What Is Cup (Uk)?
The cup (UK) is a unit used to measure volume, mainly in cooking. It shows how much space a liquid or loose food takes up. One cup (UK) is equal to half an imperial pint.
Definition
The cup (UK) is a volume unit from the British imperial system.
- 1 cup (UK) = 1⁄2 imperial pint
- 1 cup (UK) ≈ 284.13 millilitres (mL)
- 1 cup (UK) ≈ 0.284 litre (L)
It is a fixed size, so every time you see cup (UK) it means that same amount.
History / Origin
The idea of a cup as a measure started long ago when people used everyday cups to measure food. In the United Kingdom this was later linked to the imperial pint to make it more exact.
When the imperial system was set, the pint was defined first. The cup (UK) was then set as exactly half an imperial pint. This made it easy to scale recipes up or down using pints and cups together.
Over time the UK moved toward the metric system using millilitres and litres. Because of this, the cup (UK) is not common in modern British recipes, but it still appears in older cookbooks and in some conversion tools.
Symbol & Abbreviation
There is no single official symbol, but you will often see:
- cup (UK) in conversion tables
- c (UK) when space is limited
- imp cup or imperial cup to show it is not a US cup
In many British recipes you will not see the word cup at all, because they use grams and millilitres instead.
Current Use Around the World
United Kingdom: The cup (UK) is now rare in new recipes. Most cooks use grams for dry ingredients and millilitres for liquids. You mainly see cup (UK) in old books or on conversion websites.
Other countries: Some countries use their own version of a cup, such as the US cup or the metric cup. These are not the same size as the cup (UK). For this reason, it is important to know which type of cup a recipe means.
Because of these differences, many bakers prefer weighing ingredients instead of using cups.
Example Conversions
Here are some useful conversions for everyday cooking:
- 1 cup (UK) = 284.13 mL
- 1 cup (UK) ≈ 0.284 L
- 1 cup (UK) = 1⁄2 imperial pint
- 1 cup (UK) = 10 imperial fluid ounces
- 1 cup (UK) ≈ 1.18 US cups
- 1 cup (UK) ≈ 19 tablespoons (15 mL each)
- 1 cup (UK) ≈ 57 teaspoons (5 mL each)
Some quick examples in the other direction:
- 100 mL ≈ 0.35 cup (UK)
- 250 mL ≈ 0.88 cup (UK)
- 500 mL ≈ 1.76 cups (UK)
Always remember to round values in real cooking, because measuring cups and spoons are not perfectly exact.
Related Units
The cup (UK) is linked to several other volume units:
- Millilitre (mL) base metric unit used in recipes
- Litre (L) 1 L = 1000 mL ≈ 3.52 cups (UK)
- Imperial pint 1 pint = 2 cups (UK)
- Imperial fluid ounce 1 cup (UK) = 10 fl oz (imperial)
- Tablespoon common kitchen spoon measure, about 15 mL
- Teaspoon smaller spoon measure, about 5 mL
- US cup smaller than the cup (UK) at about 240 mL
- Metric cup used in some countries, equal to 250 mL
FAQs
Q: How big is 1 cup (UK) in millilitres?
A: One cup (UK) is about 284 millilitres.
Q: Is a UK cup the same as a US cup?
A: No. A UK cup is larger. One cup (UK) is about 1.18 US cups.
Q: Do people in the UK still use cups?
A: Not often. Most modern UK recipes use grams and millilitres. Cups appear mainly in old recipes or foreign recipes.
Q: How many UK cups are in a pint?
A: One imperial pint equals 2 cups (UK).
Q: What should I do if a recipe just says cup?
A: Check where the recipe is from. US recipes usually mean a US cup. Older British recipes may mean cup (UK). If unsure, look for a note or conversion table in the book or website.
Q: Can I use a metric measuring jug for cup (UK)?
A: Yes. Just measure about 284 mL on the jug to get 1 cup (UK).