Old Fashioned Cooking Terms

Several months ago I picked up a small cookbook at a thrift store called "Good Ole Country Cookin'". I'm sure you've seen these types of books before. It's a compilation of recipes from women all over some small town in rural America. There books are put together and sold as a fundraiser at church or the county fair. 

While it's a wonderful treasure trove of recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation, they are so old and out dated that the directions are often lacking our modern terms, temperatures, ingredients and methods.

There are quite a few recipes in this book I would like to try, but when the instructions for Aunt Mildred's Sweet Cakes say to bake in a hot oven, what exactly does that mean anyway? Well, don't give up on those old recipes just yet. Below are quite a few "translations" that may come in handy when you run across one of these nostalgic books!

Oven temperatures:

Slow = up to 300 F

Very moderate = 300 F - 350 F

Moderate/Medium = 350 F - 400 F

Hot/Quick/Fast = 400 F - 450 F

Very Hot/Very Quick = 450 F - 500 F

Baking times:

Cookies: bake until just golden

Cakes: bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and toothpick or butter knife inserted in center comes out clean

Bread: bake until bread pulls away from sides of pan, or when tapped you hear a hollow sound

Custards: bake until just set

Single crust filled pies: hot oven (425-450 F) for 1st ten minutes to crisp the crust, lower to moderate (350 F) to finish

Unfilled pie shell: bake at 425 F for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned

Unfilled tart shell: bake at 425 F for 12 minutes

Baking Temps:

Cookies, cakes, quick breads: 350 F

Yeast bread: 375 F

Yeast rolls: 400-425 F

Tarts: 375 F

1 pound yields:

4 cups sifted flour

4 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

3 1/2 cups graham flour

3 cups cornmeal

5 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 1/4 cups white sugar

2 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/3 cups molasses or honey

2 cups milk

4 cups nut meats, chopped

3 cups dried fruit

lard = use shortening

fat = means butter

sour milk = buttermilk OR 1 tablespoon vinegar added to 1 cup whole milk

sweet milk = milk (whole is best for baking, but 2%, 1% and skim can be used succesfully)

cake compressed yeast = 1 package active dry yeast

pint = 2 cups

quart = 4 cups

gill = 4 ounces (1/4 pound, metric = 5 ounces as a metric pound is 20 ounces)

peck = 8 quarts

bushel = 4 pecks

And just for fun, here's a recipe you might enjoy:

Tea Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup chopped dates or raisins

1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients, rub in peanut butter, add fruit, stir in milk. Pour into small greased bread pan and bake in moderate oven about an hour.

Enjoy!

~ Amanda

Reference: The Farmer's Wife Baking Cookbook: Over 300 blue-ribbon recipes!, Lela Nargi, Voyageur Press