A pinch in cooking is a very small amount of an ingredient, typically salt, sugar or spice. Traditionally it was defined as "an amount that can be taken between the thumb and forefinger". Historically the pinch was more precisely defined by some U.S. cookbooks as approximately 1⁄8 teaspoon.

In the early 2000s some companies began selling measuring spoons that defined (or redefined) a dash as 1⁄8 teaspoon, a pinch as 1⁄16 teaspoon, and a smidgen as 1⁄32 teaspoon. Based on these spoons, there are two pinches in a dash and two smidgens in a pinch.

One pinch of fine salt is approximately 1⁄4 gram (20–24 pinches per teaspoon), while one pinch of sugar is 1⁄3 – 1⁄2 gram.