Cups to Grams Converter (By Ingredient & Standard)

Dipping a measuring cup directly into a bag of flour compacts the grain. A cup dipped and leveled weighs 140g to 155g, whereas properly aerated flour (spooned into the cup and leveled) weighs 120g. That extra 25g to 35g of flour per cup absorbs excessive liquid, turning tender cakes rubbery and artisan breads dense and dry.

Diamond Crystal kosher salt has hollow flaky crystals weighing only 144g per cup (2.8g per tsp), whereas Morton kosher salt is dense rolled crystals weighing 240g per cup (4.8g per tsp). Substituting Morton 1:1 by volume for Diamond Crystal makes your food nearly 70% saltier than intended.

A US Customary cup holds 236.6 mL (8 fluid ounces), a US Legal nutrition cup holds 240.0 mL, an Australian / New Zealand / UK Metric cup holds 250.0 mL, and an archaic Imperial British cup holds 284.1 mL. Baking a British or Australian recipe using an American cup creates a 5.7% to 20% shortage of flour and sugar.

Brown sugar contains sticky molasses that traps massive air pockets when scooped loosely, yielding only ~145g per cup. Standard baking recipes universally assume firmly packed brown sugar (pressed into the cup until it holds its shape like a sandcastle), which weighs 220g per cup. Scooping loosely causes a disastrous 34% sugar deficit.

A "fluid ounce" is a unit of volume ($29.57\text{ mL}$), while an ounce is a unit of mass ($28.35\text{ g}$). Water is the only culinary substance where $1\text{ fl oz} \approx 1\text{ oz}$ mass. For dense honey, an 8 fl oz cup weighs over 11.5 dry ounces (340 grams). Weighing honey to "8 ounces" on a scale results in a 30% shortage.