Talk:Dessert spoon

OK, I'm confused. As a unit of measurement, it seems a lot of cooking references (at least on the web) convert 1 dessertspoon to 10 ml, or 2 US teaspoons. However, Google's calculator function converts 1 Imperial dessertspoon (is there any other? I'm not aware of any US measurements called that) to 11.84 ml, or 2.4 US teaspoons. I'd think a 20% variation is pretty significant. Why is Google different? Where did they get their numbers?

Meanwhile, GourmetShopper Australia says a British tablespoon is 3 tsp / 14.8ml -- which would make it basically equivalent to a US tablespoon at 15ml -- and is equal to an Australian dessertspoon, where an Australian dessertspoon is 4 tsp / 20 ml. Chronodm (talk) 20:40, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

It was the Australian tablespoon that was 20 ml. This corresponds to the old English tablespoon ( = 2 dessertspoons in older recipes). The modern English dessertspoon (10-15 ml) seems to be confused in modern usage with the older, but now little-used tablespoon because the Americans seem to use the term tablespoon for this size. There are no international standards, and local standards vary according to who set them and when they were set. Dbfirs 12:26, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

I am also confused: where I come from--an Italian family not in the USA-- the dessert spoon it supposed to be more of a rounded bowl or straight, like a shovel for ice cream. It is not pointy and it is alittle large than a tea spoon.

On the other hand, the sooup spoon looks like a table spoon, much larger than a tea spoon. Not circular-round bowl.

--Why are soup spoons small and round in USA? --Is in Europe like in America? -- is there an "international" well accepted standard in "culinary and etiquette" about this?

In UK tradition, your description of the Italian spoon with a rounded (or sometimes angled) bowl sounds like a fruit spoon. A soup spoon in the UK is normally much larger, but round. There doesn't seem to be any international standard on cutlery, just local traditions. Dbfirs 12:17, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Substitution of teaspoon.

"It is commonly but not exclusively used in eating desserts, since a teaspoon may also be used for this."

Miss Manners would seem to disagree with that statement: "Miss Manners will overlook the substitution of a salad fork for a dessert fork, provided you do not try to pass off a teaspoon as a dessert spoon. Where that habit came from she cannot imagine, but a dessert spoon must be larger, and the only passable substitution would be an oval soup spoon." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30340-2005Mar12.html) 192.82.6.14 04:13, 31 May 2007 (UTC)