[Sca-cooks] Question about rue....

[Terry Decker]

Al-kayl is a standard measure of weight using different volume measures to 
measure the same weight of product.  Thus a kayl of honey and a kayl of 
wheat weigh the same, but have different volumes.

Kayl, as I understand it, can also be used colloquially to simply mean 
"measure."  Looking at the translation, I think it may be used this way in 
some of the recipes in the Anonymous Andalusian cookbook to provide ratios: 
one measure of x to one of y, three measures of x to one of y, etc.

Bear

> Actually, it's from the Anonymous Andalusian cookery book (13th c.) and it
> was used in connection with honey rather than a dry measure.
>
> Kiri
>
> On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 4:40 PM, Terry Decker <t.d.decker at att.net> wrote:
>
>> Al kail or al kayl means, in general, "standard measure."  You need the
>> context for the precise meaning.  In trade, it is a standard measure of
>> grain (also "kaila)"used in the levying of taxes.  Under Ghengis Khan, 
>> the
>> kail was roughly 8.87 kg.  Under the Turks, it was roughly 35 liters.
>> However, I suspect your usage is "dirham al-kayl" which varies by 
>> location
>> and time, but is likely to be 50.4 grains.  11 1/9 dirham al-kayl = 1 
>> uqiyah
>> = 1/12  rotl.  "Alqueire" is an Iberian corruption of the Islamic 
>> "al-kayl"
>> and is used in some Spanish and Portuguese speaking cultures as as a 
>> large
>> volume dry measure and/or a measure of land.
>>
>> Bear
>>
>>  Also...I have run across a number of references to a measurement called 
>> *
>>> kail*.  Any idea how much that would be?
>>>
>>> Thanks!!
>>>
>>> Kiri