Chinese Weights and Measures

Ingredients	Water	Cooking Oil	Soy Sauce	Vinegar	Cooking Wine	Salt	MSG	Sugar	Cornstarch
1 pinch / 1 ml	1 g	.9 g	1.2 g	1 g	1 g	1.2 g	.7 g	.9 g	.4 g
1tsp/5ml	5 g	4.5 g	6 g	5 g	5 g	6.3 g	3.7 g	4.5 g	2 g
1 tbs / 15ml	15 g	13.5 g	18 g	15 g	15 g	18.5 g	11 g	13 g	6 g
1.76 fl. Oz / 50 ml	50 g	55 g	60 g	50 g	50 g	63 g		42 g	20 g
3.52 fl. Oz / 1 cup	500 g	549 g	600 g	500 g	500 g	630 g

N.B., the last entry under "Ingredients" seems wrong as 3.52 fl. Oz. is not 1 full cup. As this is Chinese measures, however, it could be that this is a teacup measure.

This table is very useful is you are a restaurant or caterer. It won't matter much to the home cook, but the table is provided as a matter of convenience.

Mustard Recipes From the Late 19th early 20th Centuries

These recipes are taken from a commercial source. The quantities are for commerce and I have no idea how to scale them down. So, if you have a lot of friends to give gifts to, this is for you. Where dram weights are given, know 1 dram (drachm) is 1.77 gram weight equivalent.

All recipes should stand for 10 minutes once the mustard is mixed with the liquid. Cooking or heating decreases the strength of the final product.

A hand mill in case you want to make mustard.

Gumpoldskirchner Must Mustard
—Evaporate 30 quarts of freshly pressed wine-must to one-half its volume over a moderate fire, dissolve in it 5 lbs. of sugar, and strain the whole over 2 or 3 roots of horseradish cut in thin slices. Then add in the form of fine powder, cardamoms 0.35 oz., nutmeg 0.35 oz., cloves 0.63 oz., cinnamon 1 oz., ginger 1 oz., mustard seed, ground and freed from oil, brown 6 lbs. and white 11 lbs. Grind the whole several times in a mill and strain.

Gumpoldskirchner is a city in Eastern Austria. Our ancient fathers had nothing to waste, so if the grapes didn't get enough water, or too much water, or not enough sun, or too much sun and would never make good wine, the "must" or expressed grape juice, prior to it's fermenting, was used. Here, to make a fabulous mustard. Gumpoldskirchner wine always has these two grape varieties Zierfandler and Rotgipfler.  

Moutard des Jesuits.—Make a paste of 12 sardines and 280 capers and stir it into 53 ozs. of boiling vinegar, and mix with it ground mustard-seed freed from oil, brown 5 1/2 ozs. and white 14 1/2 ounces.

Freed from oil means, mustard seeds, de-hulled, ground, pressed to extract the mustard oil, and then dried to a powder, reground, packaged for commerce. The best is Mustard Flour. Flour makes a creamy smooth mustard. I always wonder about the "12 sardines and 280 capers". It would be a nuisance to count them.

French Mustard.—Ground mustard 2 lbs., and 1/2 oz. each of fresh parsley and tarragon, both cut up fine, are thoroughly mixed together; further 1 clove of garlic, also add, cut up very fine, 12 salted anchovies. Grind the mixture very fine, add the required must and 1 oz. of pulverized common salt, and for further grinding dilute with water. To evaporate the water after grinding the mustard, heat an iron red-hot and cool it off in the mixture, and then add wine-vinegar of the best quality.

Salted anchovies would be reconstituted in the water or vinegar, prior to grinding for use. I find them easy to separate and remove the spine bones. These bones are so tiny. If you have a good food processor you could grind them without the labor of removing the spines.

Salted anchovies are dried anchovies and available at Asian Supermarkets. I have made this, using an 8" piece of rebar. It's nearly impossible to get the rebar hot enough. When I can, I'll have a metal worker (that's blacksmith) fashion a wrought iron poker with a spade end for this recipe.

Ordinary Mustard.—I. Stir gradually 1 pint of good white wine into 8 ozs. of ground mustard-seed, add a pinch of pulverized cloves, and let the whole boil over a moderate fire. Then add a small lump of white sugar, and let the mixture boil up at once.

Ordinary Mustard.—II. Pour 1/2 pint of boiling wine-vinegar over 8 ozs. of ground mustard-seed in an earthen pot, stir the mixture thoroughly, then add some cold vinegar, and let the pot stand over night in a warm place. The next morning add 1/2 lb. of sugar, 3/4 drachm of pulverized cinnamon, 1/2 drachm of pulverized cloves, 1 1/4 drachms of pepper, some cardamom and nutmeg, half the rind of a lemon and the necessary quantity of vinegar. The mustard is now ready, and is kept in pots tied up with bladder.

Ordinary Mustard.—III. Pound to a paste in a mortar the flesh of a salt herring, and 2 ozs. of capers, and mix this with 2 ozs. of pulverized white sugar and 13 ozs. of ground mustard-seed; then pour 1 3/4 pints of boiling wine vinegar over it, stir, and let the whole stand near a fire for several hours. Finally add 3/4 pint of boiling vinegar, stir thoroughly and pour the mustard into glass bottles.

Frankfort Mustard.—Mix 1 lb. of white mustard-seed, ground, a like quantity of brown mustard-seed, 8 ozs. of pulverized sugar, 1 oz. of pulverized cloves, 2 ozs. of allspice, and compound the mixture with white-wine or wine-vinegar.

Wine Mustard.—Ground mustard-seed, white, 23 ozs., brown 12 ozs., common salt 2 3/4 ozs., wine vinegar 8 1/2 ozs., a like quantity of white wine, and water 16 ozs.

Aromatic or Hygienic Mustard.—Ground mustard-seed, white, 23 ozs., brown 12 ozs., wine vinegar 17 1/2 ozs. Extract allspice 0.35 oz., cassia, white pepper, and ginger, of each 0.17 oz., with alcohol 1 1/2 ozs., and water 8 1/2 ozs., add 3 1/2 ozs. of common salt and a like quantity of sugar, filter the whole and add it to the mustard.

Düsseldorf Mustard.—Ground mustard-seed freed from oil, brown 3 ozs., white 8 1/2 ozs., boiling water 26 1/2 ozs., wine  vinegar 18 ozs, cinnamon 0.17 oz., cloves 0.1 oz., sugar 11 ozs., white wine 18 ozs.

Sour Düsseldorf Mustard.—Fill 2 casks with vinegar, steep in one of the casks 2 lbs. of origan [sic! oregano] leaves, and in the other an ordinary bucket full of onions cut up, and let them digest for 2 days. Then bruise 44 lbs. of white mustard-seed and 66 lbs. of brown; put this in a vat and add 1 lb. of pulverized cloves, 1 1/2. lbs. of pulverized coriander seed, and 4 1/2 gallons of each of the prepared vinegars. Stir the whole thoroughly and grind it twice in a mill. To every gallon of this add and mix thoroughly with it, 1 lb. of salt dissolved in 1 quart of the onion vinegar.

Sweet Kremser Must-mustard.—Ground mustard-seed, brown 10 lbs., white 5 lbs., is intimately mixed with 3 lbs. of freshly-pressed must, and boiled down to the desired consistency.

Sour Kremser Must-mustard.—Boil to a stiff paste 15 lbs. of brown mustard ground, and 5 lbs. of white mustard ground,  together with 4 lbs. of must, and after cooling stir in 4 lbs. of vinegar.

Moutarde de maille.—Cut up 8 ozs. of fresh tarragon leaves without the stems, 2 1/2 ozs. of basil, 2 ozs. of bay leaves and 4 ozs. of rocambole (a spice of garlic). Place these ingredients in a glass alembic, pour 2 1/2 quarts of strong wine-vinegar over them, and, to allow the vapors to escape, tie up the mouth of the alembic with a piece of perforated moist bladder. Place the alembic upon hot sand for 4 days, then filter the fluid first through linen and then through blotting paper. Add to this aromatic vinegar, 1 oz. of common salt, then stir it into a thick paste with ground brown mustard-seed, and keep the the mustard in earthenware jars tied up with bladder.

Moutarde aux épices is prepared by extracting 18 ozs. of tarragon leaves, 7 ozs. of basil, 1 3/4 ozs. of bay leaves, 3 1/2 ozs. of white pepper, 1 3/4 ozs. of cloves, and 0.35 oz. of mace with vinegar and mixing the extract with mustard prepared in the ordinary manner from ground mustard-seed, brown 44 lbs., white 11 lbs., and vinegar 8 1/2 lbs.

Moutarde Aromatisce.—Boil ground mustard-seed, brown 22 lbs., white 44 lbs, with 9 lbs. of vinegar, and add oil of tarragon 1 oz., oil of thyme 1/2 oz., oil of mace 0.35 oz., and oil of cloves 0.17 oz., all previously dissolved in very strong vinegar.

English Mustard.—Ground mustard-seed 9 lbs., wheat flour 9 ozs., common salt 1 3/4 lb., cayenne pepper 2 3/4 ozs., and as much vinegar and water as required.

Four Thieves Vinegar.—Said to have been invented during a great plague in Marseilles, (some say during the London plague,) by four thieves, who employed it to prevent infection during their predatory visits to the houses of the dead or absent.

Macerate cloves, sage, rosemary, rue, allspice, calamus, caraway, nutmegs, of each one ounce, in two gallons of strong vinegar. Then add half an ounce of camphor.

Another Way.—Wormwood, rosemary, sage, peppermint, rue, each 2 ounces, lavender blossoms, 6 ounces, calamus, cinnamon, cloves, nutmegs.

A Third Method.—Rosemary, sage, peppermint, cloves, of each 4 ounces; zedoary and angelica roots, of each 1 ounce. Macerate for several days in half a gallon of vinegar. Then press and filter.

Tarragon Vinegar.—Soak for several days 1 pound of the herb, (Artemesia Dracunculus,) before blossoming, in from 1 to 2 gallons of very strong vinegar. Press out the liquid and filter. The vinegar may be made extemporaneously by dropping a few drops of the oil of tarragon upon a lump of sugar, and adding to the vinegar. For table use the vinegar should not be too strongly flavored with the herb.

Vinaigre aux fines herbes.—Tarragon, (herb,) 12 ounces; basil, (herb,) 4 ounces; laurel leaves, 4
ounces; shallots, (Allium Ascalonicum,) 2 ounces: are suffered to stand for a few days in 1/2 a gallon of strong vinegar. Press and filter. A little added to table vinegar improves it.

Vinaigre d' la Bavigote.—Tarragon, (herb;) 12 ounces; laurel leaves, 6 ounces; anchovies, 6 ounces; capers, 6 ounces; shallots, 4 ounces. Macerate for several days in 1/2 gallon of strong vinegar, then press and filter. Used as addition to table vinegars.

Ravigote is probably what is intended here. It's a typo.

Mustard vinegar is also employed as an addition to vinegar, and is made by soaking from 8 to 12 ounces of black mustard in 1 quart of strong vinegar. Press and filter.

Raspberry vinegar.—Ripe berries are pressed and suffered to stand for several days, after which the clear juice may be separated. To every pound of  berries add from 6 to 8 quarts of strong vinegar, and press after 24 hours. Sweetened with sugar is used as an agreeable summer drink.

Rose, orange blossom, neroli, bergamot, and clove vinegars, may be made by adding the respective oils to vinegar. They may be added to the last wash in the quick process to yield a finely flavored vinegar.

Fumigating vinegar.—Oils of cloves, 1 1/3 drachms; bergamot, 3 drachms; cassia, 1 drachm; balsam of Peru, 2 drachms; tincture of musk, 1 drachm. Add 24 ounces of 80 per cent. alcohol, and enough concentrated acetic acid* to keep the oils in solution.

*Acetic acid of 35-30% acid strength. [Available at some Asian supermarkets.]

Aromatic vinegar.—Oils of cloves, 3 drachms; lavender, 2 drachms; lemon, 2 drachms; bergamot, 1 drachm; thyme, 1 drachm; cinnamon, 30 drops. Dissolved in 6 ounces of concentrated acetic acid.

Another.—Equal parts of concentrated acetic acid and acetic ether, with a few drops of oil of cloves.

Oreme de vinaigre.—Oils of bergamot, 3 ounces; lemon, 2 ounces; neroli, 1 ounce; mace, 1/4 of an ounce; cloves, 1/4 of an ounce. Dissolve in two  pounds of strong alcohol, and 5 pounds concentrated acetic acid.

Camp Vinegar—Take four ounces of sliced garlic, two ounces of soy, two ounces of walnut catsup, one ounce of cayenne pepper, one ounce of black pepper, fifteen chopped anchovies, one gallon of vinegar, one drachm of cochineal. Infuse for one month, and strain.

I guess ketchup might work here as well. Cochineal is red food coloring.


French Mustard.
Take 3 lbs. of ground mustard-seed (black), 3 lbs. of ground mustard (yellow), 1 1/2 gallons strong boiling hot vinegar; mix the whole together and let it stand 12 hours, and then add 3 ounces of ground allspice, 1 ounce ground ginger, 6 ounces ground rock-salt, 3 ounces ground cinnamon, 1 ounce ground cloves; mix the whole well together, and add as much vinegar as will make to the proper consistency.

Flavored Vinegars

These recipes are from the Techno Chemical Receipt Book published in 1887. Several recipes call for processing the ingredients by trituration, q.v. at the wiki entry.

 Table Vinegars.

Anise Vinegar. 

Convert the following ingredients into a coarse powder: Anise seed 5 parts, caraway seed 3/5 part fennel and coriander seed each 1/3 part each pour 5 parts of alcohol and 45 parts of good strong vinegar over the powders, close the flask hermetically, and let the whole digest in a warm place for 6 to 8 days, shaking frequently. Then strain the liquid off, press out "the residue, filter the vinegar, and put it up in bottles. 

Aromatic Vinegar.

Chop up leaves of rosemary, sage, and peppermint each 3/5 part, cloves, zedoary, and angelica root each 1/8 part; place all in a suitable flask, into which also pour 30 parts of crude vinegar, let it macerate for 4 days, then press out and filter. The product is a clear fluid of a reddish-brown color.

Dragonswoort (Estragon or Tarragon) Vinegar.

Pick the young tender leaves of dragons wort (Artemisia dracunculus L.) when the first flower-buds appear. Bruise the leaves, place them in a suitable flask, pour good wine-vinegar over them, and let the whole stand for a few days. Then strain the vinegar through a cloth, filter, and bottle. The bottles must be filled entirely full, as other wise the vinegar will not keep.

Another Receipt.

Mix 1 1/2 parts of oil of dragonswort with 3000 parts of pure good vinegar, let the whole stand for a few days, and then filter the vinegar.

Compound Dragonswort Vinegar or Herb Table Vinegar. 

Comminute leaves of dragonswort 100 parts, bean leaves 25 parts, leaves of basil and marjoram each 12 1/2 parts, bay leaves and orris root each 25 parts, cloves 3 1/2 parts, cinnamon 6 1/2 parts, and shallots 25 parts. Put all in a demijohn, pour 700 to 750 parts of pure good vinegar over it, let it stand on a warm place; and digest 5 to 6 days, frequently agitating it. Then strain the vinegar through linen, press out the residue with the hands, acid 25 parts of alcohol, and filter. Keep the vinegar in well-corked bottles in a cool place.

Spiced Dragonswort Vinegar.

Cut up and treat as above leaves of dragonswort 100 parts, fresh lemon peel 40 parts, cinnamon and coriander seed each 13 1/2 parts, fennel seed 3 1/2 parts, cardamoms 4/5 part, shallots 25 parts, and vinegar 700 to 750 parts.

English Spiced Vinegar.

 I. Pour 400 parts of pure vinegar and 50 parts of strong alcohol over the following ingredients, previously pulverized: Cloves 25 parts, cassia bark, mace, and orange blossoms each 3 1/2 parts. Let the whole stand in a warm place for 1 week, then strain through a cloth, press out the residue, and filter. 

II. Mix oils of cloves 96 drops, bergamot 70 drops, and camphor 15 1/2 grains, triturated with 4 3/4 ounces of strong acetic acid and 15 drops of acetic acid. Add to this mixture 2 gallons of pure vinegar, mix thoroughly, let the whole stand for a few days, and then filter through blotting paper. This vinegar must be kept in well-closed bottles and in a cool place.

Effervescing Vinegar.

Dissolve 500 parts of loaf sugar in 5000 parts of water, add lemon juice and rind cut up in the proportion of 1 lemon to 1 pound of sugar, 1 1/2 parts of the best cinnamon, and 12 1/2 parts of beer-yeast thoroughly washed. Place the whole in a barrel, and after agitating thoroughly let it ferment at a temperature of 55° to 60° F. When fermentation has ceased the vinous fluid is strained, and mixed with 1000 parts of best wine-vinegar previously boiled up, and yeast in the proportion of 1 spoonful to 5 pounds of sugar. The fluid is then distributed in several earthenware pots and exposed to a temperature of 77° to 88° F., until it has been converted into strong vinegar. This, while remaining in the pots, is mixed with 200 parts of French brandy and after two days bottled in small bottles. To each pound of this vinegar are added 2/5 part of crystallized tartaric acid pulverized and 1/5 part of bicarbonate of sodium. The bottles, as soon as the respective portion of the mixture has been added to each, must be corked as quickly as possible, and then stored in a cool place.

Herb Vinegar as Prepared in the Northern Part of Germany.

Chop fine the leaves of marjoram and thyme each 13 1/3 parts, bean leaves 6 1/2 parts, leaves of mint, basil, and celery each 3 1/2 parts, and 1 1/2 parts of fresh shallots. Pour 600 to 700 parts of good vinegar over the herbs, and treat in the same manner as given for compound dragonswort vinegar. 

Herb Vinegar as Prepared on the Rhine.

Chop up leaves of fresh dragonswort and woodroof [sic] each 20 parts, borage 1 1/2 parts, fresh mint 3 1/3 parts. Pour 600 to 750 parts of good vinegar over them, and then proceed as given for compound dragonswort vinegar. (woodruff) Lemon Vinegar. Remove the rind from 5 to 6 fresh lemons, press out the juice and let it stand in a tall covered glass until clarified. Then pound the rinds to a paste and pour 1 gallon of good vinegar over it. Let it stand for a few days, then pour off the vinegar, mix it with the clear lemon juice, filter and bottle the vinegar.

Orange Vinegar.

Peel 5 to 6 fresh oranges, press out the juice in a tall glass, and let it stand covered to clarify. Free the rinds from the white parts, pound them to a paste and pour 1 gallon of good vinegar over it, and proceed om the same manner as given for lemon vinegar. Pine-apple Vinegar. This excellent vinegar soon loses its flavor, and it is therefore best to prepare a small quantity at a time and keep it in hermetically closed bottles. Bruise the slices of pine-apple and pour over them a considerable quantity of vinegar. Close the vessel as tightly as possible and let it stand 12 hours; after which pour off the vinegar and filter it.

Raspberry Vinegar.

Crush perfectly ripe raspberries to a paste, let it stand 24 to 36 hours; then put 1 pound of this paste into a jar, pour 1 1/2 to 2 gallons of vinegar over it, place it in a warm place, but not in the sun, and shake frequently. After standing for several days strain the mixture through a cloth, add 1 gill of alcohol, mix thoroughly, and filter the vinegar. The bottles should be entirely filled and kept in a cool place.

Strawberry Vinegar.

Mash thoroughly ripe strawberries, let the paste stand in a warm place for 24 hours, then press out the juice, bottle and let it stand for a few days to ferment and to allow the slimy constituents to separate. Then filter the juice and put it in well- closed glass bottles which should be scrupulously clean, where it will keep for a long time. When it is to be used for flavoring, add a sufficient quantity of it to good vinegar.

Vanilla Vinegar.

Triturate in a porcelain mortar 4 parts of vanilla bean cut up with some white sugar, add 2 parts each of pulverized cloves and cinnamon, put all in a flask and digest it with 30 parts of strong alcohol for several days. Then add 250 to 270 parts of good vinegar, let it stand for some time, shaking it frequently, then strain through a cloth and finally filter. This vinegar is usually colored red.

Vinaigre à la Bardin.

Chop up: Leaves of dragonswort 20 parts, bay leaves 10 parts, angelica root 6 1/2 parts, capers and anchovies each 10 parts, shallots 6 1/2 parts, and pour 150 parts of good vinegar over them. Let the whole stand for 3 days, shaking frequently, then strain through a cloth, press out the residue, and filter the vinegar.

Vinaigre à la Ravigote.

Leaves of dragonswort 25 parts, bay leaves 6 1/2 parts, capers 13 1/2 parts, anchovies cut up fine 26 1/2 parts, cloves and horseradish each 3 1.2 parts, white mustard seed pounded fine 4/5 part, shallots 13 1/2 parts, and good vinegar 300 parts. Proceed as above.

Safron versus Azafran

A food revelation of a very small character.


For years, I've purchased, in Mexico, Vinagre de Yema and could never get a sense of what it was used for. How it was different from white or distilled, wine or cider vinegar, all of which are found in Mexico. It dawned on me that this is a supposed copy of Sherry Vinegar in much the same way that safflower is called azafran in Mexico, factitious safron.