Cucharada

[Perikles]

The wife is trying to follow a recipe in Spanish which is very exact, but uses cucharada as a measure. My dictionary tells me that

una cucharada colmada = a heaped spoonful

which is useless because it depends on the type of spoon.

Can anyone tell me whether a default cucharada is a teaspoon, tablespoon, soupspoon or desert spoon?

Not only that, but if not specified, is it a heaped somethingspoon or a level somethingspoon?

I`ll be eating it, so I need to know!

[Premium]

I don't know if this is 100% accurate. Maybe any of these can be of help.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucharada
http://mx.answers.yahoo.com/question...8135706AAU1ojM

According to my dictionary, it's a table spoon(Esslöffel).
http://dict.leo.org/esde/#/search=cu...dShowSingle=on

I hope that this could be of help.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Perikles

The wife is trying to follow a recipe in Spanish which is very exact, but uses cucharada as a measure. My dictionary tells me that

una cucharada colmada = a heaped spoonful

which is useless because it depends on the type of spoon.

Can anyone tell me whether a default cucharada is a teaspoon, tablespoon, soupspoon or desert spoon?

Not only that, but if not specified, is it a heaped somethingspoon or a level somethingspoon?

I`ll be eating it, so I need to know!

I'm telling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




That has always been my problem, why don't they use milligrams or milliliters?

I guess, it is because it is not that important, so it is an approximation, which is not going to be a great deal in flavor or any other characteristic.

Lately, I've been cooking, and I have found to be very lenient on how much seasoning I use. I started out by measuring stuff as accurate as I could, given the "precision" kitchen equipment I have at home.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Premium

I don't know if this is 100% accurate. Maybe any of these can be of help.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucharada
http://mx.answers.yahoo.com/question...8135706AAU1ojM

Yes, thanks! From the mx.answers I have

TBSP: es la abreviatura en ingles de Tablespoon y es lo que comunmente conocemos como cucharada, que es la grande para la sopa.

Originally Posted by Premium

According to my dictionary, it's a table spoon(Esslöffel).

So it's a tablespoon, but unfortunately, Esslöffel does not help because it could mean either tablespoon or dessertspoon. A tablespoon is a spoon on the table used for serving food onto the plate, and is larger than a dessertspoon. You don't use it for eating, unless you have an extremely large mouth. I don't know why German does not differentiate.

Originally Posted by chileno

..I guess, it is because it is not that important,

Well, if everything is in measurement of cucharada then it doesn't matter. But eggs are involved (without specifying size ) so if you use teaspoons instead of tablespoons or vice versa, it might be significant.

[Premium]

Originally Posted by Perikles

So it's a tablespoon, but unfortunately, Esslöffel does not help because it could mean either tablespoon or dessertspoon. A tablespoon is a spoon on the table used for serving food onto the plate, and is larger than a dessertspoon. You don't use it for eating, unless you have an extremely large mouth. I don't know why German does not differentiate.

I tried to find a differentiation in German but I couldn't find one.

http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Essloeffel

Bedeutung: größerer Löffel, besonders zum Essen von Suppe, Eintopf o. Ä.

If you go to a restaurant in Austria and request a dessert spoon you'll get a "Teelöffel". Only really fancy restaurants might have it.
Waiters would still give you a strange look though.

[poli]

In USA tablespoons are soup spoons. Teaspoons are smaller for stirring milk and/or sugar in tea or coffee. In measurement, two teaspoons equal a tablespoon.

[Perikles]

By the way, recently my daughter was preparing a meal and asked my granddaughter (6 years old)

"Can you put 4 teaspoons on the table?"

And the puzzled child asked

"Mummy, why do we need 40 spoons on the table?"

(True!)

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I may be a bit late here, but:

- Cucharada: The one you use to eat soup.
- Cucharadita: The one you use to eat dessert.
If there is a note on "rasa", then it's a level spoon; if it says "copeteada", then you use a heaped spoon.
If there is no "rasa"/"copeteada", then it's a little more than a level spoon, and much less than a heaped spoon.

We normally don't use teaspoons for cooking, they're too small. In that case, we'll prefer "pizca".


Eggs are usually thought to have an average medium size. The recipe that considers big eggs, says "huevos de tamaño grande" or so.

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by chileno

That has always been my problem, why don't they use milligrams or milliliters?

Milligrams are very small. I do have some recipes which require that kind of precision, but not many (and I need to get some expensive scales so that I can make them!)

Originally Posted by poli

In USA tablespoons are soup spoons. Teaspoons are smaller for stirring milk and/or sugar in tea or coffee. In measurement, two teaspoons equal a tablespoon.

Metric has a three to one ratio. A metric teaspoon is 5ml and a metric tablespoon is 15ml.

[JPablo]

Originally Posted by Perikles

By the way, recently my daughter was preparing a meal and asked my granddaughter (6 years old)

"Can you put 4 teaspoons on the table?"

And the puzzled child asked

"Mummy, why do we need 40 spoons on the table?"

(True!)

Your granddaughter is a genius!!!

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by poli

In USA tablespoons are soup spoons. Teaspoons are smaller for stirring milk and/or sugar in tea or coffee. In measurement, two teaspoons equal a tablespoon.

Erm, no: in US customary measures, 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon = 14.79ml.