The liter is an incredibly common form of measurement, one that you will find in countless online recipes. However, we don’t all have labelled measuring jugs to hand and not all of us use the liter system – for many of us, cups are the preferred form of measurement. But how are you supposed to know how much to use?
Trying to convert cups to liters can be a bit of a pain, especially if you haven’t tried to do it before. You may find that you end up with a number of different results and it’s not likely to be the same measurements for every liquid that you are using. Lucky for you, we’re here to make the process a simpler one.
Looking at the Most Common Ingredients
One of the best ways to get started is to look at some of the most commonly used ingredients for cup to liter conversion (and vice versa). This should help to make things a little clearer for you when starting out.
| Ingredient | Number of Liters | Number of UK Cups | Number of US Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 1 | 4 | 4.16 |
| Oil | 1 | 4.2 | 4.375 |
| Heavy Cream | 1 | 4.2 | 4.375 |
In addition to liters, you may also come across some of the other variations of this measurement. Milliliters are also a common form of measurement in cooking because there are some recipes that need a little less liquid. You may also come across centiliters, which are definitely less common but do exist in modern recipes.
The centiliter refers to the cubic liter, which is another way to measure volume entirely. While you are unlikely to come across cubic liters in cooking, there are some larger or more complex recipes that might require you to use it.
How Many Cups in a Liter
If we’re going for the incredibly basic answer, there are approximately four cups in one liter. The cup type we are looking at for this conversion is the US customary cup, which is the most commonly found in recipes online and in cookbooks. Of course, the quantity can vary depending on the liquid – especially with regards to the thickness of the liquid being used.
It all seems simple enough, right? Well, the not so good news is that there is a little more to it than just the basic four cups to one liter. If you were hoping there was nothing confusing about this form of conversion, you might want to read the next section before you take that breath of relief.
Different Units of Cup to Liter Measurement
So, the US customary cup is not the only form of measurement for liters, and there are actually several different types depending on where in the world you are. While the US measurements are the most commonly found, you will want to keep the other variations in mind when browsing through international cookbooks or websites.
In the US, you have the customary cup as well as the legal cup. The Canadian cup is slightly smaller, and in this case, you will need 4.3 cups to one liter. The Japanese cup is the smallest cup and requires 5.5 cups for one liter. However, there is one other variation of measurement that you might come across.
The imperial cup is technically outdated and you are highly unlikely to find it used as a form of measurement in modern recipes. However, when you are using vintage cookbooks (especially British ones) you may come across it. In the imperial cup, you will find there are 3.5 cups to one liter, which makes it the largest of the measuring systems.
To Conclude
Who knew there were so many different ways to convert cups into liters? It can seem a little overwhelming, but the good news is that the US customary cup is likely to be the one you’re dealing with in your recipes. Hopefully, this guide has been able to help you get a better handle on the conversion process so that things go smoothly for you.
Want to learn more about various forms of conversion? We cover everything you could ever need in our dedicated series of guides to the process. Quarts, pints, the amount of rice needed per person – all of your most pressing questions are answered. Check it out!