Pinch (unit)

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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
=⁠1/8⁠US 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
≈0·35UK 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
≈0·36US customary coffee spoon
≈0·72US customary salt spoon
≈1·44 US customary dashes
≈2·88US 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

  1. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary s.v. , definition 12
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "Size So Totally Doesn't Matter". OChef. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Page 14, Good Things in England (1932)
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