Teaspoonful

A teaspoon is a common kitchen measure for the volume of an ingredient that roughly fits in a small coffee spoon. It is an approximate unit, as it has varied interpretations. Measurements in milliliters are preferred to resolve all ambiguity.

In recipes, the measurement is abbreviated as tsp.

Metric teaspoon

Cucharas medidoras: Deciliter, spoonful, teaspoon and milliliter.

It is the international standard of the metric system:

• The metric teaspoon is exactly 5 ml or cm3

It is commonly used in European recipes.

1 teaspoon equals approximately 0.175975 imperial fluid ounces.

Imperial teaspoon

The imperial teaspoon (teaspoon) has not been standardized, and can traditionally mean:

• In the United Kingdom: approximately 5.92 ml
• In Canada: ¹♪₆ imperial liquid ounce, or approximately 4.74 ml
• If understood as the metric teaspoon: 5 ml.

If anything, it's equal to ¹⁄₃ tablespoon of the same system.

US teaspoon

One teaspoon is exactly equal to:

• ¹♪₃ American tablespoons (tablespoon)
• ¹♪₆ American liquid ounces

That roughly equates to:

• 0,3008 cubic inches
• 4,929 ml or cm3

The United States has legislated the use of the metric teaspoon for official measurements, such as in the area of nutrition. The difference between the two measures is almost 1.5%.

Notes on use

It is current practice, in several countries, to indicate the dose of syrups or solutions to drink using the teaspoon as the unit of volume (usually considered equal to 5 ml). This, however, is a potential source of dispensing error, since spoon manufacturers do not follow a standard for determining the volume of the spoons: they usually vary between 2 and 6 ml. This measurement error can cause dangerous sub-therapeutic dosing of the measured drug.