Sources & methodology

This page explains exactly how the weights on Gram & Cup are calculated, so you can judge how far to rely on them.

Units

• Cup: the US customary cup, 236.6 ml. See cup sizes around the world for how it compares with metric and imperial cups.
• Tablespoon and teaspoon: US, with 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons per cup.
• Ounce: the avoirdupois ounce, 28.35 g. Ounces on this site are always weight, never fluid ounces.

How each ingredient is measured

Each ingredient has one reference weight per cup, for the ingredient measured the way recipes normally intend:

• Flours and powders are spooned into a dry measuring cup and leveled, not scooped. See how to measure flour.
• Brown sugar is firmly packed.
• Liquids are measured at room temperature in a liquid measuring cup.
• Butter is measured solid; melted butter weighs the same.
• Chopped ingredients, such as walnuts, are chopped before measuring.

The figures are typical published values for each ingredient measured this way. Published charts differ from each other by a few grams for some ingredients, because of brand, moisture and technique, so no single figure is "exact". For comparison, two widely used references are the USDA FoodData Central database and the ingredient weight charts published by major baking flour companies.

Calculations and rounding

Every amount on the site is calculated from the per-cup weight. Gram values of 10 g or more are rounded to the nearest gram, and smaller values to 0.1 g. Cup amounts are shown as kitchen fractions (such as 1/3 or 3/4) when they are within 0.02 cup of one, and as decimals otherwise.

All ingredient figures

Corrections

If you have a reliable reference that disagrees with a figure here, please get in touch. Figures are reviewed every week and corrected when a better reference turns up.