Tablespoon (tbsp)

The tablespoon is the larger of the two measuring spoons, used for oil, butter, honey, flour for a roux and most sauces. In US measure, one tablespoon holds 3 teaspoons, and 16 tablespoons fill a cup.

For everyday use, NIST's tables round the US measuring tablespoon to 15 ml (NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C). US nutrition labels use the same figure (21 CFR 101.9). The exact US spoon is a touch smaller, so a label tablespoon and a kitchen one differ by about a fifth of a milliliter.

An Australian tablespoon holds 4 teaspoons, not three. If you cook from an Australian recipe with US spoons, add a teaspoon to each tablespoon of baking powder, baking soda, salt or gelatin, where the extra amount counts.

For oil, sauces and stock, the difference rarely matters. A US tablespoon plus a US teaspoon comes to 19.7 ml, very close to the Australian spoon.

US butter sticks usually come in wrappers marked in tablespoons, so you can cut exact amounts without a spoon. One stick is 8 tablespoons, and a tablespoon of butter weighs about 14.2 grams, based on USDA data.

Packing soft butter into a spoon gives the same volume, but cutting at the wrapper lines is faster and cleaner. For recipes that give butter in grams or cups, see butter measurements.