All ingredients

Each ingredient has a verified density, citations to two independent sources, and a full set of cup-to-gram and weight-to-volume conversion pages.

baking flour

• All-Purpose Flour Spooned and leveled. 1 US cup of all-purpose flour weighs 125 grams when scooped gently with a spoon and leveled across the top with a flat edge. Sifting drops the figure to 113g; scooping the cup directly into the bag pushes it to 150g.
• Almond Flour Blanched, finely ground almond flour. 1 US cup weighs 96 grams. Almond meal (with the skins, coarser grind) is heavier per cup, around 110g, because the skins fill less air space.
• Bread Flour Spooned and leveled. 1 US cup of bread flour weighs 120 grams. Bread flour is slightly less dense per cup than all-purpose because the higher protein content produces a slightly larger, more irregular particle that traps a bit more air.
• Buckwheat Flour Spooned and leveled. 1 US cup weighs 120 grams. Buckwheat is gluten-free despite being called a flour.
• Cake Flour Sifted and spooned. 1 US cup of cake flour weighs 120 grams. Cake flour is finer and softer than all-purpose, with a protein content around 7 to 9 percent.
• Coconut Flour Defatted coconut flour. 1 US cup weighs 112 grams. Highly absorbent: a teaspoon swells to many times its dry volume in liquid.
• Rye Flour Spooned and leveled medium rye. 1 US cup weighs 102 grams. Pumpernickel (whole rye, coarse grind) runs slightly heavier at around 113g per cup.
• Self-Rising Flour Spooned and leveled. 1 US cup weighs 125 grams. Includes 1.5 teaspoons baking powder and 0.5 teaspoon salt per cup, baked in.
• Semolina Spooned and leveled fine semolina. 1 US cup weighs 167 grams. Coarser grades for couscous and gnocchi run lighter per cup.
• Whole Wheat Flour Spooned and leveled. 1 US cup of whole wheat flour weighs 113 grams. Less dense than all-purpose because the bran fragments interrupt close packing.

chocolate

• Chocolate Chips Standard semi-sweet chocolate chips. 1 US cup weighs 170 grams (6 ounces). Mini chips pack tighter at around 180g per cup; chunks pack looser at around 160g.
• Cocoa Powder Sifted cocoa at 85 grams per US cup. Unsifted cocoa packs to roughly 105 grams per cup because the powder lumps together and traps less air.

dairy

• Cream Cheese Full-fat cream cheese at room temperature. 1 US cup weighs 232 grams. The standard 8 oz block sold in American grocery stores weighs 226 grams, very close to one cup.
• Heavy Cream Heavy cream at 36 to 40 percent milk fat. 1 US cup weighs 238 grams. Slightly less dense than water because the high fat content reduces overall density even with the milk solids.
• Milk Whole cow milk at 3.25 percent fat. Skim milk is slightly denser at around 1.035 g/ml; heavy cream is lighter at 0.992 g/ml because the fat content reduces overall density.
• Yogurt Plain whole-milk yogurt. 1 US cup weighs 245 grams, the same as whole milk because the cultures do not change density meaningfully. Greek yogurt is denser at around 250g per cup; non-fat yogurt slightly heavier at around 248g.

egg

• Eggs USDA Large grade. One large egg without shell weighs 50 grams, of which roughly 30 grams is white and 20 grams is yolk. Egg sizes scale linearly: medium is 44g, large 50g, extra-large 56g, jumbo 63g.

fat

• Avocado Oil Avocado oil at room temperature. 1 US cup weighs 220 grams. Slightly heavier than canola because of the higher monounsaturated content.
• Butter 1 US cup of butter equals 227 grams, which is also half a US pound, which is also 2 standard American sticks of butter. The geometry of the American butter stick was designed around this conversion.
• Canola Oil Refined canola oil at room temperature. 1 US cup weighs 218 grams. Density is similar to vegetable, sunflower, and soybean oils.
• Coconut Oil Coconut oil in liquid form (above 76 degrees Fahrenheit). 1 US cup weighs 218 grams. Solid coconut oil at room temperature is lighter per cup at around 200g because the crystallized structure leaves more air pockets in the measuring cup.
• Ghee Ghee in liquid form. 1 US cup weighs 220 grams. Slightly heavier per cup than butter (227g) by weight but lighter when solid because the milk solids and water have been removed.
• Olive Oil Olive oil at room temperature. 1 US cup weighs 218 grams. Lighter than water because oils have lower density than aqueous liquids.
• Sesame Oil Sesame oil at room temperature. 1 US cup weighs 218 grams. Toasted and untoasted have indistinguishable densities; the difference is flavor and color.
• Vegetable Oil Generic vegetable oil at room temperature, typically a soybean and canola blend. 1 US cup weighs 220 grams. Most cooking oils land between 215 and 225g per cup; the differences are small enough that 218g is a safe universal figure.
• Vegetable Shortening Vegetable shortening at room temperature, scooped firmly. 1 US cup weighs 205 grams. Less dense than butter because shortening is partially aerated by hydrogenation.

grain

• Cornstarch Spooned and leveled. 1 US cup of cornstarch weighs 128 grams. The ultra-fine particles compact aggressively, so scooped cornstarch can run 15 to 20 percent heavier.
• Raw White Rice Long-grain raw white rice. 1 US cup weighs 185 grams. Cooked rice is much lighter per cup at around 158g because the grains absorb water and triple in volume. Short-grain rice is fractionally denser at around 195g per cup.
• Rolled Oats Standard rolled (old-fashioned) oats. 1 US cup weighs 90 grams. Quick oats are denser at around 100g per cup; steel-cut oats are heavier still at around 175g per cup because they are not flattened.

leavening

• Baking Powder Modern double-acting baking powder at 192 grams per US cup. Older single-acting formulations and homemade powders run slightly lighter at 180g per cup because they lack the second-stage acid component.
• Baking Soda Pure sodium bicarbonate. 1 US cup weighs 220 grams. Denser than baking powder because there is no starch buffer mixed in.

liquid sweetener

• Honey 1 US cup of honey weighs 339 grams, more than 40 percent heavier than the equivalent volume of water. The high density is from the dissolved sugar content, which is around 80 percent by weight.
• Maple Syrup Pure maple syrup at the standard 66 to 67 Brix. 1 US cup weighs 322 grams. Lighter than honey but significantly heavier than water due to the dissolved sugar content.
• Molasses Standard unsulphured molasses. 1 US cup weighs 337 grams, slightly less than honey (339g) but more than maple syrup (322g). Blackstrap molasses is fractionally denser at around 1.42 g/ml because more water has boiled off.

nut

• Chopped Pecans Medium-chop pecans, roughly quarter-inch pieces. 1 US cup weighs 99 grams. Pecan halves run lighter at around 110g per cup because the larger pieces leave more air gaps; finely ground pecans run heavier at about 120g.

salt

• Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt Hollow flake-pyramid crystals. 1 US cup weighs 142 grams, less than half the weight of fine table salt by volume. The unique flake structure traps air and is the reason DC kosher salt is roughly half as salty per teaspoon as table salt.
• Table Salt Fine-ground iodized table salt at 292 grams per US cup. Different salt types have radically different densities: kosher salt runs 142 to 240g per cup depending on brand, fleur de sel around 200g, and pickling salt is similar to table salt at around 280g. Salt is the worst-converted ingredient in cooking.

spice

• Vanilla Extract Pure vanilla extract at standard 35 percent alcohol by volume. 1 US cup weighs 208 grams. Lighter than water because the alcohol content reduces overall density.

sugar

• Brown Sugar (Packed) Firmly packed into the measuring cup. Loose brown sugar runs about 145g per US cup, roughly 30 percent lighter.
• Granulated Sugar Standard granulated white sugar at 200g per US cup. Caster (superfine) sugar runs slightly heavier per cup because the smaller crystals pack more tightly.
• Powdered Sugar Sifted and spooned. 1 US cup of sifted powdered sugar weighs 120 grams. Unsifted, the same cup runs closer to 130g because the very fine particles compact tightly.