UK to US cooking measurement conversions.

Measurement conversion lists.

Shown on each line are inches and centimetres.
Quarter of an inch, half a centimetre.
Half an inch, 1 cm.
3 quarters of an inch 2 cm.
1 inch, 2.5 cm.
1 and a quarter inches, 3 cm.
1 and a half inches, 4 cm.
1 and 3 quarter inches, 4.5 cm.
2 inches, 5 cm.
3 inches, 7.5 cm.
4 inches, 10 cm.
5 inches, 13 cm.
6 inches, 15 cm.
7 inches, 18 cm.
8 inches, 20 cm.
9 inches, 23 cm.
10 inches, 25.5 cm.
11 inches, 28 cm.
12 inches, 30 cm.

Oven temperature conversions.
Shown on each line are the oven temperatures for gas, degrees Fahrenheit, degrees centigrade and Circotherm (fan).
Gas mark 1, 275 F, 140 C, Circotherm 130.
Gas mark 2, 300 F, 150 C, 140.
Gas mark 3, 325 F, 170 C, 150.
Gas mark 4, 350 F, 180 C, 160.
Gas mark 5, 375 F, 190 C, 160.
Gas mark 6, 400 F, 200 C, 170.
Gas mark 7, 425 F, 220 C, 180.
Gas mark 8, 450 F, 230 C, 190.
Gas mark 9, 475 F, 240 C, 200.

The above conversion list is for your guidance only, variations in temperature can be expected during the cooking period, but, if you follow your recipe correctly, this should not affect the finished result. If using a fan oven, many cooking times can be reduced by approximately one third e.g. in some cakes and pastries, please see oven manual for more details.


Volume Conversion List.
Shown on each line are, pints, and millilitres.
Quarter of a pt, 150 ml.
Half a pt, 275 ml.
3 quarters of a pt, 425 ml.1 pt, 570 ml.
1 and 3-quarter pints,1 litre.


Weight conversion list.
Shown on each line are, ounces, grams, pounds and kilograms.
Half an oz, 10 g.
1 oz, 25 g.
1 and a half oz, 40 g.
2 oz, 50 g.
2 and a half oz, 60 g.
3 oz, 75 g.
4 oz, 110 g.
4 and a half oz, 125 g.
5 oz, 150 g.
6 oz, 175 g.
7 oz, 200 g.
8 oz, 225 g.
9 oz, 250 g.
10 oz 275 g.
12 oz, 350 g.
1 lb, 450 g.
1 and a half lb, 700 g.
2 pounds, 900 g.
3 lb, 1.350 kg.


List of abbreviations.
lb, pound
oz, ounce
g, grams
cm, centimetre
pt, pint
fl.oz, fluid ounce
ltr, litre
tbsp, tablespoon
tsp, teaspoon
ml, millilitres.
r, self-raising
f, Fahrenheit
c, centigrade
mins, minutes
hrs, hours

I very much hope that this section will act as a quick reference to help American cooks out when looking for that necessary vital item either for a recipe or in food preparation. Items are listed as follows: British/Australian, followed by its American equivalent.

Converting British weights and measures to American

There are sometimes significant differences between the measures used for ingredients in British and American recipes. For example a British standard tablespoon holds 17.7ml while the American tablespoon has a 14.2 ml capacity.

Similarly a British pint measures 20 fluid ounces while an American pint is just 16 fluid ounces.

The standard American measuring cups sold here in the UK are one 4 ounce cup and smaller, Many American recipes use an 8 ounce (two cup) as a basis for measuring recipe ingredients. Bear in mind that the same cup measures differently for liquid and dry, depending on the weight of the ingredient, i.e. flour, breadcrumbs and oatmeal will be 4 oz, (110 g), but sugar, butter, dried fruit, chopped vegetables, syrup etc., will weigh differently.

The listings below should enable recipes to be successfully made by American cooks. The only advice I would offer, having spent hours trawling websites and reading through books for factual information, hints and tips, is, to be consistent, never mix imperial, metric or cup measures in one recipe, If you use the same measuring system throughout, your dishes should work out correctly. If in doubt, weighing is still the most reliable and much preferred method to use, even by many American cooks.

Purchasing a good set of balance scales with either metric or imperial weights, really will eliminate any guesswork and give good, consistent results every time.

Helpful measurement conversions.
Spoons
British = American
1 teaspoon = 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon = 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons = 3 tablespoons
3.5 tablespoons = 4 tablespoons
4 tablespoons = 5 tablespoons

Solid measures
Using the one-cup standard measure as sold here in the UK (NB: Please remember to alter the amount for your own recipe):-

British = American
1lb (450g) butter or margarine = 2 cups (or four sticks).
1lb (450g) flour = 4 cups.
1lb 450 g, granulated or caster, (superfine), sugar = 2 cups.
1lb 450 g, icing sugar (confectioners' sugar) = 3 cups.
4 oz, 110 g, icing sugar, (confectioner's sugar), = half a cup plus a heaped tbsp.
8 oz, 225 g, flour = 2 cups.4 oz, 110 g, flour, = 1 cup.
8 oz, 225 g, breadcrumbs = 2 cups.
4 oz, 110 g, breadcrumbs. = 1 cup.
8 oz, 225 g, oatmeal = 2 cups.4 oz, 110 g, oatmeal = 1 cup.
8 oz, 225 g, grated cheese = 2 cups.4 oz, 110 g, grated cheese = 1 cup.
8 oz, 225 g, butter, margarine, or shortening = one cup (or two sticks).
4 oz, 110 g, butter, margarine, or shortening = half a cup (or one stick).
2 oz, 50 g, butter, margarine or shortening = a quarter of a cup (or half a stick).
4 oz, 110 g, dried mixed fruit, (fruitcake mix) = 2-thirds of a cup.
2 oz, 50 g, dried mixed fruit, (fruit cake mix) = one-third of a cup.
8 oz, 225 g, brown sugar = 1 cup.
4 oz, 110 g, brown sugar = half a cup3 oz, 75 g, plain, (semi-sweet) chocolate, broken into squares = 3-quarters of a cup.
4 oz, 110 g, whole hazelnuts = 1 cup.
2 oz, 50 g, flaked, (slivered) almonds = half a cup.4 oz, 110 g, ground almonds = 1 cup.


Useful teaspoon measures.
1 oz, 25 g, is one heaped or heaping, tbsp of flour, oatmeal, cheese, breadcrumbs, or icing, confectioners grade, sugar.
1 oz, 25 g, is 1 rounded tbsp, of granulated or caster, superfine, sugar.1 oz, 25 g, is 2 level tbsp of butter, margarine or shortening.


Liquid measuresBritish = American
half a tsp, 2.5 ml. = half a tsp, 2.5 ml.
1 tsp, 5 ml. = 1 tsp, 5 ml.
1 average tbsp, 15 ml. = 1 average tbsp, 15 ml.A quarter of a pint, 150 ml. = Two thirds of a cup.
120 ml, 4 fl.oz, = half a cup.
Half a pint, 275 ml, 8 fl.oz, = A generous 1 cup.
Three-quarters of a pint, 425 ml. = Two cups
1 pint, 570 ml. = Two and a half cups.
One and a half pints, approx, 840 ml. = Three and three-quarter cups.
1 and 3-quarter pints, 1 litre, = 4 and a half cups.2 pints = 5 cups.


Baking tins, a useful conversion.
There may be occasions when the exact size of a baking tin may not be available or when you wish to make a particular cake recipe in another shape. The following conversions might prove useful. For the purposes of baking, the capacity of a round cake tin is equal to that of a square cake tin that is 2.5cm, one inch smaller in size, for example a 20cm/8inch round tin holds the same quantity as an 18cm/7inch square tin.

British = American
An 800ml/11/2pint pudding basin = a 14cm/ 51/2 inch round deep cake tin.
A 1.2 litre/2 pint pudding basin = a 15cm/6" round deep cake tin, or a 12.5 cm/5" square deep tin.
A 1kg/2lb loaf tin = an 18cm/7inch square shallow cake tin or a 33 x 23 cm/13 x 9 inch Swiss roll tin.


Terminology for Cooking utensils.
In alphabetical order, with British followed by American in brackets.
Baking foil, (aluminium foil).
Baking tin, (cookie sheet).
Baking tray, (baking sheet).
Base, (bottom).
Cake tin, (cake pan).
Cocktail sticks, (tooth picks).
Cling film, (plastic wrap).
Fish slice, (spatula).
Flan tin, (pie pan),
Frying pan, (skillet).
Greaseproof paper, (waxed paper).
Kitchen towel, (kitchen paper).
Liquidiser, (blender).
Muslin, (cheesecloth).
Patty cases, (patty shells).
Piping bag for icing cakes, (pastry bag).
Pudding basin, (oven bowl).
Round cake tin, (tube pan).
Sieve, (strainer)
Tea towel, (dish towel).


Terminology for Cooking ingredients and foods.
In alphabetical order, with British followed by American in brackets.
Aubergine, (eggplant).
Bacon rashers, (bacon slices).
Baked or unbaked pastry cases, (baked or unbaked pie shells).
Bangers, (sausages).
Beef cut from the rump, (silverside or topside).
Beet, (beetroot).
Bicarbonate of soda, (baking soda).
Bilberries, (blueberries).
Biscuits, (cookies).
Biscuit mixture, (cookie dough).
Black cherries, (bing cherries).
Black olives, (ripe olives).
Black pudding, (blood sausage).
Boiling chicken, (stewing chicken).
Broad beans, (fava beans).
Cake mixture, (batter).
Caster sugar, (fine grade or superfine sugar).
Capsicum or peppers, (sweet bell peppers).
Cauliflower sprigs, (cauliflorettes).
Celery stick, (celery rib).
Chicken or beef stock cubes, (bouillon cubes).
Chillies, (chilli peppers).
Chips, (French fried potatoes if they’re thin, or beefsteak fried potatoes for proper thick chips).
Chuck steak, (round steak, or stewing beef).
Chicory, (Belgian endive).
Coco, (unsweetened chocolate powder).
Cooking apples, (baking apples or tart apples).
Cooking chocolate, (unsweetened cooking chocolate).
Coriander, fresh, (cilantro).
Corn flour, (corn starch).
Courgettes, (zucchini).
Cornish pasties, (meat turnovers).
Crisps, (potato chips).
Cutlets, (chops).
Desiccated coconut, (shredded coconut).
Digestive biscuits, or wheat meal biscuits, (graham crackers).
Double cream, (cream heavy).
Dried milk powder, (non-fat dry milk).
Dried mixed fruit, (fruit cake mix).
Dripping, (fat from roasted meat).
Eating apples, (dessert apples).
Fillet of meat, (tenderloin).
Flaked almonds, (slivered almonds).
French beans, (green beans).
Gammon, (uncooked ham) pieces).
Garlic puree, (garlic paste).
Glace fruit, (candied fruit).
Glucose, (light corn syrup).
Golden syrup, (corn syrup).
Granulated sugar, (sugar granulated).
Ground rice, (rice flour).
Hard boiled eggs, (hard cooked eggs).
Hazelnuts, (filbert nuts).
Icing sugar, (confectioners or powdered sugar).
Jam, (jelly or conserve).Jelly, (jello).
Joint of meat, (large cut of meat on the bone, to roast).
King prawns, (jumbo shrimp).
Lard, (shortening).
Meatballs, (collops).
Melon, (cantaloupe).
Minced beef or lamb etc., (ground beef or meat).
Mixed peel, (candied peel).
Mixed spice, (apple pie spice).
Peanuts, (ground nuts).
Plain chocolate, (semi-sweet chocolate).
Plain flour, (all-purpose flour).
Porridge, (oatmeal).
Pork fat, (fat back).
Pork shoulder roast, (hand of pork).
Prawns, (shrimp).
Offal, (variety meats, liver kidney etc)
Rump steak, (sirloin steak).
Salad onions, (green onions spring).
Scones, (biscuits).
Self-raising flour, (self-rising flour).
Semolina, (farina, or, cream of wheat).
Single cream, (light, half and half).
Skirt steak, (flank steak).
Smoked haddock, (finnan haddie).
Spring onions (scallions or green onions).
Solid white vegetable fat, (vegetable shortening).
Strong flour for bread making, (bread flour).
Stock cubes or gravy granules, (bouillon cubes, or granules, or gravy base.)
Stoned fruit, (seeded fruit).
Stuffing for chicken etc., (forcemeat).
Sultanas, (raisins golden, seedless).
Sweets, (candies).
Tomato pure, (tomato paste).
Tomato sauce, (tomato catsup or ketchup).
Treacle, (molasses).Tuna, (tunny).
Vanilla essence, (vanilla extract).
Vanilla pod, (vanilla bean).


Terminology for Preparation techniques.
British followed by American in brackets.

To gut fish, (to clean fish).
To knock back dough as in bread making, (to punch down dough).
To grill, (to broil).
To hull strawberries, (to chuck).
A pudding is a dessert.
To remove the silk and husk from corn on the cob, (to husk the cob).
To top and tail gooseberries, (to clean gooseberries).
To make the pastry, (to make the pie crust).
To whip or whisk as in eggs and cream, (to beat or whip).
To stone fruit, (to pit fruit).
To pipe icing using a plain star tube in a piping bag, (to pipe icing using a fluted nozzle in a pastry bag).
To put something uppermost, (to put it upwards)
To sift, is to strain.
A heaped spoonful is a heaping spoonful.

Well guys, I hope this helps.