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Nutrition & Food Science

A Pinch, A Dab, & A Handful … What does it mean?!

If there is one thing I learned growing up being taught to cook at the apron strings of my many various female relatives (including great and great-great), as well as being a collector of vintage recipes, it is how to “eyeball” a recipe — or as I like to say, “Just throw stuff together” — and you pick up the lingo for terms like a pinch, a dab, and a handful.   So here is a list of measurements to equate with such terms –should you ever be in need of deciphering your great, or great-great, or great-great-great, etc. aunt’s and  grandmother’s recipes.

 

a lump of butter = 2 Tbsp

butter the size of an egg = 1/4 cup

butter the size of a walnut = 2 Tbsp

a tea cup = 3/4 cup

a coffee cup = 1 cup

a tin cup = 1 cup

a gill = 1/2 cup

a serving = 1/2 to 3/4 cups (although it’s meaning can vary; it basically means the standard quantity used in similar or like recipes — so a serving of vanilla extract might be 1 to 2 tsp in certain types of recipes and 1 Tbsp in others)

a half gill = 1/4 cup

a wine glass = 1/4 cup

a dash = 1/8 to 1/ 4 teaspoon

a tad = 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon

a salt spoon = 1/4 teaspoon

a pinch = 1/16 to 1/8 teaspoon

a smidgen = 1/32 to  a little under 1/16 teaspoon

a drop (dry measure)= half of a smidgen  (i.e. 4 to 5 red pepper flakes)

a hint = half of a (dry measure) drop  (i.e. 1 or 2 red pepper flakes)

a dollop =  1  “heaping” Tbsp (as much as it will hold; not level)

a heaping dollop = approximately 2 Tbsp minus 1-1/2 tsp (slightly over 1-1/2 Tbsp; or,  to put it another way it is 1 Tbsp plus 1-1/2 tsp and a tad)

a handful = 1/2 cup

a heaping handful = 3/4 cup

a couple of handfuls = 1 cup

a scant or a small handful = 1/3 cup

a couple of handfuls and then some = 1-1/2 cups

a tumblerful = 2 cups

a glassful = 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups

a wee (sewing) thimble full = 1 ml, or 1 cc, or 2 drops of liquid (Not to be confused with a much larger bar thimble)

a (sewing) thimble full = 2.1 ml, or 2.1 cc, or 4 to 5 drops of liquid, or a wee dram

a wee dram = 2.1 ml,  or 2.1 cc, or 4 to 5 drops of liquid

a dram or a full dram =  5 ml, or 5 cc, or 1 tsp

60 Drops = 5 ml, or 5 cc, or 1 teaspoon of liquid

3 tsp = 1 Tbsp = 1/2 ounce of liquid

a splash = 1/8 ounce or 3/4 tsp of liquid

a pony or a shot = 1 ounce or 2 Tbsp of liquid

a jigger = 1- 1/2 ounces or 1-1/2 Tbsp (1 Tbsp plus 1-1/2 tsp) of liquid

a split = 6 ounces or 1 cup of liquid

a cup = 4 ounces dry measure or 6 ounces liquid measure

Note:

As far as a (bar) thimble for measuring alcoholic beverages goes, the capacity of a standard thimble is 50 ml. However, they also come in sizes of 25, 35, 125, 175, and 250 ml.

So, if granny’s recipe calls for a wee thimble (2 drops) of food coloring, be careful not to confuse a sewing thimble with a bar thimble (a fifth of a cup)!    Also, if the recipe calls for a thimble of sherry or bourbon, make sure you use the standard 50 ml (unless size is otherwise noted) bar thimble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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About Me

Hi, I'm Tammy!

I live in Idaho but I am a southerner and moved here for career reasons in 2000. However, I am now a retired widow and have lots of time to focus on what makes me happiest -- cooking, sharing recipes, as well as teaching and sharing with others what I know about cooking and nutrition.

I don't claim to know everything there is to know about cooking and I'm not a chef, although I do know a few and helped them out from time to time and my late husband was a trained cook and baker as well as a master at smoking meats and making BBQ, and I have studied nutrition at two colleges and one university along with other degrees. I like cooking from scratch and recipes made with prepackaged items are the exception rather than the norm.

However, being disabled, I have good days and bad days so I do use what I call "cheats" on occasion. For the most part though I've learned to pace myself and with a little preplanning I manage to do the prep one day and the cooking the next so the cheats still don't happen very often.

I have an enormous collection of recipes dating from the 1700s to the present (hence, vintage to modern). Because of my late husband's health issues I also have many diabetic and heart healthy recipes or my recipes often include substitutions along with the regular ingredients.

I do just about everything when it comes to cooking so other than predominantly scratch cooking, I don't really have a set focus on any particular cuisine. I even make a few cheeses, canning, homemade ginger ale, candies and confections, and the list goes on. If there is a recipe for something you'd like to see just leave a comment or write to me at: vintage2modernkitchen@gmail.com

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