EV-G05Everyday reference

Cooking measurement conversions

Volume conversions are convenient, but cups of different ingredients do not weigh the same. Preserve the original unit when scaling a recipe.

Open the recipe scaler ↗

Common U.S. volume relationships

These are unit relationships, not ingredient weights.

Measure	Equals
1 cup	16 tablespoons
1 pint	2 cups
1 quart	4 cups
1 U.S. gallon	16 cups

Scale every ingredient by one factor

Divide target servings by original servings. Multiply each ingredient amount by that factor and keep its original unit.

10 SERVINGS÷ 4 SERVINGS= 2.5×APPLY TO EACH AMOUNT

Weight is more repeatable than volume

A cup measures space, not mass. Flour packing, ingredient shape, and measuring technique change weight, so use a kitchen scale when precision matters.

Safety note: cooking time, pan depth, and food-safety temperatures do not always scale linearly with servings.

1 SOURCESource ledger

Check the basis.

01National Institute of Standards and Technology — SI units and measurement information ↗

QUESTIONS THIS ANSWERS

Questions this answers

How many tablespoons are in a cup?
How do I double a recipe?