How many grams in a spoon or cup: a table of measures, temperatures and swaps

Why scales beat spoons

Types of cups and spoons

• Tablespoon (tbsp) — 15 ml.
• Teaspoon (tsp) — 5 ml.
• Dessert spoon — 10 ml.
• Faceted glass — 200 ml to the rim line, 250 ml to the brim.
• US cup — 240 ml; ½ cup 120 ml; ¼ cup 60 ml.
• A level spoon is flat; a heaped spoon is usually 1.5–2 times as much.

Dry ingredients in grams

• Plain flour: tbsp 10 g, tsp 3 g, 200 ml glass 130 g, 250 ml 160 g.
• Sugar: tbsp 12 g, tsp 4 g, 200 ml 160 g, 250 ml 200 g.
• Icing sugar: tbsp 8 g, tsp 3 g, 250 ml 130 g.
• Fine salt: tbsp 18 g, tsp 6 g. Coarse salt is 20–30% lighter.
• Baking soda and baking powder: tsp 4–5 g.
• Starch: tbsp 9 g, tsp 3 g.
• Cocoa: tbsp 7 g, tsp 2.5 g.
• Ground coffee: tbsp 6–7 g.
• Semolina: tbsp 12 g, 250 ml 200 g.
• Rice: 250 ml 200 g; buckwheat 250 ml 210 g; millet 250 ml 220 g.
• Rolled oats: 250 ml 90 g; tbsp 6 g.
• Ground nuts: 250 ml 100–120 g; walnut halves 110 g.
• Raisins: 250 ml 150–170 g.
• Dried yeast: tsp 3 g; sachet 7 g (sometimes 11 g).
• Powdered gelatine: tbsp 10 g, tsp 3–4 g.

Liquids and thick ingredients

• Water, milk, kefir: tbsp 15 g, tsp 5 g, 250 ml cup 250 g.
• Vegetable oil: tbsp 14 g, tsp 4.5 g, 250 ml 230 g.
• Melted butter: tbsp 14 g; solid butter about 15 g per tbsp.
• Runny honey: tbsp 20 g, tsp 7 g.
• Sour cream: tbsp 15–18 g level, 25 g heaped.
• Mayonnaise: tbsp 15 g.
• Tomato paste: tbsp 20 g, tsp 6 g.
• Soy sauce: tbsp 16–18 g.
• Vinegar: tbsp 15 g.

Eggs: how much they weigh

• Medium egg: 55–65 g in the shell, about 50–55 g out of it.
• White about 30–35 g, yolk about 18–20 g.
• Large egg: 65–75 g in the shell. Extra large: 75 g and above.
• Small egg: 45–55 g. Two small roughly equal one and a half medium.

Oven temperatures

• Very low: 120–140 °C — 250–275 °F — gas ½–1.
• Low: 150 °C — 300 °F — gas 2; 160–170 °C — 325 °F — gas 3.
• Moderate: 175–180 °C — 350 °F — gas 4; 190 °C — 375 °F — gas 5.
• Moderately hot: 200 °C — 400 °F — gas 6; 220 °C — 425 °F — gas 7.
• Hot: 230 °C — 450 °F — gas 8; 240 °C — 475 °F — gas 9.
• Fan oven: lower the temperature by 15–20 °C or cut the time by roughly 10–15%.

US and UK measures

• 1 ounce (oz) = 28 g. 1 pound (lb) = 16 oz = 454 g.
• 1 fluid ounce (fl oz) ≈ 30 ml.
• 1 cup flour ≈ 125 g, 1 cup sugar ≈ 200 g, 1 cup packed brown sugar ≈ 210–220 g.
• 1 cup butter = 2 sticks = 227 g. 1 stick = 113 g = 8 tbsp.
• 1 tablespoon = 15 ml, 1 teaspoon = 5 ml.
• In Australian recipes a tablespoon is 20 ml.
• 1 US pint ≈ 473 ml; a UK pint is 568 ml.

Scaling a recipe to a different tin

• Factor for round tins: (new diameter ÷ old diameter)².
• 20 to 24 cm: × 1.44. 22 to 26 cm: × 1.4. 24 to 20 cm: × 0.7.
• 20 to 28 cm: almost double (× 1.96).
• For rectangular tins: area of the new tin ÷ area of the old.
• A 22 cm round tin is roughly the same area as a 20×20 cm square one.

Common swaps

• Yeast: 25 g fresh = 7–8 g instant dried = 10–12 g active dried (which needs dissolving in water).
• Gelatine: 1 sheet (2 g) ≈ 2 g powder. Agar: about 1 g instead of 8–10 g gelatine.
• Baking powder: 1 tsp ≈ ¼ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp citric acid or cream of tartar. You can't swap soda for baking powder 1:1 — you need 3–4 times as much.
• Buttermilk: 250 ml milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, 5 minutes.
• 33% cream for a sauce: 180 ml milk + 70 g melted butter (won't whip).
• Sugar → honey: three-quarters of the sugar amount, reduce liquid by 3–4 tbsp per 200 g.
• Butter → oil: 100 g → 80 ml.
• Fresh herbs → dried: 1 tbsp fresh ≈ 1 tsp dried.
• Garlic: 1 clove ≈ ½ tsp granulated or ¼ tsp garlic powder.
• Lemon: 1 lemon ≈ 40–50 ml juice and 1 tbsp zest.