A measuring spoon is a

spoon A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...

used to measure an amount of an

ingredient In a general sense, an ingredient is a substance which forms part of a mixture. In cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a dish, and the term may also refer to a specific food item in relation to its use in different re ...

, either liquid or dry, when cooking. Measuring spoons may be made of plastic, metal, and other materials. They are available in many sizes, including the

teaspoon A teaspoon (tsp.) is a small spoon that can be used to stir a cup of tea or coffee, or as a tool for measuring volume. The size of teaspoons ranges from about . For dosing of medicine and, in places where metric units are used, for cooking pu ...

and

tablespoon A tablespoon (tbsp., Tbsp., Tb., or T.) is a large spoon. In many English-speaking regions, the term now refers to a large spoon used for serving; however, in some regions, it is the largest type of spoon used for eating. By extension, the ter ...

Country differences

International

Metric measuring spoons are available in sets, usually between four and six, typically with decilitre (100 ml),

(15 ml),

(5 ml) and

millilitre The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter ( American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A cu ...

measures. For fractional measures, there is often a line inside to indicate "half" or "a quarter", or a separate measure may be included, like dl.

United States

In the U.S., measuring spoons often come in sets, usually between four and six. This usually includes , , and 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon. The volume of a traditional US

is 4.9 ml and that of a

is 14.8 ml, only slightly less than standard metric measuring spoons.

Japan

In Japan, usually two spoons are used: a and a . A large spoon is 15 milliliters, and a small spoon is 5 milliliters. Sometimes a much smaller spoon may be used, usually a 2.5 milliliter spoon ('' small spoon'').

Australia

The Australian definition of the tablespoon as a unit of volume is larger than most: ::

Specialized measuring spoons

Special spoons are manufactured to measure popular materials for common tasks. For example, for coffee the standard measuring spoon contains 7 grams of coffee powder, adequate for an

espresso Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...

Measuring with cutlery spoons

Cutlery in many countries includes two spoons (besides the fork and knife, or butterknife). These cutlery spoons are also called a "teaspoon" and "tablespoon", but are not necessarily the same volume as measuring spoons with the same names: Cutlery spoons are not made to standard sizes and may hold 2.5~7.3 ml (50%~146% of 5 ml) for teaspoons and 7~20 ml (47%~133% of 15 ml) for tablespoons. The difference in size can be dangerous when cutlery is used for critical measurements, like medication.

References

Spoons Food preparation utensils Cooking weights and measures Volumetric instruments Units of volume {{cooking-tool-stub