Cooking Converter

How do you convert cooking measurements?

Multiply by the number of small units in the larger one, or divide to go the other way, because every US kitchen measure is a fixed fraction of the cup. US recipes measure most ingredients by volume, and those volumes relate exactly: 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons ≈ 236.59 mL, and 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.

Volume conversions, step by step

Worked example: a recipe calls for ¾ cup of milk and your jug is marked in milliliters. Multiply 0.75 × 236.59 = 177.44 mL, so fill to about 177 mL. The same ¾ cup is 0.75 × 16 = 12 tablespoons. If you only have a tablespoon and need 5 teaspoons, divide 5 ÷ 3 = 1⅔ tablespoons. The converter at the top of this page and the tablespoons to teaspoons converter do this arithmetic for any amount.

Converting cups to grams needs the ingredient

Volume to weight is not a fixed conversion, because a cup of flour and a cup of honey have very different densities. You multiply the number of cups by a grams-per-cup value for that specific ingredient. With a typical 120 g per cup, 2 cups of all-purpose flour ≈ 240 g; with 200 g per cup, 1½ cups of granulated sugar ≈ 300 g. Use the cups to grams converter to pick the ingredient and get its weight.

How do cups, tablespoons and teaspoons relate?

One US cup holds exactly 16 tablespoons or 48 teaspoons, and one tablespoon holds 3 teaspoons. The table breaks the cup fractions that appear in most recipes into spoons, fluid ounces and milliliters, which is handy when a measuring cup is missing or a recipe needs halving.

Spoon sizes also vary by country. A US tablespoon is about 14.79 mL, the metric tablespoon used in most metric recipes is 15 mL, and Australia uses a 20 mL tablespoon equal to 4 teaspoons. Teaspoons are closer: 4.93 mL in the US and 5 mL in metric recipes. For larger liquid amounts such as liters and gallons, switch to the volume converter.

Is a fluid ounce the same as an ounce?

No. A fluid ounce measures volume (1 US fl oz ≈ 29.57 mL), while an ounce measures weight (1 oz ≈ 28.35 g), so the two only line up for ingredients about as dense as water.

• US fluid ounce: 1/128 of a US gallon, exactly 29.5735295625 mL. Eight make a cup.
• Imperial fluid ounce: 1/160 of an imperial gallon, exactly 28.4130625 mL, about 3.9% smaller than the US one. Older British recipes use it.
• Avoirdupois ounce: 1/16 of a pound, exactly 28.349523125 g under the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement. Kitchen scales and deli counters use it.

One US fluid ounce of water weighs about 29.57 g, or 1.04 oz, which is why the two feel interchangeable for water, milk and juice. They drift apart for everything else: a cup (8 fl oz) of all-purpose flour weighs only about 4.23 oz, while a cup of honey weighs about 11.85 oz. When a recipe lists “ounces” of a dry ingredient, it means weight; weigh it, or convert grams with the grams to ounces converter. When it lists liquid ounces, the cups to fluid ounces converter applies.

Nutrition Facts labels add one more wrinkle. For labeling, FDA rules (21 CFR 101.9) round household measures to 1 cup = 240 mL, 1 tablespoon = 15 mL, 1 teaspoon = 5 mL and 1 fl oz = 30 mL, so a label’s serving size may differ slightly from the exact US customary values used on this page.

How do you measure ingredients accurately?

Weigh ingredients on a digital scale when you can; otherwise spoon and level dry ingredients, pack only brown sugar, and read liquids at eye level in a clear jug. These habits remove most of the variation between one cook’s cup and another’s.

• Measure flour by spooning, not scooping. Spoon flour into the cup and level it with a knife. Scooping straight from the bag packs it down and can add 15–20% more flour, which makes baked goods dry.
• Pack brown sugar, but not white sugar. Recipes that say "packed" expect brown sugar pressed firmly into the cup, which is why a packed cup weighs more than a cup of granulated sugar.
• Use liquid cups for liquids. A clear jug with a spout lets you read the level at eye height. Dry cups are designed to be filled to the brim and leveled.
• Read butter from the wrapper. A US stick is ½ cup, 8 tablespoons or about 113 g, and most wrappers mark tablespoon lines. Pick sticks of butter in the converter at the top of this page to scale half or multiple sticks.
• Fluid ounces are not weight ounces. 8 fl oz of water is 1 cup and weighs about 8.3 oz, but 8 fl oz of flour weighs only about 4.2 oz. The cups to fluid ounces converter covers the volume side when a recipe is unclear.
• Scale small amounts with spoons. When halving a recipe, ⅓ cup becomes 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons, which is easier to measure than ⅙ cup.

Recipes from other countries often give oven temperatures in degrees Celsius or as a gas mark; the temperature converter handles Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Is a US cup the same as a UK or metric cup?

No. A US customary cup is about 236.59 mL, while the metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and most modern UK recipes is 250 mL, so it pays to know which cup a recipe means. The US customary cup is 236.59 mL. US nutrition labels use a rounded 240 mL cup. Australia, New Zealand, Canada and most modern UK recipes use a metric cup of 250 mL, about 5.7% larger than the US cup. Older British recipes may mean an imperial cup of about 284 mL (half an imperial pint), and Japanese recipes use a 200 mL cup.

Why weighing beats cups

A kitchen scale removes almost every source of error in baking. Weight does not change with how tightly an ingredient is packed, how finely it is ground or which country's cup you own. It is also faster: set a bowl on the scale, press tare and add each ingredient by weight with nothing to wash. Professional bakers write recipes in grams for this reason, and converting a favorite recipe once with the cups to grams converter gives you a version you can repeat exactly.