Measure herbs after you have chopped them. Do not pack the chopped leaves in the measuring spoons, just press them down lightly.
Remember never to dip a damp measuring spoon into a jar of dried herbs or ground spice.
The moist seasoning will clump together, and is at risk for mold.
For the same reason, shaking an herb or spice out of the bottle over a steaming pot is to be avoided – even if the manufacturer has put a shaker top on the bottle.
Shaking results in wildly imprecise measurements, and sometimes the seasoning comes out much faster than anticipated.
It’s better to remove the shaker top and pour the desired amount of seasoning into palm of your hand first.
If dealing with a dried herb, crush the leaves slightly between your hands or with your fingertips as you added them to the pot.
Use the flat back of a knife blade to level off the spices in a measuring spoon for exact measurement, or “level spoonful.”
A “heaping spoonful” is as much as the utensil will hold; a “rounded spoonful” is somewhere between heaping and level quantities.
For a “scant spoonful,” the spoon is not quite full.
A “pinch” of spice is officially defined as one-eight teaspoonful, but the term does not imply that kind of accuracy; what you grab between your thumb and index finger is just about right.
Measuring Herbs
