Kitchen FAQ

Short, plain answers to the questions home cooks ask the most. Each answer is direct. Click the link at the end if you want the full story.

Cups, grams, and the weight question

How many grams are in one cup?
A US cup is 237 ml of space. The weight depends on what is in the cup. One cup of water is 237 grams. One cup of flour is 120 grams. One cup of sugar is 200 grams. One cup of butter is 227 grams. Always pick the food when you convert cups to grams, or the answer is wrong for baking.
Is one cup always 240 ml?
No. A standard US cup is 236.59 ml. Many sources round it to 240 ml for easy math. The Australian and Canadian metric cup is 250 ml. The gap between 236 and 240 is too small to change a recipe. The gap to 250 can matter for baking.
Why does one cup of flour weigh less than one cup of sugar?
Flour is less dense than sugar. The grains of sugar pack tight together. The grains of flour have a lot of air between them. Cocoa powder packs even less than flour (85 grams per cup). Honey is much denser (336 grams per cup). The cup measures space, not weight.
Should I use cups or grams when baking?
Grams. A kitchen scale gives you the same amount every time. Most modern baking recipes give weights. A simple scale costs less than a set of measuring cups and pays for itself the first time it saves a batch.

Tablespoons and teaspoons

How many tablespoons are in a cup?
Sixteen US tablespoons make one US cup. Eight tablespoons make 1/2 cup. Four tablespoons make 1/4 cup. Twelve tablespoons make 3/4 cup.
How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
Three US teaspoons make one US tablespoon. So 1.5 teaspoons make 1/2 tablespoon. The Australian tablespoon is bigger: 4 teaspoons, not 3.

Recipe scaling

How do I scale a recipe up or down?
Divide the servings you want by the servings the recipe makes. That gives you the scale number. Multiply every ingredient by that number. The recipe scaler does this for you and shows clean fractions when it can.
Can I double any recipe?
Most soups, stews, cookies, muffins, and quick breads double cleanly. Delicate baked goods like soufflés and meringues do not always scale well because the mixing volume matters. For those, two batches at the normal size are safer than one doubled batch.
Do I scale the cooking time when I scale a recipe?
Sometimes. Doubling a casserole usually adds about 25 percent to the time, not 100 percent. Cookies and thin batters scale close to linear. Roasts cook by weight and a thermometer, not by the original recipe time. For any bigger batch, check earlier than you think.

Oven and temperature

What is 350°F in Celsius?
350 degrees Fahrenheit is about 177 degrees Celsius. Most cookbooks round it to 175 or 180. Either works. In the UK, it is gas mark 4.
What is the formula for Fahrenheit to Celsius?
Subtract 32, then multiply by 5, then divide by 9. So (F minus 32) times 5 divided by 9 equals C. Going back: C times 9 divided by 5 plus 32 equals F.
Is a fan oven the same temperature as a regular oven?
No. A fan oven (convection) cooks hotter for the same number. Drop the dial by about 25°F or 15°C when a recipe was written for a regular oven and you are using fan. Or keep the heat and check the food 10 to 15 percent earlier.

Ingredients and equipment

How much does one stick of butter weigh?
A US stick of butter is 1/2 cup, 8 tablespoons, or 113 grams (4 ounces). Two sticks make 1 cup. UK and Australian recipes do not use sticks; they ask for grams.
What is the difference between packed and unpacked brown sugar?
Brown sugar is almost always measured packed, pressed firm into the cup. Packed brown sugar weighs 213 grams per cup. Loose brown sugar weighs about 145 grams. If a recipe does not say which, assume packed.
Do I need a kitchen scale for baking?
For everyday baking, you can manage with cups, but the results will change from batch to batch. For recipes you want to get right, a digital scale is the single biggest accuracy upgrade. Look for one with a tare button, gram precision, and at least 5 kilograms of capacity.

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