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“How many pinches in a dollop?”
We’ve been watching the TV show MONK at night. It’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime. The show is silliness wrapped around a mystery, so it’s light and entertaining.
Just what we like.
For anyone unfamiliar with the show, Mr. Monk is a detective who suffers from so many phobias & foibles that half the show is watching him freak out, while the other half of the show is observing how he solves a mystery, usually a murder.
In one episode, “Mr. Monk Goes To The Circus” [Season 2, Episode 4], while attempting to make a mug of cocoa Mr. Monk asks Sharona, his beleaguered assistant, the question shown at the top of this post. It seems like it might be a rhetorical question, but in fact it is not.
There is an answer that I shall now tell you.
Ready? Here goes.
FIRST you need to know these two facts about measuring spoons:
a PINCH is 1/16th of a teaspoon
3 TEASPOONS is 1 tablespoon
PLUS you need to understand that:
a DOLLOP is 1 + 1/4th tablespoons
THEN you need to do the math:
Knowing that 16 pinches are 1 teaspoon and that 3 teaspoons make 1 tablespoon, I determined that 1 tablespoon is 48 pinches [16 x 3].
But what about the 1/4th of a tablespoon, you might be asking yourself? Well that’s where it gets more complicated but I figured it out.
Remembering that 1 tablespoon equals 48 pinches, I was able to determine that one fourth of a tablespoon equals 12 pinches [48 ÷ 4].
Thus I added 12 to 48 and arrived at the answer:
60 pinches make a dollop
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The Names Of Measuring Spoons & Cups
a DROP or a NIP is 1/64th of a teaspoon
a SMIDGEN or a SHAKE is 1/32nd of a teaspoon
a PINCH is 1/16th of a teaspoon
a DASH is 1/8th of a teaspoon
a TAD is 1/4th of a teaspoon
a HALF is 1/2th of a teaspoon
a DESSERTSPOON is 2 teaspoons
a TABLESPOON is 3 teaspoons
a DOLLOP is 1 + 1/4th tablespoons
a WALNUT-SIZE is roughly 2 tablespoons
a SPLASH is less than a drizzle
a DRIZZLE is about 2 tablespoons
a GLUG is more than a drizzle
a HEN’S EGG is 3 to 4 tablespoons
a FISTFUL or a WINEGLASS is 1/4th of a cup
a HANDFUL or a TEACUP or a GILL is 1/2th of a cup
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Sources:
What’s the Difference Between a Pinch, a Dash and a Shake? via Taste of Home
How big is a dollop? via AnswersToAll
A Walnut-Size of Butter via Bygone Food and Recipes