There are 5.26 tablespoons of butter in a third of a cup. The usual cup unit in the United States has 8 ounces and 16 tablespoons. Since one-third of a whole is 33 percent, or.33, then.33 of 16 tablespoons equals 5.26 tablespoons. This calculation also applies to the British imperial system, as an imperial cup contains 16 imperial tablespoons.
Differences Between the American Customary System and the British Imperial System
When it comes to recipes, it is vital to understand that the U.S. customary cup carries 8 fluid ounces, but the imperial cup holds 10 fluid ounces. Since the fluid ounce measurements are varied between the U.S. customary and imperial systems, so are the tablespoon measurements. Below is a comparison of tablespoon, ounce, and cup measurements in millilitres (mL) between the U.S. customary and imperial systems:
1 U.S. tablespoon = 14.79 mL
1 British tablespoon equals 14.21 millilitres
1 U.S. fluid ounce = 29.573 mL
1 U.K. fluid ounce = 28.413 mL
1 U.S. cup = 235.59 mL
1 U.K. cup = 284.13 mL
One-third of a U.S. cup, or 5.26 U.S. tablespoons, of butter equals 77.795 millilitres. Alternatively, 5.26 imperial tablespoons or 1/3 imperial cup of butter equals 74.74 millilitres. Despite the seeming insignificance of the differences in measures, they are sometimes sufficient to spoil a dish.
Is It in US Customary Units or Imperial?
Many online recipes do not specify whether the quantities are in U.S. customary or imperial units. Look for cup or gill units to determine whether a recipe is written in the U.S. customary or imperial system.
Cups are infrequently used in imperial system recipes, and gills are similarly uncommon in U.S. customary system recipes. Home cooks in the United Kingdom prefer to weigh their ingredients rather than use scoops. Therefore, recipes written by U.K.-based recipe authors will generally use dry weight units or metric system weight units.
The Imperial Cup
Although uncommon, some recipes may call for the metric system’s 250 mL cup. Considering that 1 metric cup contains 16.67 tablespoons, 1/3 metric cup of butter is comparable to 5.5 tablespoons.
Converting Between Measurement Systems
Understanding the distinctions between measurement systems is an excellent starting point for learning how to translate values into different units of measurement. Having a conversion app on your mobile device will make the procedure even simpler. Those who don’t want to bother with conversion formulas will find it useful to have kitchen instruments such as a digital kitchen scale and measuring scoops for U.S. customary, imperial, and metric systems.
The process of converting fractions to decimals
Some home chefs may be unfamiliar with fractions and would like to see the recipe portions in decimals. Fractions represent division and are components of a whole.
The number at the top of a fraction is called the numerator, while the number at the bottom is called the denominator. The line between the top and bottom numbers in a fraction is called a vinculum. To convert a fraction to its decimal counterpart, divide the numerator by the denominator. The result is the fraction’s decimal form. For instance, 1/3 or 13 equals $0.33.
