Converting cooking measurements: why the ingredient matters
Density, volume and weight in the kitchen explained
American and British recipes are measured almost exclusively by volume (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons). In Germany and Switzerland, weight (grams) is the standard. The decisive factor when converting is the ingredient's density: flour is much lighter than water, honey is heavier. 1 cup of water = 240 g, but 1 cup of flour = only about 120 g. Ignoring the ingredient-specific density leads to baking mistakes.
The US cup (1 cup = 240 ml) is the volume measure used most often in international recipes. Important: the metric cup (common in Australia and Canada) is 250 ml. Our calculator uses exclusively the US standard of 240 ml. For recipes from Australia or Canada, you should adjust the amount accordingly.
Tablespoons (tbsp) and teaspoons (tsp) are largely standardized internationally: 1 tbsp = 15 ml (US, UK, DE), 1 tsp = 5 ml. One notable exception is Australia, where 1 Australian tablespoon = 20 ml. Our calculator uses the international standard (tbsp = 15 ml, tsp = 5 ml), which applies in most German and international cookbooks.
The density table used by our calculator is based on USDA FoodData Central and King Arthur baking references: water (1.00 g/ml), flour (0.50 g/ml), sugar (0.85 g/ml), powdered sugar (0.47 g/ml), packed brown sugar (0.89 g/ml), butter (0.96 g/ml), rice (0.85 g/ml), milk (1.03 g/ml), cream (1.00 g/ml), yogurt (1.02 g/ml), honey (1.42 g/ml), maple syrup (1.32 g/ml), oil (0.92 g/ml), salt (1.20 g/ml), cocoa powder (0.35 g/ml), cornstarch (0.47 g/ml), rolled oats (0.41 g/ml) and ground almonds (0.40 g/ml). These values apply to level measuring without packing. Flour in particular can vary in density by up to 20% depending on sifting and storage time. For precise baking, weighing in grams with a kitchen scale is always recommended.
Practical tip for converting recipes: When converting an American recipe to metric measures, replace cups with grams. 3 cups of flour = 3 × 120 g = 360 g. ½ cup of butter = 0.5 × 230 g = 115 g. For liquids (milk, water, oil) you can approximate 1 cup = 240 ml. With our measurement conversion and a kitchen scale, even American recipes turn out perfectly.