Volume to Weight Conversion (Metric and Imperial)

120 g per cup (240 ml)

All-purpose flour, lightly spooned — Sifted or aerated; dip-and-sweep can reach 150–160 g

140–150 g per cup

All-purpose flour, dip-and-sweep — Most common home method; 20–25% heavier than spooned

200 g per cup

Granulated white sugar — Fairly consistent regardless of method; crystals pack uniformly

220 g per cup

Brown sugar, packed — Recipes specifying 'packed' assume this density; unpacked ≈ 180 g

120 g per cup

Powdered / icing sugar — Very light; must be sifted to avoid lumps in measurement

227 g per cup / 113 g per half-cup

Unsalted butter — Sold in US as 2-cup/454 g blocks; 1 stick = 113 g = ½ cup

288 g per cup

Table salt — Fine-grain; kosher salt is much less dense — see salt equivalency entry

90 g per cup

Rolled oats — Very bulky; quick oats pack slightly denser at ~100 g

85–100 g per cup

Cocoa powder — Highly variable; always weigh for chocolate baking

Use a digital scale set to grams or ounces. Place the bowl on the scale, tare to zero, then add ingredients directly. For converting an existing volumetric recipe, look up each ingredient's density from a reliable culinary reference, multiply by the volume called for, and record the gram weight. Once converted, the recipe is permanently more reliable. For liquids, 1 US fluid ounce = 29.57 ml; 1 cup = 240 ml (US) or 250 ml (metric cup used in Australia/Canada).

• Buy a scale with 1 g resolution and a tare function; it pays back its cost in the first recipe you stop throwing away.
• When adapting a volumetric recipe, look up the specific flour brand if possible — protein content affects density slightly, and bread flour is about 5–8 g heavier per cup than cake flour.
• Brown sugar 'packed' is a convention: press firmly into the cup until the cup holds its shape when inverted. For weighing, 220 g already accounts for this; do not pack AND weigh.
• Liquid honey, maple syrup, and molasses are denser than water: 1 cup ≈ 340 g. Weigh these for caramel and candy recipes where sugar balance is critical.
• Cocoa powder is the most variable dry ingredient — natural and Dutch-process cocoa have different densities AND different water absorption, so weighing is essential for layered cakes.

• Metric cup (Australian/Canadian)

  250 ml vs the US 240 ml — a 4% difference that matters in scaled-up baking

• Imperial fluid ounce vs US fluid ounce

  UK fl oz = 28.41 ml; US fl oz = 29.57 ml — nearly identical for home use but diverge at large scale

• Baker's percentage system

  Professional bakers express all ingredients as a percentage of flour weight, eliminating cups entirely; see Hydration Percentage entry

• Volume to Weight Flour Conversion

  Deep-dive on flour specifically, the most variable dry ingredient

• Hydration Percentage in Bread Baking

  Baker's percentage system that replaces cup measurements entirely in professional bread work

• Salt Equivalency Ratio

  Table salt vs kosher salt vs flaky salt conversion — another density-driven conversion

1. 1.The Bread Baker's Apprentice — Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press, 2001)
2. 2.BakeWise — Shirley O. Corriher (Scribner, 2008)
3. 3.King Arthur Flour Weight Chart — King Arthur Baking Company (published reference)
4. 4.NIST Handbook 44 — Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices

Confidence: high