Recipe Abbreviations for Cooking
Abbreviations are often found in recipes and on food labels, in order to help you understand any that you come across we have compiled a comprehensive list of common abbreviations sorted into the following categories: weight, liquid volume, length, temperature, spoon sizes, energy, time, amount and serving.
Weight Abbreviations
- lb, lbs - pounds
- oz, ozs - ounces
- kg - kilograms
- g - grams
- mg - milligrams
- μg - micrograms
Liquid Volume Abbreviations
- gal, gals - gallons
- qt, qts - quarts
- pt, pts - pints
- fl oz, fl ozs - fluid ounces
- l or L - litres
- cl - centilitres
- ml - millilitres
Length Abbreviations
- in - inches
- cm - centimetres
- mm - millimetres
Temperature Abbreviations
- °C, C - celsius, formerly known as centigrade
- °F, F - fahrenheit
- Mk, Gas - gas mark
- Th - thermostat (French gas mark)
- Stufe - gasherd stufe (German gas mark)
Spoon Size Abbreviations
- tsp, tsps, t, ts, tspn - teaspoons
- tbsp, tbsps, T, tb, tbs, tbl, tblsp, tblspn - tablespoons
- dsp, dsps, dspn, dstspn - dessertspoons
Energy Abbreviations
- kcal, cal, cals - kilocalories (often referred to as calories colloquially)
- kj - kilojoules
- RI - reference intake
- NRV - nutrient reference value
Time Abbreviations
- hr, hrs - hours
- min, mins - minutes
- sec, secs - seconds
Amount Abbreviations
- c, C - cups
- sm - small
- md, med - medium
- lg, lge - large
- doz - dozen (12)
- ½doz - half dozen (6)
- btl - bottle
- ½btl - half bottle
- ¼btl - quarter bottle
- dp - drop
- pn - pinch
Serving Abbreviations
- srv, serv - serving
- ea - each
- pers - person(s)
- DF - dairy free
- GF - gluten free
- V, VG - vegetarian
- VN - vegan
- WF - wheat free
Source – Cooking Conversions
