Why is the tablespoon measure unreliable?
The tablespoon in a recipe and the spoon in your drawer may not be the same volume. Spoon volumes have shrunk over the last forty years and still differ between brands.
The tablespoon is not a standard measuring tool in Türkiye. TÜBER, Türkiye's national dietary guideline, records that the tablespoons produced in our country differ both between companies and from their imported counterparts, and that the volume of a spoon has fallen from 15 mL to 10-12 mL over the last 35-40 years. So the same recipe, with the same spoon, means two different amounts in two homes.
Sources
- TÜBER 2022 — Türkiye Beslenme Rehberi Bölüm 10.2.1, s. 228 Standart ölçü araçlarının tanımlanması — yemek kaşığı hacmi son 35-40 yılda 15 mL'den 10-12 mL'ye gerilemiştir; 1 kupa = 240 mL accessed: 2026-08-15
- TÜBER 2022 — Türkiye Beslenme Rehberi Ek 2.1.11, s. 272 İsteğe bağlı tercih edilen besinler — tereyağı 1 tatlı kaşığı silme 5 g, 1 tatlı kaşığı dolu 15 g accessed: 2026-08-15
General information notice. This content is prepared to support general nutrition literacy; it does not replace medical diagnosis or treatment and is not personal nutrition advice. A plan tailored to you can only be prepared by a licensed dietitian; if you are pregnant, have a chronic condition, take regular medication, are feeding a child, or have a clinical condition, a physician and dietitian check is required before starting a plan.
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