Convert milliliters to cups easily.

Ever found yourself staring at a European cake recipe that demands 360 ml of milk, but your measuring cups are labeled in cups and fractions? You're not alone. This milliliter-to-cups puzzle trips up home cooks daily, whether they're adapting Grandma's strudel recipe or trying that trendy Japanese soufflé pancake video. But here's the good news: once you understand the simple relationship between these units, you'll convert measurements as naturally as folding egg whites into batter.

Unit definitions

What is a milliliter (ml)?

The milliliter, abbreviated as ml, is the metric system's answer to small liquid measurements. One milliliter equals 1 cubic centimeter (about the volume of a sugar cube) or 0.001 liters. Chefs worldwide use milliliters for precision in recipes, from French pastry creams to Indian chutneys. You'll find it on everything from medicine syringes to cocktail jiggers.

Symbol: ml
Common uses: Liquid medications, cocktail recipes, European baking measurements
Definition: 1/1000 of a liter

What is a cup (cups)?

Ah, the cup measurement – as American as apple pie and brownie mix. In the United States, 1 cup strictly means 240 milliliters. But cross the border to Canada or Japan, and you might find cups ranging from 200 ml to 250 ml. This unit became standardized through 20th-century American cookbooks, turning "1 cup flour" into kitchen shorthand nationwide.

Symbol: c or cups
Common uses: American recipes, baking measurements, bulk dry ingredients
Definition: 240 ml (US standard)

Conversion formula

The golden ratio for ml to cups conversion:
Cups = Milliliters ÷ 240

Want to reverse it? Multiply cups by 240 to get milliliters. This formula works perfectly for US recipes. If dealing with international recipes, check if they use the 250 ml "metric cup" common in Commonwealth countries.

Example calculations

1. Converting 500 ml to cups:
   500 ÷ 240 = 2.0833 ≈ 2.08 cups (or 2 cups + 2 tablespoons)
2. Converting 0.75 cups to milliliters:
   0.75 × 240 = 180 ml

Pro tip: For amounts under 1 cup, think in fractions. 60 ml = 1/4 cup, 120 ml = 1/2 cup, 180 ml = 3/4 cup.

Conversion tables

Milliliters to cups

Cups to milliliters

From apothecaries to kitchens: A measurement history

The milliliter's story begins with the 1793 French Revolution, when scientists developed the metric system to unify measurements. The liter (parent unit to the milliliter) was originally defined as 1 cubic decimeter. Meanwhile, American cups evolved from 18th-century English 'coffee cup' measures. The 240 ml standard emerged in 1896 Fannie Farmer cookbooks, creating consistency across US kitchens. Interestingly, Japan adopted both systems: using cups for home cooking but milliliters in professional pastry making.

Ever wonder why 240 ml? It neatly divides into tablespoons (16 per cup) and teaspoons (48 per cup). This made scaling recipes easier before digital scales became common. The milliliter's precision became crucial post-World War II, as packaged foods and medical dosing required exact measurements.

Interesting facts

1. The metric system was almost based on seconds of longitude rather than water's properties
2. Australian recipes sometimes use a 250 ml "metric cup" alongside US measurements
3. 240 ml equals 16 tablespoons – hence the tablespoon-to-cup ratios in baking
4. Milliliters are preferred in medical contexts because 5 ml = 1 teaspoon exactly
5. Professional bakers increasingly measure by weight (grams) rather than volume

FAQ