Picture this- your special one's birthday is coming up and you have decided to make them a gourmet-style strawberry cheesecake. So, you find the perfect recipe, get all the ingredients, and head to the kitchen to make it only to realize that you do not have the measuring cups to measure the ingredients with.
If only you knew how many tablespoons would make a cup of flour! This knowledge of how many tablespoons would fill various size cups can come in handy even if you are not in a hurry and simply want to reduce the amount of cleanup you have to perform after cooking.
However, to understand this handy equation, you must first understand what a cup and a tablespoon officially constitute.
What Is A Cup?
A cup can mean two things, an open-top bowl-shaped container that is used for drinking, and a measuring unit. When it comes to measuring things, according to Wikipedia, the cup is a volume measurement in cookery that is typically associated with cooking and serving sizes.
It is usually equal to one-half US pint in the United States (236.6 ml). However, in the metric system, a cup is equal to 250 milliliters.
What Is a Tablespoon?
A tablespoon is a large spoon used for serving and eating, which is also used as a cooking measure of volume.
Tablespoons have been used all around the world for eating and serving reasons, and consequently for measuring. Naturally, how much content a tablespoon holds is debated worldwide. As a result, this measuring unit varies from region to region.
For example, in the United States, 1 tablespoon equals 14.8 ml ( or 0.5 US fluid ounce). Again, in the UK and Canada, 1 tablespoon holds exactly 15 ml. In Australia, the tablespoon capacity is at its largest at 20 ml.
How Many Tablespoons Are In 1 Cup?
As there are differences in the volume of tablespoon sizes, it can get pretty confusing when you are trying to measure out one cup worth of material. To avoid confusion, it is better to stick to one system of units.
In the United States, 1 cup is equal to roughly 236.6 ml, and 1 tablespoon is equal to 14.8 ml, or 0.5 fluid ounces. So, by the process of division, 1 US cup is equal to 16 tablespoons, or 8 fluid ounces.
Therefore, there are 16 tablespoons in a cup!
How Many Tablespoons Are There In 1/3rd Of A Cup?
Sometimes recipes ask for ingredients in fractions. This is why it is convenient if you know how many tablespoons are there in different fractions of a cup.
If we do some maths here, multiplying 16 by ⅓ equals 5.333. Therefore, there are 5 tablespoons and one teaspoon worth of materials in the US.
Here, one tablespoon is equal to three teaspoons.
How Many Tablespoons Are There In Half A Cup?
In terms of determining how many tablespoons there are in a half cup of liquid, simply half the amount. In the US, 8 tablespoons equal to ½ a cup for most ingredients.
How Many Tablespoons Are There In 2/3rds Of A Cup?
Following the same rules of maths, 2/3rds of a cup equals 10.6667 tablespoons, or 10 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons to be exact.
Now that you know all about the conversions, get these sets of tablespoons and teaspoons to make your cooking game even stronger!Other Conversions
As we have mentioned before, the measured volume of a tablespoon varies from region to region. Therefore, you need to always keep in mind where you are while doing conversions.
For example, baking measurements in America will differ from cooking measurements in Canada. In Canada, 15 tablespoons equal 1 cup. However, we need to remember that most Canadian cups use the standard metric unit of 250 milliliters.
In the same way, 1 Australian cup converts to 12.50 Australian tablespoons.
Measuring Tips
There are many complicated recipes out there that need the ingredients to be measured accurately, otherwise, the recipe would not work.
Therefore, while measuring ingredients in your kitchen, there are certain things you should be cautious of in order to get the most accurate answers.
While measuring it is important to make sure that the ingredients are properly leveled. Overfilled or underfilled cups will lead to improperly measured ingredients.
The ingredients, especially the dry ones need to be aerated to make sure there are no air bubbles left in order to make sure the ingredients are indeed correctly measured.
Lastly, we know that converting is an effective way to measure materials. However, this process often leaves room for huge human errors that can cost you your whole recipe. Therefore, it is advised that you use the proper measuring tools as much as possible.
Final Words
Cooking is indeed a form of art that needs patience, skills, and precision. Being able to correctly measure and use the elements will make you more precise and skilled if you want to take cooking as a profession.
In this regard, knowing how many tablespoons there are in a cup will always be helpful, whether you want to measure out your rice or make a great wedding cake. Now that you know the conversions, we expect that you would definitely be a better chef next time. Happy cooking!
