Trying out new recipes feels great. But sometimes, you may meet some acronyms or abbreviations on recipes or food labels that may scare away your cooking plans.
Hereunder, I will take you through the meanings of different cooking acronyms and abbreviations to sharpen your cooking know-how.
Table of Contents
Volume Measurements
Having a set of measuring spoons and cups is great. However, if you don’t understand what the recipe is asking for, the measuring spoons and cups will not save you from a cooking disaster.
So, here are the volume abbreviations you will find in recipes and their definitions.
● bu - bushel
● C - cup
● Fl oz - fluid ounce
● Dsp - dessert spoon
● Gal - gallon
● L - liter
● Ml - milliliter
● Cl - centiliters
● Pk - peck
● Pt - pint
● Qt - quart
● Tbsp - tablespoon
● Tsp - teaspoon
● Dash - less than ⅛ tsp
Weight Measurements
The United States often uses pounds in measuring the weight of cooking ingredients. However, other countries use grams to tell how much an ingredient weighs.
Some common weight abbreviations include:
● G or gm - gram
● Kg - kilogram
● Mg - milligram
● μg - micrograms
● Lb, pd or # - pound
● Oz - ounce
Other Measurement units
What if your recipe is asking for a “pkg of chocolate chips” or “sp of cinnamon” —what does all this mean?
Find out here below.
● Lg, l, or lge - large
● Sm - small
● Dz - dozen
● P or pn - pinch
● Pkg - package
● Sp - speck
● F.G - Few Grains
● Med or md - medium
● Btl - bottle
● Dp - drop
● in - inches
● cm - centimeters
● mm - millimeters
● Sq - square
Serving Abbreviations
● Srv/serv refers to serving
● Ea refers to each
● Pers refers to person(s)
● WF refers to Wheat Free
● GF refers to Gluten Free
● V/vg refers to vegetarian
● VN refers to vegan
Energy Abbreviations
● Kcal, cal or cals refers to kilocalories
● Kj refers to kilojoules
● NRV refers to Nutrient Reference Value
● RI refers to Reference Intake
Temperature Abbreviations
● ° or dg refers to degree
● C or °C refers to celsius
● F or °F refers to Ferenheight
● Th refers to thermostat
● Mk, gas refers to gas mark
Time Abbreviations
● hr/hrs refers to hour(s)
● min/mins refers to minute(s)
● sec/secs refers to second(s)
More Food Acronyms & Abbreviations:
A
● Avg refers to average
● Asp refers to aspartame
● Asstd refers to assorted
B
● Bbq refers to barbecue
● Bkd refers to baked
● Bkg refers to baking
● Bld refers to boiled
● Btld refers to bottled
● Brd refers to breaded
● Brsd refers to braised
● Brld refers to broiled
C
● Calc refers to calcium
● Caff refers to caffeine
● Char refers to charbroiled
● Choc refers to chocolate
● Cholest refers to cholesterol
● Ckd refers to cooked
● Chpd refers to chopped
● Conc refers to concentrate
● Cnd refers to canned
● Cond refers to condensed
● Cvrd refers to covered
● Cran refers to cranberry
D
● Decaf - decaffeinated
● Dehyd - dehydrated
● Degermed - degerminated
F
● FCC - Food Chemical Codex
● F/ - from
● Flvr - flavor
● Flvrd - flavored
● Fort - fortified
● Fzn - frozen
H
● Hi - high
● Hidrog - hydrogenated
I
● Iqf - individually quick frozen
● Inst - instant
● Imit - imitation
● Indiv - individual
● Intl - international
M
● Microv refers to microwave
● Moist refers to moisture
P
● Part - partially
● Pce - piece
● Past - pasteurized
● Pine - pineapple
● Preckd refers to precooked
● Proc refers to processed
● Prot refers to protein
● Pwd refers to powder/powdered
R
● Rec - recipe
● RTU - Ready To Use
● RTH - Ready To Heat
● Reconst - reconstituted
● Rducd - reduced
● Refrig - refrigerated
● Rst refers to roasted
● Reg refers to regular
● Rehyd - rehydrated
● RTE - Ready To Eat
● RTB - Ready To Bake
● RTC - Ready To Cook
● RTS - Ready To Serve
● RTD - Ready to Drink
● RTF - Ready To Feed
S
● Sacc refers to saccharin
● Smkd refers to smoked
● Skm mlk refers to skim milk
● Sod refers to sodium
● Straw refers to strawberry
● Stmd refers to steamed
● Strand refers to strained
● Stwd refers to stewed
● Sug refers to sugar
● Swtnd refers to sweetened
● Swtnr refers to sweetener
● Synth refers to synthetic
T
● Tstd refers to toasted
● TVP refers to Textured Vegetable Protein
U
● Unckd refers to uncooked
● Unflvrd refers to unflavored
● Unfort refers to unfortified
● Unprep refers to unprepared
● Unswtnd refers to unsweetened
V
● Van refers to vanilla
● Vac refers to vacuum
● Veg refers to vegetable
● Vit refers to vitamin
W
● W - with
● w/o - without
● Whl - whole
● w/o bone - boneless
● w/skin - skinless or unpeeled