It is a grand system in that great American tradition that has given us the seven-month baseball season and the half-gallon cup of soda.
Then, in the atrium of Harrah's casino, he will attach himself to a wire that will hoist him 20 feet into the air and then dunk him twice into an 800-gallon cup-shaped tank of industrial-grade instant cappuccino.
By contrast, strawberries come in at 3.6 gallons per cup, and it takes only 1.3 gallons of water to produce a tomato.
For the pork belly (serves 6): 1 pork belly, whole 1/2 gallon water 4 cups kosher salt 2 cups sugar 1/4 cup juniper berries 1/4 cup black peppercorns 10 bay leaves 1 bottle Campari 1 bottle gin 1 bottle vermouth.
The other night, cooking a purely seasonal meal, I went through about a gallon — O.K., a cup — of olive oil.
A simple variation can be made with 2 gallons water, 3/4 cup kosher salt, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 bay leaves, 1 bunch fresh thyme, 1 halved head of garlic, 5 allspice berries and 4 crushed juniper berries.
DIRECTIONS For the pork belly: Bring brine to a boil (1/2 gallon of water, 4 cups of kosher salt, 2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup juniper berries, 1/4 cup black peppercorns, 10 bay leaves).
There are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot, and 16 cups per gallon, so the meter reads down to 1.2 cups.
Some flowers, like bromeliads, can cup a gallon of water in their leaves, turning regions of canopy into treetop swamps.
Use about 1 cup per gallon of water.
