Another thing to consider is that prior to the late 19th/20th centuries, standardization of ingredients and quantities was not really a thing. Flour came in dif

Another thing to consider is that prior to the late 19th/20th centuries, standardization of ingredients and quantities was not really a thing. Flour came in different densities and gluten contents, depending on what the mill felt like producing. Tomatoes came in different sizes and acidities depending on the soil and weather, and neither stoves nor ovens had effective temperature control. If they had told you to use 50g of something, that wouldn't have meant 50g of whatever the reader had, and it certainly wouldn't mean 50g of what you can get. Instead, the reader is expected to "fill in the gaps", a much more reasonable expectation when everyone is cooking daily with the same few dozen ingredients because long term preservation isn't a thing yet outside pickling/curing/fermentation.