Cooking measurement conversion tables

Convert US measures and oven temperatures to their British equivalents with ease. Our quick conversion tables work for metric, imperial and US cup measures.

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By Lynn Wright | Published - 6 Jan 2016 | Updated - 12 Jun 2024

In US recipes, ingredients are typically measured in either pounds and ounces or cups and spoons, where UK recipes call for metric measures.

Take the guesswork out of baking and cooking your favourite US recipes with our handy guide to weight and volume conversions.

Don’t mix imperial and metric measures when following a recipe – pick one and stick to it.

Volume conversions for liquids

Imperial	US cups	Metric
1/2 fl oz	1 tablespoon	15ml
1 fl oz	1/8 cup	30ml
2 fl oz	1/4 cup	60ml
2 1/2 fl oz	1/3 cup	80ml
4 fl oz	1/2 cup	120ml
5 fl oz	2/3 cup	160ml
6 fl oz	3/4 cup	180ml
8 fl oz	1 cup	240ml

TIP

There’s a small difference between metric cups and US cups. A standard metric cup holds 250ml of liquid whereas a US cup holds slightly less at 240ml. With most recipes, this slight difference won’t affect the final result. If in doubt, convert the US cup measurements to metric milliliters.

Weight conversions for dry ingredients

Imperial	Metric
1/4 oz	7g
1/2 oz	15g
1 oz	30g
2 oz	60g
3 oz	85g
4 oz	110g
5 oz	140g
6 oz	170g
7 oz	200g
8 oz	225g
9 oz	255g
10 oz	280g
11 oz	310g
12 oz	340g
13 oz	370g
14 oz	400g
15 oz	425g
1 lb	450g

Converting US cup measures to grams

Many US recipes call for ingredients to be measured in cups. Cups work fine when measuring volume but converting cup measurements to grams is tricky as the equivalent weight depends on the ingredient. For example, a cup of sugar will weigh around 225gm, but a cup of flour may weigh only about 150gm.

Below is a guide to converting some commonly used ingredients from US cup measures to the approximate gram equivalent. However, it’s usually best to follow the recipe by using cup measures. You can buy a set of measuring cups online, in large supermarkets, department stores or kitchenware stores.

US cups	Weight in grams
1 cup flour	150g
1 cup caster/granulated sugar	225g
1 cup brown sugar	200g
1 cup icing sugar	125g
1 cup butter/margarine/lard	225g
1 cup sultanas/raisins	200g
1 cup currants	150g
1 cup ground almonds	110g
1 cup uncooked rice	200g
1 cup grated cheese	110g
1 stick butter	113g

Oven temperatures

US recipes usually give oven temperatures in degree Fahrenheit, whereas most UK ovens show temperature in Celsius only. Use the table below to find the UK equivalent. With fan-assisted ovens, remember to reduce the temperature by 20 degrees as shown below.

Description	Electric °F	Electric °C	Electric °C Fan	Gas mark
Very cool	225	110	90	1/4
Very cool	250	120	100	1/2
Cool	275	140	120	1
Cool	300	150	130	2
Warm	325	160	140	3
Moderate	350	180	160	4
Moderately hot	375	190	170	5
Fairly hot	400	200	180	6
Hot	425	220	200	7
Very hot	450	230	210	8
Very hot	475	240	220	9

Written by: Lynn Wright

Lynn has more than 25 years' experience as a magazine editor, journalist and book author. She writes for consumer magazines and websites, covering a diverse range of topics including technology, computing, personal finance, food and nutrition.

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