A poster has been going around online that has a lot of volume measurements. I am a bit surprised that this stuff isn’t taught in school anymore so I am going to include some volume equivalents here. Scroll down for the results of the measuring spoon tests.

1 gallon = 4 quarts (qt) = 8 pints (pt) = 16 cups (C) = 128 ounces (oz)

1 quart = 2 pints = 4 cups = 32 oz

1 pint = 2 cups = 16 oz = 32 tablespoons (T)

1 cup (C) = 8 ounces (oz) = 16 tablespoons (T) = 48 teaspoons (tsp)

3/4 cup = 6 oz = 12 T = 36 tsp

1/2 cup = 4 oz = 8 T = 24 tsp

1/3 cup = 2 2/3 oz = 5 T + 1 tsp = 16 tsp

1/4 cup = 2 oz = 4 T = 12 tsp

1 shot = 1 1/2 oz = 3 T = 9 tsp

1 pony = 1 oz = 2 T = 6 tsp

1 T = 3 tsp

1/2 T = 1 1/2 tsp

1 pinch = 1/16 tsp

Now I do not recommend using 16 tsp to get 1/3 cup since measuring sets can be off by a bit.  I did a study on 10 different sets and while none was right on the money, I wouldn’t worry about differences under 5%, unless I was using ghost chilies.

I measured sugar in the tablespoon of 10 different measuring sets. I did each one 3 times, took the average and found the percentage they difference between what a tablespoon of sugar should weigh and what it measured in each set. No one was exact, but I was surprised that even though a Williams Sonoma set was the winner, another of their branded sets was at the bottom of the pack, being off almost 12%. In the scheme of things this isn’t terrible unless you are measuring salt or baking powder, but it still shouldn’t totally ruin a recipe. The Betty Crocker set was off almost 17% which could ruin a recipe. I wouldn’t recommend using 8 Tablespoons to make a 1/2 cup. Use the closest measure for the amount you are measuring.  

If you are baking, your best bet is to get a scale.

Here are the results in chart form with the brand, the price I paid and the percentage off they were.

Brand	Description	Cost	Difference*
Williams Sonoma	Metal Trapezoid (5pcs)	$16.00	+0.85%
Prep Works (Progressive)	Metal – oval spoon on 1 sideRound on the other (5 pcs)	$19.00	+0.88%+0.95%
Amco	Metal Round (4 pcs)	Mine	-1.03%
Good Grips	Plastic  Oval  (6 pcs)	$4.99	+2.36%
Amco (spice)	Metal Rectangular (6 pcs)	$9.99	-2.7%
Prep Works (Progressive)	Plastic – oval spoon on 1 sideRound on the other (5 pcs)	$9.99	+3%+2.4%
Endurance	Metal Rectangular (5pcs)	$14.99	+3.67%
Zyliss	Plastic Oval (3 pcs)	Mine	+5.3%
Williams Sonoma	Round (Open Kitchen) (4 pcs)	$9.99	+11.72
Betty Crocker	Plastic – Round	$2.99	+16.81%

* The smaller the percentage, the more accurate the measure. + means the measure is heavy (more than 1 T) – means the measure is light (less than 1 T)

I thought it was interesting that the same brand had different results for different models. All this started when i noticed one of my tablespoons looked off.  That measure was off about 33%! (I now use it as a 2 tsp measure.)

Here is the first post I did on my page about it.

I only did it with measurements from my kitchen scale, not the jeweler’s scale I used for the big measure and you can see the differences. The 14g measure is my most accurate.