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.
The cup (US) is a standard unit of volume used in American cooking and baking. It's part of the U.S. customary system and is commonly abbreviated as cup or sometimes c in recipes. One US cup equals exactly 236.588 milliliters, and it's defined as 1/16 of a US gallon or 8 US fluid ounces.
In American kitchens, a cup is one of the foundational units in recipe measurement. It's used for both dry and liquid ingredients, making it a flexible and practical choice for home cooks. Measuring cups—available in sets ranging from ¼ cup to 1 cup—are essential tools in households across the country.
Uses: The US cup is widely used in recipes for measuring ingredients like flour, sugar, milk, oil, and grains. It provides a simple and consistent way to portion both dry and wet ingredients, which is especially important in baking where ratios must be precise.
You'll also find the cup used in nutrition guides and food labels, particularly when describing serving sizes. In everyday cooking, it's a go-to unit that makes scaling recipes up or down much easier. Whether you're following a recipe from a cookbook, a food blog, or a product package, the US cup is likely to be one of the most frequently referenced measurements.
1 tbsp (imp) = 0.07506 cup
Let’s say you want to convert 100 tbsp (imp) to cup.
Using the formula:
100 × 0.07506 = 7.506 cup
So, 100 tbsp (imp) is approximately 7.506 cup.
| Tablespoon (Imperial) (tbsp (imp)) | Cup (US) (cup) |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp (imp) | 0.075 cup |
| 2 tbsp (imp) | 0.15 cup |
| 3 tbsp (imp) | 0.225 cup |
| 4 tbsp (imp) | 0.3 cup |
| 5 tbsp (imp) | 0.375 cup |
| 6 tbsp (imp) | 0.45 cup |
| 7 tbsp (imp) | 0.525 cup |
| 8 tbsp (imp) | 0.6 cup |
| 9 tbsp (imp) | 0.676 cup |
| 10 tbsp (imp) | 0.751 cup |
| 11 tbsp (imp) | 0.826 cup |
| 12 tbsp (imp) | 0.901 cup |
| 13 tbsp (imp) | 0.976 cup |
| 14 tbsp (imp) | 1.051 cup |
| 15 tbsp (imp) | 1.126 cup |