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.
A fluid ounce (US) is a unit of volume used to measure liquids in the U.S. customary system. It's abbreviated as fl oz and is commonly seen in cooking, nutrition labeling, and liquid packaging. One US fluid ounce is defined as 1/128 of a US gallon, which equals exactly 29.5735 milliliters.
Despite the term "ounce" also being used for weight, a fluid ounce specifically measures liquid volume. It's important to distinguish the two, especially in recipes or products where both liquid and solid measurements appear. The US fluid ounce is a standard unit across many industries, from beverages and sauces to cleaning products and personal care items,
Uses: The fluid ounce is widely used in everyday life throughout the United States. In the kitchen, it shows up in recipes for measuring water, milk, oil, and other liquids. You'll also find it on nutrition labels, drink containers, and liquid medicine bottles. Most bottled drinks sold in the U.S., from soda cans to sports drinks, are labeled in fluid ounces.
Outside the kitchen, fluid ounces are also used to measure everyday products like shampoo, lotion, and household cleaners. Packaging labels often list fluid ounces to help shoppers gauge how much liquid is inside each bottle. In pharmacies, you may still see fluid ounces on medication packaging, though many prescriptions now use milliliters for greater accuracy and consistency.
1 tbsp (imp) = 0.600477 fl oz
Let’s say you want to convert 100 tbsp (imp) to fl oz.
Using the formula:
100 × 0.600477 = 60.048 fl oz
So, 100 tbsp (imp) is approximately 60.048 fl oz.
| Tablespoon (Imperial) (tbsp (imp)) | Fluid Ounce (US) (fl oz) |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp (imp) | 0.6 fl oz |
| 2 tbsp (imp) | 1.201 fl oz |
| 3 tbsp (imp) | 1.801 fl oz |
| 4 tbsp (imp) | 2.402 fl oz |
| 5 tbsp (imp) | 3.002 fl oz |
| 6 tbsp (imp) | 3.603 fl oz |
| 7 tbsp (imp) | 4.203 fl oz |
| 8 tbsp (imp) | 4.804 fl oz |
| 9 tbsp (imp) | 5.404 fl oz |
| 10 tbsp (imp) | 6.005 fl oz |
| 11 tbsp (imp) | 6.605 fl oz |
| 12 tbsp (imp) | 7.206 fl oz |
| 13 tbsp (imp) | 7.806 fl oz |
| 14 tbsp (imp) | 8.407 fl oz |
| 15 tbsp (imp) | 9.007 fl oz |