Milliliter

A milliliter (ml) is a metric unit of volume. A thousand milliliters make a liter. It is spelled millilitre in British English. Recipes from most of the world measure milk, water, stock, cream, wine and oil in milliliters. Swedish recipes use deciliters for larger amounts, but the spoons are defined in milliliters.

Why it works

The metric system was set up so that 1 ml of water weighs 1 gram. That makes it easy to weigh liquids instead of measuring them: put the jug on a scale, tare it, and pour 250 g of water for 250 ml. Milk, stock and wine are close enough to water for this to work. Oil weighs about 0.92 g per ml, and honey and syrups about 1.4 g per ml, so measure those by volume or use their own weight.

How to use it

Read a liquid measuring jug at eye level on a flat counter. The liquid curves slightly at the edges, so read the flat middle part.

Converting to US and Swedish measures:

Milliliters	US	Swedish
1 ml	about ⅕ teaspoon	1 krm
5 ml	1 teaspoon	1 tsk
15 ml	1 tablespoon	1 msk
30 ml	1 fl oz, 2 tablespoons	2 msk
60 ml	¼ cup	½ dl plus 2 tsk
100 ml	a little under ½ cup	1 dl
240 ml	1 US cup	2.4 dl
500 ml	about 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons	5 dl
1,000 ml	about 4¼ cups	10 dl, 1 liter

Common mistakes

• Reading a jug from above. You see the liquid higher than it is and pour too little.
• Mixing up ml with cl (centiliter, 10 ml) or dl (deciliter, 100 ml). European drink labels often use cl, and a 75 cl bottle is 750 ml.
• Assuming an Australian tablespoon is 15 ml. It is 20 ml. US, UK and Swedish tablespoons are all close to 15 ml.

In recipes

You will see "250 ml milk", "500 ml chicken stock" and "100 ml double cream". Small amounts appear as "5 ml" in some British recipes, meaning a teaspoon.