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I'm looking at a recipe for chickpeas (garbanzo beans) roasted in a spice mix, which looks yummy, but I'm confused by some items in the ingredients list.

I'm happy with this:

1 heaping teaspoon curry powder

I simply take my 5ml measuring spoon, and get a heaped scoop of curry powder.

But for

1 heaping teaspoon sesame, coconut or olive oil

1 heaping teaspoon sriracha

I can see that sriracha might well hold its shape enough to form a heap. But what about the oil??

AakashM
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    Not every teaspoon used in kitchens has the same size anyway. – mkrieger1 Jun 27 '17 at 12:37
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    @mkrieger1 A teaspoon is a standard measure unit that [approximates to 4,92892 ml](https://www.google.es/search?q=4.92892159+milliliters&oq=teaspoon&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j6j0l4.2903j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=teaspoon+to+ml) – xDaizu Jun 27 '17 at 12:42
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    technically, coconut oil could be heaping, depending on the temperature. – barbecue Jun 27 '17 at 12:53
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    I think that means some is dibbling over (and into your dish) before you turn the measuring spoon over and empty it measured amount. But, yeah, not the best use of language there. – PoloHoleSet Jun 27 '17 at 13:20
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    While the answers provided are certainly reasonable I would offer another likely issue...the writer had a 'brain f*rt' (It happens to people all the time, this is not a insult or judgement) – Cos Callis Jun 27 '17 at 17:27
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    @CosCallis or a bad translation - in UK English at least it is a heaped teaspoon not heaping – mmmmmm Jun 27 '17 at 17:58
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    @Mark I believe that in American, 'heaping' is the standard adjective – AakashM Jun 27 '17 at 19:59
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    You can sorta heap a spoon of liquid if you use a spoon with sufficiently vertical sides, surface tension allows you to slightly overfill it. Though i'm by no means sure if thats what they mean. – Vality Jun 27 '17 at 22:50
  • You can post comments on that recipe site and the author of the recipe seems to be actively responding to queries. Why don't you just ask her to clarify the quantities? –  Jun 28 '17 at 09:54
  • Maybe the writer refrigerates their oils at a low enough temperature to make the solid fats, which can be heaped. – Patricia Shanahan Jun 28 '17 at 16:27
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    Probably a case of a heaping over-use of copy and paste. – Jim Jun 28 '17 at 18:26

4 Answers4

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Obviously you can't "heap" a liquid.

What helps is if you remember that in cooking measurements are not set in stone. The amount given in a recipe can basically always be tweaked to your liking - a tablespoon need not be the "perfect" amount, but should be a good starting point. E.g. the siracha: some like their dish hotter, some less so.

In your case I'd interpret "heaping" as "generous" or "a bit more than". (The opposite of "scant", where you'd fill the spoon not quite full.)

I'd start with a spoonful and add more to taste, if necessary.

Stephie
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    Technically it is possible to "heap" liquids thanks to [surface tension](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_tension), to a certain degree at least. (I like the answer, just thought of mentioning this bit of trivia.) – undercat Jun 27 '17 at 11:39
  • @undercat please make that an answer, because IMHO that's what the recipe means. The more viscous a liquid, the more it can be heaped. – Shautieh Jun 28 '17 at 11:34
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The recipe looks like it was written by someone who doesn't speak English as their first language. A heaping spoon of a liquid is nonsensical. My best guess is to use about half-again the spoon measurement, so 7-8ml.

Jolenealaska
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  • Why is that your best guess? If it's a non-english speaker, they most likely meant just a normal teaspoon – theonlygusti Jun 27 '17 at 11:25
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    @theonlygusti That's why it's a guess! Personally, I would assume the use of 'heaping' means 'somewhat more than', but like I said, it's just a guess. – Jolenealaska Jun 27 '17 at 13:26
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    @theonlygusti I find it much more likely that a non-native speaker would think "a heaping teaspoon means 'a bit more than a teaspoon'" and not realize the nuance that you can't heap a liquid, than that they'd think "a heaping teaspoon is just a teaspoon." – David Richerby Jun 27 '17 at 14:09
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    @DavidRicherby 'heaping teaspoon' is a bit idiomatic. If it was literal, it would be a 'heaped' teaspoon. We aren't using the teaspoon to heap things. A 'heaping helping of whoop-ass' is not actually a bunch of whoop-ass arranged in heap. It seems quite likely that if someone might not know what 'heaping' means and just know that's what you call an teaspoon filled above the top. – JimmyJames Jun 27 '17 at 18:32
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    @JimmyJames That's exactly what I said: they'd think a heaping teaspoon means a bit more than a teaspoon, not that it's just a strange way of saying "a teaspoon". – David Richerby Jun 28 '17 at 08:24
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    @DavidRicherby It seems I parsed your sentence incorrectly. – JimmyJames Jun 28 '17 at 12:58
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From looking at the recipe, and from my experience with roasted chickpeas, I think it would be fine with or without "heaping". If I think of heaping oil, I would just fill the spoon until it's just about to overflow, or even overflows a bit. I honestly don't think it would make a huge difference either way with this recipe.

ww1319
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It was a typo - the poster has corrected it, by deleting the 'heaping' on the oil. But, mysteriously, left it on the sriracha. Maybe her sriracha comes in powdered form... I don't think it's a second-language issue, her English looks native to me.

Spike0xff
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    Sriracha is a bit thicker than other liquids. Otherwise, sounds like a _viscous_ cycle. – Jeff Bowman Jun 28 '17 at 22:22
  • After so much interest and useful comment, turns out to have been a typo. I see [cooking.se] doesn't have a 'too localized' close reason, so let's call it a day here... – AakashM Jun 29 '17 at 08:43