Apple cider vinegar

One US cup of apple cider vinegar weighs 239 grams (8.4 ounces). Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.42 cups.

Also called cider vinegar, ACV, apple vinegar, raw apple cider vinegar, apple cider vinegar with the mother.

Condiments and sauces compared: cup weights side by side, the source behind each, and why they differ.

A cup of apple cider vinegar weighs 239 g (8.4 oz), a density of 1.010 g/mL, 1% heavier than the same cup of water. A tablespoon weighs 14.9 g and a teaspoon 5 g. USDA weighs a cup at 239 g, and a 15-litre bag-in-box of Kressi apple vinegar has a net weight of 15.165 kg, 1.011 g/mL.

Apple cider vinegar is made in two fermentations: yeast turns apple juice into hard cider, then acetic acid bacteria turn the alcohol into acetic acid. American bottles are diluted to 5% acidity. Filtered cider vinegar is clear and amber; raw, unfiltered vinegar sold "with the mother", such as Bragg, is cloudy with the bacterial culture and a little apple sediment. It is used in salad dressings, barbecue sauces, brines, baking (with baking soda, as a leavener) and drinks.

What separates it from white vinegar is a little apple. USDA's Standard Reference record for cider vinegar (FDC 173469) lists 93.8 g of water per 100 g, with 0.93 g of carbohydrate, 0.40 g of it sugar, and a trace of minerals: about 1% of apple extract on top of the acid. That predicts the weight before anything is measured. A 5% acetic acid solution weighs 1.0052 g/mL at 20 °C, and 1% of dissolved fruit solids adds about 0.4% more, for 1.009 to 1.010 g/mL.

The measured figures land there. USDA weighs a cup at 239 g, 1.010 g/mL, and a tablespoon at 14.9 g. The technical sheet for Kressi's Swiss apple vinegar, at 45 g of acetic acid per litre, gives 15.165 kg net in a 15-litre bag-in-box, 1.011 g/mL or 239.2 g per cup. The two agree within 0.1%, and USDA's cup is published.

Unfiltered vinegar with the mother carries slightly more sediment, but not enough to change a cup by more than a gram. Sweetened apple cider vinegar drinks are different products: a drinking vinegar with added sugar or honey weighs noticeably more than plain vinegar, and its label is the place to check.

US labels give the serving as 1 tbsp (15 mL), the FDA reference amount for vinegar, with no grams. A gallon of cider vinegar weighs about 3.82 kg, 8.4 lb; a figure of exactly 8 lb per gallon is 128 fluid ounces counted as if they were weight ounces.

Practical guidance: use 239 g per cup, 119.5 g per half cup, 60 g per quarter cup, 14.9 g per tablespoon and 5 g per teaspoon. Apple cider vinegar and white vinegar differ by 1 g per cup, so in a recipe they can be swapped by weight or volume without adjusting; the swap changes flavour, not quantity. A 32 fl oz bottle holds about 956 g.