Scant
A scant measure is a little less than full, usually short by a teaspoon or so in a cup. Recipes use it to fine-tune liquid, salt and sugar.
Also called Scant cup, Scant teaspoon, A little under.
Scant means just under the full amount. A scant cup is a cup not quite filled to the rim, and a scant teaspoon is a teaspoon that is not quite full. It is the opposite of heaping. Recipe writers use it when the full measure would be a little too much but there is no neat smaller measure.
How to do it
- Fill the measure as if it were a level amount.
- For dry ingredients, take out a little with the tip of a spoon, or leave a small dip in the middle when you level.
- For liquids, fill to just below the line. In a cup measure, stop about 3 to 5 mm (⅛ inch) below the top.
Why it works
Scant amounts often show up where small changes matter. In bread dough, a scant cup of water keeps the hydration just right so the dough is not sticky. In baking powder or salt, a scant teaspoon stops the result tasting harsh. When a recipe is scaled from grams into cups, the nearest cup amount is often a little over, so the writer adds "scant" to bring it back.
How to use it
There is no official amount, but these are the usual meanings:
| Measure | Scant means about |
|---|---|
| 1 scant cup | 1 cup minus 1 to 2 tablespoons |
| ½ scant cup | ½ cup minus 1 tablespoon |
| 1 scant tablespoon | about 2½ teaspoons |
| 1 scant teaspoon | about ¾ teaspoon |
If the recipe also gives a weight or milliliters, use that. "1 scant cup (220 ml)" tells you exactly how scant.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring the word. With salt or baking soda, a full teaspoon instead of a scant one can be too much.
- Taking out too much. Scant is a small trim, not half. If you are not sure, remove about a tenth.
- Confusing scant with "short", which some British recipes use for pastry, where it means rich in fat and crumbly.
In recipes
You will see "1 scant cup sugar", "a scant teaspoon of salt" and "scant ½ cup milk". "A little under 1 cup" means the same thing.
Related terms
- LevelA level measure is filled to the rim and swept flat with a knife. Unless a recipe says heaping or packed, every spoon and cup should be level.
- HeapingA heaping spoon or cup is filled above the rim in a mound instead of leveled. It adds roughly half again as much, so here is how to judge it.
- CupA US cup is about 240 ml, a metric cup is 250 ml, and a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of sugar. Here is how to measure and convert.
- TeaspoonA teaspoon holds 5 ml, and 3 teaspoons make a tablespoon. Here is how to measure one level, and how it compares to tsk and krm in Swedish recipes.
- HydrationHydration is the weight of water in a bread dough as a percent of the flour weight. Higher numbers mean a wetter dough and a more open crumb.