be melted in order to carry out a recipe,
it should be melted before it is measured. Anything measured in a cup
should be poured into the cup; that is, the cup should not be filled by
dipping it into the material nor by drawing it through the material.
[Illustration: Fig. 11]
30. TABLES OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.--As foods are sold by weight and by
measure, and as recipes always call for certain weights and measures, it
is absolutely necessary that every person engaged in the purchase and
preparation of foods should be familiar with the tables of weights and
measures in common use for such purposes in the United States and
practically all other English-speaking countries. In addition, it will
be well to have a knowledge of relative weights and measures, so as to
be in a position to use these tables to the best advantage.
31. The table used ordinarily for weighing foods is the table of
AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT. Another table of weights, called the table of _Troy
weight_, is used by goldsmiths and jewelers for weighing precious
metals. It should not be confused with avoirdupois weight, however,
because its pound contains only 12 ounces, whereas the avoirdupois pound
contains 16 ounces. The table of avoirdupois weight, together with the
abbreviations of the terms used in it, is as follows:
AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT
437-1/2 grains (gr.)..... = 1 ounce............. oz.
16 ounces................ = 1 pound............. lb.
100 pounds............... = 1 hundredweight..... cwt.
20 hundredweight \
}....... = 1 ton............... T.
2,000 pounds /
Although 2,000 pounds make 1 ton, it is well to note that 2,240 pounds
make 1 _long ton_ (L.T.). The long ton is used by coal dealers in some
localities, but the ton, sometimes called the _short ton_, is in more
general use and is the one meant unless long ton is specified.
32. The table of LIQUID MEASURE is used for measuring all liquids, and
is extremely useful to the housewife. This table, together with the
abbreviations of its terms, is as follows:
LIQUID MEASURE
4 gills (gi.)........... = 1 pint................. pt.
2 pints................. = 1 quart................ qt.
4 quarts................ = 1 gallon............... gal.
31-1/2 gallons.......... = 1 barrel............... bbl.
2 barrels \
}............ = 1 hogshead............. hhd.
63 gallons/
33. The table of DRY MEASURE is used for measuring dry foods, such as
potatoes, dried peas and beans, etc. The table of dry measure, with its
abbreviations, follows:
DRY MEASURE
2 pints (pt.)........... = 1 quart................ qt.
8 quarts................ = 1 peck................. pk.
4 pecks................. = 1 bushel............... bu.
34. Tables of RELATIVE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES are of value to the
housewife in that they will assist her greatly in coming to an
understanding of the relation that some of the different weights and
measures bear to one another. For example, as dry foods are sold by the
pound in some localities, it will be well for her to know the
approximate equivalent in pounds of a definite quantity of another
measure, say a quart or a bushel of a certain food. Likewise, she ought
to know that when a recipe calls for a cupful it means 1/2 pint, as has
been explained. Every one is familiar with the old saying, "A pint's a
pound the world around," which, like many old sayings, is not strictly
true, for while 1 pint is equal to 1 pound of some things, it is not of
others. The following tables give approximately the relative weights and
measures of most of the common foods: