Useful measurements
Cups, grams, ounces and oven temperatures—without a long detour through the history of the tablespoon.
Ask as you go
Many recipes use American cups, fluid ounces, pounds and Fahrenheit. For those of us happily working in grams, millilitres and Celsius, this can bring the cooking to a sudden halt.
The tables below cover some of the conversions that appear most often. They will not answer everything, so an AI companion can be useful. Always name the ingredient when converting from spoons or cups to grams: a tablespoon of sugar does not weigh the same as a tablespoon of flour.
Cups, spoons and liquids
These are rounded kitchen conversions based on the US cup, which is approximately 237 ml. Some metric recipes use a 250 ml cup, so check which system the recipe follows. Source: NIST.
American measurement | Cups and spoons | Metric measurement |
|---|---|---|
¼ fluid ounce | ½ tablespoon | 7.5 ml |
½ fluid ounce | 1 tablespoon | 15 ml |
1 fluid ounce | 2 tablespoons | 30 ml |
2 fluid ounces | ¼ cup | 60 ml |
3 fluid ounces | ⅓ cup | 80 ml |
4 fluid ounces | ½ cup | 120 ml |
5⅓ fluid ounces | ⅔ cup | 160 ml |
6 fluid ounces | ¾ cup | 180 ml |
8 fluid ounces | 1 cup | 240 ml |
16 fluid ounces | 2 cups / 1 pint | 475 ml |
32 fluid ounces | 4 cups / 1 quart | 950 ml |
The small measures
American measurement | Spoon measurement | Metric measurement |
|---|---|---|
¼ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon | 1.25 ml |
½ teaspoon | ½ teaspoon | 2.5 ml |
1 teaspoon | 1 teaspoon | 5 ml |
3 teaspoons | 1 tablespoon | 15 ml |
4 tablespoons | ¼ cup | 60 ml |
8 tablespoons | ½ cup | 120 ml |
16 tablespoons | 1 cup | 240 ml |
Pounds, ounces and grams
American measurement | Ounces | Metric measurement |
|---|---|---|
1 ounce | 1 oz | 28 g |
2 ounces | 2 oz | 57 g |
4 ounces | ¼ lb | 113 g |
8 ounces | ½ lb | 227 g |
12 ounces | ¾ lb | 340 g |
16 ounces | 1 lb | 454 g |
2.2 pounds | 35 oz | 1 kg |
One kilogram equals approximately 2.2 pounds, while one ounce is approximately 28 grams.
Oven temperatures
Fahrenheit | Celsius | General description |
|---|---|---|
250°F | 120°C | Very low |
275°F | 140°C | Low |
300°F | 150°C | Low |
325°F | 160°C | Moderate |
350°F | 180°C | Moderate |
375°F | 190°C | Moderately hot |
400°F | 200°C | Hot |
425°F | 220°C | Hot |
450°F | 230°C | Very hot |
For a fan-assisted oven, the temperature is often reduced by about 20°C, but always check the oven and recipe instructions.
The exact formula is Celsius = (Fahrenheit − 32) ÷ 1.8. Source: NIST.
Inches and centimetres
Inches | Centimetres | Common use |
|---|---|---|
1 inch | 2.54 cm | Exact conversion |
6 inches | 15 cm | Small tin or dish |
8 inches | 20 cm | Medium cake tin |
9 inches | 23 cm | Standard cake tin |
10 inches | 25 cm | Large cake tin |
12 inches | 30 cm | Large dish or pan |
One last word about cups
Cups measure volume, not weight. One cup of flour, one cup of sugar and one cup of chopped fruit will all weigh different amounts.
For the most reliable result, use kitchen scales whenever a recipe provides grams. Ask for a conversion only when you need one—and remember to include the ingredient.