halfteaspoons

A half-teaspoon, abbreviated 1/2 tsp or 0.5 tsp, is a unit of volume used in cooking and food preparation. It denotes half of a standard teaspoon and is typically about 2.5 milliliters. In practice, many cooks treat one teaspoon as 5 mL, so a half-teaspoon equals 2.5 mL; some authorities define a teaspoon more precisely as 4.93 mL, which would make a half-teaspoon about 2.465 mL. In everyday cooking, rounding to 2.5 mL is common.

In recipes, half-teaspoons are used for small amounts of spices, flavorings, extracts, or salt. They are commonly found in measuring spoon sets that include 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, and 1 tbsp. Conversions include 1/2 tsp = 1/6 tablespoon and 1/2 tsp ≈ 2.5 mL or about 0.083 US fl oz. The exact mass of a half-teaspoon depends on the substance being measured, since density affects weight (for example, 2.5 mL of water weighs about 2.5 g, whereas a powdered ingredient may weigh more or less).

Considerations when using half-teaspoons include ensuring accurate leveling for dry ingredients, as scooped volumes can vary. Substitutions or scaling in recipes should account for small quantity errors, especially in baking or precision-cooking contexts. In summary, the half-teaspoon is a small, widely used volumetric measure with a practical value of about 2.5 mL, derived from the broader teaspoon measurement.