Apothecaries' Weights

Before metric measurements and standardized kitchen scales, cooks, herbalists, and pharmacists worked in a system of weights that most people have never heard of: grains, scruples, drams, and apothecary ounces.

These conversions are essential if you’re working from historical recipe manuscripts, old herbal preparations, or early American and European cookbooks that predate the adoption of standard weights.

Here’s how the system breaks down:

• 20 grains = 1 scruple
• 3 scruples = 1 dram
• 8 drams = 1 ounce
• 12 ounces = 1 pound

Note that the apothecary pound (12 ounces) differs from the standard avoirdupois pound (16 ounces) still used today in the United States. When a historical recipe specifies a pound, it matters which system was intended.

Kitchen Tips

• A modern kitchen scale in grams is the most accurate way to work with these conversions; 1 grain equals approximately 0.065 grams
• When in doubt with a historical recipe, cross-reference the ingredient quantities with known modern versions to catch any conversion errors
• Dram is still used today in bartending and pharmacy; a fluid dram is approximately 1 teaspoon