Cooking Measurement Conversions

The anchor conversions

You don't need a chart for most cooking, just a handful of anchors. One cup is about 240 ml, one tablespoon 15 ml and one teaspoon 5 ml — so three teaspoons make a tablespoon, and sixteen tablespoons make a cup. On the weight side, one ounce is about 28 grams and one pound about 454 grams. Memorise those and you can rescue almost any recipe written in units you don't normally use.

Why volume and weight aren't the same

A cup measures space, not mass, so a cup of one ingredient weighs quite differently from a cup of another. A cup of water is 240 g, but a cup of flour is only about 120 g and a cup of sugar around 200 g, because they pack differently. This is why you can't blindly swap '1 cup' for a fixed number of grams — the conversion changes with the ingredient's density, so a good recipe or tool gives per-ingredient weights.

US vs metric (and UK)

Watch which system a recipe uses, because 'cup' isn't universal. A US cup is 240 ml, a metric cup 250 ml, and older UK recipes sometimes mean an imperial cup near 284 ml. Pints and fluid ounces differ too: a US pint is 473 ml, a UK pint 568 ml. The gaps are small per spoonful but add up in baking, so check the recipe's origin before trusting a conversion.

When to weigh instead

For everyday cooking, cups and spoons are fine — a little more or less oil rarely ruins a stir-fry. Baking is different: bread, cakes and pastry depend on ratios, and a cup of flour scooped tightly can hold 20% more than one spooned in lightly. There a kitchen scale wins hands down. When a recipe gives grams, weigh rather than convert to cups; you will get the same result every time.

Frequently asked questions

How many ml in a cup?

About 240 ml for a US cup, or 250 ml for a metric cup.

Is a cup of flour the same weight as a cup of water?

No — a cup of water is about 240 g but a cup of flour is roughly 120 g.

Should I use cups or grams for baking?

Grams; a scale is far more consistent than measuring cups.