Conversion chart
In the US butter is sold in sticks. Each stick weighs 113 g (4 oz) and usually has the tablespoons marked on the wrapper.
| Measure | Grams | Equals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 stick | 113 g | ½ cup · 8 tbsp · 4 oz |
| ½ stick | 57 g | ¼ cup · 4 tbsp |
| 2 sticks | 227 g | 1 cup · 16 tbsp |
| 4 sticks (1 lb) | 454 g | 2 cups |
| 1 tablespoon | 14 g | 3 teaspoons |
| 1 teaspoon | 5 g | |
| UK / EU block | 250 g | ≈ 2¼ sticks |
Swapping butter for oil
Butter is about 80% fat; the rest is water. So to replace it with oil, use 80% of its weight: instead of 1 stick (113 g) of butter, about 90 g of oil, or 6½ tablespoons.
It works great in cakes and muffins, which turn out moister. It doesn’t work when butter is creamed with sugar to aerate the batter, or in pastry and cookies that should be crisp.
Salted or unsalted
Baking recipes almost always assume unsalted butter so you control the flavor. If you only have salted, reduce or skip the salt in the recipe: a stick of salted butter contains roughly ¼ teaspoon of salt.