The Old Measures, Converted
The 1904 kitchen measured in gills and wineglasses, saltspoons and teacups, and above all in butter the size of things — eggs, walnuts, hazelnuts. If you mean to actually cook from these receipts (and you should), here is the decoder.
The full table
| The old measure | Modern equivalent | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| 1 gill | ½ cup | 118 ml |
| 1 wineglassful | ¼ cup (2 fl oz) | 59 ml |
| 1 teacupful | ¾ cup | 177 ml |
| 1 tumblerful | 1 cup | 237 ml |
| 1 saltspoonful | ¼ teaspoon | 1.2 ml |
| 1 dessertspoonful | 2 teaspoons | 10 ml |
| 1 heaping tablespoon | about 2 level tablespoons | 30 ml |
| Butter the size of an egg | 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) | 57 g |
| Butter the size of a walnut | 2 tablespoons | 28 g |
| Butter the size of a hazelnut | 1 teaspoon | 5 g |
| 1 pound of flour | about 4 cups, sifted | 454 g |
| 1 pound of sugar | 2¼ cups | 454 g |
| 1 pound of butter | 2 cups | 454 g |
| A pinch | 1/16 teaspoon | — |
A warning from experience: the old cooks’ spoons were rounded, their “moderate ovens” were judged by hand, and their confidence was absolute. Taste as you go.