Similar to chemistry, “good” cooking is about consistent, reproducible results that normally (at least at the beginning) require some measurements. The more you cook, the less you need to measure – but it’s always best to arm yourself with more knowledge rather than less.
That’s all to say I think you should measure your “pinch” of salt when a recipe calls for you. I know this sounds a little fussy, but this knowledge could come in handy down the line. For one thing: not every finger can absorb the same amount of salt, and a pinch of my small, stocky fingers probably does not mean a pinch of long, elegant finger joints.
If you’ve ever had to sprinkle a certain amount of salt over a specific area of meat to dry it, this information will come in handy. For example, I know that my two-finger pinch swallows about 1/5 of a quarter teaspoon of fine sea salt. So if I want to spread 1/2 teaspoon of salt over a steak or chop, I know I need about 10 pinches that I can confidently grab straight from my salt cellar, eliminating the need for measuring spoons.
Knowing how much salt is in a pinch is also helpful when scaling up. Let’s say you happen to make a quarter cup of a real tapping vinaigrette; You know it took two pinches of salt to make it pop, and you know your pinch is about 1/16 of a teaspoon. The next time you make this dressing, you can get more out of it by using this familiar variable to ensure your recipe scales efficiently. (For example, if you want to make 2 cups of dressing, you know you will need a whole teaspoon of salt.)
You can also measure your pinch by mass (which Kenji at Serious eats does), but you need a fancy kitchen scale for that. Instead, I like to write down how many pinches it takes to fill 1/4 teaspoon and then do my calculations from there. It’s pretty picky – but sometimes a hassle can make your life a little easier.
