CookingBrilliant

Sources

Every figure on the site traces back to one of the sources below. If we've calculated something instead of reading it directly, the page says how.

Ingredient weights

USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy data set (the final release of USDA's Standard Reference database). The data is public domain under CC0. USDA measured the gram weight of household amounts like "1 cup" or "1 tbsp" for each food, and those are the weights we show.

USDA measures are American: a US cup is 237ml and a US tablespoon is just under 15ml. For metric cups (250ml) and Australian tablespoons (20ml) we scale the USDA weight up in proportion. This assumes you fill a bigger cup the same way you'd fill a smaller one, which is close enough for cooking but not exact for fluffy ingredients.

Rounding

Weights under 10g are rounded to 0.1g. Everything else is rounded to the nearest gram. Your own cupful can easily vary by 10% depending on how you fill it, so treat any cup conversion as a good guide, and weigh where it matters (bread and pastry, mostly).

Roast times

Cooking times, oven settings and resting times come from the Q Guild, the UK butchers' quality guild. Each meat's time is its minutes-per-450g rule worked out for your weight and rounded up to the next 5 minutes. Safe core temperatures come from the Food Standards Agency and safefood (the food safety body for the island of Ireland). US minimum temperatures are from the USDA. The full list is at the bottom of this page.

Oven temperatures

Which?, Oven temperature conversion table.

Ingredient data

The USDA food used for each ingredient, with its SR Legacy record (NDB) number.

IngredientUSDA foodNDB no.
Plain flourWheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached20081
Self-raising flourWheat flour, white, all-purpose, self-rising, enriched20082
Strong white bread flourWheat flour, white, bread, enriched20083
Wholemeal flourWheat flour, whole-grain20080
Rye flourRye flour, medium20064
Buckwheat flourBuckwheat flour, whole-groat20011
CornflourCornstarch20027
Polenta (dry cornmeal)Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow20022
SemolinaSemolina, enriched20066
Granulated sugarSugars, granulated19335
Icing sugarSugars, powdered19336
Light brown sugarSugars, brown19334
HoneyHoney19296
Maple syrupSyrups, maple19353
Light corn syrupSyrups, corn, light19350
Black treacle (molasses)Molasses19304
JamJams and preserves19297
ButterButter, without salt01145
MargarineMargarine, regular, 80% fat, composite, stick, with salt04610
Vegetable shorteningShortening, vegetable, household, composite04615
Olive oilOil, olive, salad or cooking04053
Vegetable oil (rapeseed)Oil, canola04582
Coconut oilOil, coconut04047
Peanut butterPeanut butter, smooth style, without salt16398
MayonnaiseSalad dressing, mayonnaise, regular04025
WaterWater, bottled, generic14555
Whole milkMilk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, with added vitamin D01077
ButtermilkMilk, buttermilk, fluid, cultured, lowfat01088
Whipping creamCream, fluid, heavy whipping01053
Soured creamCream, sour, cultured01056
Natural yogurtYogurt, plain, whole milk, 8 grams protein per 8 ounce01116
Cream cheeseCheese, cream01017
RicottaCheese, ricotta, whole milk01036
Grated cheddarCheese, cheddar01009
Grated parmesanCheese, parmesan, grated01032
Grated mozzarellaCheese, mozzarella, whole milk01026
Cocoa powderCocoa, dry powder, unsweetened19165
Chocolate chipsCandies, semisweet chocolate19080
Baking powderLeavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, sodium aluminum sulfate18369
Bicarbonate of sodaLeavening agents, baking soda18372
Dried yeastLeavening agents, yeast, baker's, active dry18375
Table saltSalt, table02047
Ground cinnamonSpices, cinnamon, ground02010
Vanilla extractVanilla extract02050
Dried breadcrumbsBread crumbs, dry, grated, plain18079
Porridge oatsCereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry08120
Long-grain white rice (uncooked)Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, enriched20044
Brown rice (uncooked)Rice, brown, long-grain, raw20036
Medium-grain rice (uncooked)Rice, white, medium-grain, raw, unenriched20450
Couscous (dry)Couscous, dry20028
Quinoa (uncooked)Quinoa, uncooked20035
Dried lentilsLentils, raw16069
Dried chickpeasChickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, raw16056
Frozen peasPeas, green, frozen, unprepared11312
Ground almondsNuts, almonds12061
Chopped walnutsNuts, walnuts, english12155
Chopped pecansNuts, pecans12142
Chopped hazelnutsNuts, hazelnuts or filberts12120
Sesame seedsSeeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried12023
Sunflower seedsSeeds, sunflower seed kernels, dried12036
RaisinsRaisins, seedless09298
Dried cranberriesCranberries, dried, sweetened09079
Dried apricotsApricots, dried, sulfured, uncooked09032
Chopped datesDates, deglet noor09087

Measure definitions

MeasuremlSource
US cup236.588NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurement
US tablespoon14.7868NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurement
US teaspoon4.92892NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurement
US pint473.176NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurement
US nutrition-label cup240US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii)
Metric cup (Australia, NZ, Canada)250Wikipedia, Cup (unit)
Metric tablespoon (UK, US labels, NZ)15Wikipedia, Cup (unit)
Australian tablespoon20Wikipedia, Cup (unit)
Teaspoon5Wikipedia, Cup (unit)
UK (imperial) pint568.261Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1 (UK gallon = 4.54609 litres, pint = one-eighth gallon)

Roast times and food safety