Why weigh instead of scoop
American recipes measure most ingredients by volume: cups, tablespoons and teaspoons. Volume works for liquids, but for powders it depends on how the cup is filled. Flour scooped straight from the bag can weigh 25% more than flour spooned in and leveled, enough to turn a tender cake into a dry one. Professional bakers weigh everything, and a kitchen scale costs less than a cake pan.
How the conversion works
Grams = number of cups × grams per cup of that ingredient
A US cup is 236.6 mL. A tablespoon is 1/16 cup (14.8 mL), a teaspoon 1/48 cup (4.9 mL) and a US fluid ounce 1/8 cup. The weight per cup depends on the ingredient’s density and, for powders, on how it is packed.
Typical weights per cup
| Ingredient | Grams per cup |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) | 120 |
| Whole wheat flour | 113 |
| Almond flour | 96 |
| Granulated sugar | 200 |
| Brown sugar, packed | 220 |
| Powdered sugar | 120 |
| Butter | 227 |
| Water | 237 |
| Milk | 244 |
| Vegetable oil | 218 |
| Honey | 336 |
| Rolled oats | 90 |
| White rice, uncooked | 185 |
| Cocoa powder | 85 |
| Chocolate chips | 170 |
| Chopped nuts | 115 |
These are typical values. Brands, humidity and technique cause variations of 5 to 10% for dry ingredients.
Worked example
A cookie recipe calls for 2½ cups of all-purpose flour:
- 2.5 × 120 = 300 g, about 10.6 oz.
- The volume is 591 mL.
- One tablespoon of the same flour weighs about 7.5 g.
Tips for accurate baking
- Measure flour properly if you must use cups: stir it, spoon it into the cup and level it with a knife. Do not tap or shake the cup.
- Pack brown sugar firmly, as most recipes intend.
- Butter is easy: one US stick is 1/2 cup, 4 oz or 113 g.
- Sticky ingredients like honey and peanut butter are much easier to weigh directly into the bowl.
- Small amounts of leavening and salt matter most; for baking soda and baking powder, measuring spoons are precise enough.
- Liquids convert simply: 1 cup of water is about 237 g.
To scale a recipe up or down, convert to grams first, then use the recipe scaling calculator: weights scale cleanly where cups and spoons do not.