Imperial tablespoon to Imperial cup
imp tbsp
imp cup
Conversion History
| Conversion | Reuse | Delete |
|---|---|---|
| No conversion history to show. | ||
Quick Reference Table (Imperial tablespoon to Imperial cup)
| Imperial tablespoon (imp tbsp) | Imperial cup (imp cup) |
|---|---|
| 0.5 | 0.03124999999988900352 |
| 1 | 0.06249999999977800703 |
| 2 | 0.12499999999955601407 |
| 4 | 0.24999999999911202814 |
| 8 | 0.49999999999822405628 |
| 16 | 0.99999999999644811255 |
About Imperial tablespoon (imp tbsp)
The imperial tablespoon is a unit of volume equal to approximately 17.758 milliliters, defined as five-eighths of an imperial fluid ounce. It is used in older UK and Commonwealth cooking recipes. The imperial tablespoon is larger than the US tablespoon (14.787 mL) but smaller than the Australian tablespoon (20 mL). Modern British and Commonwealth recipes have replaced it with the 15 mL metric tablespoon, but it persists in pre-metrication cookbooks.
Older British recipe books specify tablespoons of approximately 17.8 mL — larger than a US tablespoon but smaller than an Australian one.
About Imperial cup (imp cup)
The imperial cup is a unit of volume equal to half an imperial pint, approximately 284.1 milliliters. It was historically used in British cooking recipes and is still found in older UK and Commonwealth cookbooks. The imperial cup is distinct from the US legal cup (240 mL) and the Australian metric cup (250 mL). Since the UK's adoption of metric measures, the imperial cup has largely fallen out of use, replaced by milliliters and the 250 mL metric cup.
Older British recipes (pre-1970s) may call for cups measured as imperial cups (~284 mL). A standard UK teacup holds about 1 imperial cup.
Imperial tablespoon – Frequently Asked Questions
How many milliliters is an imperial tablespoon?
One imperial tablespoon equals approximately 17.758 mL — larger than the US tablespoon (14.79 mL) and smaller than the Australian tablespoon (20 mL). Modern UK metric tablespoons are standardized at 15 mL.
What is the most common baking disaster caused by tablespoon size confusion?
Leavening failure. Baking powder and baking soda are measured in tablespoons, and the difference between a US tablespoon (14.8 mL), an imperial tablespoon (17.8 mL), and an Australian tablespoon (20 mL) is 15–35%. Too much baking soda makes bread taste metallic and soapy; too little and it does not rise. A British grandmother's scone recipe used in an American kitchen with US tablespoons will under-leaven by 20%. Professional bakers avoid this entirely by weighing leavening agents in grams.
Is the imperial tablespoon still used in UK cooking?
No. Modern UK cooking uses 15 mL metric tablespoons. The imperial tablespoon (17.76 mL) appears only in pre-1970s British cookbooks.
How many imperial teaspoons are in an imperial tablespoon?
One imperial tablespoon equals 3 imperial teaspoons (each ≈ 5.92 mL), giving 3 × 5.92 = 17.76 mL. The same 3:1 ratio as in US and metric systems, though the absolute sizes differ.
What is the standard tablespoon size in Australia?
The Australian tablespoon is 20 mL — the largest of the major English-language cooking tablespoons. Australian recipes therefore use fewer tablespoon counts than US or UK recipes for the same volume.
Imperial cup – Frequently Asked Questions
How many milliliters is an imperial cup?
One imperial cup equals approximately 284.1 mL — half an imperial pint (568 mL). This is larger than both the US legal cup (240 mL) and the Australian metric cup (250 mL).
Is the imperial cup still used in the UK?
The imperial cup is largely obsolete in modern UK cooking, which now uses metric measurements. It may appear in old British recipe books published before the 1970s metric changeover.
How does the imperial cup compare to the US cup?
An imperial cup (284.1 mL) is about 18% larger than a US legal cup (240 mL). When using old British recipes in the US, 1 imperial cup ≈ 1.18 US cups — worth adjusting in baking.
What replaced the imperial cup in British recipes?
Modern British recipes use metric measures: milliliters (mL) for liquids and grams (g) for solids. The BBC and major UK food publishers phased out cup measures in favor of grams through the 1970s–1990s.
How many imperial cups are in an imperial gallon?
There are 16 imperial cups in one imperial gallon (8 pints × 2 cups/pint = 16 cups).