On 17/06/2014 11:24 AM, Ecnerwal wrote:
In article ,
Fran Farmer wrote:

I've become reasonably good at understanding USian but some of your
terms still evade me. I've recently discovered what Graham flour is but
every time I read that a recipe requires 'a stick of butter' I have to
go off and find out what that mean in terms of the weight of the butter.
Numbers and I aren't naturally good friends......

4 sticks to a pound. Assuming you get a half-kilo instead of a pound,
125 g/stick.

Now picture a USian who enjoys baking (yes, for fun on vacation even)
visiting friends in Britain and trying to figure out what in heck a
gas mark is.

Indeeeeeeeeeed!

Bloody stupid way to indicate the temp at which something is supposed to
be cooked IMO. Give a sodding temperature in any of the accepted forms
of F or C - that should be easy enough.

I winged it and came out OK (yeast bread is fairly
forgiving if you keep an eye on it and adjust as needed.)

Yep. If it's bread it's hot - I'd use about 220C or 425F but gas mark -
not a clue.


A while
after I got back here I actually found a conversion chart, but it
was not easy to track down (I don't know if you folks also use this
system?)

Nope. All C these days but I'm bilingual with temps and inches/cm.

F .vs. C I was educationally equipped to deal with. "Gas Mark 1 - 7"
I had not a clue about.

:-)) Me neither. I wouldn't even know just looking at it bare there on
my screen, which end of the numbers is is hot but it'd be easier seeing
it on an oven front - then (if 7 was the high temp) I'd probably bake
bread at 6.

On the blueberry reading front, add Maine (ME - Univ. of Maine at
Orono, or UMO is the home of the ag. extension) to your list as a
major producer of the "wild" lowbush types. What the heck, I'll
throw you a couple of links:

http://umaine.edu/blueberries/

http://umaine.edu/gardening/master-g...h-blueberries/

Ooohh - thanks - some quiet reading before I leave the computer.

On 17/06/2014 11:34 AM, bluechick wrote:
On Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:06:43 +1000, Fran Farmer


I've become reasonably good at understanding USian but some of your
terms still evade me. I've recently discovered what Graham flour is but
every time I read that a recipe requires 'a stick of butter' I have to
go off and find out what that mean in terms of the weight of the butter.
Numbers and I aren't naturally good friends......

I completely agree with "a stick of butter" being confusing. I know
what it is but many outside of the US don't. Besides, I've started
using European butters more and more often lately and a "stick" isn't
interchangeable in quantity. It's more accurate to say "1/2 cup" or
"4 ounces" and avoid confusion.

Yep. I have a huge leather bound book which I've been using to record
my recipes since soon after metric measures were introduced in this
country. A lot of my recipes came from my Mum and of course she cooked
exclusively with Imperial measures.

In the early days I used scales that did either Imperial or Metric so if
I needed 4 ounces then the scales told me that. Over time and the
replacement of equipment, I've had to go through and update all of the
measures with metric.

Sometimes, even now, I will locate a recipe that includes only Imperial
measures so I know it's been a very, very long time since I've cooked
that recipe.

In article
Ecnerwal writes:

Now picture a USian who enjoys baking (yes, for fun on vacation even)
visiting friends in Britain and trying to figure out what in heck a
gas mark is.

Hadn't heard of that one before. There is an approximate conversion
table at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_Mark

It sounds like a strange system, but I have to say that I work that
way with electric stove settings. I couldn't say what heat is
delivered by 7, but I know it is about right for my eggs in the
morning.

--
Drew Lawson And I know there's more to the story
I know I need to see more
I need to see s'more, hear s'more
feel s'more. I gotta be s'more

On Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:21:12 +1000, Fran Farmer
wrote:

Yep. I have a huge leather bound book which I've been using to record
my recipes since soon after metric measures were introduced in this
country. A lot of my recipes came from my Mum and of course she cooked
exclusively with Imperial measures.

In the early days I used scales that did either Imperial or Metric so if
I needed 4 ounces then the scales told me that. Over time and the
replacement of equipment, I've had to go through and update all of the
measures with metric.

Sometimes, even now, I will locate a recipe that includes only Imperial
measures so I know it's been a very, very long time since I've cooked
that recipe.

I've been fortunate enough to be sent some lovely British recipes and
I have to convert the quantities and temperatures, but I don't mind
since those conversions aren't that difficult. But, as we've noted
above thread, things like "stick of butter" and "Gas Mark 7" are
head-scratchers to those who aren't familiar with those terms.

I collected vintage recipes for awhile and have used some but some
have been unusable due to the way they'd measure things 100 or 200
years ago - not to mention weird ingredients, spice blends usually,
that were in use in ancient Roman or Medieval recipes. I've run
across things like a 'dessert spoon of sugar' (now I know it's about 2
teaspoons), a 'square of chocolate' (still in use and I hate that one
the most - if it's an ounce SAY 1 ounce!), a 'finger of rum' etc. I've
seen "finger" used as a measure in more recent recipes but I still
don't know what it means. And whose finger?

bluechick wrote:
....
the most - if it's an ounce SAY 1 ounce!), a 'finger of rum' etc. I've
seen "finger" used as a measure in more recent recipes but I still
don't know what it means. And whose finger?

a long time ago, someone said i'll give you
the finger and ever since then it has never
been returned no matter how many times and
how many different people give it.


songbird

bluechick wrote:

I collected vintage recipes for awhile and have used some but some
have been unusable due to the way they'd measure things 100 or 200
years ago - not to mention weird ingredients, spice blends usually,
that were in use in ancient Roman or Medieval recipes. I've run
across things like a 'dessert spoon of sugar' (now I know it's about 2
teaspoons), a 'square of chocolate' (still in use and I hate that one
the most - if it's an ounce SAY 1 ounce!), a 'finger of rum' etc. I've
seen "finger" used as a measure in more recent recipes but I still
don't know what it means. And whose finger?

It means the width of one finger in the bottom of a glass. Obviously the
amount depends on the diameter of the glass and the width of a finger, so
start with a little less and taste before you add more. But this is more
accurate than the way I cook where except for bread and baking nothing is
measured. My daughters ask me for recipes that I don't have so it has been
known for one to follow me around the kitchen writing it down as I do it.

D

On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:54:30 +1000, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

bluechick wrote:

I collected vintage recipes for awhile and have used some but some
have been unusable due to the way they'd measure things 100 or 200
years ago - not to mention weird ingredients, spice blends usually,
that were in use in ancient Roman or Medieval recipes. I've run
across things like a 'dessert spoon of sugar' (now I know it's about 2
teaspoons), a 'square of chocolate' (still in use and I hate that one
the most - if it's an ounce SAY 1 ounce!), a 'finger of rum' etc. I've
seen "finger" used as a measure in more recent recipes but I still
don't know what it means. And whose finger?

It means the width of one finger in the bottom of a glass. Obviously the
amount depends on the diameter of the glass and the width of a finger, so
start with a little less and taste before you add more. But this is more
accurate than the way I cook where except for bread and baking nothing is
measured. My daughters ask me for recipes that I don't have so it has been
known for one to follow me around the kitchen writing it down as I do it.

Ah! So now I know. But since the actual amount depends upon the
diameter of the glass (and the diameter of the finger), it's not
terribly accurate or easily reproducible.

I don't measure much when I cook either unless it's a canning recipe
or baking, especially bread. My great grandmother could create cakes
that were so light they'd almost float away and she never measured
anything. I remember her version of measuring something would be to
use a clean tea cup to dip into a flour sack and throw that into a
bowl. If I tried that method I wouldn't have a cake, I'd have a door
stop.

In article
"David Hare-Scott" writes:

But this is more accurate than the way I cook where except for
bread and baking nothing is measured. My daughters ask me for
recipes that I don't have so it has been known for one to follow
me around the kitchen writing it down as I do it.

Several years ago, someone (probably her daughter) asked my wife
for he pumpkin pie recipe. But she didn't know. So the following
Thanksgiving, she kept notes, tick marks in some unit (probably
teaspoons) of spices iteratively added until "right."

The final listing might send pumpkin companies running away in fear,
but it makes a tasty pie. And neglected leftovers have sometimes
been in the garage fridge for about 6 months with only signs of
drying, none of spoiling.

In previous lives, I cooked turkey and made pumpkin pie. Since
marrying, I am not allowed to consider either. And given the results
my wife delivers on both, I'm cool with that.

--
Drew Lawson | What you own is your own kingdom
| What you do is your own glory
| What you love is your own power
| What you live is your own story

On 18/06/2014 6:11 AM, bluechick wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:21:12 +1000, Fran Farmer
wrote:

Yep. I have a huge leather bound book which I've been using to record
my recipes since soon after metric measures were introduced in this
country. A lot of my recipes came from my Mum and of course she cooked
exclusively with Imperial measures.

In the early days I used scales that did either Imperial or Metric so if
I needed 4 ounces then the scales told me that. Over time and the
replacement of equipment, I've had to go through and update all of the
measures with metric.

Sometimes, even now, I will locate a recipe that includes only Imperial
measures so I know it's been a very, very long time since I've cooked
that recipe.

I've been fortunate enough to be sent some lovely British recipes and
I have to convert the quantities and temperatures, but I don't mind
since those conversions aren't that difficult. But, as we've noted
above thread, things like "stick of butter" and "Gas Mark 7" are
head-scratchers to those who aren't familiar with those terms.

I collected vintage recipes for awhile and have used some but some
have been unusable due to the way they'd measure things 100 or 200
years ago - not to mention weird ingredients, spice blends usually,
that were in use in ancient Roman or Medieval recipes. I've run
across things like a 'dessert spoon of sugar' (now I know it's about 2
teaspoons), a 'square of chocolate' (still in use and I hate that one
the most - if it's an ounce SAY 1 ounce!), a 'finger of rum' etc. I've
seen "finger" used as a measure in more recent recipes but I still
don't know what it means. And whose finger?

:-)) Imagine wrapping your hand around the base of a the sort of
tumbler from which someone would drink neat whisky or whisky and water
or whisky and ice. Your fingers wrapped horizontally around the glass
would probably be a bit over half an inch high. That is what they mean
by a finger of rum.

On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 18:34:02 +1000, Fran Farmer
wrote:

On 18/06/2014 6:11 AM, bluechick wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:21:12 +1000, Fran Farmer
wrote:

the most - if it's an ounce SAY 1 ounce!), a 'finger of rum' etc. I've
seen "finger" used as a measure in more recent recipes but I still
don't know what it means. And whose finger?

:-)) Imagine wrapping your hand around the base of a the sort of
tumbler from which someone would drink neat whisky or whisky and water
or whisky and ice. Your fingers wrapped horizontally around the glass
would probably be a bit over half an inch high. That is what they mean
by a finger of rum.

Yep, David explained to me too. Makes perfect sense but it's still an
imperfect measurement. The diameter of the glass and the finger will
be close but never match exactly from person to person. So, it's one
of those things like a "pinch." Close enough for most recipes. Thank
goodness it's not rocket science.

On 6/17/2014 4:11 PM, bluechick wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:21:12 +1000, Fran Farmer
wrote:

Yep. I have a huge leather bound book which I've been using to record
my recipes since soon after metric measures were introduced in this
country. A lot of my recipes came from my Mum and of course she cooked
exclusively with Imperial measures.

In the early days I used scales that did either Imperial or Metric so if
I needed 4 ounces then the scales told me that. Over time and the
replacement of equipment, I've had to go through and update all of the
measures with metric.

Sometimes, even now, I will locate a recipe that includes only Imperial
measures so I know it's been a very, very long time since I've cooked
that recipe.

I've been fortunate enough to be sent some lovely British recipes and
I have to convert the quantities and temperatures, but I don't mind
since those conversions aren't that difficult. But, as we've noted
above thread, things like "stick of butter" and "Gas Mark 7" are
head-scratchers to those who aren't familiar with those terms.


'Gas mark' conversion chart:

http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_gasmark.htm

John