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Science of Food: Water

Cooking Equivalents and Measures

From cups to grams to eggs, in cooking and in science, numbers need units to be measurements. Different countries use different volume and mass measurements, and converting between them when you’re up to your elbows in a recipe can be a challenge—but we’re here to help.

Try the Conversion Calculator for a specific value or use the tables below.

 

Volume (liquid)

US Customary Metric
1/8 teaspoon .6 ml
1/4 teaspoon 1.2 ml
1/2 teaspoon 2.5 ml
3/4 teaspoon 3.7 ml
1 teaspoon 5 ml
1 tablespoon 15 ml
2 tablespoon or 1 fluid ounce 30 ml
1/4 cup or 2 fluid ounces 59 ml
1/3 cup 79 ml
1/2 cup 118 ml
2/3 cup 158 ml
3/4 cup 177 ml
1 cup or 8 fluid ounces 237 ml
2 cups or 1 pint 473 ml
4 cups or 1 quart 946 ml
8 cups or 1/2 gallon 1.9 liters
1 gallon 3.8 liters

 

Weight (mass)

US contemporary (ounces) Metric (grams)
1/2 ounce 14 grams
1 ounce 28 grams
3 ounces 85 grams
3.53 ounces 100 grams
4 ounces 113 grams
8 ounces 227 grams
12 ounces 340 grams
16 ounces or 1 pound 454 grams

 

Oven Temperatures

US contemporary Metric
250° F 121° C
300° F 149° C
350° F 177° C
400° F 204° C
450° F 232° C
 

Volume Equivalents (liquid)*

3 teaspoons 1 tablespoon 0.5 fluid ounce
2 tablespoons 1/8 cup 1 fluid ounce
4 tablespoons 1/4 cup 2 fluid ounces
5 1/3 tablespoons 1/3 cup 2.7 fluid ounces
8 tablespoons 1/2 cup 4 fluid ounces
12 tablespoons 3/4 cup 6 fluid ounces
16 tablespoons 1 cup 8 fluid ounces
2 cups 1 pint 16 fluid ounces
2 pints 1 quart 32 fluid ounces
4 quarts 1 gallon 128 fluid ounces

*US dry volumes are a different system than US liquid volumes. Confusingly, they are also named (dry) pints and (dry) quarts. Using the above tables for dry measures in cooking will likely work just fine. Outside the US, dry ingredients are usually measured by weight. Use the table below to convert weights.

 

 

How Many Grams Are In a Teaspoon?

If you're looking for a grams-to-teaspoons conversion chart, you won't find one here. Grams are a measure of mass, and teaspoons measure volume. The correct conversion depends on the density of the item you're measuring. Water has a density of 1 g/ml, so the conversion is 1 gram to 1 millileter, which is equivalent to 0.2 teaspoons. For other substances, the density will be different, and each teaspoon will weigh a different number of grams.

 

What Language Are You Measuring?

Most countries use the metric system (officially known as the International System of Units), where every unit is defined using a measurable phenomenon, such as the distance light travels in a second. Some English-speaking countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, use measurement systems that originated from an old system called “English units”. To add to the confusion, these systems all use the same names, such as pints and quarts, to mean slightly different measurement amounts. Even within the US, there are differences between the US contemporary system and that used by the US Food and Drug Administration. These differences are small when the amounts are small, but can really add up for larger volumes. For example, a US contemporary teaspoon is 4.93 ml compared to 5 ml in the Britisth Imperial System teaspoon. The difference in a teaspoon of vanilla would be hard to measure even if you tried. But that difference becomes much more noticeable when you consider a gallon of milk, which in the US is 3,785 ml versus 4,546 ml in Britain. That’s over 3 US cups more milk when you pay in pounds instead of dollars! So pay close attention to the origin of the recipe you’re using, since the author may be speaking a different language of measurement.

More to explore

Interactive: Science of Food: Cooking conversion calculator
Cooking Conversion Calculator

Use this calculator to convert between measurement systems.

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Timing the Perfect Turkey

Cooking a turkey twice as big isn't twice as hard.

Science of Food: Water
Science of Food: Water

Explore water's crucial role in food and cooking.

Pressure Cooking
Pressure Cooking

Water helps you cook under pressure.

frozen stawberry
Freeze-Thawing Strawberries

This video explores what's happening to your food at a molecular level as it goes through a freeze-thaw cycle.

Soaking Pasta
Soaking Pasta

Reduce the carbon footprint of cooking pasta.

  • Science of Food: Water
  • Explorable Water
  • Pressure Cooking
  • Brining Turkey
  • Freeze-Thawing Strawberries
  • Popping Popcorn
  • Simmering Rice
  • Soaking Pasta
  • Freeze-Drying Ice Cream
  • Searing Steak
  • Try this
  • More to explore
  • Cooking Conversion Calculator
  • Cooking Equivalents and Measures
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