Pinch (unit)
A pinch is a small, indefinite amount of a substance, typically a powder like salt, sugar, spice, or snuff.[1] It is the "amount that can be taken between the thumb and forefinger".[2]
Some manufacturers of measuring spoons and some U.S. cookbooks give more precise equivalents, typically 1/16 US customary teaspoon;[3] some sources define it as 1/8 or 1/24 teaspoon.[4] There is no generally accepted standard.
| 1 US customary pinch | = | 1/48 | US customary tablespoon |
| = | 1/32 | US customary dessert spoon | |
| = | 1/16 | US customary teaspoon | |
| = | 1/8 | US customary coffee spoon | |
| = | 1/2 | US customary dash | |
| = | 2 | US customary smidgens | |
| ≈ | 0·022 | UK tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·043 | UK dessert spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·087 | UK teaspoon | |
| ≈ | 0·17 | UK salt spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·35 | UK pinch | |
| ≈ | 0·02 | international metric tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·015 | Australian metric tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·031 | metric dessert spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·062 | metric teaspoon |
In the United Kingdom, a pinch is traditionally 1/2 UK salt spoon,[5] the equivalence of 1/4 UK teaspoon. 1/2 UK salt spoon is an amount of space that can accommodate 15 British imperial minims (1/4 British imperial fluid drachm or 1/32 British imperial fluid ounce; about 14·41 US customary minims (0·24 US customary fluid dram or 0·03 US customary fluid ounce) or 0·89 millilitres) of liquid.
| 1 UK pinch | = | 1/16 | UK tablespoon |
| = | 1/8 | UK dessert spoon | |
| = | 1/4 | UK teaspoon | |
| = | 1/2 | UK salt spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·06 | US customary tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·09 | US customary dessert spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·18 | US customary teaspoon | |
| ≈ | 0·36 | US customary coffee spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·72 | US customary salt spoon | |
| ≈ | 1·44 | US customary dashes | |
| ≈ | 2·88 | US customary pinches | |
| ≈ | 5·76 | US customary smidgens | |
| ≈ | 0·059 | international metric tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·044 | Australian metric tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·089 | metric dessert spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·18 | metric teaspoon |
References
[edit]- ^ Oxford English Dictionary s.v., definition 12
- ^ Rowlett, Russ (December 2003). "Units: P". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
recently kitchen supply stores... have begun selling sets of "minispoons" in which the spoon labeled "pinch" is designed to hold exactly 1/2 dash or 1/16 teaspoon, which is roughly 0.01 fluid ounce or 0.3 milliliter.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ (December 1998). "Units: P". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on December 3, 1998.
- ^ "Size So Totally Doesn't Matter". OChef. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ Page 14, Good Things in England (1932)
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