Totally agree, but I am a freshly ground black pepper addict.

I do have 1/8 t measures that I use all the time.

It depends on what it is and how big the thing it's going into is. I often use 1/8 tsp. for culinary chemicals, including salt, for a measured amount of cayenne, etc. Often when measuring that small accuracy isn't necessary, and one can do the old "dime sized" amount, but then there's the fact that the measuring spoon can go neatly into the jar instead of trying to pour out a minimal amount into one's palm. Sometimes, you'll also see 1/8 in a scaled recipe. If the recipe was developed to serve 12 and the magazine wants it to feed 4, they just divide. Linear scaling doesn't work well for some ingredients, but even if they make and test it that way, it might seem good enough even if a quarter tsp would have been better...

I do know that I found measuring half a quarter tsp in my youth was annoying and I was glad to get some new spoons that did 1/8. :)

Agreeing that it may be useful for a very small batch of something, especially for ingredients like baking powder and soda, but in general, 1/8 tsp. equals a pinch in my book 😉

1/8 tsp of ghost pepper chili powder can make a huge difference in a recipe.

Lars, it sure would with ghost pepper!

Agree 1/8 is about a pinch. Someone gave me these years ago. I thought they were cute but never used them.

I have a couple of sets of those little spoons that were freebies with purchases. One was like Chloebud's, where "smidgen" is a clue that it's meant to be a joke. The other has more spoons and I think was trying to be real. I tried using them, but they're not useful as measures. They do well as teeny vessels, though. Like if you want just a few poppy seeds.

I think we’re getting to coke spoon territory . . .

Similarly, I did buy a 2-Tablespoon (or 1/8 cup) measure because I'm being so careful about the accuracy of my portions right now. Most coffee scoops are 2 tablespoons.

I do have some of those little spoons, so I have used the 1/8 teaspoon measure a few times. I'm not as confident of a cook as some of you are. I do free pour most spices, though, when I know the recipe doesn't need to be exact.

Yes, I make biscuits and pancakes by just dumping!

My son was here and the Grands had scarfed the pancakes. I just dumped flour, oil, egg, and dairy free milk and cooked.

He said, you didn’t measure???? Well no, it just looked right….

I measure by eye a lot too, and sprinkle into the pot, but if I'm making an actual recipe, rather than just cooking, I do measure. A big surprise was a flavored water recipe I got here—the kind with lemons, herbs, etc., in a big dispenser jar. It was delightful, but the proportions for such big ingredients were much more persnickety than one would expect and improvising could lead to disaster. OTOH, the 1/8 tsp of XYZ spice can change the whole pot of stew, as one also might not expect. Exception on the chemicals is baking powder. You can't forget it, and too much and people start to taste it, but the exact amount within that 0-eww range doesn't seem to matter.

I generally measure stuff for baking, just not the flavorings, altho I do use spoons, rather than just pouring liquid flavoring in.

One good thing about measuring ingredients is that you can record how you make something so that you can share it with others. Except when baking, I tend to measure ingredients loosely, but when I make pizza dough, I weigh ingredients on two scale, one of which is a jewelers scale. Most Italian pizza dough recipes I have seen weigh the ingredients very accurately, in order to get the right hydration, which would otherwise be difficult to judge.

I never measure ingredients when I make hush puppies, and I generally make them to use up the leftover breading that I use on fried catfish, but I do add minced jalapeño to it, which is not in the breading.

I use the 1/8 teaspoon a lot. Various baking, potent cooking spices and the like, and a lot during canning. Particularly citric acid and small jar tomato product. I have little hands, my pinch is close to 1/16 of a teaspoon. I use my 1/8 cup measure for a lot of denser measure, like flour, sugar. My cupped palm is about 1/8 cup, and I use it for loose things like dried parsley, breadcrumbs, ect.

I suppose the only time I'm so careful is when measuring something like curing salt.

I measure the main ingredients for baking but I wouldn't faff with 1/8 of a tsp. I'd just use 'a bit'. I usually increase all flavourings in a recipe except chilli, which we're not keen on.

I have 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon.