Recipes rarely agree on units. An American recipe measures flour in cups, a British one in grams, and the oven wants Fahrenheit, Celsius or a gas mark depending on where it was made.
The charts below convert between all of them. Every figure here is arithmetic, so it holds for any ingredient — with one exception noted after the volume table.
1 cup = 16 tbsp · 1 tbsp = 3 tsp · 1 lb = 16 oz
To convert an oven setting yourself: subtract 32, then multiply by 5 and divide by 9.
Volume conversions
These hold for any liquid or dry ingredient, because they convert volume to volume.
| Food | Safe minimum internal temperature | Rest time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | — | 5 ml |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons | 15 ml |
| 1 fluid ounce | 2 tablespoons | 30 ml |
| 1/4 cup | 4 tablespoons | 59 ml |
| 1/3 cup | 5 tbsp + 1 tsp | 79 ml |
| 1/2 cup | 8 tablespoons | 118 ml |
| 1 cup | 16 tbsp / 8 fl oz | 237 ml |
| 1 pint | 2 cups | 473 ml |
| 1 quart | 4 cups | 946 ml |
| 1 gallon | 16 cups | 3.79 litres |
Weight conversions
| Food | Safe minimum internal temperature | Rest time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 ounce | — | 28.3 g |
| 4 ounces | 1/4 pound | 113 g |
| 8 ounces | 1/2 pound | 227 g |
| 16 ounces | 1 pound | 454 g |
| 2.2 pounds | 35.3 ounces | 1 kilogram |
Oven temperature conversions
Gas marks are used mainly in the UK and Ireland. Each mark is roughly 25°F apart.
| Food | Safe minimum internal temperature | Rest time |
|---|---|---|
| 250°F | 120°C | Gas mark 1/2 |
| 275°F | 140°C | Gas mark 1 |
| 300°F | 150°C | Gas mark 2 |
| 325°F | 165°C | Gas mark 3 |
| 350°F | 175°C | Gas mark 4 |
| 375°F | 190°C | Gas mark 5 |
| 400°F | 200°C | Gas mark 6 |
| 425°F | 220°C | Gas mark 7 |
| 450°F | 230°C | Gas mark 8 |
| 475°F | 245°C | Gas mark 9 |
How many of these in one of those
The commonest measurement questions, each answered for a specific ingredient rather than in the abstract.
Cups, spoons and fluid ounces
Volume measures are interchangeable by arithmetic. What is not interchangeable is volume and weight — see the note above.
Pounds, ounces and grams
Weight is the more reliable way to measure dry ingredients, which is why most recipes outside the United States use it.
Why a cup of flour is not eight ounces
Fluid ounces measure volume; ounces measure weight. They only match for water, where one cup happens to weigh close to eight ounces.
A cup of flour weighs about 4.25 ounces, a cup of granulated sugar about 7 ounces, and a cup of brown sugar depends entirely on how hard it was packed.
This is the single most common source of failed baking. If a recipe gives grams, use grams.
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in a cup?
Sixteen tablespoons make one cup, which is also 48 teaspoons or 8 fluid ounces. This holds for any ingredient because it is a volume-to-volume conversion.
How do I convert Fahrenheit to Celsius?
Subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit figure, multiply by 5, then divide by 9. So 350°F becomes 318 × 5 ÷ 9, or about 175°C.
Is a cup of flour the same as 8 ounces?
No. A cup is 8 fluid ounces, a measure of volume. A cup of all-purpose flour weighs roughly 4.25 ounces. Only water makes the two numbers line up.
Are American and British cups the same size?
Not quite. A US cup is 237 ml and a metric cup used in the UK and Australia is 250 ml, a difference of about 5 per cent. It matters in baking and rarely matters elsewhere.
What is a gas mark?
A numbered oven scale used mainly in the UK and Ireland. Gas mark 4 is 350°F or 175°C, and each mark up or down is roughly 25°F.