Pinch (unit)

For other uses, see Pinch (disambiguation).

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