Cooking Measurement Converter
1 US cup equals 8 US fluid ounces, while 1 cup of all-purpose flour is estimated at 120 grams. This cooking measurement converter handles volume conversions among cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, fluid ounces, and milliliters. It also converts between grams and volume with the selected ingredient's stored grams-per-cup value. Ingredient choice has no effect when both units are volume units.
Quick answer
Volume conversions use US cooking units and a fixed 236.5882365 milliliters per cup.
What this tells you
- •Volume conversions use US cooking units and a fixed 236.5882365 milliliters per cup.
- •Gram conversions use average ingredient density in grams per cup.
- •Results are rounded to 4 decimal places for readability.
- •Gram conversions are ingredient-specific estimates because ingredients have different mass per cup.
- •The converter supports grams as its only mass unit and does not treat fluid ounces as weight ounces.
How to Use
- 1Enter the numeric amount you want to convert.
- 2Select the source unit from cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, US fluid ounce, milliliter, or gram.
- 3Select the target unit and remember that fluid ounce here is a US volume unit.
- 4If either unit is gram, choose the ingredient that matches the recipe.
- 5Convert and read the result rounded to 4 decimal places.
- 6Prefer the recipe author's stated weight when one is provided because it may be more specific.
How It Works
Formula
Volume to volume: converted = input x (source-to-cup factor) / (target-to-cup factor). Weight to volume: cups = grams / density (g per cup).The converter first changes a volume input to cups. One tablespoon is 1/16 cup, one teaspoon is 1/48 cup, one US fluid ounce is 1/8 cup, and one milliliter is 1/236.5882365 cup. It then changes cups to the target unit. Grams-to-cups divides by the selected grams-per-cup value, while cups-to-grams multiplies by it. For example, 240 grams of flour divided by 120 grams per cup equals 2 cups.
Calculation note: values are processed in the order shown above, using the current input units.
Worked Examples
Cups to fluid ounces
1 cup x 8 = 8 fluid ounces. This is a fixed volume conversion that does not depend on the ingredient.
Grams to cups (all-purpose flour)
All-purpose flour weighs about 120 g per cup. Divide 240 by 120 to get 2 cups.
Tablespoons to teaspoons
1 tablespoon equals 3 teaspoons. Multiply 3 x 3 to get 9 teaspoons.
Milliliters to US cups
Divide 250 by 236.5882365 milliliters per US cup. The result is displayed as 1.0567.
Cups to grams for granulated sugar
Granulated sugar uses 200 grams per cup. Multiplying 1.5 cups by 200 gives 300 grams.
Grams to cups for cocoa powder
Cocoa powder uses 85 grams per cup. Dividing 100 by 85 gives 1.1764706 cups, displayed as 1.1765.
Cups of milk to grams
Milk uses 245 grams per cup in the table. Two cups multiplied by 245 gives an estimated 490 grams.
Common Cooking Measurement Conversions
Standard US cooking measurement relationships and average ingredient weights per cup.
| Amount | Equals | Grams (by ingredient) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 8 fl oz, 16 tbsp, 48 tsp, 237 ml | Flour 120 g, Sugar 200 g, Butter 227 g |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 tsp, 0.5 fl oz, 15 ml | Flour 7.5 g, Sugar 12.5 g, Butter 14.2 g |
| 1 fluid ounce | 2 tbsp, 6 tsp, 30 ml | Flour 15 g, Sugar 25 g, Butter 28.4 g |
| 1 teaspoon | 0.33 tbsp, 5 ml | Flour 2.5 g, Sugar 4.2 g, Butter 4.7 g |
Gram values are averages. Actual weight varies by brand, grind, and how tightly the ingredient is packed.
Why ingredient choice matters for grams
Cups and milliliters measure volume, while grams measure mass. A cup of flour and a cup of salt occupy the same nominal volume but have very different masses.
Packing and preparation matter too. Brown sugar is commonly packed, flour changes with scooping method, and sifted powder can occupy more volume. The converter uses one stored convention and cannot detect how a cup was filled.
When a recipe supplies both cups and grams, prefer its gram value. The author may use a different cup standard, ingredient brand, grind, moisture level, or testing method.
Common mistakes
- Scooping flour directly from the bag packs it down and gives you up to 30 percent more than 120 g per cup. Spoon flour into the cup and level it off with a knife.
- Brown sugar is measured packed, while powdered sugar is measured unsifted unless the recipe says otherwise.
- Fluid ounces measure volume, not weight. Do not confuse them with ounces by weight, which are used for solid ingredients.
- Selecting the wrong ingredient for a gram conversion, since equal cup volumes can have very different masses.
- Assuming a 250 mL metric cup is identical to the US cup used here.
- Rounding a small teaspoon conversion too early when scaling a large batch.
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