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How much is a pinch of salt?


Baggy

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Somebody must know!

But how is a pinch of salt administered? Delicately between the thumb and first finger? Or perhaps a ‘peck’ using the thumb and all the fingers?

If there’s an answer please tell me.

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Great! Thanks.

That makes:

0.0625 UK teaspoons = 0.36 grams

0.0867 US teaspoons = 0.49 grams

0.001302 US cups = 0.71 grams

Oh! And 1/16th of a US teaspoon = 0.36 grams (or 0.375 grams if using the USDA database)

Am I looking at the wrong measure?

I tried a thumb and first finger = 0.2 grams, but now I’m trying to compare recipes for taste and need to find some better yardstick. Are there any other measures I can try?

PS How do I get rid of these stupid auto hyperlinks that attach themselves to the text and have no relevance to anything except an advert to Amazon?

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Somebody must know!

But how is a pinch of salt administered?  Delicately between the thumb and first finger?  Or perhaps a ‘peck’ using the thumb and all the fingers?

If there’s an answer please tell me.

I think we should adopt this definition:

A pinch of salt is: The amount of salt needed to increase saltiness by the smallest increment discernible by ones taste buds.

Depending on volume of food, a pinch could be any amount. :biggrin:

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Another thing to be taken "with a pinch of salt" is any direct (automated) conversion between volume (spoonfuls) and weight (grams) - this depends *greatly* on the grain size and shape, which varies with different products.

I interpret such a vague instruction as meaning "a bit" of salt - it probably needs some, but the quantity is left slightly indeterminate 1/ so that I can adjust "to taste" and 2/ because volume measurement of salt is inherently a vague specification.

My suspicion is that generally, professional cooks are rather heavier on salt than most home cooks, and can call rather a lot of salt "a pinch".

If *you* are trying to specify the quantity of salt, use a weight measurement to convey your exact intention - and, if you feel the need, provide a volume indication for the guidance of those inadequately equipped. No volume measure of salt can be accurate unless you also list an absolutely specific type of salt...

Edited by dougal (log)

"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch ... you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

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I think this whole discussion need to be taken with a pinch of salt.

:hmmm:

Also, on the size of the grains point, would the size of the grain dictate how many grains you gather, and therefore be roughly the same amount in weight as if the grains were say smaller?

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According to Wikipedia:

A peck is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 8 dry quarts, or 16 dry pints. Two pecks make a kenning (obsolete), and four pecks make a bushel.

In Scotland, the peck was used as a dry measure until the introduction of imperial units as a result of the Weights and Measures Act of 1824. The peck was equal to about 9 litres (in the case of certain crops, such as wheat, peas, beans and meal) and about 13 litres (in the case of barley, oats and malt). A firlot was equal to 4 pecks and the peck was equal to 4 lippies or forpets.

Hmm, that's a lotta pinches of salt.

Doddie aka Domestic Goddess

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The Sainted Julia said a pinch of salt is as much as you can pick up out of a bowl with your thumb and TWO fingers. To me, it's closer to a teaspoon than 1/4 teaspoon.

When you watch Lidia, that's how she adds "a pinch," too.

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