The Barossa Cookery Book | Table of Measures
Explanation of Weights and Measures used in The Barossa Cookery Book
In early 1900s Australia, cooking used the British Imperial measurement system, which involved Avoirdupois Weights like pounds and ounces, and volume measures such as pints, quarts, and bushels. Avoirdupois originates from the Anglo-Norman French phrase avoir de pois (meaning “goods of weight”). Although scales for weighing ingredients were common and recipes mostly relied upon rough metric measurements, consistency and proportion were prioritized over strict accuracy.
ORIGINAL TABLE OF MEASURES
The table below converts the Avoirdupois Weights listed in the Table of Measures of the Barossa Cookery Book for present day cooking.
| Cookery Book Avoirdupois Measure | Metric Measure |
|---|---|
| 1 teacup - 1 gill, 2 wineglasses, 1/2 breakfast cup | 143 ml |
| 1 breakfast cup - 1/2 pint, 1/2 lb. sugar | 225 grams |
| 2 cupfuls - 1 pint | 568 ml |
| 4 cupfuls - 1 quart | 1.136 litres |
| 2 cupfuls sugar - 1 lb. | 454 grams |
| 2 cupfuls butter - 1 lb. | 454 grams |
| 2 cupfuls flour or oatmeal - 1 lb. | 454 grams |
| 1 pint of liquid - 1 lb. | 454 grams |
| 10 eggs - 1 lb. | 454 grams |
| 1 egg - 2 ozs | 57 grams |
| 1 dessertspoonful - 2 teaspoons, 1/2 tablespoon | 10 ml |
| 60 drops - 1 teaspoonful | 5 ml |
| 1 heaping teaspoonful sugar - 1 oz. | 28.35 grams exactly |
| 1 tablespoonful butter - 1 oz. | 28.35 grams exactly |
| 2 rounding tablespoonfuls flour - 1 oz. | 28.35 grams exactly |
| 5 heaping tablespoonfuls sugar - 1 cupful | 225 grams |
EXPANDED TABLE OF MEASURES
For the purposes of accessing The Barossa Cookery Book in the present day, the following measures and weights tables have been created for conversion present day application of standards for weights and measures.
| BCB Unit | Imperial Avoirdupois Weights & Measures | Unit | Metric Weights & Measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | breakfast cup dry | 225 | grams |
| 1/2 | breakfast cup fluid | 143 | ml |
| 1 | breakfast cup fluid | 285 | ml |
| 1 | cup | 250 | ml |
| 3/4 | cup | 180 | ml |
| 66666666666667/100000000000000 | cup | 160 | ml |
| 1/2 | cup | 125 | ml |
| 33333333333333/100000000000000 | cup | 80 | ml |
| 1/4 | cup | 60 | ml |
| 1 | cup flour (unsifted) | 135 | grams |
| 1 | cup sifted flour | 114 | grams |
| 2 | cups butter | 454 | grams |
| 2 | cups flour or oatmeal | 454 | grams |
| 4 | cups fluid | 1,136 | ml |
| 2 | cups liquid | 568 | ml |
| 4 | cups sifted flour | 454 | grams |
| 3 | cups sifted flour | 1,362 | grams |
| 2 | cups sifted flour | 228 | grams |
| 2 | cups sugar | 454 | grams |
| 1 | dessertspoonful | 10 | ml |
| 60 | drops | 5 | ml |
| 1 | egg | 57 | grams |
| 10 | eggs | 454 | grams |
| 2 | fluid ounces | 50 | ml |
| 2 1/2 | fluid ounces | 75 | ml |
| 3 1/2 | fluid ounces | 100 | ml |
| 4 | fluid ounces | 120 | ml |
| 5 | fluid ounces | 150 | ml |
| 6 | fluid ounces | 170 | ml |
| 7 | fluid ounces | 200 | ml |
| 8 | fluid ounces | 225 | ml |
| 8 1/2 | fluid ounces | 250 | ml |
| 10 | fluid ounces | 300 | ml |
| 13 | fluid ounces | 400 | ml |
| 17 | fluid ounces | 500 | ml |
| 20 | fluid ounces | 600 | ml |
| 25 | fluid ounces | 750 | ml |
| 34 | fluid ounces | 1 | litre |
| 1 | gallon | 4 | Litres |
| 1 | gill | 143 | ml |
| 1 | gill | 142 | ml |
| 5 | heaping tablespoonsful sugar | 227 | grams |
| 1 | heaping teaspoonful | 30 | grams |
| 1/4 | inch | 5 | mm |
| 1/2 | inch | 1 | cm |
| 3/4 | inch | 2 | cm |
| 1 | inch | 2 | cm |
| 2 | inches | 5 | cm |
| 3 | inches | 7 | cm |
| 4 | inches | 10 | cm |
| 6 | inches | 15 | cm |
| 8 | inches | 20 | cm |
| 12 | inches | 30 | cm |
| 1 | ounce | 30 | grams |
| 1/2 | ounce | 15 | grams |
| 3/4 | ounce | 22 | grams |
| 1 | ounce | 30 | grams |
| 16 | ounces | 480 | grams |
| 1 1/2 | ounces | 45 | grams |
| 2 | ounces | 60 | grams |
| 2 1/2 | ounces | 75 | grams |
| 3 | ounces | 90 | grams |
| 3 1/2 | ounces | 115 | grams |
| 4 | ounces | 120 | grams |
| 5 | ounces | 150 | grams |
| 1 | peck | 5,570 | ml |
| 1/2 | pint | 142 | ml |
| 1 | pint | 348 | ml |
| 1/2 | pint fluid | 285 | ml |
| 1 | pint of fluid | 454 | grams |
| 2 | pints | 696 | ml |
| 1 | pound | 450 | grams |
| 1/2 | pound dry | 225 | grams |
| 2 | pounds | 900 | grams |
| 14 | pounds | 6,356 | grams |
| 1 | quart | 696 | ml |
| 1 | quart | 696 | ml |
| 4 | quarts | 3,785 | ml |
| 4 | quarts | 3,785 | ml |
| 8 | quarts | 5,570 | ml |
| 2 | rounding tablespoonsful flour | 30 | grams |
| 1 | stone | 6,356 | grams |
| 1 | tablespoon | 20 | ml |
| 1 | tablespoonful butter | 30 | grams |
| 1 | teacup fluid | 143 | ml |
| 1 | teaspoon | 5 | ml |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | 2 | ml |
| 1/4 | teaspoon | 1 | ml |
| 1 | wineglass | 35 | ml |
| 1 | wineglass | 71 | ml |
| 2 | wineglasses | 143 | ml |
| 2 | wineglasses | 143 | ml |
