Conversions
Convert weights, volumes and oven temperatures, and translate American recipes into UK measures and ingredient names.
14 calculators in this section
- Cooking Measurement ConverterConvert any cooking weight, volume or length in one place.
- Cups to Grams CalculatorTurn American cup measures into grams for the ingredient you are using.
- Grams to Cups CalculatorConvert grams into cups for a specific ingredient.
- Grams to Ounces CalculatorConvert grams to ounces instantly, with pounds and ounces too.
- Ounces to Grams CalculatorConvert ounces and pounds into grams for metric recipes.
- Millilitres to Fluid Ounces CalculatorConvert millilitres to UK or US fluid ounces. They are not the same.
- Teaspoon, Tablespoon and Millilitre ConverterConvert between teaspoons, tablespoons and millilitres.
- Oven Temperature ConverterConvert between °C, °F, gas mark and fan oven settings.
- Fan Oven ConverterAdjust a conventional oven temperature for a fan oven, and back again.
- US Recipe to UK ConverterConvert an American recipe into UK metric measurements and terms.
- Butter Sticks to Grams ConverterConvert American butter sticks into grams, ounces and tablespoons.
- Yeast Conversion CalculatorConvert between fresh, active dried and instant yeast, and count sachets.
- Fresh to Dried Herbs ConverterSwap fresh herbs for dried, or dried for fresh, herb by herb.
- Butter to Oil ConverterReplace butter with oil in baking and cooking, in grams and millilitres.
Weigh where you can
Scales beat cups every time, particularly for flour and sugar. If a recipe gives cups, convert it once, note the grams in the margin and weigh from then on.
Oven settings in every form
| Conventional | Fan | Fahrenheit | Gas mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 140°C | 120°C fan | 285°F | Gas 1 |
| 160°C | 140°C fan | 320°F | Gas 3 |
| 180°C | 160°C fan | 355°F | Gas 4 |
| 190°C | 170°C fan | 375°F | Gas 5 |
| 200°C | 180°C fan | 390°F | Gas 6 |
| 220°C | 200°C fan | 430°F | Gas 7 |
| 240°C | 220°C fan | 465°F | Gas 9 |
A cup is a volume, not a weight
| Ingredient | One US cup |
|---|---|
| Plain flour | 125 g |
| Caster sugar | 200 g |
| Icing sugar | 120 g |
| Butter | 227 g |
| Water | 240 g |
| Rolled oats | 95 g |
This is why cups-to-grams asks which ingredient you are measuring.
Questions and answers
Common questions about kitchen conversions
Are US and UK tablespoons and cups the same size?
Tablespoons are the same across the UK, US and most of Europe, but cups differ, a US cup, an old UK cup and a metric cup are all slightly different volumes.
Use the spoon and cup converters below for the exact figures for your recipe.
Why can't a calculator just tell me how many grams are in a cup?
Because a cup measures volume and grams measure weight, and the relationship between the two depends entirely on what's in the cup, flour, sugar and honey all pack very differently into the same space.
Why do fan ovens run at a lower temperature than conventional ones?
A fan circulates hot air around the food, so it cooks faster at a given temperature than in a still oven. Recipes and oven dials generally build in an allowance for this.
Is it better to weigh ingredients or measure them by volume?
Weighing on scales is more accurate, particularly for flour and other dry ingredients that can be packed down or left loose in a cup or spoon. Volume measures are convenient without scales, but expect more variation in the result.
What is a gas mark and how does it relate to Celsius?
Gas mark is a British numbering system for oven temperature, still used in some UK recipes and cookbooks alongside or instead of Celsius and Fahrenheit.
How do I convert a whole American recipe for a UK kitchen, not just the measurements?
Beyond cups and Fahrenheit, some American ingredient names and pack sizes (self-rising flour, sticks of butter, confectioners' sugar) don't map directly onto British ones and need translating individually.
Why do some ingredient substitutions need a converter rather than a simple ratio?
Swaps like butter for oil, fresh herbs for dried, or one type of yeast for another all depend on composition, not just a fixed multiplier, and the right ratio differs by ingredient.
Guidance
Guides for this section
- Fan Oven vs Conventional OvenWhat a fan actually changes, how to adjust a recipe written for a conventional oven, and when the temperature is not the thing to change.
- Cups to Grams: Why the Ingredient MattersA cup measures space, not weight, so one cup of flour and one cup of sugar are nowhere near the same. Here is what that means when you follow an American recipe.