The US tablespoon equals 14.8 ml (sometimes rounded to 15 ml). The metric tablespoon used in Australia is 20 ml; the UK tablespoon is 17.7 ml. Most international recipes today assume 15 ml as a convenient approximation.
Real-world: Olive-oil recipes call for tablespoons of oil. Cough syrups often recommend 1 tbsp = 15 ml per dose.
Read full tablespoon reference →The US cup equals 240 millilitres in common usage (legally defined as 236.588 ml). The metric cup (Australia, NZ) is 250 ml; the UK "cup" is 284 ml but rarely used in recipes. Cooking recipes from the US dominate online, so 240 ml is the safe default for "cup".
Real-world: 1 cup of water = 240 g = 240 ml. 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 125 g. A Starbucks Tall is 12 fl oz = 1.5 cups.
Read full cup reference →