Gas mark explained

The gas mark is a temperature scale used on gas ovens and cookers in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth of Nations countries.

History

The draft 2003 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary lists the earliest known usage of the concept as being in L. Chatterton's book Modern Cookery published in 1943: "Afternoon tea scones… Time: 20 minutes. Temperature: Gas, Regulo Mark 7". "Regulo" was a type of gas regulator used by a manufacturer of cookers; however, the scale has now become universal, and the word Regulo is rarely used.

The term "gas mark" was a subject of the joint BBC/OED production Balderdash and Piffle, in May 2005. The earliest printed evidence of use of "gas mark" (with no other terms between the two words) appears to date from 1958.[1] However, the manufacturers of the "New World" gas ranges in the mid-1930s gave away recipe books for use with their cooker, and the "Regulo" was the gas regulator.[2] The book has no reference to degrees. All dishes to be cooked are noted to be at "Regulo Mark X".

Equivalents in Fahrenheit and Celsius

Gas mark 1 is 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius).Oven temperatures increase by 25 °F (13.9 °C) each time the gas mark increases by 1. Below Gas Mark 1 the scale markings halve at each step, each representing a decrease of 25 °F.

For temperatures above 135 °C (gas mark 1) to convert gas mark to degrees Celsius (C) multiply the gas mark number (G) by 14, then add 121:

\left(G x 14\right)+121=C

For the reverse conversion:

G=

\left(C-121\right)
14

These do not work for G less than 1. For temperatures below 135 °C (gas mark 1), to convert gas mark to degrees Celsius apply the following conversion:

C=

243-(25 x log2(G-1))
1.8

For the reverse:

G=2(1.8C

It is usual to round the results of such calculations to a round number of degrees Celsius.

Conversion table
Gas markdegrees Fahrenheitdegrees CelsiusDescriptive
225107Very slow/very low
250121Very slow/very low
1 275135Slow/low
2 300149Slow/low
3 325163Moderately slow/warm
4 350177Moderate/medium
5 375191Moderate/moderately hot
6 400204Moderately hot
7 425218Hot
8 450232Hot/very hot
9 475246Very hot
10
(omitted in most tables)
500260Extremely hot
Note that tables of temperature equivalents for kitchen use usually offer Celsius values rounded to the nearest 10 degrees, with steps of either 10 or 20 degrees between Gas Marks.[3] [4]

Other cooking temperature scales

French ovens and recipes use a scale based on the Celsius scale:"Thermostat" (abbreviated "Th"), where Thermostat 1 equals 30 °C for conventional ovens, increasing by 30 °C for each whole number along the scale.[5]

In Germany, "Stufe" (the German word for "step") is used for gas cooking temperatures. Gas ovens are commonly marked in steps from 1 to 8, corresponding to:

Stufe1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Approx. Temp.140 °C 160 °C 180 °C 200 °C 220 °C 240 °C 260 °C 280 °C

Other ovens may be marked on a scale of 1–7, where Stufe is about 125 °C in a conventional oven, Stufe 1 is about 150 °C, increasing by 25 °C for each subsequent step, up to Stufe 7 at 300 °C.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: gas. OED Online. https://web.archive.org/web/20070625105319/http://www.oed.com/bbcwords/gas.html. 25 June 2007.
  2. Web site: Gourmet Britain / Food Encyclopedia / Regulo TM settings . Gourmetbritain.com . 29 October 2014.
  3. Web site: Conversion Guides. BBC Good Food. 14 March 2015.
  4. Web site: Cooking Conversion Charts. The Guardian. 14 March 2015.
  5. Web site: Oven Temperatures. Practically Edible. 20 June 2010. 5 October 2007. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100630082718/http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/oventemperatures. 30 June 2010.
  6. Web site: Temperatur-Angaben. GuteKueche. German. Temperature Information. 11 Feb 2012. 17 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150117065442/http://www.gutekueche.at/rezepte/wissen/koch-temperature-anagben.1402.htm. dead.