What does dessertspoon mean?
A dessertspoon is an eating and measuring spoon that sits midway between the teaspoon and the tablespoon in size, typically used for consuming puddings and other desserts. In British cookery it doubles as an informal unit of volume, equivalent to about ten millilitres — exactly two teaspoons — and appears frequently in traditional recipes calling for 'a heaped dessertspoon of sugar' or similar quantities. The term is predominantly British: American writers usually render it as the two-word 'dessert spoon' when referring to the utensil, and the measure itself is far less familiar outside Britain and its culinary tradition. Because spoon sizes have never been fully standardised across households, careful cooks treat the dessertspoon as an approximation rather than a precise measure, though its two-teaspoon equivalence is well established. The word is a straightforward compound of 'dessert' and 'spoon', reflecting both its place at the table and its role in the kitchen.
nounA spoon intermediate in size between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, used for eating dessert; also a unit of measure equal to approximately 10 millilitres (two teaspoons).
- A spoon of intermediate size between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, used for eating desserts.
- A unit of capacity used in cookery, especially in British recipes, equal to about 10 millilitres (two teaspoons).
"Stir two dessertspoons of honey into the warm water."
"She laid each place setting with a knife, fork, and dessertspoon."
"Add a heaped dessertspoon of flour to thicken the sauce."
The plural is regular. When used as a measure, it is often preceded by a number, as in 'three dessertspoons of oil'.
"The recipe calls for two dessertspoons of chopped fresh herbs."
In British recipes a 'dessertspoon' isn't vague at all — it's precisely two teaspoons, making it one of cooking's most quietly standardised measures.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dessertspoon
Dessertspoon is a compound formed from 'dessert', borrowed into English from French in the early seventeenth century from the French 'desservir', meaning 'to clear the table', combined with 'spoon', an Old English word of Germanic origin. The compound emerged as table settings came to include specialised cutlery for each course, likely in the eighteenth or nineteenth century. It shares its second element with related compounds such as tablespoon, teaspoon, and soup spoon.
Related word forms
How dessertspoon is actually used
The word is chiefly British; American English more commonly refers to the utensil simply as a 'dessert spoon' written as two words. As a unit of measurement it appears mainly in older or traditional British recipes, where 'heaped' versus 'level' affects the quantity measured.
Easily confused with dessertspoon
A tablespoon is the largest common spoon (about 15 ml or three teaspoons), whereas a dessertspoon is smaller, at roughly 10 ml or two teaspoons.
A teaspoon is the smallest of the three measuring spoons at about 5 ml, half the volume of a dessertspoon.