Perhaps you may do when it's a new recipe you are trying out but if it's a tried and trusted one you may well measure by the eye!
Growing up there was always a wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. My dear mum spent a lot of time in the kitchen and her meals, the cakes she made were just delicious.
I can also remember visiting my Grans (my mums mum) and her kitchen too was always a special place to visit ... if she was baking she would always invite me to help out ... lovely memories.
Coming away from memories and into 2025 the internet, television, food bloggers etc have really opened our eyes to the many different cuisines and cooking traditions there are.
This is great but one drawback is that the way countries measure their ingredients, may or may not align with metric or imperial standards. For instance, traditional Asian cooking often uses “handfuls” or “pinches,” whereas Mediterranean cuisine might rely more on the “splash” or “drizzle” when adding ingredients.
In the UK, recipes often specify weights in grams, while in the US, volume measurements like cups and tablespoons are the standard. For international recipes, it’s important to recognise that ingredients might be described differently depending on the system used by the author.
I know when I share a recipe on some (but not all) I link to a conversion chart, of course many of you will have a favourite conversion chart you use ... it could even be your own notes in a recipe type journal!
Two sites I use quite regularly are these here and here
Recipes often give ingredients in “spoons” but what if you don’t have the particular spoon to hand? And is your soup spoon the same as a table spoon? Well put the ladle down, here is a handy conversion chart for the most popular sizes capacity.
Common Cooking Measurements
Teaspoons (tsp)
Tablespoons (tbsp)
Cups
Fluid Ounces (fl oz)
Summer vegetable and butter bean stew : A slow cooker recipe : see it here
Locro : Southern American Stew ... so warming : see it here
Two sites I use quite regularly are these here and here
But, now coming to the title of this post which is 'Spoon Sizes and other matters'
Here is a brief guide to spoons sizes, and for anyone, who needs to know how many teaspoons in a tablespoon in a hurry. Or what does a ’rounded’ tablespoon mean, or how much does 3 level tablespoons of flour weigh?
Recipes often give ingredients in “spoons” but what if you don’t have the particular spoon to hand? And is your soup spoon the same as a table spoon? Well put the ladle down, here is a handy conversion chart for the most popular sizes capacity.
Teaspoons (tsp)
- Metric: 5 ml
- Imperial: 5 ml
Tablespoons (tbsp)
- Metric: 15 ml
- Imperial: 15 ml
Cups
- Metric: 240 ml
- Imperial: 284 ml (UK) or 237 ml (US)
Fluid Ounces (fl oz)
- Metric: 30 ml
- Imperial: 28.4 ml (UK) or 29.57 ml (US)
Some Other Measurements Used in Cooking, but there are more than these!
Pinch
A pinch is a small amount of an ingredient, typically between 1/16 and 1/8 teaspoon. It’s a common unit of measurement for spices and seasonings like salt or pepper. It’s handy here to know the impact spices and chilli can have to taste and strength, and it’s better to go under, taste, then add more.
Pinch
A pinch is a small amount of an ingredient, typically between 1/16 and 1/8 teaspoon. It’s a common unit of measurement for spices and seasonings like salt or pepper. It’s handy here to know the impact spices and chilli can have to taste and strength, and it’s better to go under, taste, then add more.
- Comparison: Approximately 0.3 ml.
Dash
A dash is typically slightly larger than a pinch, often about 1/8 teaspoon.
A dash is typically slightly larger than a pinch, often about 1/8 teaspoon.
- Comparison: Approximately 0.5 ml.
Sprinkle
This measurement is even less precise and refers to the action of scattering or lightly covering food with an ingredient. It’s used for toppings or small garnishes, like cheese or herbs.
This measurement is even less precise and refers to the action of scattering or lightly covering food with an ingredient. It’s used for toppings or small garnishes, like cheese or herbs.
- Comparison: Approximately 1-2 ml, depending on the ingredient and how much is “sprinkled”.
There are even recipes that may call for 'A drop or Eye of the Needle' or a 'dollop'.
I do wonder who came up with these titles? That could be a post for another time!
For now, I wish you all a good new week (well it is Monday as I hit the publish button). I also give links below to three recipes you may wish try.
All the best Jan
32 comments:
Lots of helpful information here! I always end up googling amounts when converting to US measurements.
...I think that I'm too old to learn the metric system!
The only thing I measure is baking powder/soda. I’m a lazy cook!
I always have a kitchen scale, measuring cups and measuring spoons nearby when I am baking.
Never when I am cooking.
Thanks for the information.-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
When I first make a recipe I stick to the measurements. After that I rely on my own preferences. Some of my teaspoons of spice are very rounded.
Very useful article.
They say that pastry is connected to the measure.
In the past at least.
So definitely the size of the spoon matters.
Usually here in Greece we have two sizes, small (teaspoon) and large (tablespoon).
Have a beautiful week!
This is such a thoughtful post about the nuances of cooking measurements. It is wonderful to reminisce about your mum's and gran's kitchens, where instinct often guided the cooking. The breakdown of spoon sizes and those less precise measurements like "pinch" and "dash" are incredibly helpful.
www.melodyjacob.com
I remember my mother used cups to measure her recipes' ingredients. She said one cup is equal to a quarter of a litre in terms of volume. Actually, it's quite similar to 240 ml, which you wrote in you wrote in the article.
I was interested in information about the size of tablespoon.
Have a nice new week, Jan.
I always weigh myself before and after eating the cooked/baked ingredients.
God bless.
What an interesting and informative post. Standardisation would make life easier, but take away the individuality.
Good post, Jan.
When I finally started the cooking thing I took Jamie´s book AND the DVD and did precise. Then I met your blog and also Jamie online, always saying you can do it that way or your own.
Ingo sometimes gets "mad" at me cause.. I do like I feel and can not reproduce exactly, but life would be boring otherwise?
I owe you big. You taught me a lot, so now I can do on my own (feelings).
What a thoughtful reflection on the art of cooking, measuring by eye often carries the warmth of tradition, but having those handy conversions sure helps bridge kitchens across the world
Yes, i always measure, I have several sets of measuring spoons and cups.
Take care, enjoy your day and have a great week!
I much prefer grams and my scales for weighing. I am not really good with anything else so have to convert to metric! Lost with teaspoons and tablespoons and heaped! Dash, pinch and sprinkle would all be the same to me! Good to know their differences :-D
Thank you for this very helpful post, Jan. I always get a bit confused with cups in new recipes.
Have a lovely week x
Interesting information. I always thought a cup was a cup - i think as long as I use the same one each time it doesn't matter. But then I'm using a NZ cookbook. I hadn't thought about amounts changing when we changed over to the metric system.
Jan, thank you so much for doing this post. I think it is so important to know this and not everyone does. It can be easy to put too much of something in a recipe when we are not certain how much any given spoon size should be.
Fantastic post. I have never had a problem with knowing the metric and the US standard measurements. In my day we learned it school, I used it as a Vet Tech with medicines, and in other employment too. Again, this is a fantastic post.
I'm bookmarking this one! As for spoons, when I cook, I always use standard measuring spoons to be consistent (although you might find one an teeny bit off from another but not enough to matter!)
I do notice that many people who cook on youtube use regular spoons. I use measuring spoons when I want to be precise, but that's what I'm used to, being from the US. I rarely follow recipes exactly and I'm usually just winging it, but sometimes I want to be more exact. Very helpful information in this post! Happy Monday!
I do use a set of measuring spoons and cups especially when baking but not always when cooking unless it it a new recipe.
I don't do a lot of measuring when it comes to cooking.. I eyeball it a lot which is probably why baking is harder for me.. measurements matter a lot more to make sure things rise and come out the way they are supposed to.
I liked this, fun to learn about measuring spoons and the like. Thanks Jan :) All the best!
I always use a measuring spoon not a table spoon.
Most of the time I eyeball it.
I agree, it can be tricky!! I have lived in Europe, Asia, and Australia, and it gets complicated, especially with my US relatives. I'm a great fan of the words dash or pinch of!! Thank you for explaining and providing such excellent links - I also enjoyed the chicken salad recipe!
Wren x
Wow that is certainly a lot to take in, thank you for all that hard work. I am a big time measureing person, my sis in law just throws things in and I just cringe, LOL! I had to laugh because I was wondering the same thing, who came up with these words instead of saying exact measurements, I like that now because of your post I have some kind of an idea now :)
I prefer to weigh or use measuring spoons. I do have some cups but like you say they are different to the US version so it makes it tricky. I hate using cups, how densely do you fill them etc
Normalmente uso el peso, alguna vez la cuchara, y otras que usaba mi madre un cascaron de huevo. Besos.
Very helpful definitions of sppon sizes etc! If I'm making something I've made many times before I don't use scales or follow a recipe,
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