How the converter works
Changing units within the same kind of measure is exact. Milliliters, cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, fluid ounces, pints and quarts convert by definition, and so do grams, ounces and pounds. 1 US cup is 236.59 ml, 1 fluid ounce is 29.57 ml, 1 ounce is 28.35 g and 1 pound is 453.59 g.
Turning cups into grams, or grams into cups, depends on the ingredient: a cup of flour weighs about 125 g, a cup of honey about 339 g. The converter only does this for ingredients we have reviewed, matched on the ingredient and how it was measured, and marks each one as an estimate with its source. Anything else is converted within its own kind of measure, to milliliters or ounces, and says why.
“1 cup sifted flour” or “1 cup flour, sifted”?
Recipes follow a convention: words before the ingredient describe it as it is measured, words after a comma happen afterwards. “1 cup sifted flour” is sifted first, so it is lighter than our unsifted weight and stays as written. “1 cup flour, sifted” is measured first, so it converts. The same goes for melted butter, chopped nuts and shredded cheese.
Ounces or fluid ounces?
An ounce (oz) is a weight; a fluid ounce (fl oz) is a volume, ⅛ cup. For most ingredients “oz” means weight. When a recipe gives milk, water, cream or oil in plain ounces, the converter asks which one is meant.
Lines that stay as written
- Counts, such as 2 eggs or 1 onion.
- Amounts to taste, pinches and dashes.
- Ranges such as 2–3 tbsp, until you choose one amount.
- Cans and packages, whose size is on the label.
- Heaping or scant measures, and lines naming two ingredients.
- Ingredients measured in a form we have no weight for.
When a name could mean more than one reviewed ingredient, such as cream or oil, the converter asks which one you mean.
Ingredient data version 2026-10-23.1, from USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy, April 2018. To resize the recipe as well, use the recipe scaler.