Dessert spoon
A dessert spoon is a spoon designed specifically for eating dessert and sometimes used for soup or cereals. Similar in size to a soup spoon (intermediate between a teaspoon and a tablespoon) but with an oval rather than round bowl, it typically has a capacity around twice that of a teaspoon.
The use of dessert spoons around the world varies greatly; in some areas, they are very common while in other places the use of the dessert spoon is almost unheard of—with diners using forks or teaspoons for their desserts instead.[1]
In most traditional table settings, the dessert spoon is placed above the plate or bowl, separated from the rest of the cutlery, or it may be brought in with the dessert.[2]
As a unit of culinary measure, a level dessertspoon (abbreviation: dstspn) equals two teaspoons or 10 milliliters (about 3 fluidrams).[3] For dry ingredients, a rounded or heaped spoonful is often specified instead.
As a unit of Apothecary measure, the dessert-spoon was an unofficial but widely used unit of fluid measure equal to two fluid drams, or 1⁄4 fluid ounce.[4] In the USA and pre-1824 England, the fluid ounce was 1⁄128 of a Queen Anne wine gallon (which was defined as exactly 231 cubic inches) thus making the dessert-spoon approximately 7.39 cc. The post-1824 (British) imperial Apothecaries' dessert-spoon was also 1⁄4 fluid ounce, but the ounce in question was 1⁄160 of an imperial gallon, which was originally defined as 277.274 cubic inches, but later adjusted to approximately 277.419433 cubic inches, in either case yielding a dessert-spoon of approximately 7.10 cc.[5]
In both the British and American variants of the Apothecaries' system, two tea-spoons make a dessert-spoon, while two dessert-spoons make a table-spoon. In pharmaceutical Latin, the Apothecaries' dessert-spoon is known as cochleare medium, abbreviated as cochl. med. or less frequently coch. med., as opposed to the tea-spoon (cochleare minus or minimum) and table-spoon (cochelare magis or magnum).[6]
[edit] Sources
- ^ Martin, Judith (March 13, 2005). "On the Offensive". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30340-2005Mar12.html.
- ^ "The Secret of the Formal Place Setting". Diner's Digest. CyberPalate LLC. 1997. http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/setting.html.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ (October 30, 2004). "D". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictD.html.
- ^ Sir Robert Christison (1842). A dispensatory, or commentary on the pharmacopoeias of Great Britain: comprising the natural history, description, chemistry, pharmacy, actions, uses, and doses of the articles of the materia medica. Black. p. 38. http://books.google.com/books?id=zpg-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PR38&dq=%22dessert+spoon&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MirxTvvgL6rRiAKg_IC9Dg&ved=0CEkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22dessert%20spoon%22&f=false. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
- ^ Robert Borneman Ludy (1907). Answers to questions prescribed by pharmaceutical state boards. J.J. McVey. p. 125. http://books.google.com/books?id=xMwRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA125. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
- ^ Robert Gray Mayne (1881). A medical vocabulary; or, An explanation of all names, synonymes, terms, and phrases used in medicine. p. 91. http://books.google.com/books?id=QxgDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA91&dq=%22dessert+spoon%22+cochl&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WQfxTsakMMWhiAL-wq2-Dg&ved=0CGsQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22dessert%20spoon%22%20cochl&f=false. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
[edit] External links
- Silver place settings, from Butler's Guild
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