Salsa: why 288 g per cup is wrong
USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, salsa, ready-to-serve" (NDB 6164) publishes 288 g (10.2 oz) per US cup of salsa. This site rejects that figure and publishes 244 g (8.6 oz) instead, from Rosarita Green Chile Salsa, foodservice gallon (Conagra product page) (density 1.0298 g/mL, matching the composition of the substance). The reason:
USDA's own figures make salsa 89% water (32.1 g in 36 g). Water weighs 1.00 g/mL, and the 11% of tomato solids, salt, onion and peppers can add only about 5% to that, so salsa with no air in it weighs at most about 1.05 g/mL, 248 g a cup. 1.22 g/mL is the density of a syrup about half sugar. The foodservice gallons weigh 241 to 244 g a cup and the labels 248 g.
The arithmetic
| Source | 1 cup | Density | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, salsa, ready-to-serve" (NDB 6164) | 288 g10.2 oz | 1.2173 g/mL | Rejected on physics |
| Rosarita Green Chile Salsa, foodservice gallon (Conagra product page) | 244 g8.6 oz | 1.0298 g/mL | Published here |
The published figure and its sources
The full sourcing for salsa, 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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