Old units on German recipe cards
What a Deka, a Lot or “a knife-tip” means in grams and cups. Values marked ≈ varied by time and place — the test bake decides.
| On the card | Equals | US kitchen | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deka / dag / dkg | 10 g | 3½ dkg ≈ 1¼ oz | Still standard in Austria: 25 dkg = 250 g. |
| Pfund (after 1858/1876) | 500 g | ≈ 1.1 lb | |
| Wiener Pfund (before 1876) | ≈ 560 g | — | Old Viennese pound, used on cards from before metrication. |
| Lot | ≈ 17.5 g (1/32 Viennese pound) | — | Later defined as about 16.7 g in some German states. |
| Messerspitze (Msp.) | ≈ what fits on the tip of a knife | ≈ ⅛ tsp | |
| EL (Esslöffel) | 1 tablespoon ≈ 15 ml | 1 tbsp | |
| TL / KL (Tee-/Kaffeelöffel) | 1 teaspoon ≈ 5 ml | 1 tsp | |
| Achtel / Achterl | ⅛ liter = 125 ml | ½ cup + 1 tsp | |
| Viertel / Vierterl | ¼ liter = 250 ml | 1 cup + 1 tbsp | |
| Seidel | ≈ 0.35 l (Viennese Seidel) | ≈ 1½ cups | |
| Tasse | ≈ a cup — size depended on the household | assume ≈ 150–200 ml unless the card says otherwise | |
| Päckchen Backpulver | ≈ 16 g, for 500 g flour | ≈ 4 tsp baking powder | |
| Päckchen Vanillezucker | ≈ 8 g | 2 tsp sugar + ½ tsp vanilla extract | |
| Würfel Germ / Hefe | 42 g fresh yeast | ≈ 14 g (2 packets) instant yeast | |
| für 10 Pfennig Germ | ≈ a small amount of fresh yeast bought by price | usually 10–20 g fresh yeast; judge by flour quantity | Price-based measures differed by year and baker — the test bake decides. |