Cooking Converter

How to use the cooking converter

1. In Amount, type a quantity: 1, 1.5, 1/2, 1 1/2 or ½ all work.
2. Choose the Unit: US or metric cups and spoons, fluid ounces, millilitres and litres, or a weight (grams, kilograms, ounces, pounds, US sticks of butter).
3. Choose the Ingredient. The results show the Weight in grams, the Weight in ounces, the amount in US cups and spoons, in Metric cups and spoons, and the Volume. A line below gives the weight of one cup and one tablespoon of that ingredient.
4. For the oven, type a number in Temperature or mark and choose the Scale: degrees Celsius, degrees Fahrenheit, gas mark or French thermostat. The tool gives all the equivalents plus a fan oven setting.

The tables further down list the weight of a cup of every ingredient, the full gas mark chart, and the size of US, metric, imperial, Japanese and Australian cups and spoons.

Why cups and grams do not convert directly

A cup is a volume and a gram is a weight, so the conversion depends on the ingredient: a cup of flour weighs about 120 g, a cup of sugar about 198 g and a cup of honey about 336 g. The tool uses:

grams = millilitres × (grams per US cup ÷ 236.59 mL)

Most cup weights come from the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart, where dry ingredients are spooned into the cup and levelled (brown sugar is packed). Rolled oats (89 g) also come from that chart. Milk (244 g) and vegetable oil (218 g) use USDA FoodData Central portion weights, and water uses its density at 20 °C (0.998 g/mL). Scooping flour straight from the bag can add 20% or more, which is why bakers prefer a scale.

US, metric and other cups and spoons

• US customary cup: 236.59 mL (8 US fl oz). US nutrition labels use a rounded 240 mL “legal cup”.
• Metric cup (Canada, Australia, New Zealand): 250 mL.
• Imperial cup in older British recipes: 284.13 mL (10 imperial fl oz).
• Japanese cup: 200 mL.
• Tablespoon: 14.79 mL (US), 15 mL (metric), 20 mL (Australia). Teaspoon: 4.93 mL (US) or 5 mL.

For most recipes the 5% gap between US and metric cups does not matter, but it adds up in large batches and in baking.

Oven temperatures

• °F = °C × 9/5 + 32, and °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9.
• Gas mark 1 = 275 °F, and each mark adds 25 °F up to gas mark 10 (500 °F); ¼ = 225 °F and ½ = 250 °F.
• French ovens are often marked with a thermostat number: th. 6 ≈ 180 °C, one step for every 30 °C.
• Fan (convection) ovens usually need about 20 °C less. The tool shows this lower setting, but check your oven’s manual.

Recipes usually round: 180 °C is written 350 °F although it is exactly 356 °F.