Cooking Converter

How to use this calculator#

1. 1
   Select the ingredient firstCups measure space, grams measure mass, and only the ingredient's density links the two. Choosing the wrong ingredient is the same error as using the wrong scale — a cup of cocoa (85 g) against a cup of salt (273 g) is a threefold difference.
2. 2
   Enter the amount exactly as the recipe writes itUse decimals for fractions: 1/4 is 0.25, 1/3 is 0.333, 2/3 is 0.667, 3/4 is 0.75. Two-thirds entered as 0.6 loses 6% of the ingredient, which shows in a small batch.
3. 3
   Measure flour by spooning, not scoopingFluff the flour, spoon it loosely into the cup and level the top with a straight edge. Dipping the cup into the bag compacts it and can yield 150 g where the recipe assumed 125 g — a 20% overshoot that dries out a cake.
4. 4
   Pack or level according to the ingredient's conventionBrown sugar is measured firmly packed, which is why 220 g fits a cup that holds only 200 g of granulated sugar. Powdered sugar and cocoa are spooned and levelled, never packed. Liquids are read at eye level from the bottom of the meniscus.
5. 5
   Weigh anything stickyHoney, syrup, molasses and peanut butter cling to a measuring cup and you lose several grams to the washing up. Set the bowl on a scale, tare it and pour directly.

The formula#

Why cups to grams depends on the ingredient#

A cup measures volume; a gram measures mass. Converting between them requires the ingredient's density, which is why no single number can cover everything. A US cup holds 125 g of all-purpose flour, 200 g of granulated sugar, 227 g of butter, 340 g of honey, 90 g of rolled oats and 236.6 g of water — nearly a four-to-one spread across the same cup.

The volume relationships, by contrast, never change: 1 US cup = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 8 fluid ounces = 236.588 ml. One tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, or 14.79 ml, and one teaspoon is 4.93 ml. A pint is 2 cups, a quart is 4 cups, and a litre is 4.227 cups. Only the step from volume to weight shifts with the ingredient you select.

Measuring flour and other pitfalls#

Flour is the worst offender in any recipe. Scooping a cup straight out of the bag compacts the flour and can yield 150 g instead of 125 g — a 20% overshoot that turns cakes dry and dough stiff. The reliable method is to spoon flour loosely into the cup and level it off with a knife, or better still, weigh it. Brown sugar is the opposite, since recipes assume it is firmly packed.

Butter brings its own confusion. A US stick is half a cup, 8 tablespoons, or about 113 g, so two sticks give the 227 g figure for a full cup. Sticky ingredients like honey and syrup cling to the measuring cup, which both loses volume and creates washing up, so weighing them is doubly worthwhile. Liquids are the one category where volume measures stay genuinely dependable.

US, metric and imperial kitchen measures#

Cup sizes are not universal. The US customary cup is 236.588 ml, the metric cup used in Australia and New Zealand is 250 ml, and older British recipes sometimes use a 284 ml imperial half-pint cup. Australian tablespoons hold 20 ml rather than the usual 15 ml, which becomes significant once a recipe calls for several of them. This converter uses US customary measures throughout.

Oven temperatures travel with recipes too. A moderate oven at 180 C is 350 F, or gas mark 4; 200 C is 400 F, gas mark 6; and 220 C is 425 F, gas mark 7. Fan or convection ovens run effectively hotter than the dial suggests, so most recipes advise dropping the set temperature by about 20 C or 25 F while keeping the baking time roughly the same.

Worked examples#

Reference tables#

Common mistakes#

• Assuming a cup of flour and a cup of sugar weigh the sameThey do not: 125 g against 200 g, a 60% difference. Swap them in a cake and you get either a dense, sweet brick or a dry, crumbly one. Every volume-to-weight conversion needs the specific ingredient, not a generic 'one cup = 250 g' rule.
• Scooping flour straight from the bagDipping and packing yields around 150 g per cup against the 125 g a recipe assumes. Across three cups that is 75 g of extra flour — the difference between a tender crumb and a tough one, and the most common reason a recipe 'never works'.
• Treating fluid ounces as weight ouncesA fluid ounce is 29.57 mL of space; a weight ounce is 28.35 g of mass. They coincide only for water. Eight fluid ounces of honey — one cup — weighs 11.99 oz, not 8 oz. Weigh out 8 oz instead and you are a third short.
• Using an Australian, metric or imperial cup as if it were a US cupUS customary cup 236.59 mL, metric cup 250 mL, US nutrition-label cup 240 mL, Japanese cup 200 mL. An Australian tablespoon is 20 mL rather than 15 mL, so a recipe calling for four tablespoons of a leavener converts to a 33% overdose if the origin is misread.

Frequently asked questions#

Key terms#

Density (grams per cup)

The weight of a level US cup of an ingredient. It is what converts volume into mass, and it varies with grind, moisture content, brand and how the cup was filled — which is why every published table differs by a few grams.

Spoon and level

The standard way to measure flour by volume: aerate it, spoon it lightly into the cup without tapping, then sweep the top flat with a straight edge. It is the method the 125 g per cup figure assumes.

Packed

Pressed firmly into the measure so it holds the cup's shape when turned out. Brown sugar is always measured packed; that compression is why a cup weighs 220 g rather than the roughly 145 g it would loose.

Stick of butter

A US retail format equal to 1/2 cup, 8 tablespoons, 4 oz or about 113 g. Four sticks make one pound. The wrapper is normally printed with tablespoon markings.

Baker's percentage

A bread-making convention where every ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight, which is set at 100%. It only works with weights, which is why serious bread recipes are never written in cups.

Gas mark

The UK oven scale, running from 1/4 to 9. Each whole mark is roughly 25 °F (about 14 °C), with gas mark 4 at 180 °C / 350 °F.

Sources#