Measuring ingredients are important as we all look out for perfection, in every new recipe we create. Though our mums and grandmas managed without any standard measurement and used “Andaz” in everyday cooking; in today's busy life the use of measures make it easier to cook without missing out on any ingredients. Measuring and laying out ingredients before you not only speeds the process but also gives you the confidence. Measuring ingredients becomes crucial when it comes to baking, as baking requires accurate measurements to get the best outcomes of cakes, brownies or breads.

There are two main systems for measuring weight, the Imperial System of Measurement and the Metric System of Measurement. Most countries use the Metric System, which uses the measuring units such as meters and grams and adds prefixes like kilo, milli, and centi to count orders of magnitude. In the United States Imperial system is used where things are measured in feet, inches, and pounds. In India, we follow metric system that is measurements in metres and grams.

One important thing to note is that UK standard cup size is 250ml and US standard size is 240 ml, so make a note of which one do you have or will buy for your kitchen. Given below is standard size conversion that you can use according to your US or UK cup size. These measurements are not 100% accurate and they are an approximation, that will help is quicken the cooking process.

Liquid Ingredients Measurements:

Mentioned below are standard measurements of recipes involving liquid ingredients but if you have to measure liquid higher than a cup, you can use the cups and double them accordingly to increase the amount in a large bowl. If you have liquid measurements lesser than a cup then you can use teaspoons and tablespoons and other smaller cups.

Standard Cup Measurement
Metric Measurement (In Milliliter)
Imperial Measurement (Imperial Fluid Ounces)


1 Cup
240
8


3/4 Cup
180
6.08


2/3 Cup
160
5.4


1/2 Cup
120
4


1/3 Cup
80
2.7


1/4 Cup
60
2


1/8 Cup
30
1


1 Tablespoon
15
0.5


1/2 Tablespoon
7.5
0.25


1 Teaspoon
5
0.16


1/2 Teaspoon
2.5
0.08

Butter, Cream & Yogurt Measurements:

One stick of butter is 4 ounces or 113 grams

Ingredient
1 Cup (Metric Measurement in Grams)
1 Cup (Imperial Measurement in Ounces)
1 Tablespoon (Metric Measurement in Grams)
1 Tablespoon (Imperial Measurement in Ounces)


Butter
225
8
14
0.5


Cream
225
8
14
0.5

Dry Ingredients measurement Chart:

The right way to measure dry ingredients like flours, sugar, rice, semolina or rava is to fill the cup or tablespoon to the brim and level it using the back edge of knife or spatula. You can change the measurement as per requirements like if it requires a heaped or scant accordingly.

Now ingredients like flour, cornstarch or besan vary a little in their measurements as that of the recipe requirement whereas when it comes to ingredients like granulated sugar and rava or rice and dals cannot vary much as they are not too much compressible. Whereas while measuring other foods like chopped vegetables or shredded cheese it will vary in large as it depends on the size.

Here is a list of approximate measurements of few common ingredients

Standard Cup Measurement
1 Cup (Metric Measurement in Grams)
1 Cup (Imperial Measurement in Ounces)
1 Tablespoon (Metric Measurement in Grams)
1 Tablespoon (Imperial Measurement in Ounces)


Whole Wheat Flour
113
4
7
0.25


Maida
120
4-1/4
7.5
0.26


Gram Flour
85
3
5
0.2


Semolina
163
5 3/4
10
0.35


>Raw Rice (Uncooked)
200
7
12.5
0.44


Lentils
200
7
12.5
0.44


Granulated Sugar
200
7
12.5
0.44


Powdered Sugar
120
4 1/4
7.5
0.26

Cups to Teaspoon and Teaspoon to Tablespoon Conversions

The standard cup set we get is a set of 4 pieces from smallest to largest being 1/4 cup, ½ cup, 2/3 cup and 1 cup and similarly the standard set of available spoons is 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, ½ teaspoon and ¼ teaspoon. At times, we tend to either misplace a few of the spoons or cups and this is when having an idea of conversion of teaspoons to tablespoons and cups help.

1 Cup
16 Tablespoons


2/3 Cup
10+2/3 Tablespoons


1/2 Cup
8 Tablespoons


1/3 Cup
5 + 1/3 Tablespoons


1/4 Cup
4 Tablespoons


1/8 Cup
2 Tablespoons


1 Tablespoon
3 Teaspoons


1/2 Tablespoon
1.5 Teaspoons


1 Pinch
1/8 Teaspoons