Salt spoon
A salt spoon is a miniature utensil used with an open salt cellar for individual service. It is a historical and nostalgic item from a time before table salt was free-flowing, as it is today. The spoon itself ranges from 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) long and has a circular bowl measuring approximately 0.5 to 0.75 inches (1.25 to 2 cm). They can be found in a wide range of materials including glass, Sterling silver, plastic, wood, ivory, bone and shell.
In the United States, as a unit of measurement in some old recipes, 1 salt spoon (ssp) = 1/4 US customary teaspoon (20 US customary minims or 1/3 US customary fluid dram).
| 1 US customary salt spoon | = | 20 | US customary minims |
| = | 1/3 | US customary fluid drams | |
| = | 1/12 | US customary tablespoon | |
| = | 1/8 | US customary dessert spoon | |
| = | 1/4 | US customary teaspoon | |
| = | 1/2 | US customary coffee spoons | |
| = | 2 | US customary dashes (solids only) | |
| = | 4 | US customary pinches (solids only) | |
| = | 8 | US customary smidgens (solids only) | |
| = | 24 | US customary drops (liquids only) | |
| ≈ | 20·8 | British imperial minims | |
| ≈ | 0·35 | British imperial fluid drachm | |
| ≈ | 0·087 | UK tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·17 | UK dessert spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·35 | UK teaspoon | |
| ≈ | 0·69 | UK salt spoon | |
| ≈ | 1·39 | UK pinches (solid only) | |
| ≈ | 20·82 | UK drops (liquids only) | |
| ≈ | 1·23 | millilitres | |
| ≈ | 0·082 | international metric tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·062 | Australian metric tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·12 | metric dessert spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·25 | metric teaspoon |
In the United Kingdom, 1 salt spoon is traditionally 30 British imperial minims (1/2 British imperial fluid drachm), the equivalence of 1/8 UK tablespoon, 1/4 UK dessert spoon, or 1/2 UK teaspoon.
| 1 UK salt spoon | = | 30 | British imperial minims |
| = | 1/2 | British imperial fluid drachm | |
| = | 1/8 | UK tablespoon | |
| = | 1/4 | UK dessert spoon | |
| = | 1/2 | UK teaspoon | |
| = | 2 | UK pinches (solids only) | |
| = | 30 | UK drops (liquids only) | |
| = | 1/16 | British imperial fluid ounce | |
| ≈ | 28·8 | US customary minims | |
| ≈ | 0·48 | US customary fluid dram | |
| ≈ | 0·12 | US customary tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·18 | US customary dessert spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·36 | US customary teaspoon | |
| ≈ | 0·72 | US customary coffee spoon | |
| ≈ | 1·44 | US customary salt spoons | |
| ≈ | 2·88 | US customary dashes (solids only) | |
| ≈ | 5·76 | US customary pinches (solids only) | |
| ≈ | 11·53 | US customary smidgens (solids only) | |
| ≈ | 34·59 | US customary drops (liquids only) | |
| ≈ | 1·78 | millilitres | |
| ≈ | 0·118 | international metric tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·09 | Australian metric tablespoon | |
| ≈ | 0·18 | metric dessert spoon | |
| ≈ | 0·36 | metric teaspoon |