Recipe Terms
Glossary
Depending on where and when you grew up, terms can pop up in recipes that you’ve never heard before. This post will be updated with words you might stumble across in your vintage recipe reading that leave you stumped. Please email me if you have suggestions for additional terms to add!
#
4x Sugar: powdered sugar; the number 4 refers to how many times the granulated sugar is processed in order to become the right consistency; 4x sugar is coarser than regular powdered sugar, and is difficult to find for sale
10x Sugar: powdered sugar; the number 10 refers to how many times the granulated sugar is processed in order to become the right consistency
A
B
C
Confectioner's Sugar: powdered sugar with added starch (typically corn starch); the starch acts as a anti-caking agent as well as prevents the sugar from dissolving when sprinkled over warm surfaces; in most cases, you can simply substitute regular powdered sugar
D
Dream Whip: a boxed whipped topping mix that is typically reconstituted with milk and vanilla; created by General Foods in 1957; after multiple mergers is now owned by Kraft Foods
E
Eagle Milk: sweetened condensed milk; for a few decades, the Eagle Milk evaporated milk brand was so popular it was referred to by its brand name exclusively
F
G
Graham Flour: a coarse ground, whole wheat flour named after Sylvester Graham; similar in protein content to regular whole wheat flour but has a coarser grind
H
Hot Oven: 400-450*F; Prior to oven thermometers, a series of adjectives were used to describe the correct oven temperature. This was determined by how long it would take a piece of white paper to turn brown, how long you could hold your hand in the oven, or another similar test. Oven thermostats were not introduced until the early 20th century, and did not become common until some time after that.
I
J
K
L
Liquid Shortening: similar to oil, liquid shortening is a fat most often used for frying; melted shortening, such as Crisco, is an ideal substitute in baked good recipes
M
Miracle Whip: a less expensive alternative to mayonnaise; does not contain enough oil to legally be considered mayonnaise; introduced in 1933 at the Chicago World's Fair
Moderate Oven: 350-375*F; Prior to oven thermometers, a series of adjectives were used to describe the correct oven temperature. This was determined by how long it would take a piece of white paper to turn brown, how long you could hold your hand in the oven, or another similar test. Oven thermostats were not introduced until the early 20th century, and did not become common until some time after that.
N
Nippy Cheese: a now discontinued Kraft cheese spread packaged in a roll that contained horseradish; frequent ingredient in appetizers during the 1970s-1980s
O
Oleo: shorthand for oleomargarine or margarine; a butter substitute
P
Pet Milk: evaporated milk; for a few decades, the Pet Milk evaporated milk brand was so popular it was referred to by its brand name exclusively
Q
R
S
Saccharin Tablets: an artificial sweetener most commonly marketed as Sweet'n Low in the United States; saccharin is 500 times sweeter than sucrose; each 1/4 grain tablet is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of sugar
Salad Dressing: in most recipes calling for salad dressing as an ingredient, the appropriate ingredient is Miracle Whip; salad dressing (or sometimes mayonnaise) was used as a replacement for eggs and oil in many baking recipes;
Salad Oil: a light, neutral flavored oil, such as canola or vegetable oil; the term is in contrast to "fry oil"
Scalded Milk: the process of heating milk until right before the boiling point before adding it to a recipe; a hold over from the days before pasteurization to kill bacteria; can also serve multiple other purposes such as infusing flavor, deactivating whey protein (which can interfere with gluten in bread recipes), and melt sugar or butter into a batter; check this article for directions on how to scald milk
Shoepeg Corn: a type of sweet corn known for its smaller, narrow kernels predominately sold canned; popular in the South; substitute regular white, canned sweet corn in recipes
Slow Oven: 300-325*F; Prior to oven thermometers, a series of adjectives were used to describe the correct oven temperature. This was determined by how long it would take a piece of white paper to turn brown, how long you could hold your hand in the oven, or another similar test. Oven thermostats were not introduced until the early 20th century, and did not become common until some time after that.
Sour Milk: milk that has been made acidic by adding vinegar or lemon juice; often used as a substitute for buttermilk; typical ratio is 1T acid to 1c milk
Sweet Milk: whole milk, NOT sweetened condensed milk; this AllRecipes article is a great summary explaining the name
T
Thank You Fruit: a brand of canned fruit and pie fillings currently owned by Curtice-Burns; originally produced by Michigan Fruit Canners; in recipes calling for Thank You Fruit, substitute regular canned pie filling or fruit filling, but be mindful of size, Thank You Fruit was sold in various sized cans
U
V
W
Wesson Oil: vegetable oil; Wesson was the first company to create an all vegetable shortening in 1899