The US cup is a volume unit equal to 8 US fluid ounces or approximately 0.2366 liters, the standard measurement in American recipes and cookbooks. When a recipe calls for 'one cup of flour' or 'half a cup of sugar,' it refers to this specific volume, not a drinking vessel of arbitrary size. One US cup equals exactly 236.588 milliliters.

The tablespoon (tbsp) is a volume unit equal to 3 teaspoons or approximately 14.787 milliliters, primarily used in cooking recipes and nutritional labels. In the kitchen, one tablespoon of butter, oil, or sugar provides a consistent measure regardless of the spoon's physical size. One US tablespoon equals exactly 0.5 US fluid ounces.