A couple of years ago I was in one of my favourite types of shop, a cookery shop, looking at one of my favourite culinary items, a set of measuring spoons, when I saw another set hanging on the rack. The bowls of the spoon were tiny and the measurements were smidgen, pinch, dash and coffee spoon! How hilarious, I thought, what fun! I bought the little set but I have to say I’ve never actually used them.
I was doing some research about something else and came across some information about volume and good grief! There are actual measurements of smidgen, pinch, dash and coffee spoon! I know the larger volume measures, pins, firkins barrels and tuns, and I knew there were tiny weights like scruples and grains, but fancy there being an actual measure of a drop or a pinch!
Just in case you need to know, here is a helpful table:
- Drop – 1⁄96 tsp – 3 drops = 1 smidgen
- Smidgen – 1⁄32 tsp – 2 smidgens = 1 pinch
- Pinch – 1⁄16 tsp – 2 pinches = 1 dash
- Dash - 1⁄8 tsp - 2 dashes = 1 saltspoon
- Saltspoon or scruple – 1⁄4 tsp - 2 saltspoons = 1 coffeespoon
- Coffeespoon – 1⁄2 tsp - 2 coffeespoons = 1 teaspoon
Lois Elsden 
but these are post-use definitions I think
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I think you are probably right, Simon, it was probably a spoon manufacturer who formalised them!
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Hello Lois, I didn’t understand your table at first (I think it’s because of the punctuation) so I looked it up on the internet and found the following: a hint = 1/2 drop, a drop = 1/2 smidgen, a smidgen = 1/2 pinch, a pinch = 1/2 dash, a dash = 1/2 tad, a tad = 1/4 tsp, so there is a tad too! None of it very practical for cooking anyway, apart from the tad, but what lovely little spoons they must be!
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Thank you for telling me! I’ll try and rewrite it to make it clearer! I just was so amused by it!
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You would have to have good eyes and not be shaky to use them.
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I better remember where my glasses are then!
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