Recipes sometimes call for an old-style can size like a '#2½ can.' Pick the size to see what it means in ounces, cups, and milliliters today.
Numbered can sizes (like #1, #2, #10) are a legacy USDA/food-industry labeling system that predates today's simple fluid-ounce labels, and they're still referenced in older cookbooks and in bulk food-service cans. Each numbered size corresponds to a standard fill volume.
Source: Standard US can size designations and volumes follow the USDA/canning industry can-size chart historically used by food manufacturers.
It's a legacy US can-size designation, not a literal number 2.5 — it refers to a standard 28-ounce (3½ cup) can, a size still common for canned tomatoes and pumpkin.
Mostly close, but not always identical — manufacturers have shifted some sizes slightly over the years (for example, some 16 oz cans are now 14.5 oz). Check the label's ounce count and adjust if it's off by a bit.
A #10 can, the large size used in food service and bulk pantry goods, holds about 109 fluid ounces, which is roughly 13½ cups.
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