Tablespoons to Milliliters

The US tablespoon and the metric one differ by about 1.4%, which no home cook will notice. The Australian tablespoon is a different story: at 20 mL it holds four metric teaspoons instead of three, a third more than a US spoon. An Australian recipe that calls for 2 tbsp of soy sauce means 40 mL; using a US spoon gives you about 30 mL.

US nutrition labels use 15 mL for a tablespoon, so a serving listed as 2 tbsp on a bottle of dressing is treated as 30 mL.

Measuring spoon sets sold in the US usually carry both markings, such as 1 tbsp and 15 mL, so one set works for American and metric recipes alike. Australian sets are the exception and need checking before you use them for a recipe from elsewhere.

Cutlery spoons vary widely in size, which is why health agencies advise measuring liquid medicine with the syringe or cup that comes with it, marked in milliliters. If a label says 1 tablespoon, it means 15 mL, and an oral syringe gives that dose far more accurately than any kitchen spoon.

Smaller doses are in tsp to mL. To build up to larger volumes, ml to cups and fl oz to mL work in the same US system.

Some older British recipes use a tablespoon of about 17.7 mL, a size that has dropped out of use. Modern UK recipes use the 15 mL metric spoon.