Convert Dessertspoon (US) (dessertspoon) to Dram (dr) instantly.
About these units
Dessertspoon (US) (dessertspoon)
The US dessertspoon, though rarely used today, traditionally equals 2 teaspoons or about 10 mL. Unlike the UK version, it never gained strong cultural traction in American cooking. Most US recipes skip directly from teaspoons to tablespoons, leaving the dessertspoon as a historical curiosity that occasionally appears in antique cookbooks. Despite its near-obsolescence, understanding the dessertspoon is important for culinary historians and those interpreting older domestic manuals.
Dram (dr)
The fluid dram is a small historical unit equal to 1/8 of a US fluid ounce or 3.6967 mL (US), with slightly different imperial values. It originated in apothecaries and early pharmaceutical texts, where drams measured potent liquid medicines, tinctures, and extracts. In daily life, drams appeared in old cocktail recipes, medicinal syrups, and household remedies. However, the inconsistency between US and UK drams, along with the rise of the metric system, pushed it out of modern use. Today, the dram survives mostly in whiskey culture—where a "dram" informally means a small pour, not a precise measurement—and in historical studies of medicine.