Cooking unit converter — cups, tablespoons, grams, and oven temps
Recipe writers mix cups, tablespoons, milliliters, and grams in the same paragraph. A cooking converter removes guesswork when you scale a U.S. blog recipe in Europe or weigh ingredients for consistent baking. This tool converts volume (cup, tbsp, tsp, ml, fl oz, liter), weight (g, oz, lb, kg), and oven temperature between Fahrenheit and Celsius—with a quick-reference table for flour, butter, sugar, and more.
Cups to tablespoons and teaspoons
In U.S. customary measure, 1 cup = 16 tablespoons and 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons. That means 1 cup = 48 teaspoons. Metric cooks often use milliliters: one U.S. cup is about237 ml (legal cup 240 ml). Australian recipes sometimes use a 250 ml cup—check the recipe country before converting.
Why grams matter in baking
Volume measures compress flour differently each scoop. Professional bakers weigh ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour ≈ 120 g spooned and leveled, while 1 cup butter ≈ 227 g (two U.S. sticks). Brown sugar is heavier when packed. Honey and syrup are dense by volume. The equivalents table below the converter lists common pantry items so you can switch a volumetric recipe to a scale without hunting charts.
Oven temperature conversion
American ovens use Fahrenheit; most of the world uses Celsius. 350°F ≈ 177°C is the classic cake temperature. 425°F ≈ 218°C suits roasting vegetables. Gas mark scales (UK) are another layer—when a recipe only lists gas marks, consult a dual-scale chart. Fan-assisted (convection) ovens cook faster; reduce temperature ~25°F or follow manufacturer guidance.
Scaling recipes up or down
Doubling a recipe is not always 2× everything: leavening (baking soda, yeast) and salt may need less than proportional increases. Liquids and flour scale more linearly. When halving, egg quantities may need splitting or alternate batch sizes. Convert volumes first, then cross-check critical dry ingredients against the equivalents table in grams for accuracy.
International recipe differences
UK tablespoons are 15 ml like the U.S., but Australian tablespoons are 20 ml. Canadian butter sticks differ from U.S. 113 g quarters. European butter often has higher fat percent. When a recipe fails after conversion, check whether the author used metric cups (250 ml) versus U.S. cups (~237 ml).
Liquid vs dry measuring cups
Liquid measuring cups have a spout and extra space for meniscus reading at eye level. Dry cups should be filled and leveled without packing unless the recipe says "packed" (brown sugar). Using a liquid cup for flour is a common reason cakes turn out dense—weight is more reliable for flour and cocoa.
Volume vs weight mode
You cannot directly convert cups of flour to cups of sugar in weight mode—ingredient density differs. Use volume mode for liquids and dry measures when the recipe stays in spoons/cups; use weight mode when you know both sides are mass (grams to ounces). For ingredient-specific cup-to-gram swaps, use the equivalents table or weigh on a kitchen scale.
Need general metric conversions? Open the unit converter or Celsius to Fahrenheit tool on Toolsle.