Imperial tablespoon to US legal cup
imp tbsp
cup
Conversion History
| Conversion | Reuse | Delete |
|---|---|---|
| No conversion history to show. | ||
Quick Reference Table (Imperial tablespoon to US legal cup)
| Imperial tablespoon (imp tbsp) | US legal cup (cup) |
|---|---|
| 0.5 | 0.03699617512992354167 |
| 1 | 0.07399235025984708333 |
| 2 | 0.14798470051969416667 |
| 4 | 0.29596940103938833333 |
| 8 | 0.59193880207877666667 |
| 16 | 1.18387760415755333333 |
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 US legal cup (cup)
The US legal cup is a unit of volume defined as exactly 240 milliliters, used on US nutrition labels by FDA regulation. It differs slightly from the US customary cup (236.588 mL = 8 US fluid ounces). In everyday cooking, the 4 mL difference is negligible, and the two are used interchangeably. Australia uses a 250 mL metric cup, which is noticeably larger. The cup is the most common volume unit in US cooking recipes.
A standard measuring cup in a US kitchen set holds 240 mL. Cereal serving sizes on nutrition labels are typically 1 cup (240 mL).
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.
US legal cup – Frequently Asked Questions
How many milliliters is a US cup?
The US legal cup (nutrition labels) is exactly 240 mL. The US customary cup (8 US fl oz) is approximately 236.6 mL. In cooking, both are treated as 240 mL; the difference is negligible for most recipes.
How does the US cup differ from the Australian cup?
The US legal cup is 240 mL; the Australian metric cup is 250 mL — about 4% larger. Australian recipes calling for 4 cups use 1,000 mL vs 960 mL with US cups, which can matter in baking.
How many cups are in a liter?
Approximately 4.167 US legal cups fit in one liter (1,000 mL ÷ 240 mL). Practically, 4 cups ≈ 960 mL ≈ 1 liter — often used interchangeably in cooking.
How many cups of coffee does a standard machine make?
Most US drip coffee makers define a "cup" as 5 or 6 fl oz (148–177 mL) — smaller than the standard 8 fl oz measuring cup. A "12-cup" coffee maker typically makes 60–72 fl oz, or only about 7–9 standard 8-oz cups.
Why do baking recipes fail more often than cooking recipes when measurements are slightly off?
Baking is chemistry — flour, fat, liquid, and leavening interact in precise ratios. Too much flour (even 10–15% extra from packing a cup too tightly) produces dense, dry results. Too much liquid makes cake batter collapse. Cooking is more forgiving because sautéing, braising, and roasting rely on technique and taste adjustment, not exact chemical reactions. This is why professional bakers weigh ingredients in grams rather than using volume cups — a cup of flour can vary from 120 to 160 g depending on how it is scooped.