Basic Cooking Measurement Abbreviations and Conversions 2022
Cooking measurements abbreviation, equivalents, and conversions can all be very complicated but they don’t have to be! The fundamentals of measuring and converting in the kitchen are fully explained, including how to convert from metric to standard, typical cooking measurements and equivalents, and more.
All food served by food trucks is based on recipes. Some are original to the cook, while they pass others down through the centuries as family recipes.
These recipes are chock-full of strange measurements (how big is a pinch?), acronyms, and other culinary jargon. While many cookbooks use standard recipe abbreviations and we commonly publish food truck recipes in our recipe area, not all recipes provide measurements.
A reader recently asked us to provide definitions for the acronyms we had used, so we thought we would put up this brief chart along with a chart that would aid readers who are unfamiliar with these measurements to translate them into other measurement standards.
There are standard measures abbreviations available.
What do Cooking Measures Consist of?
In most nations across the world, cooking measurements abbreviation are often taken using the metric system, however, in the United States, they are taken using US Customary.
Metric system quantities such as litres (L), millilitres (mL), grams (g), kilograms (kg), milligrams (mg), and degrees Celsius (°C) are used in some international recipes.
As opposed to the cups (c), tablespoons (tbsp), teaspoons (tsp), gallons (gal), fluid ounces (fl oz), one-ounce (oz), and pounds (oz) used in the United States (lb).
Therefore, if you are from the United States and find a recipe that uses the metric system, it could be a little perplexing, and vice versa. In addition, you can have a lot of inquiries regarding how to measure dry, liquid, and semi-solid substances.
Important Information Regarding Cooking Conversions
1. We typically measure ingredients in recipes using either weight (using the Metric System) or volume (Imperial System).
2. Volume is a measure of an object’s size.
3. Weight refers to an object’s weight.
4. US Customary Units, which are based on the Imperial System but are not the true Imperial System, are used in American recipes.
5. One cup does not equal one cup, as shown by the following two examples: Wherever you are in the world, the size of the cup varies since different nations use different sizes. US measuring cups hold 240 ml and UK measuring cups hold 250 ml.
About 280 ml cooking measurements abbreviation makes about one imperial cup. Since cups measure volume/density rather than weight, different ingredients will weigh differently.
As an illustration, a cup of butter has a higher density than a cup of flour, weighing in at 226 grams (lower density).
It is necessary to measure dry and liquid materials differently. A fluid ounce is not the same as a solid ounce.
Ounces are a unit of measurement, not fluid ounces. Instead of measuring weight, ounces measure volume (space) (density).
Measurement conversions & Common Recipe Abbreviations
The meanings of common recipe cooking measurements abbreviation acronyms are included in the table below.
Common Measurement Abbreviations
| Abbreviations | What they Mean |
| kg | kilogram |
| g | gram |
| C, c | cup |
| L, l | litre |
| lb | pound |
| mL, ml | millilitre |
| oz | ounce |
| pt | pint |
| t, tsp | teaspoon |
| T, TB, Tbl, Tbsp | tablespoon |
Conversion of Typical Measurements
1. 1 tablespoon equals three tablespoons
2. 1/4 cup equals 4 tablespoons.
3. 1 cup = 5 1/3 tablespoons
4. 1/2 cup equals 8 tablespoons.
5. 1 cup equals 12 tablespoons.
6. 1 cup = 16 tablespoons
7. 1 pint equals 4 cups
8. 1 gallon equals 16 cups.
9. 1 coffee scoop and 2 tablespoons are equal to 1/8 cup.
10. Half a pint is one cup.
11. Two cups to one pint
12. 1 quart equals 4 cups (2 pints).
13. 1 gallon equals 4 quarts.
14. 1 pound Equals 16 ounces
15. 1 cup equals 8 fluid ounces.
Comparison Between Standard/Imperial with Metric Cooking Measurements
The Imperial, or “Standard,” measurement system is used in the United States. Therefore, the amounts of cooking measurements abbreviation in our recipes are given in teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pounds, and so forth
However, we’re in a little of a bubble there since most of the rest of the world uses the metric system. We used grams and millilitres in recipes.
What happens if you wish to use a recipe that calls for metric cooking proportions but only has the equipment and knowledge for imperial cooking measurements? Cooking conversion charts are useful in this situation.
These charts will assist you whether you’re trying to measure for volume or weight or need to convert oven temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit (or vice versa).
I hope these fundamental cooking measurements abbreviation and conversions may help to clarify things a bit!
I want cooking and following instructions to be EASY because I know that baking and cooking measurements have frequently left me perplexed in the past.
