Useful measurements

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.