[pseut]

For cooking: I'd say 'pinch' or 'dash' and then clarify if the person asked for clarification. If he or she looks puzzled, I'll offer the clarification unsolicited and as naturally as possible. When I cook pancakes on the weekend with my three year old daughter, we talk about how the appearance of the edge of the pancake changes as it gets closer to being ready to be flipped. To get even further off topic -- if you like cooking, take a look at "Tartine Bread" which is damn near the pinnacle of this sort of communication.

[sctechie]

Well, that will teach me to argue with an Econ professor! And I also find myself hungry after staring at pictures of bread on google for the past 10 minutes. Thanks for the interesting discussion. =)

[pseut]

bon appetit!