Abbreviations and strange measurements (how big is a pinch?) are common in recipes. Understanding the differences between the various cooking abbreviations and the units of measurement they refer to will help you to follow recipes. Here you’ll find common measurement acronyms as well as conversions between different ingredient measurements.
What are equivalent measures?
It’s time to learn the most basic kitchen conversions. Understanding these cooking conversions can help you follow recipes quickly, convert based on your available cooking equipment, or even adjust recipes to your liking!
Before we get started, it’s important noting that the cup is largely used in modern recipes in the United States and Canada. We’ll assume you’re using the US tablespoon and cup in this article (the most common).
Weight of Basic Ingredients to Gram
| Basic Ingredients | Measurement (Gram) |
| 1 cup of flour | 125 gr |
| 1 cup of sugar | 200 gr |
| 1 cup of rice | 200 gr |
| 1 cup of water | 200 gr |
| 1 teaspoon of sugar | 15 gr |
| 1 teaspoon of salt | 15 gr |
| 1 cup of butter | 250 gr |
| 1 cup of breadcrumbs | 150 gr |
| 1 cup of raisins | 140 gr |
How Many Spoons Are in a Cup?
You may be following a recipe and wondering how many teaspoons are in a cup? The following chart shows you the conversion of 1 cup, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, etc, to tablespoons (and teaspoons) and converting the other way: tablespoons to cups.
| 1 cup | 16 tablespoons |
| 3/4 cup | 12 tablespoons |
| 2/3 cup | 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons |
| 1/2 cup | 8 tablespoons |
| 3/8 cup | 6 tablespoons |
| 1/3 cup | 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon |
| 1/4 cup | 4 tablespoons |
| 1/6 cup | 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons |
| 1/8 cup | 2 tablespoons |
| 1/16 cup | 1 tablespoon |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons |
Most common cooking measurement equivalents and conversion
This table lists common conversion measurements in cooking.
| Measurement | Equivalent |
| 3 teaspoons | 1 tablespoon |
| 2 tablespoon | 1/8 cup |
| 2 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon | 1/6 cup |
| 4 tablespoons | 1/4 cup |
| 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon | 1/3 cup |
| 6 tablespoon | 3/8 cup |
| 8 tablespoons | 1/2 cup |
| 10 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon | 2/3 cup |
| 12 tablespoon | 3/4 cup |
| 1 cup | 1/2 pint or 8 fluid ounces |
| 2 cups | 1 pint or 16 fluid ounces |
| 4 cups (2 pints) | 1 quart |
| 16 ounces | 1 pound |
| Dash or pinch | less than 1/8 teaspoon |
| 4 quarts | 1 gallon |
| 2 tablespoons | 1 fluid ounce |
| 1 jigger | 1 1/2 fluid ounces |
| 2 pints | 1 quart or 32 fluid ounces |
| 4 quarts | 1 gallon |
Convert liquid measurement from spoon to mL, Weight measurement of small quantities using a spoon
| US measurement | 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 |
Convert ounce to grams
| US(Ounce) | 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 |
Most Common Abbreviations for Cooking Measurements
| Abbrevations | Unit of Measurement |
| oz | ounce |
| C, c | cup |
| T, TB, Tbl, Tbsp | tablespoon |
| g | gram |
| kg | kilogram |
| L, l | liter |
| lb | pound |
| mL, ml | milliliter |
| pt | pint |
| t, tsp | teaspoon |
