Updated 5 October 2026

Cheat sheet

French recipe abbreviations: c. à s., c. à c. and more

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated 5 October 2026 · About the library

Decode French recipe shorthand: c. à s. (tablespoon), c. à c. (teaspoon), g, cl, th. 6, QS, une pincée. A one-page reference with a worked example.

In short

C. à s. is cuillère à soupe (tablespoon, about 15 ml) and c. à c. is cuillère à café (teaspoon, about 5 ml). Th. 6 is oven thermostat 6 (about 180 °C), une pincée is a pinch and QS (quantité suffisante) means "as much as needed".

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A tablespoon and teaspoon beside flour, eggs and a mixing bowl in a French kitchen. — Cuillère à soupe and cuillère à café name different measures. Illustration: Atelier

Abréviations de cuisine · fiche

1 · Spoons

Spoons are the most common measure in home recipes.

c. à s. / CS	cuillère à soupe (tablespoon)
c. à c. / cc	cuillère à café (teaspoon)

2 c. à s. d'huile2 tablespoons of oil

1 c. à c. de sel1 teaspoon of salt

2 · Weights and volumes

Metric throughout.

g	gramme
kg	kilo
cl / ml / l	centilitre / millilitre / litre

250 g de farine250 g of flour

20 cl de crème200 ml of cream

3 · Oven

Older recipes use thermostat numbers; each step is about 30 °C.

th. 5	150 °C
th. 6	180 °C
th. 7	210 °C

Four à th. 6 (180 °C)Oven at gas mark 4–5 (180 °C)

4 · Small amounts

For seasoning.

une pincée de sela pinch of salt

un filet d'huilea drizzle of oil

une noix de beurrea knob of butter

5 · QS and env.

Approximate quantities.

Sel, poivre : QSSalt and pepper: to taste

env. 30 minabout 30 minutes

6 · Preparation labels

After the ingredient.

haché	chopped / minced
râpé	grated
fondu	melted
ramolli	softened

2 oignons émincés2 onions, finely sliced

100 g de beurre fondu100 g of melted butter

What do c. à s. and c. à c. mean in a recipe?

Read the shorthand

Written	In full
3 œufs	trois œufs
150 g sucre	cent cinquante grammes de sucre
1 c. à c. levure	une cuillère à café de levure
10 cl lait	dix centilitres de lait
Four th. 6, env. 25 min	four à thermostat six, environ vingt-cinq minutes

When you read a recipe aloud, add the de that the shorthand leaves out: 150 g de sucre. Cups don't exist in French recipes; if you're converting from an American recipe, weigh the ingredients.