Dash

Cooking & barTraditional unit (still used in some regions)Approximate value

A quick shake from a bottle; the conventional measure is 1/8 of a teaspoon (about 0.62 mL).

1 dash = 0.0006161151992 liters (approximately).

Approximate value. Standards for the dash varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.

About the dash

Recipes asking for a dash of bitters or a dash of salt rely on a word that simply means a quick, sudden motion, here a brief shake or splash from a bottle or shaker. There is no legal definition, and Wikipedia's article on cooking weights and measures lists the dash among the drop, smidgen and pinch as the units most commonly understood to be approximate. Early cookbooks relied on such vague amounts until Fannie Farmer pushed exact volume measures in her 1896 book.

Where a number is wanted, the convention is that a dash is one eighth of a US teaspoon, twice a pinch and half a saltspoon. One eighth of a US teaspoon is about 0.62 mL, the figure used here. The same Wikipedia table prints 0.46 mL, which comes from a fluid ounce fraction and does not match its own teaspoon fraction, so that smaller number is best treated as a slip. In real use a dash from a bar bottle depends on the nozzle and the wrist, so the conventional size is only a guide.

Sources: Wikipedia: Cooking weights and measures; Wikipedia: Pinch (unit)

Dash conversion chart

1 dash expressed in every other volume unit:

More Cooking & bar units

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• pinch (volume)
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• metric tablespoon (volume)
• metric teaspoon (volume)
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