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Metric measures

In most of the world, recipes use the metric system of litres (l) and millilitres (ml), grams (g) and kilograms (kg), and degrees Celsius (°C). The word litre is often spelt liter.

The English-speaking world frequently measures weight in pounds (avoirdupois), with volume measures based on cooking utensils and pre-metric measures. The actual values frequently deviate from the utensils on which they were based, and there is little consistency from one country to another. Some common measures in English-speaking countries are:

The volumetric measures here are for comparison only. See below for the definition of Gallon for more details.

In addition the “cooks cup” above is not the same as a “coffee cup” which can vary anywhere from 4 – 7 fl.oz.(or even smaller for espresso)

In Australia the utensil units have been standardized by law (the so-called “metric cup”), while the Imperial volume measure no longer has legal status, and sometimes “pints” of beer are as small as 300 ml. In general, it is safe to assume that New Zealand follows Australian measures, and Canada follows US measures. It is dangerous to rely on any of the utensil measures, since they could have been transcribed without adjustment from another country. There are also reports that dessert spoons are used as a measure in Australia, though they are not officially part of the “metric cup” system.

Note also that in Germany, and to a lesser extent in France, recipes frequently refer to pounds (Pfund in German, livre in French). In each case, the unit refers to 500 g, about 10% more than an avoirdupois pound (453.59237 g).

United States measures

The U.S. still uses pounds and ounces (avoirdupois) for weight, and U.S. customary units for volume. For measures used in cookbooks published in other nations navigate to the apropos regional section in Traditional measurement systems.

Measures are classified as either dry measures or fluid measures. Some of the fluid and dry measures have similar names, but the actual measured volume is quite different. A recipe will generally specify which measurement is required. U.S. recipes are commonly in terms of fluid measures.

¹The “fifth”, originally exactly one-fifth gallon (25.6 fl.oz.) was adjusted slightly to make it exactly 750 ml (25.36 fl.oz.).

²All of the above are based on the U.S. gallon (legally defined as 231 cubic inches) and the U.S. bushel (legally defined as an 8 inch tall cylinder 18.5 inches in diameter).

In domestic cooking, bulk solids, notably flour and sugar, are measured by volume, often cups, though they are sold by weight at retail. Weight measures are used for meat and butter; butter is sold by weight but in packages marked to facilitate common divisions by eye. (As a sub-packaged unit, a stick of butter, at ¼ lb, is a de facto measure in the U.S.)

Read more at Wikipedia.org