Teaspoons

A teaspoon (tsp or t) is the smallest standard measuring spoon in most American recipe sets. NIST's Metric Kitchen guide gives one teaspoon as about 5 milliliters, and an Ohio State University Extension table lists it as one third of a tablespoon, so three teaspoons make a tablespoon, a figure repeated in a Clemson University Extension chart.

Bakers use teaspoons for the small, strong ingredients that need careful dosing: baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, spices and yeast. A level teaspoon, swept flat with a straight edge, gives a more dependable amount than a heaped one.

Because errors with potent ingredients show up in the finished cake or bread, recipe writers specify a measuring spoon rather than an everyday teaspoon from the cutlery drawer. For amounts smaller than a teaspoon, recipes use fractions such as half or quarter teaspoon, or the informal pinch and dash.