A UK gill is 142ml (5 UK fluid ounces), which is a quarter of a UK pint. A US gill is smaller at 118ml (4 US fluid ounces). Gills appear frequently in Victorian and Edwardian recipes, and are still used in some traditional British recipes for custards and sauces.

A peck is a dry volume measure equal to about 9.09 litres (8 dry quarts). It is used for measuring fruit and vegetables in old recipes — "a peck of apples" means roughly 9 litres by volume. A bushel is 4 pecks.

A fluid dram (drachm) is one-eighth of a fluid ounce. This tool uses the UK imperial fluid drachm of 3.55ml — roughly two-thirds of a teaspoon. The US fluid dram is slightly larger at 3.70ml because the US fluid ounce is bigger. It appears in old pharmacology and very old recipes, particularly for spice quantities. Do not confuse the fluid dram with the weight dram (avoirdupois 1.77g, apothecary 3.89g), which measures mass, not volume.

What is a wineglass measure?

In old recipes, a "wineglass" is an informal measure that varies by source — commonly between 59ml (2 imperial fluid ounces) and 70ml (2.5 imperial fluid ounces). This tool uses 70ml. It was widely used in 18th and 19th century cookbooks and is roughly half a gill. Because historical glasses varied in size, treat the result as an approximation.

What is a dessertspoon?

A dessertspoon is 10ml — larger than a teaspoon (5ml) but smaller than a tablespoon (15ml). It is still commonly used in the UK and Australia as a measuring unit and is exactly 2 teaspoons.

How do I know which gill a recipe means?

If the recipe is British, it almost certainly means the UK gill (142ml). If it is American, it means the US gill (118ml). The difference is significant — a UK gill is about 20% larger than a US gill.

Old Recipes Measurement Converter — Free Online Tool

How We Calculate This

This converter translates obsolete and archaic cooking measurements into their modern metric equivalents. Select the old measurement type, enter the quantity, and get the result in millilitres, tablespoons, cups, and fluid ounces.

Old Measurements Reference

Gill (UK): 142ml (5 UK fl oz, 1/4 pint)
Gill (US): 118ml (4 US fl oz)
Peck: 9,092ml (~9.09 litres, 8 dry quarts)
Bushel: 36,369ml (~36.37 litres, 4 pecks)
Dram (fluid, UK): 3.55ml (1/8 UK fl oz; US fluid dram is 3.70ml)
Wineglass: ~70ml (informal, sources give 59-70ml)
Teacup: ~142ml (1 UK gill, informal)
Breakfast cup: ~284ml (1/2 UK pint, informal)
Saltspoon: ~1.25ml (1/4 teaspoon, informal)
Dessertspoon: 10ml (2 teaspoons)
Coffee spoon: ~2.5ml (1/2 teaspoon, informal)

The defined imperial units (gill, peck, bushel, fluid drachm) are exact. Informal old measures such as the wineglass, teacup, breakfast cup, saltspoon and coffee spoon were never standardised and vary by source and era — treat their results as approximate guides rather than precise conversions. Weight-based apothecary units such as the pennyweight and scruple are not included here, because converting a weight to a volume depends on the density of the specific ingredient.

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Last updated: February 2026

All calculations are based on standard ratios and conversions. Results may vary with specific ingredients, equipment, and conditions.