Measurement units are for convenience, but sometimes it becomes a headache to accurately measure between them. Understanding how many tablespoons in an ounce can save you from kitchen confusion when measuring between units.
Although tablespoons and ounces are common in culinary measurements, knowing their relationship can help you make perfect recipes. Once you know how to measure and covert them, you can no longer be wrong with ingredients. I will discuss and clarify doubts about tablespoons and ounces in this guide. So let’s uncover the mystery.
What is an Ounce?
It is a unit of mass used to measure the weight of things or ingredients. A single pound contains 16 ounces, the smallest unit to measure the weight.
It is symbolized by “oz” from the Spanish and Italian word “Onza.” In order to quantify liquid ingredients, the US fluid ounce is the preferred unit of volume.
What is a Tablespoon?
It is another widely used but non-scientific unit of volume commonly used to measure the ingredients in herbal medicine, cooking, etc. tablespoon is the utensil used for measurements in recipes.
One tablespoon equals 1/16th of a cup; a serving spoon is meant for a tablespoon. But a tablespoon is also a large spoon for eating among various cultures.
Knowing Liquid and Dry Ingredients
In our daily routine, the dry ingredients are measured in volume. On the other hand, liquid ingredients are those that you can measure by weight. It is good to use measuring cups or spoons to measure dry ingredients. But when measuring liquid ingredients, using a determined scale is good.
Here is a way that may help you to measure liquid and dry ingredients with a measurement chart.
How to Measure Liquid Ingredients?
| Cups | Ounces (Fluid) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 16 |
| 4 | 32 |
One of the most general ways to gauge liquid ingredients is by volume. But it is not suitable for all types of ingredients.
For instance:
If you want to measure a thick liquid like ketchup in milliliters, it becomes challenging to know the quantity of the ketchup you have if you don’t know how many tablespoons are in a milliliter.
You may need to use specific cups with measurements to avoid this issue while using liquid ingredients like oil or honey. However, the below table helps you to know how many cups have how many ounces for measuring the liquid ingredients:
| Tablespoons | Ounces |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 |
| 4 | 2 |
| 8 | 4 |
| 12 | 6 |
How to Measure Dry Ingredients?
Dry ingredients contain neither moisture nor liquid, such as sugar, salt, flour, etc. You can measure them in weight and volume. However, there is no universal rule to measure the dry ingredients.
The most conventional technique is to use tablespoons and cups. But other measuring equipment is also available to measure dry ingredients, such as scales or teaspoons. However, one of the best ways is to use measuring cups or scales as they are easy to read and give you different units of measurement.
How Do You Measure Dry Ounces?
Measuring dry ounces is easy compared to liquid ingredients. If any recipe has a dry ingredient in ounces, then measuring it on a scale is good.
But if the recipe has a wet or liquid ingredient in ounces, it is good to measure it in wet measuring cups. They offer accurate measuring solutions to keep your ingredients checked according to the recipe.
The main difference is that dry ounces measure the dry ingredients in weight. But liquid ounces measure the liquid ingredients in volume. So if you want to measure dry ingredients, it is good to use a scale. While if you want to measure liquid ingredients, you may need to use a liquid measuring cup.
Yes! You can measure both ingredients with the same cup with the same volume. The main difference in these cups is that they contain special designs so they can do their measuring job better for their respective ingredients.
You can use the conversion table to know how many tablespoons are in an ounce. However, one ounce equals two tablespoons. So if you increase the ounces to double the tablespoons as well, such as adding 2 ounces, it equals 4 tablespoons, and 6 ounces equals 12 tablespoons.
No, 2 tablespoons are equal to 1 oz, and 4 tablespoons are equal to 2 oz. There is one tablespoon in ½ oz, while 5 tablespoons equals 2.5 ounces. Knowing the difference between them can help you easily measure the ingredients.