Equivalent Weights and Measures

3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon.

4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup 16 tablespoons = 1 cup.

2 cups = 1 pint.

4 cups = 1 quart.

2 pints = 1 quart 4 quarts = 1 gallon 8 quarts = 1 peck 4 pecks = 1 bushel 16 ounces = 1 pound.

The following is a handy guide of approximate measurements:

Apples, fresh - 1 pound = 2 to 3 apples Bacon - 1 pound medium strip = 30 full thin slices Bananas - 1 pound = 3 bananas Beets - 1 pound = 2 to 3 beets Bread - 1 loaf = 20 slices Butter - 1 pound = 2 cups Carrots - 1 pound = 3 to 5 carrots Chocolate - 1 pound = 16 squares 1 square = 1 ounce Coffee (ground) - 1 pound = 5 cups Cranberries - 1 pound = 4 cups Cream (thick) - almost doubles in whipping Egg whites - 8 to 11 whites = 1 cup Flour (white) - 1 pound = 4 cups.

Lard - 1 pound = 2 cups Lemons - juice of one = 4 tablespoons Onions - 1 pound = 4 to 12 onions Peaches - 1 pound = 3 to 5 peaches Peas - 1 pound = 2 to 3 servings Potatoes (Irish) - 1 pound = 2 to 4 potatoes Potatoes (sweet) - 1 pound = 2 to 3 potatoes Spinach - 1 pound = 3 to 4 servings String Beans - 1 pound = 4 servings Sugar (granulated) - 1 pound = 2 cups Tomatoes - 1 pound = 2 to 5 tomatoes.

What They Mean

Aspic: A savory jelly made from stock, broth, consomme, or tomato juice - with gelatin. Baste: Pouring liquid, usually with a spoon or ladle, over food while it is cooking. Bind: Harmonizing ingredients by the addition of one, generally, as in completing the making of a sauce. Compote: Fruit stewed in syrup. Cream: Converting an ingredient or ingredients into a creamy stage. Dredge: The process of working flour or sugar into materials.

Meats are dredged with flour; cookies with sugar. Dress: Final preparation of food for cooking. In salads the addition of the salad dressing. Fillets: Long thin pieces of meat or fish. Fold: Mixing by using as few and as light strokes as possible. Gratin: Covering with crumbs and cheese. Julienne: Cutting in fine strips or strings. Lard: Slipping strips of bacon or salt pork into meat, fish and game. Marinate: Allowing food to stand in a liquid to improve texture or flavor. Parboil: Boiling partly, or simmering gently. Poach: Cooking slowly in water, wine or syrup. Saute : Light browning of meat, fish, vegetables or fruit in a frying pan with a little fat. Sear: Applying a high degree of heat to the surface of meat in order to seal and preserve the juices. Shred : Making fine slivers or splinters. Souffle: A delicate baked custard which may contain cheese, fish, minced meat or vegetables. Toss: Turning lightly. Work: Mixing ingredients thoroughly.

Oven Temperature Tests

The most successful baking results are obtained with a thermostat or regulator-controlled oven. If there is not such a device on the oven, it helps to have an oven thermometer. But be sure it is a good one. If an oven thermometer is not available, try the following tests, although they are unreliable. They need much practice to prove dependable, but in a pinch, they are better than guessing.

When the oven is heated, lay a piece of white paper on its lower shelf and close the oven door. Varying kinds of paper brown to different degrees in the same length of time, therefore tests cannot be accurate. However,

1. If the paper becomes light brown in five minutes, it is a slow oven (250° to 350° F.).

2. If the paper becomes medium brown in five minutes, it is a moderate oven (350° to 400° F.).

3. If the paper becomes dark brown in five minutes, it is a hot oven (400° to 500° F.).