The imperial cup is a unit of volume that was historically used in the United Kingdom and other countries that followed the imperial measurement system. One imperial cup is equal to 284.131 milliliters, making it slightly larger than the US cup, which holds about 236.588 milliliters. While not as widely used today due to the UK's adoption of the metric system, the imperial cup still appears in older recipes, cookbooks, and household measurements.
It was designed to be a convenient mid-range measure—larger than a tablespoon but smaller than a pint. In many traditional British kitchens, the cup was used for dry and liquid ingredients, often measured with simple household items or standard measuring cups that followed imperial standards.
Uses: The imperial cup is most commonly seen in classic British recipes and cookbooks written before metrication. It measured ingredients like flour, sugar, milk, and oil in home and professional kitchens. Even today, you may find imperial cup references in family recipes passed down over generations or in online conversions of older dishes.
Though the UK now uses grams and milliliters for most cooking and product packaging, the imperial cup still holds relevance for those recreating traditional British meals or converting recipes that rely on imperial units. It also occasionally appears on measuring cups that include metric and imperial markings, helping home cooks bridge the gap between old and new systems.
The imperial tablespoon is a unit of volume once commonly used in the United Kingdom and countries that followed the imperial measurement system. One imperial tablespoon equals 17.7582 milliliters, making it noticeably larger than its US counterpart, which holds about 14.79 milliliters. It's abbreviated as tbsp and has long been a standard measure in British cooking and recipe instructions.
Although the UK now officially uses the metric system, the imperial tablespoon is still found in many traditional cookbooks and recipes. It belongs to the broader imperial set of volume measurements, including teaspoons, fluid ounces, and pints, and is often used in contexts where imperial units are still familiar and widely recognized.
Uses: The imperial tablespoon was once a staple in British kitchens, commonly used to measure liquids and dry ingredients such as flour, sugar, and syrups. It remains present in older recipes, especially those passed down through generations or found in vintage cookbooks that use imperial measures as the standard.
While modern kitchen tools in the UK tend to favor metric measurements, the imperial tablespoon is still referenced in some food packaging, serving sizes, and even pharmaceutical instructions. Understanding the imperial tablespoon is key to maintaining original proportions and flavor for cooks revisiting traditional British dishes or converting recipes accurately.
1 cup (imp) = 15.999989 tbsp (imp)
Let’s say you want to convert 100 cup (imp) to tbsp (imp).
Using the formula:
100 × 15.999989 = 1599.999 tbsp (imp)
So, 100 cup (imp) is approximately 1599.999 tbsp (imp).
| Cup (Imperial) (cup (imp)) | Tablespoon (Imperial) (tbsp (imp)) |
|---|---|
| 1 cup (imp) | 16 tbsp (imp) |
| 2 cup (imp) | 32 tbsp (imp) |
| 3 cup (imp) | 48 tbsp (imp) |
| 4 cup (imp) | 64 tbsp (imp) |
| 5 cup (imp) | 80 tbsp (imp) |
| 6 cup (imp) | 96 tbsp (imp) |
| 7 cup (imp) | 112 tbsp (imp) |
| 8 cup (imp) | 128 tbsp (imp) |
| 9 cup (imp) | 144 tbsp (imp) |
| 10 cup (imp) | 160 tbsp (imp) |
| 11 cup (imp) | 176 tbsp (imp) |
| 12 cup (imp) | 192 tbsp (imp) |
| 13 cup (imp) | 208 tbsp (imp) |
| 14 cup (imp) | 224 tbsp (imp) |
| 15 cup (imp) | 240 tbsp (imp) |