Guava paste: why 400 g per cup is wrong
King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 400 g (14.1 oz) per US cup of guava paste. This site rejects that figure and publishes 320 g (11.3 oz) instead, from Conchita Guava Paste (USDA Global Branded Foods) (density 1.3526 g/mL, matching the composition of the substance). The reason:
Denser than sucrose crystals themselves, 1.59 g/mL. Guava paste is about 75% sugar and fruit solids and 25% water (TACO: 24.8 g water per 100 g; three Brazilian brands measured at 70 to 73 °Brix). A sugar solution that strong weighs 1.35 to 1.38 g/mL by USDA's sucrose tables, 318 to 326 g a cup. A quarter cup can hold 100 g only if the paste is packed tighter than solid sugar, which is impossible. The two 20 g tablespoon labels, 320 g a cup, sit where the composition puts them.
The arithmetic
| Source | 1 cup | Density | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart | 400 g14.1 oz | 1.6907 g/mL | Rejected on physics |
| Conchita Guava Paste (USDA Global Branded Foods) | 320 g11.3 oz | 1.3526 g/mL | Published here |
The published figure and its sources
The full sourcing for guava paste, including every accepted and rejected figure, the state or filling method behind each, and the physics or standards reasoning applied, is on the ingredient page.
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