Gelatin Conversion Calculator

How it works

Unflavored powdered gelatin is sold in 7 g envelopes, about 2½ teaspoons each. Knox states that one envelope gels 2 cups of liquid, and King Arthur Baking describes that as a firm set, enough to unmold, with the same envelope setting 3 cups softly.

Sheet (leaf) gelatin is sold by the sheet, and sheets differ in size and gel strength from brand to brand. King Arthur Baking equates one envelope with 5 sheets of 2⅞ × 8½ in gelatin; that is the default, and the sheets-per-envelope field takes another brand's figure.

For a custom set, the strength is grams of gelatin per 100 g of liquid. The calculator weighs the liquid as water (1 g per mL), so 1 envelope in 2 cups (473 mL) is 7 ÷ 473 = 1.48%, and in 3 cups 0.99%.

Every result is expressed as envelopes of powder, then as grams, teaspoons and sheets, and as the volume of liquid that much gelatin sets firmly or softly.

Formula

1 envelope = 7 g = 2½ tsp = sheets per envelope (default 5)
powder → sheets:  envelopes = envelopes, grams ÷ 7, or teaspoons ÷ 2.5
sheets → powder:  envelopes = sheets ÷ sheets per envelope
set liquid:       envelopes = cups ÷ 2 (firm) or cups ÷ 3 (soft)
                  envelopes = mL × strength % ÷ 100 ÷ 7  (custom, liquid at 1 g/mL)
liquid set firmly = envelopes × 2 cups;  softly = envelopes × 3 cups

Example

The default, 2 cups of liquid set firmly, needs 2 ÷ 2 = 1 envelope: 7 g, 2.5 teaspoons or 5 sheets. Set softly, 3 cups also needs 1 envelope.

Two envelopes of powder are 10 sheets, the swap King Arthur Baking makes in its Strawberry Cream Shortbread. One litre of liquid at a custom 1.5% needs 15 g, or 2.14 envelopes.

Assumptions and limitations

• Envelope size and setting power are from the manufacturer and King Arthur Baking: Knox (E.D. Smith) packets of 7 g, each gelling 2 cups (500 mL) of liquid (knoxgelatine.com, retrieved October 2026); King Arthur Baking "How to use gelatin in baking and desserts" (2022): one envelope is about 2½ teaspoons (7 g), firmly sets 2 cups and softly sets 3 cups, and equals 5 sheets.
• Knox's Canadian site also says to use one packet for each tablespoon of gelatin a recipe calls for, which is a little more than the 2½ teaspoons per envelope used here.
• Sheet gelatin is sold in bronze, silver, gold and platinum grades whose sheets differ in weight and gel (bloom) strength, so the sheets-per-envelope figure is a typical value; the brand's own equivalence is more reliable. Gel strength does not scale simply with sheet weight, and the calculator does not convert by bloom value.
• Custom percentages weigh the liquid as water. Sugar, acid, alcohol, dairy fat and fresh pineapple, kiwi or papaya all change how firmly gelatin sets, and setting also depends on time and temperature.

Frequently asked questions