Unit conversions

All food is now sold in metric units, so it makes sense to measure ingredients that way too.

Don't switch between metric and imperial in one recipe. There will be small discrepancies between equivalent weights and you could end up with the wrong proportions of ingredients.

Conversion calculator

Use our handy calculator to work out your conversions simply and quickly.

Type of conversion
Weight Liquid Volume Length Measurement Oven Temperature

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Convert:

From: g kg oz lb To: g kg oz lb

From: ml l teaspoons tablespoons fl oz pints To: ml l teaspoons tablespoons fl oz pints

From: mm cm inches To: mm cm inches

From: C F Gas mark To: C F Gas mark

 

 

Conversion

Conversion charts

Select one or a combination of conversion charts to view and print out for future reference.

  Weight
  Liquid Volume
  Length Measurement
  American Measures
  Oven Temperatures

More information on converting units

• If you have a recipe that lists only imperial quantities, it's better to use your old imperial weights rather than try to convert it all.
• When making jam, the Guild of Food Writers recommends following the general rule of 500g sugar to 500ml fruit pulp (roughly 1 lb to 1 pint). Visit the GFW website for more advice on going metric.
• Invest in some electronic scales. They make it easy to weigh accurately in grammes, or ounces.
• On tall, narrow measuring jugs, there's a greater distance between the calibrations on the side, making it easier to judge small differences in quantities.
• Spoon measurements convert easily to millilitres, and vice versa. 1 tbsp is 15ml, 1 dessertspoon, 10 ml and 1 tsp, 5 ml. Measuring spoons will correspond to this, although domestic cutlery may not.