How Many Pints in a Gallon? ⋆ 100 Days of Real Food

Have you ever been in the middle of a baking session and found yourself needing to convert between cups, gallons, pints, or quarts? Or perhaps, you found a recipe written in the metric system, but you are more familiar with the imperial system. Ever wondered how many pints in a gallon? The helpful conversion calculation is easy, simple, and straightforward.

There are plenty of easy ways to remember conversions. This basic math will help in home baking, cooking, and measuring.

Knowing the conversion rates between common units of measurement can save you a lot of cooking and baking time. More importantly, in the United States, one critical conversion you should always know is the conversion between pints and gallons. These are common measurements for liquid volume.

What is a Pint?

A pint is a unit of measurement commonly used to measure liquid volume. It is sometimes abbreviated as “pt” or “p.” Often, it is used to describe beverages such as beer and milk. For example, when in a bar, you may have heard someone order a pint of beer, or at the grocery store, you may have bought a pint of ice cream. The word comes from the French term “pinte”.

In the US, a pint is equal to 16 fluid ounces, while in the UK, this equals 20 fluid ounces.

What is a gallon?

Like a pint, a gallon is a unit of measurement for liquid volume. It is abbreviated as “gal.” The most familiar use of the gallon you may have already encountered is its use to measure gasoline of fuel. In addition, you may have also used it at the grocery store to buy a gallon of milk. The word gallon is derived from Rome. The words “Galleta” and “Galletum” mean wine jug.

In the US, a gallon is equal to 128 fluid ounces, while in the UK, this equals 160 fluid ounces.

Pints ​​to Gallons Conversion Chart

To convert pints to gallons, easily divide the number of pints by 8. This will give you how many pints in a gallon. For example, if you have 8 pints, dividing it by 8 will give you 1 gallon. If you have 16 pints, that equals 2 gallons.

Below is a conversion chart you can print out or save, for your reference. This shows how many pints are in a gallon. Scaling up or down is easy.

Imperial System Versus Metric System

The imperial system is a system of measurement primarily used in the United States. It still also applies in some United Kingdom settings. The metric system is the standard used for almost every country in the world.

The metric system uses “meter” to measure length and “kilogram” for mass. It is based on units of 10, so conversion is easier to understand. Common metric measurements are 1000 grams in 1 kilogram, 1000 milligrams in 1 gram, 1000 milliliters in 1 liter, and 1000 meters in 1 kilometer. These are all multiples of 10 and easily converted.

The Imperial system was initially based on units of 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8. Although the US is known to be the primary user of this, the UK still applies some old measurements in contexts such as beverages. Thus, there are differences in US and UK imperial measures. Common imperial measurements are 3 teaspoons in 1 tablespoon, 2 cups in 1 pint, 2 pints in 1 quart, and 4 cups in 1 quart.

Dry Measurements Versus Liquid Measurements

While both dry measuring cups and liquid measuring cups are used for volume, there is a reason why they are designed differently. Dry measuring cups are usually metal or plastic, with long handles to measure 1 cup or smaller amounts. They are open and wide. Liquid measuring cups, on the other hand, have a spout for pouring. They are typically clear, with lines on the side, to measure increasing amounts of liquid.

Technically, they measure the same amount of volume. However, in baking, measuring dry ingredients is different from measuring wet ingredients.

For example, some recipes ask to “scoop and level” the flour. This can easily be done using the cup for dry ingredients, but not using the liquid measuring cup. So, while they technically measure the same amount of volume, you will not get an accurate measure if you use the wrong type of cup.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

You May Also Enjoy

If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment! For more inspiration, check out my Facebook, Instagramand Pinterest. For 5 free weekly meal plans and more free resources, sign up to receive my free newsletter!

Enjoy this helpful post!