KitchenGrams to ounces and pounds
Recipes from the United States, and older British ones, weigh in ounces (oz) and pounds (lb). India, Europe and most of the world weigh in grams and kilograms. The two charts below cover the amounts that turn up in real recipes. For any other figure, use the converter on the measures page.
Grams to ounces and pounds
| Grams | Ounces | Pounds |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 0.18 oz | |
| 10 g | 0.35 oz | |
| 15 g | 0.53 oz | |
| 25 g | 0.88 oz | |
| 50 g | 1.76 oz | |
| 75 g | 2.65 oz | |
| 100 g | 3.5 oz | 0.22 lb |
| 125 g | 4.4 oz | 0.28 lb |
| 150 g | 5.3 oz | 0.33 lb |
| 200 g | 7.1 oz | 0.44 lb |
| 250 g | 8.8 oz | 0.55 lb |
| 300 g | 10.6 oz | 0.66 lb |
| 400 g | 14.1 oz | 0.88 lb |
| 500 g | 17.6 oz | 1.10 lb |
| 750 g | 26.5 oz | 1.65 lb |
| 1000 g | 35.3 oz | 2.20 lb |
Ounces to grams
| Ounces | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1/2 oz | 14 g |
| 1 oz | 28 g |
| 2 oz | 57 g |
| 3 oz | 85 g |
| 4 oz (1/4 lb) | 113 g |
| 6 oz | 170 g |
| 8 oz (1/2 lb) | 227 g |
| 10 oz | 283 g |
| 12 oz (3/4 lb) | 340 g |
| 16 oz (1 lb) | 454 g |
| 24 oz (1 1/2 lb) | 680 g |
| 32 oz (2 lb) | 907 g |
One ounce is 28.3495 grams and one pound is 16 ounces, 453.592 grams. Chart figures are rounded.
Rules you can do in your head
- Ounces to grams: multiply by 30 for a rough answer, then take off a little. 4 oz is "about 120", truly 113 g.
- Grams to ounces: divide by 30, then add a little. 200 g is "about 6 and a half", truly 7.1 oz.
- Pounds to kilograms: halve it, then take off a tenth. 5 lb: half is 2.5, less a tenth is 2.25 kg (truly 2.27).
- Kilograms to pounds: double it and add a tenth. 2 kg: double is 4, plus a tenth is 4.4 lb.
The rough rules are fine for meat, vegetables and dal. For baking, use the chart figures.
An ounce is not a fluid ounce
This catches many people. An ounce (oz) is a weight. A fluid ounce (fl oz) is a volume, used for liquids. They happen to match for water: one US fluid ounce of water weighs close to one ounce. They do not match for anything else. A fluid ounce of honey weighs about an ounce and a half, and a fluid ounce of flour weighs about half an ounce.
Read the recipe closely. "8 oz flour" means weight: 227 g. "8 fl oz milk" means volume: one US cup, about 240 ml. If an American recipe says "8 oz" for a liquid, it nearly always means fluid ounces. See ml to cups and fluid ounces.
Reading packet and tin sizes
Foreign recipes often call for "a 14 oz can of tomatoes" or "a stick of butter". The useful ones:
- A 14 to 15 oz can is about 400 g, the usual size of tinned tomatoes, beans and coconut milk in India too.
- A 28 oz can is about 800 g.
- One US stick of butter is 4 oz, 113 g. A recipe asking for two sticks wants 227 g, a little more than two 100 g packs.
- A pound of anything is a little under half a kilogram: buy 450 to 500 g.
Old Indian weights
If the recipe is a grandmother's rather than an American's, the units may be tola, chhatank, pav and seer. Those are explained, with a converter, on the measures page. In today's markets "ek pav" means 250 g.
Rounding sensibly
Converted recipes produce awkward numbers such as 113 g and 227 g. Round them to something you can measure: 115 g and 225 g, or 110 and 230. Round every ingredient in the same direction, all up or all down, so that the proportions between them stay the same. Eggs cannot be rounded, so match the rest of the recipe to the eggs.
Questions people ask
How many grams are in an ounce?
28.35 grams. For quick kitchen sums, 30 grams is close enough for everything except baking.
How many ounces is 100 grams?
About 3.5 ounces.
How many grams is one pound?
453.6 grams, a little under half a kilogram.
Is a fluid ounce the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce measures volume and an ounce measures weight. They match only for water and liquids like it.
More kitchen help
- Cups to gramsAtta, maida, sugar, rice, ghee and more, by ingredient.
- MeasuresTeaspoon, tablespoon, cup, ml, katori, pav, tola and seer.
- Oven temperaturesCelsius, Fahrenheit and gas mark, with fan oven settings.
- SubstitutesWhat to use when an ingredient is missing.
- Cooking timesPressure cooker minutes for dals, beans and rice.
- How much to cookRice, dal, atta and vegetables for any number of people.
- Food storageHow long food keeps in the fridge and the freezer.
- Spice namesJeera, ajwain, kalonji: English and Hindi names with uses.
- Dal and grain namesDals, flours and millets in English and Hindi.
- Vegetable namesTori, tinda, parwal: English and Hindi names with season.
- Spoons to gramsGrams in a teaspoon and tablespoon of each ingredient.
- Measuring without a scaleWeigh by packets, cups, katoris, glasses and spoons.
- ml, cups, fluid ouncesLiquid measures, with US, metric and UK sizes.
- Butter, ghee and oilSticks, spoons and grams, and swapping one fat for another.
- Halve or double a recipeWhat to multiply, what not to, and the awkward amounts.
- Cake tin sizesRound to square, bigger to smaller: how much batter fits.
- Recipe words explainedAbbreviations and cooking words, with Hindi kitchen words.
- Reheating leftoversCooling, storing, thawing and reheating, from official guidance.
- Safe cooking temperaturesOfficial minimum temperatures for chicken, meat, fish, eggs.