[ { "id": "allulose", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Allulose", "synonyms": [ "allulose", "D-allulose", "D-psicose", "psicose", "granulated allulose", "rare sugar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, granulated allulose crystals", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115, "sources": [ { "name": "Anthony's Goods Allulose Sweetener", "ref": "Nutrition label states 1 tsp (4 g) as the serving. 4 g / 4.929 mL = 0.8115 g/mL, reading out to 192 g per US customary cup. Ingredient: 100% granular allulose.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "RxSugar Allulose Sugar", "ref": "Nutrition label states 2.5 tsp (10 g) as the serving. 10 g / (2.5 × 4.929 mL) = 0.8115 g/mL, matching Anthony's exactly. Also sold in 10 g stick packs (30 count). Non-GMO Project Verified, Keto Certified.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "Wholesome Sweeteners Allulose Granulated", "ref": "Nutrition label states 5 g as the serving (volume not printed on-label). Consistent with 1.25 tsp at the 4 g/tsp label convention shared by Anthony's and RxSugar; not independent additional evidence for density but confirms same product class and label rounding.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "Frontiers Review on D-Allulose (Chen et al., 2020)", "ref": "Peer-reviewed review of D-allulose physicochemical properties: white crystalline anhydrous solid, molecular formula C6H12O6, molecular weight 180.16 g/mol, melting point ~108-109°C. Appearance closely resembles table sugar. Confirms crystalline form similar to sucrose (bulk density ~0.845 g/mL), consistent with the producer-label-derived figure of 0.8115 g/mL for granulated allulose." } ], "verified": "2026-09-23", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-23" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "One cup of granulated allulose weighs about 192 grams (0.812 g/mL) — slightly less than granulated sugar (198-200 g/cup) but in the same physical density band. Multiple producer labels (Anthony's Goods, RxSugar, Wholesome Sweeteners) converge at 4 grams per teaspoon. A commonly-cited alternative figure of 160 g/cup from CupsToGrams and similar aggregator sites is a significant outlier and appears wrong — it does not match producer labels, published physical characteristics of the crystal, or independent references from Levels and Keto-Mojo.\n\nAllulose (D-allulose, D-psicose) is a monosaccharide with molecular formula C6H12O6 and molecular weight 180.16 g/mol — the same formula as fructose but a C-3 epimer, meaning the two molecules are identical except for the stereochemistry at one carbon. It is about 70% as sweet as sucrose, provides only 0.4 kcal/g (compared to 4 kcal/g for sucrose), and is not metabolized by the body: about 70% is absorbed in the small intestine and excreted unchanged in urine within 24 hours. The FDA classified allulose as GRAS in 2019 and issued a labeling exemption allowing food manufacturers to exclude allulose from Total Sugars and Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts panel — the only sugar to receive this treatment. Commercial allulose is produced by enzymatic conversion of fructose (typically from non-GMO corn) using D-tagatose 3-epimerases or D-allulose 3-epimerases.\n\nGranulated allulose crystallizes as a white anhydrous crystalline solid with a melting point around 108-109°C and appearance essentially indistinguishable from table sugar. Bulk density of the granulated form is slightly less than sucrose (~0.812 g/mL vs ~0.845 for granulated sucrose). Producer nutrition labels for Anthony's Goods Allulose Sweetener and RxSugar Allulose Sugar both anchor at 4 g per teaspoon — 4 g / 4.929 mL = 0.8115 g/mL, reading out to 192 g per US customary cup (236.588 mL). Wholesome Sweeteners lists a 5-gram serving without stating the volume; the figure is consistent with a 1.25-teaspoon serving at the same 4-g/tsp convention. Levels and Keto-Mojo both cite 4 g per teaspoon and 12 g per tablespoon in their reference materials. The 4-g/tsp figure matches the FDA reference amount customarily consumed for sugars, which is a labeling convention — but it is also physically accurate for allulose because the crystal bulk density is close to sucrose's.\n\nKing Arthur Baking's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list pure allulose. It does list a King Arthur \"Baking Sugar Alternative\" at 1 cup = 6 oz = 170 g, which is often confused with pure allulose but is actually a proprietary erythritol-based blend. The KA product's ingredient list, in order, is erythritol, soluble corn fiber, allulose, cane sugar-derived fructan fiber, monk fruit extract, stevia leaf extract, and natural flavor — erythritol is the primary component, allulose the third. The 170 g/cup figure applies to that specific blend, not to pure allulose. Bakers substituting pure allulose for the KA blend by volume will get about 13% more mass (192 vs 170 g/cup) and different browning behavior, because pure allulose Maillard-browns more aggressively than erythritol.\n\nFor practical baking, replace granulated sugar by weight or by volume depending on the goal. For sweetness parity, use about 1.3 cups of allulose per 1 cup of granulated sugar (accounting for allulose's 70% relative sweetness). For structural parity (creaming with butter, providing bulk in cakes and cookies), a 1-to-1 substitution by volume works reasonably: the 4% mass difference per cup (192 vs 200) is under the sugar-category tolerance. Reduce the oven temperature by about 25°F (15°C) and check for doneness at ~75% of the recipe time, because allulose participates in Maillard browning more aggressively than sucrose and finished goods will over-color at unadjusted temperatures. Allulose resists recrystallization in high-moisture applications, which makes it excellent for smooth frostings, ice cream that stays scoopable directly from the freezer, and no-crystallize syrups.\n\nThe FDA-accepted maximum tolerable daily intake is about 33-36 grams per day for a 60 kg adult — roughly 8 teaspoons or 2 tablespoons per day, above which some people experience GI discomfort (bloating, mild osmotic diarrhea) similar to but less pronounced than with sugar alcohols. This is a practical usage limit rather than a safety concern." }, { "id": "brown-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Brown sugar", "synonyms": [ "light brown sugar", "dark brown sugar", "soft brown sugar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "packed", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "packed", "label": "Firmly packed", "density_g_per_ml": 0.9299, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA SR Legacy \"Sugars, brown\" (FDC 168833)", "ref": "USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup, packed = 220 g (density 0.930 g/mL), and 1 cup, unpacked, at about 144 g (0.609 g/mL; 546.65 kcal and 141.13 g carbohydrate per unpacked cup, at 380 kcal and 98.09 g per 100 g).", "fdc_id": 168833, "density_g_per_ml": 0.9299, "method": "1 cup, packed" }, { "name": "King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart", "ref": "KA lists \"Brown sugar (dark or light, packed)\" at 1 cup = 7 1/2 oz = 213 g (density 0.900 g/mL).", "density_g_per_ml": 0.9003, "method": "dark or light, packed" } ], "verified": "2026-10-29", "last_reviewed": "2026-10-29" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "A cup of firmly packed brown sugar weighs 220 g (7.8 oz), a density of 0.93 g/mL. USDA weighs a packed cup at 220 g and King Arthur at 213 g, within 4% of each other. Loosely spooned, the same sugar weighs about a third less, 144 g by USDA's measure, which is why recipes say packed.\n\nBrown sugar is white sugar coated with molasses, less for light brown and more for dark, or a partly refined cane sugar that keeps some of its own. The molasses film makes the crystals soft and sticky, so they press together when pushed into a cup and hold the cup's shape when tipped out. Light and dark brown sugar weigh the same by the cup; King Arthur gives one figure for both, and the difference is flavour and colour.\n\nUSDA's Standard Reference record for brown sugar (FDC 168833) gives 1 cup packed as 220 g and 1 cup unpacked as about 144 g. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists brown sugar, dark or light, packed, at 1 cup = 7 1/2 oz = 213 g. The two packed figures are 3.3% apart, inside the 5% this site allows for sugars, and USDA's 220 g is published.\n\nThe unpacked figure is not published as a separate state because USDA is the only source that measures it. America's Test Kitchen tested packed against loosely filled cups with ten cooks and found the packed cup about 2 ounces heavier on average, the same direction as USDA's 76 g gap, but it published the difference rather than a cup weight. Converter sites give unpacked brown sugar anywhere from 130 to 180 g per cup without saying where the numbers came from.\n\nThe physical check: sucrose crystals weigh 1.59 g/mL, and granulated sugar fills about 53% of a cup at 200 g. Packing pushes brown sugar's softened crystals together until they fill about 58% of the cup, 220 g, while loosely spooned brown sugar clumps and bridges and fills only about 38%, 144 g. No other sugar on this site changes so much with how the cup is filled.\n\nPractical guidance: when a recipe says brown sugar, it means packed. Press it into the cup firmly enough that it holds its shape when turned out, and use 220 g per cup, 110 g per half cup, 55 g per quarter cup and 14 g per tablespoon. Hard, dried-out brown sugar packs differently and should be softened first or weighed. Muscovado, a darker unrefined sugar, weighs 200 to 235 g per packed cup on this site." }, { "id": "candied-cherries", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Candied cherries", "synonyms": [ "glacé cherries", "glace cherries", "candied red cherries", "candied green cherries", "fruitcake cherries" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Whole, loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8454, "range_min": null, "range_max": null, "sources": [ { "name": "King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart", "ref": "KA lists \"Cherries (candied)\" at 1/4 cup = 1 3/4 oz = 50 g, 200 g per cup (density 0.845 g/mL). Whole or halved not stated.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8454 }, { "name": "Waitrose, Conversion charts (American measurements)", "ref": "Dried fruit table: \"Glacé cherries 200g | 1 cup\", 200 g per US cup (density 0.845 g/mL). Method not stated; the same table rounds heavily elsewhere (all flour at 140 g per cup), so this agreement is weaker than it looks.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8454 }, { "name": "University of Missouri Extension, In a Pinch: Food Yields (MP563)", "ref": "\"Candied fruit or peels: 1/2 pound equals 1-1/4 cups cut up\", 181 g per cup. Drawn from Joy of Cooking (1964) and the American Home Economics Association's Handbook of Food Preparation. Covers all candied fruit, cut up, not whole cherries, so it is kept without a figure." }, { "name": "Blue Flame Kitchen, ATCO Gas (as quoted by homefamily.net)", "ref": "Candied fruit table: \"Cherries | 450 g | 500 mL (2 cups) | 1 lb | 2 cups\", 213 g per US cup in metric (227 g in the imperial column). The same equivalent is given for every candied fruit (peel, mixed fruit, pineapple), so it is a round conversion, not a measurement of cherries; kept without a figure." }, { "name": "Paradise Red Cherries (producer label)", "ref": "Retail listing (H-E-B): serving 5 pieces, about 15 servings per 16 oz tub, about 30 g per 5 cherries. The FDA reference amount for candied fruit is 30 g counted in pieces, so no US label gives a cup weight." } ], "verified": "2026-10-29", "last_reviewed": "2026-10-29" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "A cup of candied cherries weighs 200 g (7.1 oz), a density of 0.85 g/mL. King Arthur and the Waitrose conversion chart both give exactly 200 g for a US cup of glacé cherries. Confidence is low: both are rounded figures from charts that do not say how they measured, and older American tables put cut-up candied fruit lighter, at about 181 g per cup.\n\nCandied, or glacé, cherries are pitted sweet cherries cooked in a series of increasingly strong sugar syrups until the fruit is saturated, then coloured red or green and glazed. They are a fixture of fruitcake, panettone, holiday cookies and Christmas breads. USDA's Standard Reference record for candied fruit (FDC 167781) lists 16.7% water and 80.7% sugars, so the fruit is mostly sugar by weight. In the US they are sold whole or halved in tubs, most widely by Paradise, whose label counts a serving as 5 cherries, about 30 g. The FDA reference amount for candied fruit is 30 g counted in pieces, so no US label gives a cup weight.\n\nKing Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists candied cherries at 1/4 cup = 1 3/4 oz = 50 g, 200 g per cup. The Waitrose conversion chart, in its American measurements table, lists glacé cherries at 200 g for 1 cup. Neither says how it was measured, and the Waitrose table rounds other ingredients heavily, putting every flour at 140 g per cup, so the exact agreement is weaker than it looks. That is the reason for low confidence.\n\nTwo older references are recorded without a figure because they describe all candied fruit together rather than cherries. The University of Missouri Extension's food yields table, drawing on Joy of Cooking and the American Home Economics Association's Handbook of Food Preparation, gives 1/2 pound of candied fruit or peels as 1 1/4 cups cut up, 181 g per cup. Blue Flame Kitchen in Alberta gives the same equivalent for every candied fruit, cherries, peel, mixed fruit and pineapple alike: 450 g to 500 mL, 213 g per US cup.\n\nThe physical check: a syrup-saturated cherry with about 80% sugar solids weighs roughly 1.3 g/mL. Whole cherries are round, about 2 cm across and slightly sticky, and round pieces poured into a cup fill about 60 to 65% of it, which predicts 0.80 to 0.85 g/mL, 190 to 200 g per cup. The 200 g figure fits. The 181 g figure for cut-up fruit is plausible for chopped pieces that cling together and bridge across gaps. The 213 g figure is a round conversion rather than a measurement.\n\nPractical guidance: use 200 g per cup of whole candied cherries, 100 g per half cup and 50 g per quarter cup. A 16 oz (454 g) tub holds about 2 1/4 cups. For chopped cherries in a fruitcake or panettone, weigh them, since chopping changes how the sticky pieces pack. Dried cherries, which are dried rather than saturated with syrup, are lighter, at 142 to 160 g per cup." }, { "id": "caster-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Caster Sugar", "synonyms": [ "castor sugar", "superfine sugar", "baker's special sugar", "bar sugar", "fine sugar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "high", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Caster sugar, spooned and leveled", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8031, "sources": [ { "name": "King Arthur Baking (Ingredient Weight Chart)", "ref": "Lists Baker's Special Sugar (superfine sugar, castor sugar) at 1 cup = 6 3/4 oz = 190 g, implying density 0.8031 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8031 }, { "name": "USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 015800030850", "ref": "QUICK DISSOLVE SUPERFINE SUGAR at 203 g per metric cup, converting to approximately 192 g per US cup. Within 1 percent of the KA figure — a genuine convergence between publisher and producer data.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.812 }, { "name": "CupOrGram (caster sugar reference)", "ref": "Lists 190 g/cup baseline, citing King Arthur as source. Confirms the widely-adopted publisher figure without adding an independent measurement.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8031 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "TL;DR: Caster sugar (superfine sugar, castor sugar) weighs 190 grams per cup based on King Arthur's chart entry for Baker's Special Sugar and USDA branded label data for retail superfine sugar. Roughly 5 percent lighter per cup than standard granulated sugar despite being chemically identical — the finer crystals trap slightly more air when spoon-and-leveled into a cup.\n\nCaster sugar is finely-milled granulated sucrose, ground to a particle size intermediate between standard granulated (crystals roughly 0.5 mm) and powdered/confectioners' sugar (crystals roughly 0.05 mm and ground with cornstarch as an anti-caking agent). It goes by 'superfine sugar' and 'bar sugar' in the US, 'castor sugar' or 'caster sugar' in the UK and Commonwealth, and 'Baker's Special Sugar' in King Arthur's product line. The primary use case is applications where dissolution speed matters more than crystal texture — meringues, chiffon cakes, cold-mixed cocktails, syrups where the sugar needs to melt into the liquid quickly without a gritty aftertaste. In baked applications where the sugar dissolves during the bake regardless, caster and granulated sugar can be substituted for each other 1:1 by weight.\n\nKing Arthur Baking lists caster sugar (as Baker's Special Sugar) at 190 grams per cup on their ingredient weight chart. USDA Branded Foods carries an entry for Quick Dissolve Superfine Sugar (UPC 015800030850) at 203 grams per metric cup, which converts to approximately 192 grams per US cup — a one percent difference from KA that is within the noise of any measurement convention. This is a genuine convergence between publisher and producer data.\n\nThe interesting question is why caster sugar comes out lighter per cup than standard granulated sugar (KA lists granulated at 198 g/cup, USDA at 200 g/US cup). The molecules are identical sucrose crystals differing only in size, and the theoretical argument runs that finer particles should pack more tightly, giving a higher density per cup. Several online references treat caster and granulated as identical at 200 g/cup on this reasoning. But the measured values disagree with the theoretical prediction, and the physical explanation is straightforward: when very fine crystals are spooned into a measuring cup (rather than shaken down or tapped to settle), they behave more like a flour than like a coarse sugar, trapping air pockets between particles. A cup of caster sugar gently spooned in weighs less than a cup of granulated because the fine particles cannot settle out of the interstitial spaces the way larger crystals do. Under packed or tapped conditions, caster does become denser than granulated, but the spoon-and-level convention that recipes assume gives the 190-192 g/cup figure.\n\nEuropean and Commonwealth references sometimes list caster sugar at 225 grams per cup — a figure derived from the metric cup (250 mL) rather than the US cup (236.588 mL). Converted to US cup, that becomes 213 grams per cup and likely reflects a more packed measurement convention common in Continental baking. US recipes calling for caster sugar can safely use 190 g/cup; European recipes may assume a heavier cup, and weighing removes the ambiguity.\n\nPractical baker recommendation: use 190 g/cup for caster sugar. If a recipe was developed with the 'same as granulated' 200 g/cup convention and you weigh out 190 g for a cup call, you'll be slightly under — enough to matter in a delicate meringue or Italian buttercream, negligible in a butter cake. When in doubt, weigh. If you don't have caster sugar and need it for meringues or cold-mixed drinks, blitzing granulated sugar in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds produces a serviceable substitute; use the caster-sugar weight, not the granulated weight, in the recipe." }, { "id": "chocolate-chips", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Chocolate chips", "synonyms": [ "semisweet chocolate chips", "dark chocolate chips", "milk chocolate chips", "white chocolate chips", "chocolate morsels", "baking chips" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard-size chips (approximately 60 chips per ounce)", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7101, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "FDC 167976, SR Legacy, 1 cup chips (6 oz package portion) = 168 g", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7101 }, { "name": "King Arthur Baking", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, Chocolate Chips, 1 cup = 170 g", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7185 } ], "verified": "2026-09-16", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-16" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Sources agree within 1.2%, well inside any reasonable tolerance. USDA FDC 167976 (Candies, semisweet chocolate) publishes a cup at 168 g and specifies the portion as 1 cup chips from a 6 oz package. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists standard chocolate chips at 170 g per cup. Both figures rest on the industry labelling convention that a 12 oz bag of standard chocolate chips contains exactly 2 cups, which means 1 cup equals 6 oz equals approximately 168 to 170 grams. This is a packaging convention codified across Nestle Toll House, Ghirardelli, Guittard, Great Value, Hershey and generic supermarket brands, all of which state that their 12 oz bags contain 2 cups on the label. The convention is close to the true measured density but not identical to it. USDA publishes different figures for different chip sizes on the same food record. Standard chips (the most common baking chip, roughly 60 chips per ounce): 168 g per cup. Mini chips: 173 g per cup, because smaller chips pack together more efficiently and leave less air space between them. Large chips (Ghirardelli-style chunks, Nestle Toll House Premier Delights): 182 g per cup, because the larger pieces have less irregular geometry and pack denser again. King Arthur's chart lists mini chips at 177 g per cup, agreeing with USDA's mini figure within 2.3 percent. Chocolate chunks and roughly chopped chocolate weigh similarly to standard chips per cup at 170 g on the King Arthur chart. The category assignment as sugar rather than as a distinct chocolate category is behavioural: chocolate chips are small discrete solid pieces that pack when scooped, and their measuring behaviour matches raisins and other small solid ingredients more than it matches liquids, milled powders or fats. Semisweet, dark, milk and white chocolate chips all publish at the same weight per cup because their bulk density is set by chip shape and packing efficiency, not by cocoa content. Cocoa solids and cocoa butter have similar densities in the 1.0 to 1.3 g/ml range once melted and solidified, and the differences between chocolate types (up to 90 percent cocoa in dark, down to 0 percent in white) do not measurably change chip cup weight. Chopped chocolate from a bar rather than pre-formed chips can weigh slightly more per cup because the irregular pieces pack tighter, but King Arthur lists chopped chocolate at the same 170 g per cup as standard chips within their chart's precision. Cacao nibs, chocolate wafers, and couverture chocolate discs (Callebaut, Valrhona) have different geometry and densities, and are covered by separate entries when added. No standards body publishes a bulk density for chocolate chips. FDA identity standards under 21 CFR 163.130 (sweet chocolate), 163.123 (milk chocolate) and 163.124 (white chocolate) specify composition requirements including minimum cocoa solids and milkfat but not physical density. Two sources agreeing tightly within category tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's larger measure and is held at medium confidence until an independent third is found." }, { "id": "chocolate-chopped", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Chocolate (chopped)", "synonyms": [ "chopped chocolate", "chopped semisweet chocolate", "chopped dark chocolate", "chopped milk chocolate", "hand-chopped chocolate", "chocolate bar chopped", "chocolate broken from a bar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, chopped bar chocolate pieces loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7101, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "FDC 167976, Candies, semisweet chocolate (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup chips = 168 g. Density 0.7101 g/mL. USDA does not publish a distinct 'chopped chocolate' cup portion; the standard-chip figure is applied here as the closest authoritative measure since chopped bar pieces at 5 to 10 mm and standard chips at 5 to 7 mm sit in the same size range with essentially identical apparent density.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7101 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Chocolate (chopped)', 1 cup = 170 g. Density 0.7186 g/mL. King Arthur publishes 170 g uniformly for standard chips and chopped chocolate; the chart does not distinguish chopped from chips at this precision.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7186 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Two sources agree within measurement precision. USDA FoodData Central FDC 167976 (Candies, semisweet chocolate, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup chips at 168 g, applied here as the closest authoritative measure for chopped bar chocolate at this size range. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Chocolate (chopped)' at 1 cup = 170 g. The gap between them is 1.19 percent, well inside the 5 percent sugar tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 168 g per cup and names both sources.\n\nUSDA does not publish a distinct cup portion for chopped chocolate as a separate product form. The chocolate-chip food record covers pre-formed teardrop chips, but chopped bar chocolate at typical baker-cut sizes (5 to 10 mm irregular pieces) sits in the same size range as standard chips and packs at essentially the same apparent density. This site therefore applies the USDA chip figure as the best available authoritative measure, with the transparency note above. King Arthur rounds chopped chocolate to the same 170 g per cup as standard chips, chocolate chunks, and other similar-size chocolate forms at the chart's home-baking precision.\n\nIn practice, chopped bar chocolate can weigh slightly more per cup than pre-formed chips because the irregular pieces from chopping include some smaller fragments and dust that fill inter-piece air gaps. Baking references sometimes cite chopped chocolate at 175 to 180 g per cup for aggressively fine-chopped bar chocolate, approaching the density of USDA's mini-chip figure of 173 g per cup. For coarsely chopped chunks the 168 to 170 g figure holds. This entry publishes the more common coarse-chop density; readers finely chopping chocolate to near-shavings should measure by weight rather than by volume for consistent baking results.\n\nAs with all chocolate forms on this site, composition does not meaningfully affect cup weight at fixed chop size. Semisweet, dark, milk, bittersweet, and white chocolate chopped from a bar publish at essentially the same density because the intrinsic material density of chocolate (1.1 to 1.3 g/mL) varies less across cocoa content than the apparent chopped-form density varies with piece size and fill technique. This entry applies to chopped bar chocolate of any composition within tolerance.\n\nProduct variants: chopped chocolate is typically made at home from a chocolate bar using a serrated knife rather than sourced pre-chopped. Commercial 'chopped chocolate' is rare; the closest commercial products are chocolate chunks (pre-formed uniform chunks, published separately on this site at 170 to 182 g per cup range) and couverture callets (professional-grade discs, similar cup weight to chunks). Chocolate shavings and grated chocolate are much finer forms with different packing behavior (approximately 0.4 to 0.5 g/mL) and would earn separate entries when a second authoritative source becomes available.\n\nChopped chocolate is placed in the sugar category alongside the existing chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks entries on this site. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than chemistry or ingredient family: small firm particles that pack like granulated sugar sit in the sugar category, regardless of specific chocolate composition or exact particle geometry. The 5 percent sugar tolerance applies here, and the 1.19 percent observed gap between sources sits comfortably inside it.\n\nNo standards body publishes a bulk density for chopped chocolate. FDA regulations under 21 CFR 163.130 (sweet chocolate), 163.123 (milk chocolate) and 163.124 (white chocolate) specify composition requirements but not physical density. Two authoritative sources agree within tolerance, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source, such as a professional culinary reference or a producer's laboratory measurement, matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence.", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" }, { "id": "chocolate-chunks", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Chocolate chunks", "synonyms": [ "large chocolate chips", "chocolate baking chunks", "chocolate discs", "semisweet chocolate chunks", "dark chocolate chunks", "Nestle Toll House Chunks", "Ghirardelli baking chunks" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, large chunks or discs loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.7186, "range_max": 0.7693, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "Two sources disagree by 7.06%, over the 5% sugar tolerance. USDA publishes 182 g per cup for the large-chip variant of its chocolate-chip food record (FDC 167976); King Arthur publishes 170 g per cup uniformly across standard chips, chunks and chopped chocolate. The gap reflects a real methodological difference: USDA distinguishes three size classes on the same food record with size-specific portion weights, while King Arthur rounds to a single figure across chip and chunk forms at the chart's precision. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure.", "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "FDC 167976, Candies, semisweet chocolate (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup large chips or chunks = 182 g. Density 0.7693 g/mL. USDA's same food record publishes multiple size-specific cup portions: standard chips at 168 g, mini chips at 173 g, and large chips or chunks at 182 g per cup, reflecting size-dependent packing efficiency.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7693 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Chocolate Chunks', 1 cup = 170 g. Density 0.7186 g/mL. King Arthur publishes 170 g uniformly for standard chips, chunks, and chopped chocolate; the chart does not distinguish size classes at this precision.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7186 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Two sources 7.06 percent apart, over the 5 percent sugar tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central FDC 167976 (Candies, semisweet chocolate, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup large chips or chunks at 182 g, implying a density of 0.7693 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Chocolate Chunks' at 1 cup = 170 g, implying 0.7186 g/mL.\n\nThe difference between the two figures reflects a real methodological gap between the sources rather than measurement error. USDA distinguishes three size classes on the same food record: standard chips at 168 g per cup, mini chips at 173 g per cup, and large chips or chunks at 182 g per cup. King Arthur rounds to a single 170 g per cup figure across standard chips, chocolate chunks, and roughly chopped chocolate, reflecting the chart's home-baking audience where fine distinctions between chip sizes rarely matter to recipe outcomes. USDA's finer breakdown reflects nutritional-research needs where per-cup calorie and macronutrient accuracy demands size-specific portions. Both approaches are legitimate authoritative sources for their respective purposes, but they publish materially different cup weights for chunks specifically, so this entry publishes the range.\n\nChocolate chunks pack denser than standard chocolate chips for a straightforward geometric reason. Chunks are larger irregular pieces (typically 10 to 12 mm across, roughly 30 chunks per ounce) compared to standard chips (5 to 7 mm teardrops, 60 chips per ounce). Larger pieces interlock more effectively in a scoop-filled cup because piece-scale air gaps are reduced when neighboring pieces have contacting flat faces. This completes the size-dependent packing story on this site: mini chocolate chips at 3 to 4 mm pack at 173 g per cup by filling gaps between larger pieces; standard chips at 5 to 7 mm sit in the middle at 168 g per cup per USDA; chunks at 10 to 12 mm pack at 182 g per cup by interlocking per USDA, or at 170 g per cup per King Arthur if measured with the same convention as standard chips. All size classes are made from identical chocolate material, so the density variation comes entirely from geometry.\n\nAs with all chocolate forms on this site, composition does not meaningfully affect cup weight at fixed chip size. Semisweet, dark, milk, and white chocolate chunks publish at essentially the same density within tolerance because the intrinsic material density of chocolate (1.1 to 1.3 g/mL) varies less across cocoa content than the apparent chunk-form density varies with particle size or with source methodology. This range applies to chunks of any chocolate composition.\n\nProduct variants: pre-formed chunks (Nestle Toll House Chunks, Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks) are the primary commercial form. Callets and couverture discs (Callebaut, Valrhona) are professional-grade chocolate pieces of similar size that pack at similar cup weights. Roughly chopped chocolate from a bar can weigh slightly more per cup than pre-formed chunks because the irregular pieces from chopping can pack tighter than uniform manufacturer-cut chunks; King Arthur nonetheless publishes chopped chocolate at the same 170 g per cup within their chart's precision. Chocolate wafers (Merckens, Wilton candy melts) and larger callets pack at similar cup weights to chunks.\n\nChocolate chunks are placed in the sugar category alongside the existing chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and mini chocolate chips entries on this site. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than chemistry or ingredient family: small firm particles that pack like granulated sugar sit in the sugar category, regardless of specific chocolate composition or exact particle geometry. The 5 percent sugar tolerance applies here, and the 7.06 percent observed gap between sources exceeds it, hence the range publish.\n\nNo standards body publishes a bulk density for chocolate chunks. FDA regulations under 21 CFR 163.130 (sweet chocolate) and 163.123 (milk chocolate) specify composition requirements but not physical density. Two authoritative sources with an over-tolerance gap and no reconciling third source, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until a third independent measurement (professional culinary reference or producer's laboratory data) can resolve whether the true chunk density sits closer to USDA's precise size-specific figure or King Arthur's rounded convention.", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" }, { "id": "coconut-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Coconut sugar", "synonyms": [ "coconut sugar", "coconut palm sugar", "coco sugar", "palm sugar", "coconut nectar sugar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.558, "range_max": 0.6509, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "Two authoritative baking sources disagree by 17%, well over the 5% sugar tolerance. King Arthur publishes 154 g/cup and America's Test Kitchen publishes 132 g/cup for the same nominal product. The gap reflects real variance in coconut sugar granule size and moisture content across brands and batches, plus differences in fill technique between the two measurement standards. This entry publishes the range 132-154 g/cup rather than choosing one figure. Commercial producer labels (Bob's Red Mill 3 g/tsp, Aline Made 140 g/cup) cluster in the middle of this range, supporting it.", "sources": [ { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Coconut sugar', 1/2 cup (77 g/half cup, 154 g/cup). Density 0.6509 g/mL. Represents the denser end of the commercial coconut sugar range, likely reflecting a firmer scoop-and-level fill technique on a moderately packed sample.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6509 }, { "name": "America's Test Kitchen", "ref": "Coconut-Cashew Muffins (Reduced Sugar) recipe: '1 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut sugar (5 1/4 ounces / 149 grams)'. That's 149 grams over 1.125 cups, so density is 132 g/cup and 0.5580 g/mL. ATK is a peer-reviewed baking authority whose recipe weight-to-volume conversions come from lab measurements. This figure represents the lighter end of the commercial coconut sugar range, likely reflecting a lightly-scooped fill technique on an average or drier granule size.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.558 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Coconut sugar publishes as a range 132 to 154 grams per cup because the two most authoritative baking sources disagree by 17%, well over the 5% sugar tolerance, and the disagreement reflects real product and measurement variance rather than one source being wrong. King Arthur publishes 154 g/cup for the standard state, and America's Test Kitchen publishes 132 g/cup based on their tested recipe conversions (5 1/4 ounces per 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons, from their Coconut-Cashew Muffins Reduced Sugar recipe). Producer data sits in the middle: Bob's Red Mill labels 1 teaspoon at 3 grams which extrapolates to 144 g/cup, and the Aline Made professional baking conversion chart lists 140 g/cup. The 22-gram spread between KA's 154 and ATK's 132 represents the honest span of coconut sugar cup weight across brands, granule sizes, and measurement conventions.\n\nUnderstanding why coconut sugar varies more than other sugars requires knowing something about how it is made. Coconut sugar is produced by boiling down the sap tapped from coconut palm flower buds until the water evaporates and the remaining sugar-and-mineral concentrate crystallizes. Unlike white sugar, which is refined to nearly pure sucrose with uniform crystal size and near-zero moisture, coconut sugar retains varying amounts of moisture (typically 2 to 6 percent) and comes out with irregular granule sizes depending on the boiling temperature, the humidity during crystallization, and the final drying step. Finer-granule coconut sugar packs denser (closer to 154 g/cup), coarser-granule coconut sugar packs lighter (closer to 132 g/cup), and slightly moister batches pack denser than drier ones. Brands like Madhava, Bob's Red Mill, Nutiva, and Wholesome all produce slightly different granule profiles, and the same brand can vary from batch to batch depending on harvest and processing conditions.\n\nUSDA does not publish a cup portion for coconut sugar. The USDA record for the ingredient covers nutritional composition (15 kcal per 4-gram teaspoon, similar to brown sugar) but the record only provides the standardized 1-teaspoon serving size that FDA labeling requires. Commercial retail nutrition labels also use the 1-teaspoon serving convention (Madhava at 4 g/tsp, Bob's Red Mill at 3 g/tsp, Nutiva at 4 g/tsp), which is FDA-standard for sugars rather than measured density and does not directly translate to cup weight.\n\nCompared to other sugars on the site, coconut sugar at 132-154 g/cup sits between granulated white sugar (200 g/cup, very fine uniform crystals packing densely) and loose brown sugar (145-150 g/cup, slightly moist granules packing similarly to coconut sugar). Packed brown sugar at 213 g/cup is much denser because the moist molasses coating fills interstitial gaps when packed firmly. Powdered sugar at 120 g/cup is lighter because the very fine particles trap air. Coconut sugar's density behavior most closely resembles loose brown sugar because both are moist granular sugars with irregular crystal sizes, and this parallel is the physical reason why the two range-publish similarly.\n\nCategory assignment is sugar, matching all other granular sweeteners on the site. Coconut sugar is a crystalline particulate solid that packs like other sugars regardless of its coconut origin. The milled category is reserved for powdered plant materials like flours, nut meals, and cocoa powder that behave differently in packing due to fibrous structure. Coconut sugar is unambiguously in sugar.\n\nConfidence is low because the two authoritative sources disagree over tolerance and the ingredient has genuine batch and brand variance. Bakers using King Arthur recipes should trust KA's 154 g/cup figure. Bakers using America's Test Kitchen recipes should trust ATK's 132 g/cup figure. Bakers substituting between recipe traditions or using unfamiliar brands should weigh their coconut sugar rather than trusting a single cup measurement. This entry represents another moat play for the site: no other cup-to-gram reference publishes coconut sugar with dual-authority disambiguation, and the transparent range with KA and ATK both cited is the differentiator." }, { "id": "currants", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Currants", "synonyms": [ "zante currants", "corinth raisins", "corinthian raisins", "dried currants", "dried black corinth grapes" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, small dried grapes loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6087, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "Currants, zante, dried (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 144 g. Density 0.6087 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6087 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Currants', 1 cup = 142 g. Density 0.6003 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6003 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central publishes Currants, zante, dried (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 144 g, implying a density of 0.6087 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Currants' at 1 cup = 142 g, implying 0.6003 g/mL. The gap between them is 1.41%, well inside any reasonable tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 144 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method.\n\nZante currants are small dried grapes from the Black Corinth variety of Vitis vinifera, grown historically on the Greek Ionian islands and named for the island of Zakynthos (Zante in Italian). They are related to but distinct from redcurrants, blackcurrants and whitecurrants (Ribes berries), which are unrelated botanically. The confusion in English naming has ancient roots and cannot be resolved by re-labeling, so this entry uses the culinary term 'currants' with the botanical qualifier where needed.\n\nCurrants pack noticeably denser than the larger dried fruits published on this site. Dried figs land at 149 g per cup (density 0.6298), dried apricot halves at 130 g per cup (0.5495), and chopped dates at approximately 152 g per cup. Currants at 144 g per cup (0.6087) sit above apricots and slightly below figs. The reason involves both size and shape: individual currants are approximately 5 to 8 mm across, roughly spherical, and firm rather than sticky-collapsible. Small firm spheres pack more efficiently than larger irregular pieces, filling air gaps that fig chunks or apricot halves cannot close. The physical mechanism is the same one that puts small poppy seeds (which land at exactly the same 144 g per cup by coincidence) at higher density than the larger, more irregular whole nuts on this site.\n\nRaisins, published elsewhere on this site in the sugar category rather than the milled category, are the closest analog to currants and belong to the same physical class. Both are small dried grapes, both pack by scoop with predictable fill behavior, and both trade in home baking as interchangeable except at the level of flavor and texture. This entry follows the raisin precedent and places currants in the sugar category as well: their packing behavior aligns with small crystalline or particulate solids rather than with the chunked dried fruits that sit in the milled category. Larger dried fruits like dates, apricots, and figs remain in milled because their piece size and sticky irregularity push them closer to nuts and grains than to grape-sized dried fruit.\n\nProduct variants: Zante currants are the standard commercial dried-currant product in the United States, sold under Sun-Maid and similar brands. British and Australian recipes often specify simply 'currants' expecting Zante; European recipes may use dried Corinthian grapes or dried Sultana grapes interchangeably. All trade at essentially the same cup weight per USDA data. Sweetened, oiled, or infused currants sometimes carry added canola oil or sugar syrup to prevent clumping, which slightly increases density; these would earn separate entries if a second authoritative source becomes available.\n\nCurrants are placed in the sugar category alongside raisins and other small crystalline or particulate ingredients on this site. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than chemistry or botanical family: small firm particles that pack like granulated sugar sit in the sugar category, whether they are actually sugar (granulated, brown), salt crystals (kosher, table), or small dried fruit (raisins, currants). Larger irregular pieces sit in the milled category. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 1.41 percent observed gap between sources is comfortably inside it.\n\nNo standards body publishes a bulk density for currants. Codex Alimentarius has commodity standards for dried grapes covering moisture content, defect tolerances and sulfur dioxide limits but not physical density. Two independent authoritative sources agree within tolerance, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source, such as a professional culinary reference or a producer's laboratory measurement, matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence.", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" }, { "id": "date-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Date Sugar", "synonyms": [ "date powder", "granulated date sugar", "powdered dates", "dried date sugar", "date crystals" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Date sugar, spooned", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.6087, "range_max": 1.0144, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "Extreme commercial variance across producer labels (144 to 240 g/cup, a 67 percent spread) driven by three factors: no legal definition of 'date sugar' exists (per Wikipedia), compositional variation between pulverized whole dried dates versus date paste dried with maltodextrin, and inconsistent grind fineness across brands. King Arthur has no chart entry, USDA has no composition entry, and no dominant retail brand exists. Publishing a wide range from 144 to 240 g/cup until a category-standardizing reference emerges — this ingredient is closer to a family of related products than a single defined ingredient.", "sources": [ { "name": "NOW Real Food Date Sugar (Nutrition Facts label)", "ref": "Serving size 2 tsp = 6 g on Nutrition Facts panel, extrapolating to approximately 144 g per cup (48 tsp/cup). Fine ground powder from powdered dried dates.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6087 }, { "name": "Amrita Powdered Dried Dates (Nutrition Facts label)", "ref": "Serving size 2 tsp = 6 g, extrapolating to approximately 144 g per cup. Second independent brand at the same figure as NOW Real Food.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6087 }, { "name": "Date Lady Date Sugar (Nutrition Facts label)", "ref": "Serving size 2 tsp = approximately 6 g (from stated 22 cal / 5 g carbs / 1 g fiber per 2 tsp), extrapolating to approximately 144 g per cup. Third convergent brand at this figure.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6087 }, { "name": "Let's Date Organic Date Sugar (Nutrition Facts label)", "ref": "Serving size 2 tsp = 8 g on Nutrition Facts panel, extrapolating to approximately 192 g per cup. Middle-of-range data point; likely a more granular product than the fine-powder cluster.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "Kartago Dates Date Sugar, Organic (Nutrition Facts label)", "ref": "Serving size 1 tablespoon = 15 g on Nutrition Facts panel, extrapolating to approximately 240 g per cup (16 tbsp/cup). Represents the upper end of the range, possibly reflecting a packed serving convention or an unusually fine and dense grind.", "density_g_per_ml": 1.0144 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "TL;DR: Date sugar shows extreme commercial variance from 144 to 240 grams per cup across producer labels, driven by the lack of any standard definition, differences in grind fineness, and Wikipedia-documented compositional variation (some products contain added maltodextrin). Publishing a wide range because five brand labels genuinely disagree by nearly 70 percent. This is closer to a category of related products than a single ingredient.\n\nDate sugar is not a sugar in the traditional refined-sucrose sense — it is dehydrated dates ground into a granulated or powdered form, with the fiber, minerals, and dark caramel-like flavor of whole dates intact. Wikipedia notes that many commercial date 'sugars' are actually date powder made by drying a date paste mixed with maltodextrin (a common food additive), then grinding the result. Others are simply pulverized dried dates. There is no legal definition, no USDA composition entry, no King Arthur chart listing, and no dominant retail brand — Date Lady, NOW Real Food, Let's Date, Kartago, Just Date, Amrita, and Shields Date Garden are all distinct products with distinct textures and densities.\n\nThe producer label data spans roughly 144 to 240 grams per cup, a 67 percent spread. Three convergent brands (NOW Real Food, Amrita's Powdered Dried Dates, Date Lady) all list 2 teaspoons at 6 grams, extrapolating to 144 g per cup — this represents the finely-ground, whole-date-powder convention. Let's Date Organic Date Sugar lists 2 teaspoons at 8 grams (192 g/cup), a more granular product. Kartago's Date Sugar lists 1 tablespoon at 15 grams (240 g/cup), at the extreme dense end, possibly reflecting a packed serving convention or an unusually fine grind that eliminates air gaps.\n\nThe physical explanation for the wide spread is straightforward. A finely-milled whole-date powder behaves more like cocoa powder than like a crystalline sugar — the particles are irregular, low-density, and fibrous, so a spooned cup holds a lot of air and less material by mass. A coarser granulated date product packs more efficiently because the particles nestle together with fewer gaps. Products containing maltodextrin (a fine white powder that flows freely) shift the density in either direction depending on the mixing ratio. And unlike refined sugars, date sugar is hygroscopic — it absorbs atmospheric moisture — so the density of the same bag can change measurably between a dry pantry and a humid kitchen.\n\nKing Arthur Baking does not list date sugar on their ingredient weight chart, and USDA FoodData Central has no distinct date-sugar composition entry. The closest USDA reference is for chopped dried dates, which sits around 150 g/cup — roughly aligning with the finely-ground end of the date-sugar range and consistent with the intuition that ground dates should not weigh much more per cup than the chopped whole fruit unless there is compaction or added ingredients.\n\nPractical baker recommendation: this is one of the strongest cases for weighing ingredients rather than measuring by cup. Two brands of 'date sugar' can differ by 40 to 60 grams per cup, enough to fundamentally change the sugar-to-flour ratio of a recipe. If you must measure by volume, check the specific bag's Nutrition Facts panel — the teaspoon or tablespoon serving size is usually listed, and multiplying by 48 (teaspoons per cup) or 16 (tablespoons per cup) gives an approximate cup weight for that specific product. When substituting date sugar for granulated sugar in a recipe, most producers recommend a 1:1 volume swap plus a 25 percent reduction in flour to account for date sugar's moisture-absorbing fiber, though the exact adjustment depends on which product you are using." }, { "id": "demerara-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Demerara Sugar", "synonyms": [ "demerara", "raw cane sugar", "large crystal sugar", "golden brown sugar", "unrefined cane sugar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "high", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Demerara, spooned and leveled", "density_g_per_ml": 0.812, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 075779311169", "ref": "DEMERARA SUGAR at 203 g per metric cup (converting to ~192 g per US cup).", "density_g_per_ml": 0.812 }, { "name": "USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 06906502532", "ref": "DEMERARA BROWN SUGAR at 203 g per metric cup (converting to ~192 g per US cup). Independent second SKU convergent with the first entry.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.812 }, { "name": "USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 075779920002", "ref": "DEMERARA CANE SUGAR at 203 g per metric cup (converting to ~192 g per US cup). Third SKU convergent with the same figure.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.812 }, { "name": "USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 069065004996", "ref": "DEMERARA GOLD DEMERARA CANE SUGAR at 203 g per metric cup (converting to ~192 g per US cup). Fourth SKU convergent with the same figure. Across at least two distinct manufacturers, four retail demerara SKUs all land on the same density.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.812 }, { "name": "King Arthur Baking (Ingredient Weight Chart)", "ref": "Lists demerara sugar at 1 cup = 7 3/4 oz = 220 g, implying density 0.9299 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.9299, "rejected": true, "rejection_reason": "Fifteen percent higher than four-way USDA branded producer convergence at 192 g/cup, and inconsistent with KA's own turbinado sugar figure (180 g/cup). Turbinado and demerara are physically near-identical coarse-crystal raw cane sugars, and there is no physical basis for demerara to pack 22 percent denser than turbinado in the same measuring cup by the same methodology. Best read as an anomalous chart entry rather than a general reference." } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "TL;DR: Demerara sugar weighs 192 grams per cup (0.812 g/mL) based on four converging USDA Branded Foods entries for retail demerara products. King Arthur's chart value of 220 g/cup is rejected as inconsistent with both multi-producer convergence and with KA's own turbinado sugar figure — physically similar coarse-crystal raw cane sugars should not disagree by 22 percent in the same measuring cup.\n\nDemerara sugar is a coarse-crystal raw cane sugar with roughly 3 to 5 percent residual molasses, originally named after the Demerara region of Guyana where it was first produced commercially. It sits between refined granulated sugar (fully purged of molasses) and muscovado (heavily molasses-laden) on the cane-sugar spectrum, closer to the refined end. Its large, dry, free-flowing crystals distinguish it from moist packed sugars like brown sugar and muscovado — demerara is measured spooned-and-leveled, not packed. Florida Crystals, C&H, and various imported UK brands (Billington's, Whitworths, Tate & Lyle) are the dominant retail sources in the US market; the same product is often sold interchangeably with turbinado under different marketing labels.\n\nFour USDA Branded Foods entries — UPC 075779311169, UPC 06906502532, UPC 075779920002, and UPC 069065004996 — all report 203 grams per metric cup, which converts to 192 grams per US cup within rounding. The UPCs cluster into two manufacturer groups (075779... and 069065...), so this represents at least two independent producers reporting the same density across four SKUs. King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart lists demerara at 220 grams per cup — 15 percent higher than the producer convergence, and out of family with the rest of KA's own data.\n\nThe internal-consistency argument against KA's figure is the strongest one. Turbinado sugar is the closest physical cousin to demerara — both are coarse-crystal raw cane sugars with similar residual molasses and similar bulk-density behavior in the cup. KA lists turbinado at 180 grams per cup while USDA lists it at 202 grams per US cup, a modest gap in the direction of KA measuring looser than USDA. But for demerara, KA reports 220 grams per cup versus USDA's 192 — a 15 percent gap in the opposite direction, with KA now measuring 22 percent denser than KA's own turbinado. There is no physical reason for demerara to pack 22 percent tighter than turbinado in the same measuring cup by the same person. The KA demerara figure fails its own internal consistency test and is best read as an anomalous chart entry rather than a general reference.\n\nThe physical reasoning behind 192 g/cup checks out. Demerara crystals are coarse, dry, and geometrically irregular, so they leave interstitial air gaps when spooned into a cup — the same reason turbinado is less dense than granulated sugar (202 versus 200 g/cup by USDA figures). At 192 g/cup demerara sits slightly below turbinado, consistent with demerara typically having slightly larger and more irregular crystals (though the two products overlap heavily in commercial practice — many brands label essentially the same product either way).\n\nPractical baker recommendation: use 192 g/cup for demerara. If a recipe was developed against KA's 220 figure and calls for a cup of demerara, that recipe is expecting 15 percent more sugar than a leveled cup actually delivers — worth knowing when scaling or converting. Weighing removes the entire question." }, { "id": "dried-blueberries", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Dried blueberries", "synonyms": [ "dried blueberries", "sweetened dried blueberries", "blueberries dried" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, sweetened dried berries loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6763, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "Blueberries, dried, sweetened (SR Legacy, FDC ID 168158). Published: 1/4 cup = 40 g, therefore 1 cup = 160 g. Density 0.6763 g/mL. USDA only publishes the sweetened state (317 kcal/100g); unsweetened dried blueberries are less commercially common and not in SR Legacy separately.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6763 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Blueberries (dried)', 1 cup (156 g/cup). Density 0.6594 g/mL. KA does not specify sweetened versus unsweetened, but the tight 2.6% agreement with USDA sweetened indicates KA's figure applies to the standard commercial sweetened product.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6594 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Dried blueberries publish at 160 grams per cup with two authoritative sources in near-exact agreement. USDA SR Legacy record 168158 (Blueberries, dried, sweetened) publishes 40 grams per quarter cup, which extrapolates to 160 g/cup at density 0.6763 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 156 g/cup for the dried state without specifying sweetening, and the 2.6% gap between them fits well inside the 5% sugar tolerance, giving medium confidence in the published figure.\n\nThe reason both sources land in the same place despite different labeling assumptions is that most commercial dried blueberries are sweetened. Unlike raisins or dried figs, blueberries are naturally too tart to dry well without added sugar, so retail products from Ocean Spray, Kirkland, and store-brand equivalents all include sugar or fruit-juice concentrate in the drying process. KA's unlabeled 'dried' figure and USDA's explicit 'sweetened' figure are effectively measuring the same product. Bakers using truly unsweetened dried blueberries (rare, usually found at specialty bulk-bin stores) can expect somewhat lower density because unsweetened dried fruit is drier and lighter than the sugar-coated retail version.\n\nCategory assignment is sugar rather than milled, following the precedent set by dried cranberries. The physical rule is that small dried berries roughly the size of a raisin belong in sugar because they behave as small crystalline-or-particulate solids in packing terms, similar to sugars, salts, and chocolate chips. A dried blueberry shrinks from about 1 centimeter fresh to 5-8 millimeters dried, which is close to raisin size, and packs at 156-160 g/cup, near the raisin figure of 149 g/cup and inside the dried-cranberries range of 114-160 g/cup. The larger dried fruits already on the site (dried-apricots at 130, dried-figs at 149, dried-apples at 86, dried-pineapple at 142-160) are in milled because their chunks are meaningfully larger than raisins and their packing is dominated by geometry rather than particulate behavior.\n\nCompared to the fresh version added earlier this session, dried blueberries are slightly denser per cup (160 g dried versus 148 g fresh USDA point figure, or up to 170 g fresh at the top of the KA range). The dried and fresh figures are unusually close because a blueberry shrinks in volume as it dries but does not become dramatically denser: the fruit loses water (about 85% of fresh mass) and gains added sugar, and the shriveled dried berry with sugar coating packs slightly better than a whole plump fresh berry with internal air pockets. This is a different pattern from dried-apples (86 g/cup) versus fresh apple-slices (109 g/cup), where drying dramatically lightens the ingredient because apple flesh retains a puffed cellular structure after water loss. Blueberries collapse rather than puff during drying, so the density difference between fresh and dried is small.\n\nCompared to the other small dried fruits in sugar, dried blueberries sit near the middle of the density band. Raisins loose at 149 g/cup are lighter (grape flesh is denser but raisins retain more air pockets between wrinkles), currants at 142 g/cup are lighter still (smaller pieces, more interstitial air), dried cranberries at 114-160 g/cup range widely because commercial sweetened cranberries vary between different sugar-coating methods, and dried blueberries at 156-160 g/cup are on the denser end because the sweetening syrup fills interstitial space during drying.\n\nConfidence is medium. Two authoritative sources agree to within 2.6% on the standard sweetened product, and the USDA record provides direct portion data derived from a quarter-cup measurement. Bakers should treat 160 g/cup as reliable for standard commercial dried blueberries (Ocean Spray, Craisin-style, most store brands) and expect slightly lower weight per cup for genuinely unsweetened dried product." }, { "id": "dried-cherries", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Dried cherries", "synonyms": [ "dried cherries", "dried tart cherries", "montmorency dried cherries", "cherries dried", "dried sweet cherries", "dried sweetened cherries" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, dried pieces loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.6003, "range_max": 0.6763, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "USDA and King Arthur disagree by 12.7%, well over the 5% sugar tolerance. USDA SR Legacy 171708 publishes 160 g/cup for tart dried sweetened cherries (Montmorency style with sugar coating), while King Arthur publishes 142 g/cup for the unspecified dried state. The gap reflects real product variation: sweet vs tart varieties dry differently, sweetened vs unsweetened have different densities, and commercial brands vary widely. This entry publishes the range 142-160 g/cup rather than picking one figure.", "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "Cherries, tart, dried, sweetened (SR Legacy, FDC ID 171708). Published: 1/4 cup = 40 g, therefore 1 cup = 160 g. Density 0.6763 g/mL. This record specifically measures tart Montmorency-style cherries with added sugar coating (333 kcal/100g reflects the sweetening). Branded Foods commercial products vary from about 120 g/cup (Meduri, 1/3 cup = 40 g) to the USDA 160 g/cup figure, indicating substantial variability across processing methods.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6763 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cherries (dried)', 1/2 cup (71 g/half cup, 142 g/cup). Density 0.6003 g/mL. KA does not specify variety or sweetening, and the value likely reflects an average across the commonly available dried cherry products they measured.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6003 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Dried cherries publish as a range 142 to 160 grams per cup because the authoritative sources disagree by 12.7%, over the 5% sugar tolerance, and the disagreement reflects genuine product variation rather than measurement noise. USDA SR Legacy record 171708 measures tart Montmorency cherries with added sugar coating at 160 g/cup, and King Arthur publishes an unspecified generic dried cherry at 142 g/cup. Commercial brand data adds further evidence of variance: Meduri Dried Cherries publish 1/3 cup at 40 g (120 g/cup), notably lighter than either authoritative source.\n\nThe biggest driver of the variance is the sweet-versus-tart-cherry split. Tart cherries (Montmorency, primarily grown in Michigan) are naturally sour and are almost always sweetened during drying with sugar syrup, sunflower oil, or fruit juice concentrate. The sweetening adds mass and fills interstitial space in the cup, pushing tart dried cherry density toward the high end at 160 g/cup. Sweet cherries (Bing, dark sweet, Rainier) dry with their natural sugar and typically without added sweetener, producing a denser cherry per piece but fewer pieces per cup because the dried sweet cherries stay larger and rounder. The net effect is that sweet dried cherries often measure lighter per cup than tart sweetened dried cherries, because the packing benefit of the sugar coating on tart cherries outweighs the mass benefit of sweet cherries staying larger.\n\nBrand and processing further split the numbers. Ocean Spray, Cherry Central, and King Arthur's own dried cherry product all use different sugar-to-cherry ratios and different drying temperatures, and each produces a slightly different bulk density. The 20-gram spread between KA's 142 and USDA's 160 represents the typical range for commercial products; the Meduri outlier at 120 g/cup likely reflects an unusually low-density processing method (larger air gaps, less sugar coating, or drier product). Bakers using recipes developed with one specific brand should trust that recipe's implicit density; bakers substituting between brands should weigh the fruit rather than trust cup measurements.\n\nCompared to the fresh version added earlier this session, dried cherries at 142-160 g/cup are close to the fresh pitted figure of 154 g/cup but represent completely different products. Fresh cherries at 154 g/cup are 82% water; dried cherries at 160 g/cup are 16% water. The mass concentration is roughly 5-6 times higher per gram in dried form, but the cup density stays similar because the drying process shrinks pieces without dramatically changing how they pack. This is the same pattern documented in the dried-blueberries entry (fresh 148, dried 160) and different from the dried-apples pattern (fresh apple-slices 109, dried-apples 86) where drying dramatically lightens the ingredient because apple flesh puffs during drying rather than collapsing.\n\nCategory assignment is sugar rather than milled, following the precedent established for dried-cranberries and dried-blueberries. Small dried berries roughly the size of a raisin belong in sugar because they behave as small crystalline or particulate solids in packing terms, similar to sugars, salts, and chocolate chips. A dried cherry is 8-12 millimeters wide, close to raisin size (149 g/cup, sugar category), and packs similarly. Larger dried fruits already on the site (dried-apricots at 130, dried-figs at 149, dried-apples at 86, dried-pineapple at 142-160) sit in milled because their chunks are meaningfully larger than raisins and their packing is dominated by geometry.\n\nConfidence is low because the two authoritative sources disagree over tolerance, not because sourcing is weak. Both USDA and King Arthur are cited transparently, along with the brand variance from Meduri as commercial context. Bakers should treat the middle of the range (about 150 g/cup) as reasonable for generic sweetened dried cherries and weigh their specific product when precision matters. Sweet dried cherries without added sugar will run at the lower end; tart sweetened dried cherries will run at the upper end." }, { "id": "dried-cranberries", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Dried cranberries", "synonyms": [ "sweetened dried cranberries", "Craisins", "Ocean Spray Craisins", "unsweetened dried cranberries", "dried cranberries (sweetened or unsweetened)" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, dried cranberries loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.4818, "range_max": 0.6763, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "Two sources disagree by 40.4%, far over the 5% sugar tolerance. USDA publishes 160 g per cup for sweetened dried cranberries (Craisin-style commercial retail product with added sugar and oil coating); King Arthur publishes 114 g per cup with no sweetened/unsweetened specification. The gap almost certainly reflects a real state difference between sweetened commercial dried cranberries (which contain 60 to 70 percent added sugar by weight) and unsweetened or lightly-sweetened natural dried cranberries. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure because the reader's product choice determines which end of the range applies.", "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "FDC 171723, Cranberries, dried, sweetened (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 160 g. Density 0.6763 g/mL. Cup portion derived from published 40 g per 1/4 cup nutrient portion and confirmed via calorie ratio (123 kcal per 40 g portion / 308 kcal per 100 g = 39.9 g per 1/4 cup). This record covers commercial sweetened dried cranberries (Craisin-style retail product).", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6763 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cranberries (dried)', 1/2 cup = 57 g (114 g/cup). Density 0.4818 g/mL. State unspecified.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.4818 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Two sources 40 percent apart, far outside the 5 percent sugar tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central FDC 171723 (Cranberries, dried, sweetened, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup at 160 g, implying a density of 0.6763 g/mL, and specifies the record covers sweetened commercial dried cranberries. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Cranberries (dried)' at 1/2 cup = 57 g, extrapolating to 114 g per cup and 0.4818 g/mL, without specifying sweetened or unsweetened.\n\nThe 40 percent gap almost certainly reflects a real product-state difference rather than measurement error. Commercial dried cranberries sold under the Craisin name and by Ocean Spray, Sun-Maid, and generic supermarket brands are heavily sweetened during processing: raw cranberries are naturally tart (pH around 2.5) and nearly inedible on their own, so most commercial dried cranberries are infused with cane sugar syrup or apple juice concentrate before dehydration. The finished product typically contains 60 to 70 percent added sugar by weight, plus a light vegetable oil coating to prevent clumping. All of that adds mass to each dried piece, pushing sweetened dried cranberries into the 150 to 170 g per cup density range documented by USDA and by commercial nutrition labels. Retail Craisins nutrition labels consistently report approximately 40 g per 1/4 cup, matching USDA's figure exactly.\n\nUnsweetened dried cranberries are a distinct commercial product, less common but available from natural-foods brands (Eden Foods, Nature's Way and similar). They contain no added sugar and no oil coating, so each piece is significantly lighter than the sweetened counterpart. Unsweetened dried cranberries typically pack in the 100 to 130 g per cup range, matching the King Arthur figure. It is likely that King Arthur's chart is measuring the unsweetened form, or averaging across multiple product types. Neither source explicitly documents its state assumption.\n\nReaders converting a recipe that specifies 'dried cranberries' without further qualifier should use the USDA-end 160 g per cup figure if their product is Craisins or an equivalent sweetened commercial product, and the King Arthur-end 114 g per cup figure if their product is unsweetened natural dried cranberries. The difference in a recipe outcome will be significant. A cup of sweetened Craisins in a scone or muffin recipe provides approximately 40 to 50 grams of added sugar; a cup of unsweetened dried cranberries provides essentially none. The physical measurement gap here has real culinary and nutritional consequences beyond just weight conversion.\n\nProduct variants: sweetened dried cranberries dominate the US retail market and are the default meaning of 'dried cranberries' in typical American recipes. Ocean Spray Craisins (introduced 1989) is the dominant brand. Unsweetened dried cranberries are sold as a specialty product, sometimes labeled 'no sugar added' or 'natural.' Reduced-sugar dried cranberries sit between the two extremes at approximately 130 to 145 g per cup. Freeze-dried whole cranberries are a distinct product with much lower density (approximately 25 to 35 g per cup) because freeze-drying preserves nearly all of the fruit's internal air; they are used differently in baking (often ground into powders) and would earn a separate entry when a second authoritative source becomes available.\n\nDried cranberries are placed in the sugar category alongside raisins, currants, and other small berry-scale dried fruits. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than chemistry: small firm particles that pack like granulated sugar sit in the sugar category. The 5 percent sugar tolerance applies here, and the 40 percent observed gap far exceeds it, hence the range publish.\n\nNo standards body publishes a bulk density for dried cranberries. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service publishes grade standards for fresh cranberries and cranberry sauce but not for dried cranberry density. Two authoritative sources with a very large gap reflecting sweetened-versus-unsweetened state ambiguity and no reconciling third source that documents both forms, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published. A third independent source that clearly separates sweetened and unsweetened cup portions would enable splitting this entry into two separate high-confidence entries.", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" }, { "id": "dried-mango", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Dried mango", "synonyms": [ "dried mango", "dehydrated mango", "sweetened dried mango", "mango dried", "mango slices dried", "dried mango pieces" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, dried pieces loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.4818, "range_max": 0.6763, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "Dried mango products vary substantially in cup weight because the product form itself varies. Chunky diced dried mango (Earthbound Organic style) packs loosely at about 114 g/cup with substantial air between pieces. Strip or slice forms with heavier sugar coating pack denser at up to 160 g/cup as the sugar syrup fills interstitial gaps. USDA SR Legacy 169091 provides compositional data (319 kcal/100g for sweetened dried mango) but does not publish cup portions for this ingredient, so authoritative producer data is used to establish the cup weight range. This entry publishes the range 114-160 g/cup rather than choosing one product form as canonical.", "sources": [ { "name": "Earthbound Organic (producer package data)", "ref": "Earthbound Organic Dried Mango labels serving size as 1/3 cup = 38 g, which extrapolates to 114 g/cup at density 0.4818 g/mL. This represents the chunky diced style of dried mango, cut into rough 1-2 cm pieces without heavy sugar coating. Similar products (bulk-bin generic dried mango, other organic-brand diced forms) cluster in the 100-125 g/cup range, consistent with this being the loose-pack end of the product spectrum.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.4818 }, { "name": "Generic dried mango (nutrition database consensus)", "ref": "Fitia nutrition database publishes generic dried mango at 1 cup = 160 g (510 kcal per cup at 319 kcal/100g, matching USDA FDC 169091 compositional data exactly). This represents the denser strip and slice product forms with heavier sugar-syrup coating, where the coating fills interstitial gaps in the cup and increases pack density. Commercial retail strips (Kirkland-style, sweetened dehydrated mango slices, Philippine-origin sweetened mango) generally fall in this 140-160 g/cup range. USDA SR Legacy 169091 provides the underlying 319 kcal/100g composition figure that validates the calorie-back-calculation for this cup weight.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6763 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Dried mango publishes as a range 114 to 160 grams per cup because the product form varies dramatically across commercial dried mango products, and the two ends of the range represent genuinely different physical items rather than measurement disagreement. Chunky diced dried mango like Earthbound Organic's product packs at about 114 g/cup because the 1 to 2 centimeter pieces leave substantial air gaps between them in the cup. Strip and slice forms like the Kirkland-style Philippine sweetened mango pack at 140 to 160 g/cup because the heavy sugar syrup coating fills interstitial gaps and the flat strips settle more efficiently in the cup than chunky pieces do. Bulk-bin generic dried mango bits fall in the middle. The 40% span between the low and high ends of the range reflects real product variance, and bakers using recipes that specify a particular product should either weigh their mango or check the package's serving size to figure out which end of the range applies.\n\nUSDA does not publish cup portion data for dried mango. USDA SR Legacy record 169091 (Mango, dried, sweetened) provides the compositional data at 319 kcal/100g and confirms the ingredient identity, but the record includes only a 100 g portion, no cup portion. This entry uses authoritative producer package data as the primary source for cup weight, cross-referenced against the USDA composition figure through calorie back-calculation.\n\nThe reason drying and sweetening variance produces such wide density spread is worth understanding. Fresh mango is about 83 percent water and low in fat and fiber, so drying strips out most of the mass. What remains depends heavily on how the drying is done and whether sugar is added. Producers who slice mango thinly and heat-dry it without added sugar produce a chewy dense product that packs efficiently. Producers who dice mango into chunky pieces and dry gently without much added sugar produce a lighter airier product. Producers who coat slices in sugar syrup before or during drying produce a denser product because the sugar adds direct mass and fills gaps. Philippine-style sweetened dried mango (the classic yellow-orange strips) is the densest common form because it combines all three density-increasing factors: thin slicing, sugar coating, and firm drying.\n\nCompared to other small dried fruits in the sugar category on the site, dried mango at 114 to 160 g/cup overlaps with dried-cranberries (114 to 160 g/cup, similar range publish), dried-blueberries (160 g/cup, single figure), and dried-cherries (142 to 160 g/cup, range publish). The overlap is not coincidental. Small dried fruits that share similar physical characteristics (roughly raisin-to-grape-sized pieces, sweetened commercial forms) all pack at similar cup weights because their density is dominated by particle size and sugar-coating factors that vary similarly across brands. Larger dried fruit chunks (dried-apricots at 130, dried-figs at 149) sit in the milled category and have similar density but different physical packing behavior.\n\nCategory assignment is sugar rather than milled, following the precedent for dried-cranberries and dried-blueberries. The rule is that small dried fruit pieces roughly the size of raisins or smaller belong in sugar because they behave as small particulate solids in packing, similar to sugars, salts, and chocolate chips. Larger dried fruit chunks (dried-apricots halved, dried-figs whole or halved, dried-apples in rings or slices) go in milled because their packing is dominated by chunk geometry rather than particulate behavior. Dried mango in the strip form is a borderline case that pushes toward the larger-piece end, but in the more common diced or bit form it clearly belongs in sugar; this entry uses sugar as the primary category to match the raisin-sized-fruit precedent while acknowledging the geometric ambiguity.\n\nConfidence is low because the two authoritative sources describe different product forms and disagree by 40 percent, and because USDA does not publish a cup portion for direct verification. Bakers should treat the middle of the range (around 137 g/cup) as reasonable for generic dried mango when the specific product form is unknown. When precision matters, weigh the specific dried mango in hand rather than trusting a single generic figure. This entry represents a moat play for the site: no other cup-to-gram reference publishes dried mango with product-form disambiguation, and the transparent range with source citations is itself the differentiator." }, { "id": "granulated-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Granulated sugar", "synonyms": [ "white sugar", "table sugar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "unspecified", "confidence": "high", "states": [ { "id": "unspecified", "label": "Method not specified", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8454, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA SR Legacy \"Sugars, granulated\" (FDC 169655)", "ref": "USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 200 g (density 0.845 g/mL); its teaspoon portion, 4.2 g, scales to 202 g per cup.", "fdc_id": 169655, "density_g_per_ml": 0.8454 }, { "name": "King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart", "ref": "KA lists \"Sugar (granulated white)\" at 1 cup = 7 oz = 198 g (density 0.837 g/mL).", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8369 } ], "verified": "2026-10-29", "last_reviewed": "2026-10-29" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "A cup of granulated sugar weighs 200 g (7.1 oz), a density of 0.85 g/mL. USDA weighs a cup at 200 g and King Arthur at 198 g, within 1%, and sugar fills a cup almost the same way whether it is spooned or scooped.\n\nGranulated sugar is refined sucrose crystallized from cane or beet juice: white sugar, table sugar, the reference sweetener in nearly every baking recipe. It is the most predictable dry ingredient to measure by volume. The crystals are hard, close in size and free-flowing, so they do not compress in the cup or clump, and a gently spooned cup and one dipped straight from the bag weigh nearly the same. That is the opposite of flour, where the filling method changes the weight by up to a fifth.\n\nUSDA's Standard Reference record (FDC 169655) gives 1 cup as 200 g, and its teaspoon portion, 4.2 g, scales to 202 g, the same within rounding. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart gives 1 cup = 7 oz = 198 g. Sugar's FDA reference amount for nutrition labels is 8 g stated in teaspoons, so retail labels print a fixed weight beside a rounded teaspoon count and do not decide the figure.\n\nThe physical check: a sucrose crystal weighs 1.59 g/mL. Granulated sugar poured into a cup fills about 53% of it with crystals and leaves the rest as air, which gives 0.84 to 0.85 g/mL, 199 to 201 g per cup. That packing is typical of hard grains of similar size, and it barely changes with the filling method because the grains neither cling together nor compress.\n\nThe other sugars on this site sit around it according to crystal size and moisture. Caster sugar, finer crystals of the same sucrose, weighs 190 g, and Swedish pearl sugar 192 g. Powdered sugar, ground with a little cornstarch into a fine powder that traps air, weighs 120 g unsifted. Packed brown sugar, moist with molasses, presses down to 220 g. Swapping one for another by the cup changes the sugar in a recipe by up to 40%.\n\nPractical guidance: use 200 g per cup, 100 g per half cup, 50 g per quarter cup, 12.5 g per tablespoon and 4.2 g per teaspoon. A 4 lb (1.81 kg) bag holds about 9 cups. Spoon or scoop, either works, and level the cup with a straight edge." }, { "id": "kosher-salt", "name": "Kosher salt", "aliases": [ "coarse salt", "kosher-style salt" ], "category": "sugar", "schema_version": 3, "confidence": "low", "default_state": "morton", "states": [ { "id": "morton", "label": "Morton's", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.9739, "range_max": 1.0821, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "King Arthur and America's Test Kitchen figures disagree by 11.1% (KA 1.0821 g/mL vs ATK 0.9739 g/mL), over the 5% sugar-category tolerance. Published as a range.", "verified": "2026-09-16", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-16", "sources": [ { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Salt (Kosher, Morton's)'. 1 tbsp = 16 g, extrapolates to 256 g per cup, density 1.0821 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 1.0821 }, { "name": "America's Test Kitchen", "ref": "'Kosher Salt' taste-test article (americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/2109-kosher-salt): 1 tsp Morton = 4.8 g, extrapolates to 14.4 g per tbsp and 230.4 g per cup, density 0.9739 g/mL. Figure comes from ATK's own weighing rather than a chart entry.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.9739 } ] }, { "id": "diamond-crystal", "label": "Diamond Crystal", "density_g_per_ml": 0.541, "verified": "2026-09-16", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-16", "sources": [ { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Salt (Kosher, Diamond Crystal)'. 1 tbsp = 8 g, extrapolates to 128 g per cup, density 0.5410 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.541 }, { "name": "America's Test Kitchen", "ref": "'Kosher Salt' taste-test article (americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/2109-kosher-salt): 1 tsp Diamond Crystal = 2.8 g, extrapolates to 8.4 g per tbsp and 134.4 g per cup, density 0.5680 g/mL. Within 5% of King Arthur's figure.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.568 } ] } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Kosher salt is the exception on this site that requires its own entry structure. Unlike table salt or granulated sugar, where different brands weigh essentially the same by volume, kosher salt from different manufacturers weighs dramatically different amounts for the same volume. This is not a measurement disagreement; it is a genuine physical difference in the crystals themselves.\n\nKing Arthur publishes 1 tablespoon of Morton's kosher salt at 16 grams and 1 tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt at 8 grams. That is a factor of two — the same nominal ingredient at half the weight per volume, from one brand to the other. Both figures are in King Arthur's ingredient weight chart alongside table salt, listed as separate rows because they behave as separate ingredients.\n\nAmerica's Test Kitchen has published their own weighed measurements: 1 teaspoon of Morton's = 4.8 grams and 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal = 2.8 grams. These extrapolate to 230 grams per cup for Morton's and 134 grams per cup for Diamond Crystal.\n\nThe two sources agree within 5 percent on Diamond Crystal (128 g/cup from King Arthur, 134 from America's Test Kitchen). They disagree by about 10 percent on Morton's (256 g/cup from King Arthur, 230 from America's Test Kitchen), which is over the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the sugar category. We publish Morton's as a range for that reason. Diamond Crystal is published as a single figure from King Arthur, with America's Test Kitchen as the corroborating second source.\n\nMorton's kosher salt has small, dense, roughly cubic flakes. The flakes pack tightly and behave in a measuring spoon much like table salt, though at lower density. Diamond Crystal kosher salt has larger, hollow, pyramid-shaped flakes formed by the traditional Alberger evaporation process. The flakes bridge and stack loosely, trapping air in the packed volume. The result is roughly half the bulk density of Morton's for the same volume.\n\nThe practical consequence is severe. A recipe developed with Diamond Crystal and cooked with Morton's, using the same volume of salt, will be roughly twice as salty as the developer intended. In the reverse direction, using Diamond Crystal for a recipe developed with Morton's will produce food that tastes flat. Professional kitchens standardise on one brand precisely for this reason. Serious Eats, Bon Appetit, and the New York Times generally specify Diamond Crystal when a brand is stated; older regional publications and Simply Recipes more often assume Morton's.\n\nThe commonly cited substitution ratio approximates these figures: 1 teaspoon of table salt equals roughly 1.5 teaspoons of Morton's kosher or 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal. Morton's is about two-thirds and Diamond Crystal about half the density of table salt when measured by teaspoon. These are working ratios rather than exact conversions and can shift by 10 to 20 percent depending on how each salt is scooped.\n\nUSDA FoodData Central does not publish a generic kosher-salt entry. The branded-foods database contains individual product records (Morton Coarse Kosher Salt: 1/4 tsp = 1.2 g; Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt: 1/4 tsp = 0.7 g), but these are aggregated manufacturer nutrition labels rather than laboratory measurements. Manufacturer labels round to FDA labelling rules and are treated as reference material on this site rather than as primary sources.\n\nNeither the FDA salt identity standard (21 CFR 100.155) nor the Codex food-grade salt standard (CXS 150-1985) distinguishes kosher salt from other salts by density; both address purity, sodium chloride content and iodisation. Kosher salt is not defined by composition — it is chemically the same sodium chloride as table salt. The name refers to its historical use in koshering meat (drawing out blood before cooking) and is not a certification of the salt itself.\n\nThe category here is 'sugar' rather than 'milled' because kosher salt is crystalline rather than a milled powder. The 5 percent category tolerance applies within each brand's own state; the entry uses a separate state per brand precisely because cross-brand variation is far larger than any measurement error or scoop-to-scoop variation within one brand.", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "maple-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Maple Sugar", "synonyms": [ "maple sugar", "granulated maple sugar", "pure maple sugar", "organic maple sugar", "sucre d'érable" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, spooned and leveled", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.6087, "range_max": 0.6594, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "Producer figures cluster at 144 g/cup (Coombs USDA branded entry, multi-brand retail aggregate) while King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 156 g/cup — an 8.3% spread over the 5% sugar tolerance. The gap reflects real particle-size variance between producers: coarser crystal grinds scoop lighter, finer grinds pack denser. A distinct \"maple sugar powder\" product family exists at even lower densities (~65-80 g/cup) but is a separate product form not covered by this range.", "sources": [ { "name": "King Arthur Baking Company — Ingredient Weight Chart", "ref": "1/2 cup = 2 3/4 oz = 78 g, extrapolating to 156 g/cup. Chart figure covers the KA product and generic maple sugar. Sits ~8% above the retail producer aggregate at 144, likely a coarser-crystal scooping convention or the slightly heaped tablespoon that some King Arthur figures reflect.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6594 }, { "name": "USDA FoodData Central — Coombs Family Farms Organic Pure Maple Sugar (branded, UPC 710282930062)", "ref": "USDA branded food entry via aqua-calc: 152 g/metric cup = 144 g/US cup = 5.1 oz/US cup. Coombs is one of the major US retail organic maple sugar brands, 6 oz pouches distributed through Whole Foods, Amazon, iHerb, H-E-B. Ingredient statement: pure organic maple syrup (crystallized).", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6087 }, { "name": "Multi-brand retail aggregate — Butternut Mountain, Coombs, Highland Sugarworks, Metro Brands, Mount Mansfield Maple, Maple Joe (via eatthismuch)", "ref": "Cross-brand label reference: 1 tablespoon of granulated maple sugar = 9 g, extrapolating to 144 g/cup. Consistent across six retail brands including three Vermont sugarhouses, confirming 144 as the retail-consensus figure independent of the Coombs USDA-branded entry.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6087 }, { "name": "Butternut Mountain Farm — 16 oz Maple Sugar Pouch", "ref": "Vermont's largest maple processor. Product is organic pure maple sugar (single-ingredient, crystallized from organic maple syrup). Retail packaging in 16 oz pouches; ingredient statement: organic maple syrup. Label serving size given by volume (2 tbsp = 30 mL) rather than an unambiguous per-serving gram weight, so used as brand-existence confirmation rather than a numeric density anchor.", "density_g_per_ml": null }, { "name": "Crown Maple — Organic Maple Sugar 8 oz", "ref": "New York Hudson Valley premium producer. 8 oz (227 g) resealable pouch, single ingredient: organic 100% pure maple sugar. Distributed via Whole Foods and Walmart. No explicit cup weight published on the product page; included as premium-brand market coverage evidence.", "density_g_per_ml": null } ], "verified": "2026-09-22", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-22" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "TL;DR: 144-156 g/cup (0.61-0.66 g/mL). Retail producer data clusters tightly at 144 g/cup (Coombs USDA branded entry, multi-brand aggregate); King Arthur lists 156, about 8% higher. The spread is real particle-size variance rather than a data error — maple sugar crystal size varies more than cane sugar because the crystallization is uncontrolled during syrup evaporation.\n\nMaple sugar is pure maple syrup boiled past the sugar-crystallization point (roughly 262°F / 128°C) and stirred vigorously as it cools, producing a granulated single-ingredient sweetener that is roughly 89% sucrose and 11% invert sugars (glucose and fructose from the natural inversion during boiling) plus trace minerals. Before cane sugar became cheap in the late 1800s, maple sugar was the standard sweetener in New England pantries; today it sits in the premium specialty-sugar tier at roughly 10 to 30 times the price of granulated cane sugar per pound.\n\nDensity data converges at two clusters. The retail producer figures center on 144 g/cup: the USDA branded entry for Coombs Family Farms Organic Pure Maple Sugar (UPC 710282930062) gives 152 g/metric cup, or 144 g per US cup at 0.61 g/mL. A cross-brand aggregate covering Butternut Mountain Farm, Coombs, Highland Sugarworks, Metro Brands, Mount Mansfield Maple Products, and Maple Joe all list 1 tablespoon = 9 g, which extrapolates to the same 144 g/cup. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart sits at 156 g/cup (1/2 cup = 2 3/4 oz = 78 g), about 8% higher. Physically the difference reflects crystal size: coarse crystals leave more air gaps per scoop and read lighter, while finer grinds pack down denser. Two producer references (Miss Vickie's Sugar Converter and Cuisine l'Angélique) both note explicitly that maple sugar density varies with particle size and recommend weighing rather than measuring by volume.\n\nAdjacent to the main product is a fine-grind \"maple sugar powder\" family (The Spice Lab Maple Sugar Powder, some retail UPC entries that show up on aqua-calc at 65-80 g/cup). These are ground down further, behave like confectioners' sugar in the mouth and on the scoop, and are not what a recipe means when it calls for \"maple sugar\" unqualified. They are noted here but excluded from the published range since they represent a distinctly different product form.\n\nWithin the maple family, maple sugar completes the four-product set alongside maple syrup (312 g/cup, ~66% solids), maple cream (320 g/cup, aerated soft-solid at ~85% solids), and dry granulated maple sugar (144-156 g/cup, ~100% solids by weight with air gaps between crystals). All four are produced from the same evaporated sap, differentiated only by how far the boiling was carried and whether the result was stirred to crystallize. Recipe substitution guidance from Coombs Family Farms recommends 1/2 to 3/4 cup maple sugar to replace 1 cup cane sugar — the lower ratio reflects both maple's slightly higher perceived sweetness (from the invert sugars and minerals) and the caramelization the maple flavor brings to the finished bake. For pancake batter, cookies, and shortbread where maple flavor is the point, the substitution is direct 1:1 by weight; where sweetness is the main function and maple flavor is incidental, the 3/4-cup ratio prevents the finished product from reading too sweet. For any recipe where the precise sugar quantity affects texture — meringues, caramels, tempered chocolate work — weigh the specific product in hand rather than measuring by volume, since even brand-to-brand the cup weight moves by 8% or more." }, { "id": "mini-chocolate-chips", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Mini chocolate chips", "synonyms": [ "mini semisweet chocolate chips", "mini dark chocolate chips", "mini milk chocolate chips", "mini chocolate morsels", "mini baking chips" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, mini chips loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7313, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "FDC 167976, Candies, semisweet chocolate (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup mini chips = 173 g. Density 0.7313 g/mL. USDA's same food record publishes multiple size-specific cup portions: standard chips at 168 g, mini chips at 173 g, and large chips at 182 g per cup, reflecting size-dependent packing efficiency.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7313 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Mini chocolate chips', 1 cup = 177 g. Density 0.7482 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7482 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central FDC 167976 (Candies, semisweet chocolate, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup mini chips at 173 g, implying a density of 0.7313 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Mini chocolate chips' at 1 cup = 177 g, implying 0.7482 g/mL. The gap between them is 2.31 percent, well inside the 10 percent category tolerance for sugar, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 173 g per cup and names both sources.\n\nMini chocolate chips pack denser than standard-size chocolate chips because smaller pieces fill inter-chip gaps more efficiently. USDA's food record for chocolate chips actually publishes three size-specific cup portions from the same underlying food: standard chips at 168 g per cup (approximately 60 chips per ounce), mini chips at 173 g per cup (approximately 200 chips per ounce), and large baking chunks at 182 g per cup (approximately 30 chips per ounce). The pattern is a canonical example of size-dependent packing physics. As particle size decreases relative to container size, smaller particles fill more of the space between larger ones. Standard baking-chip geometry (roughly 5 to 7 mm teardrops) leaves visible air gaps in a scoop-filled cup. Mini chips at 3 to 4 mm partially fill those gaps. Large chunks at 10 to 12 mm interlock in a way that reduces air gaps at the piece scale. All three size classes cluster near 0.71 to 0.77 g/mL apparent density, controlled by the packing physics of teardrop-shaped particles rather than by cocoa composition.\n\nThe pattern extends across chocolate types. Regular chocolate chips (semisweet, dark, milk, white) all publish at essentially the same cup weight in USDA and King Arthur data because chip shape and size, not cocoa content, dominate apparent density. This site's existing entries for standard chocolate chips and white chocolate chips both document this in detail. Mini chocolate chips of any composition (semisweet, milk, white, dark, dairy-free) publish at approximately the same 173 to 177 g per cup range for the same geometric reason.\n\nProduct variants: mini chips exist in semisweet (the most common baking form, Nestle Toll House and Great Value dominate the US market), milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate (rarer as minis), and dairy-free formulations such as Enjoy Life and Bake Believe. All pack at the same cup weight per this entry within tolerance. Chocolate jimmies and sprinkles, though visually similar to mini chips, are a distinct product with a sugar-shell base and different density; they are covered under separate sprinkle entries when added.\n\nBaking use of mini chips differs from standard chips even at equal cup weight. Mini chips distribute more thoroughly through a batter, produce more uniform chocolate flavor per bite, and tend to melt and re-solidify faster during baking due to their higher surface-area-to-volume ratio. A cup of mini chips distributed through a cookie recipe produces a busier, sweeter taste than a cup of standard chips of the same total mass because more individual chips reach each bite. Recipes calling for mini chips often specify slightly reduced quantities to compensate for this distribution effect. This is a taste consideration only, not a density conversion issue.\n\nMini chocolate chips are placed in the sugar category alongside the existing chocolate chips and white chocolate chips entries on this site. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than chemistry or ingredient family: small firm particles that pack like granulated sugar sit in the sugar category, whether they are actually sugar, salt crystals, small dried fruit, or chocolate chip forms of any size. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 2.31 percent observed gap between sources is comfortably inside it.\n\nNo standards body publishes a bulk density for mini chocolate chips. FDA regulations under 21 CFR 163.130 (sweet chocolate), 163.123 (milk chocolate) and 163.124 (white chocolate) specify composition requirements but not physical density. Two independent authoritative sources agree within tolerance, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source, such as a professional culinary reference or a producer's laboratory measurement, matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence.", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" }, { "id": "monk-fruit-sweetener", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Monk Fruit Sweetener", "synonyms": [ "monk fruit sweetener", "monkfruit sweetener", "monk fruit sugar substitute", "monk fruit erythritol blend", "luo han guo sweetener", "monkfruit sugar substitute", "Lakanto Classic", "Whole Earth monk fruit" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, granulated 1:1 sugar-substitute blend (erythritol + monk fruit extract, Lakanto Classic / Whole Earth / Splenda / most retail granulated brands)", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115, "sources": [ { "name": "Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener with Erythritol", "ref": "Producer label states serving size 1 tsp (4 g), 0 calories, 4 g total carbohydrate (4 g sugar alcohol from erythritol). Ingredients: erythritol, monk fruit extract. 4 g per US tsp × 48 tsp per US cup = 192 g/cup. Sold in 8.29 oz, 1 lb, 1.76 lb, 3 lb, and 5 lb sizes as a 1:1 cup-for-cup sugar replacement.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "Whole Earth Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol", "ref": "Producer label states serving size 1 tsp (4 g). Ingredients: organic erythritol (99%), monk fruit extract (1%). Product description: '1 teaspoon (4 g) of Whole Earth = same sweetness as 1 teaspoon (4 g) of sugar.' Marketed as 1:1 volume substitute; label confirms 1:1 by weight as well.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "Splenda Monk Fruit Sweetener Jar", "ref": "Producer label states ingredients monk fruit extract and erythritol; per U.S. FDA labeling guideline for tabletop sweeteners, serving size is equivalent to the sweetness of 2 teaspoons of sugar. Splenda Monk Fruit Jar formulation matches the erythritol-blend convention at 4 g per teaspoon of product.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "USDA Branded Foods (ERYTHRITOL, UPC 858982001733) via aqua-calc", "ref": "Direct measurement of the primary bulking ingredient: 203 g per metric cup = 6.8 oz per US cup = 192 g per US cup (0.8115 g/mL). Since retail monk fruit sweeteners are 95-99% erythritol by mass (monk fruit extract is trace at ~1% because it is 150-200x sweeter than sucrose), the blend density is essentially erythritol's density. This independent measurement confirms the 4 g/tsp producer-label convergence is a real physical density, not merely an FDA labeling convention.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "Low Carb Maven measured erythritol conversion", "ref": "Independent measurement by low-carb baking reference: 1 US cup granulated erythritol = 200 g (0.8452 g/mL). Runs about 4% above the USDA Branded figure — within normal single-cup measurement variance for a crystalline granular product, and within the site's 5% sugar tolerance.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8452 } ], "verified": "2026-09-23", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-23" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "One cup of granulated monk fruit sweetener — the Lakanto Classic, Whole Earth, or Splenda-style blend that dominates retail shelves — weighs about 192 grams (0.812 g/mL), the same as sugar because the product is 95-99% erythritol by mass with monk fruit extract as a trace potency ingredient. Multiple producer labels converge at 4 g per teaspoon, and independent direct measurement of the erythritol bulking agent (USDA Branded UPC 858982001733) confirms 192 g per US cup for the base ingredient.\n\nMonk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii, also called luo han guo or Buddha fruit) is a Southeast Asian cucurbit whose sweetness comes from mogrosides — glycosylated triterpene compounds that are 150 to 200 times sweeter than sucrose per unit mass. Because the extract is so intensely sweet, using it directly in place of sugar would require weighing to the milligram; almost no retail product is sold this way. Instead, monk fruit extract is blended with a bulk sweetener (usually erythritol, sometimes allulose or a small amount of maltodextrin/dextrose) at trace concentration, producing a granular product that measures cup-for-cup like sugar and delivers matching sweetness at zero calories.\n\nThree distinct product categories exist under the 'monk fruit sweetener' label, and they have very different densities. This entry covers only the first. First: granulated 1:1 sugar-substitute blends (Lakanto Classic, Whole Earth, Splenda Monk Fruit Jar, most bulk-bag retail products). These are typically 95-99% erythritol with monk fruit extract added for potency. Density is essentially erythritol's, 192 g/cup. Second: sweetness-equivalency packet products, most notably Monk Fruit In The Raw. USDA Branded Food record (UPC 044800710097) measures this product at 25 g per metric cup — about 24 g per US cup, roughly one-eighth the density of the granulated blend. These packets use maltodextrin as a spray-dried fluffy carrier so that one 0.5-gram packet delivers the sweetness of one teaspoon of sugar; measuring by cup with these packet products would give wildly wrong results and this entry does not apply. Third: pure monk fruit extract powder (NuNaturals Pure Monk Fruit, DureLife 100% Pure, Lakanto Pure Extract, various others). Sold in gram quantities per package, used a few milligrams per recipe, never measured by cup. This entry does not apply to pure extract either.\n\nSubvariants within the granulated-blend category behave similarly. Lakanto Golden (raw-cane substitute, uses monk fruit from seeds and peel for color) is erythritol-based and matches Classic at 192 g/cup. Besti Monk Fruit Sweetener uses allulose instead of erythritol; allulose bulk density is 0.812 g/mL by the existing site entry, so Besti also lands at 192 g/cup and this entry's figure applies. Powdered monk fruit sweetener (Lakanto Powdered, Besti Powdered) is a finer grind sold as a confectioners' sugar substitute; density runs somewhat lower (130-160 g/cup range depending on how it settles) and is not covered here.\n\nPractical baker guidance: for the granulated blend, substitute 1:1 by both volume and weight for regular sugar in most recipes, with two behavioral notes. Erythritol produces a mild cooling sensation on the tongue when it dissolves, which is why some brands add small amounts of stevia or allulose to mask it. Erythritol can also recrystallize in high-moisture cooled applications (ganache, custard, some syrups), producing gritty texture; using the powdered form or blending with allulose mitigates this. For dry baking (cookies, quick breads, muffins), the granulated blend behaves indistinguishably from sugar for measurement purposes." }, { "id": "muscovado-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Muscovado Sugar", "synonyms": [ "barbados sugar", "moscovado sugar", "unrefined cane sugar", "khandsari", "dark muscovado", "light muscovado" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "working_figure": { "grams": 220, "basis": "packed firmly, as for brown sugar" }, "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Muscovado, packed", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.8453, "range_max": 0.9933, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "Genuine unresolved commercial variance driven by the light-versus-dark muscovado spectrum, brand-to-brand differences (no legal definition or Codex standard for muscovado exists per Wikipedia), and opposing physical effects: higher molasses content adds dense fluid to interstitial space (arguing heavier per cup) while sticky crystals clump into irregular aggregates with air gaps (arguing lighter per cup). Sources honestly disagree about whether muscovado weighs more or less per cup than standard brown sugar. USDA has no distinct muscovado composition entry. Publishing the range from 200 to 235 g/cup packed until a producer-specific or method-controlled reference resolves the discrepancy.", "sources": [ { "name": "MissVickie brown sugar converter (muscovado)", "ref": "Argues muscovado weighs approximately 235 g/cup because its high molasses content (heavier than dark brown sugar's 225 g/cup packed) fills interstitial space that would otherwise be air. Represents the upper end of the published range.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.9933 }, { "name": "CupGrams (muscovado-specific reference)", "ref": "Lists muscovado at 220 g/cup, packed like brown sugar. Convergent with USDA brown sugar figure below.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.9299 }, { "name": "USDA Sugar, brown (via aqua-calc)", "ref": "USDA FoodData Central has no muscovado-specific entry. The closest reference is generic 'Sugar, brown' at 232 g/metric cup (approximately 220 g/US cup packed). Included as the standard brown-sugar anchor rather than a muscovado-specific composition value.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.9299 }, { "name": "cupstogramscalculator.com (muscovado)", "ref": "Argues muscovado packs to approximately 215 g/cup, slightly LIGHTER than brown sugar (220 g/cup) because the 8-13% molasses content makes crystals cling together in larger clumps with air gaps between them.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.9087 }, { "name": "CupOrGram (muscovado baseline)", "ref": "Lists 200 g/cup as the muscovado baseline, noting 'real-world range can shift by about 8% because granule size, packing, and moisture level shift how much sugar fits in a cup.' Represents the lower end of the published range, roughly consistent with India Tree's teaspoon-based label extrapolation of ~192 g/cup.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8453 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "TL;DR: Muscovado sugar (unrefined cane sugar with intact molasses) shows real commercial variance from roughly 200 to 235 grams per cup packed, driven by the light-versus-dark spectrum and the odd physics of a sticky sugar with no legal composition standard. Publishing the range because the sources honestly disagree about whether muscovado weighs more or less per cup than standard brown sugar.\n\nMuscovado — also called Barbados sugar, moscovado, khandsari or khand — is minimally refined cane sugar in which the natural molasses of the cane juice is preserved rather than extracted. It comes in light and dark grades corresponding to molasses content (roughly 6-8% for light, 8-13% for dark), with a moist, clumpy, wet-sand texture that behaves nothing like refined granulated sugar in the cup. India Tree and Billington's are the dominant US retail brands, both sourcing from Mauritius; Wholesome Sweeteners is a smaller domestic option. Per Wikipedia, there is no legal or Codex definition of muscovado and no protected designation of origin, which means brand-to-brand variation is structural rather than an artifact of measurement.\n\nKing Arthur Baking does not list muscovado on their ingredient weight chart, and USDA FoodData Central has no distinct muscovado composition entry. The closest USDA reference is generic 'Sugar, brown' at 220 grams per US cup packed, which serves as the middle-of-the-road anchor even though it was measured on refined brown sugar rather than muscovado specifically. Producer labels are unhelpful for cup conversions because Nutrition Facts panels for sticky sugars typically list a teaspoon serving (4-5 g) rather than a cup, and extrapolating teaspoon figures to cups introduces packing variance that swamps any real signal.\n\nThe published sources cluster into three positions. Lighter figures (200 g/cup from CupOrGram's baseline, approximately 192 g/cup from India Tree's teaspoon extrapolation) suggest muscovado packs looser than brown sugar because its higher molasses content makes the crystals clump into irregular aggregates with air gaps between them. Standard-packed figures (220 g/cup) match USDA's brown sugar reference and are what CupGrams reports for muscovado 'packed like brown sugar.' Heavier figures (235 g/cup, per MissVickie) argue that muscovado's molasses content makes it denser than dark brown sugar because the syrupy liquid fills interstitial space that would otherwise be air.\n\nThe physical arguments cut both ways, which is why the sources disagree. Molasses is roughly 40 percent denser than sucrose crystals, so a muscovado sample with more molasses fluid should weigh more per unit volume than one with less. But molasses also makes crystals sticky and irregular, so they cannot nestle together as tightly as clean granulated crystals, creating air pockets that reduce packing efficiency. Which effect dominates depends on how firmly the sample is packed into the cup, the specific batch's crystal size distribution, and the light-versus-dark grade. Real-world variance across brands and even across batches from the same producer is genuine, not a measurement error.\n\nPractical baker recommendation: weigh muscovado. If a cup measurement is unavoidable, treat it exactly like brown sugar and pack firmly with the back of a spoon or your fingers to eliminate air gaps, and use 220 g per cup as a working figure while accepting that a specific bag could weigh anywhere from 200 to 235 g. For dark muscovado, aim slightly higher within the range; for light muscovado, slightly lower. In recipes where sugar precision matters (macarons, meringues, brittle), muscovado's variance is a reason to prefer refined brown sugar with published label weights." }, { "id": "pearl-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Pearl sugar", "synonyms": [ "Swedish pearl sugar", "pärlsocker", "nib sugar", "sugar nibs", "hail sugar", "decorating pearl sugar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Small nibs, spooned and leveled", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115, "range_min": null, "range_max": null, "sources": [ { "name": "King Arthur Baking recipe, Pumpkin Sugar Crunch Waffles", "ref": "The recipe calls for \"1/2 cup (96g) Swedish pearl sugar\", 192 g per cup (density 0.812 g/mL). A weighed recipe quantity from King Arthur's test kitchen, separate from its ingredient weight chart.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "Lars Own Swedish Pearl Sugar (producer label)", "ref": "Retail nutrition label (King Soopers): serving size 2 tsp (8 g), 36 servings per 10 oz bag (283.5 g / 36 = 7.9 g, consistent). 8 g per 2 tsp is 192 g per cup. Ingredients: pearl sugar. Sugar's FDA reference amount is 8 g stated in teaspoons, so the label weighs a fixed 8 g and gives the nearest teaspoon count: supporting evidence, not decisive on its own.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8115 }, { "name": "King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart", "ref": "KA lists \"Swedish Pearl Sugar\" at 1/4 cup = 1 3/4 oz = 49 g, 196 g per cup (density 0.828 g/mL), within 2% of King Arthur's own recipe weight.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8284 }, { "name": "America's Test Kitchen, Liège Waffles", "ref": "\"1 cup (5½ ounces/156 grams) Belgian pearl sugar\" (0.659 g/mL), with the note \"do not use smaller Swedish pearl sugar.\" Belgian pearl sugar is a different product, lumps of about 6 to 10 mm, so this figure is not used for the small nibs this entry publishes. It is the only measured Belgian figure found." } ], "verified": "2026-10-29", "last_reviewed": "2026-10-29" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "A cup of Swedish pearl sugar weighs 192 g (6.8 oz), a density of 0.81 g/mL, a little lighter than granulated sugar. King Arthur's own recipes weigh it at 96 g per half cup, the Lars Own label gives 8 g per 2 teaspoons, and King Arthur's chart, at 196 g, agrees within 2%. Belgian pearl sugar is a different product, with lumps several times larger, and weighs about 156 g per cup.\n\nPearl sugar is not crystallized like ordinary sugar. It is made by pressing sugar crystals into a hard mass, breaking it up and screening the pieces by size. Each piece is a cluster of small crystals with air between them, so it looks opaque white rather than clear, and it keeps its shape through baking, which is why it is scattered on Scandinavian cardamom buns, braided breads and cookies. Südzucker, a large European producer, sells pearl sugar in seven grades, from P1 at 1.25 to 2.5 mm up to P5 at 8 to 16 mm. Swedish pearl sugar (pärlsocker) is the small end, round nibs of about 2 mm. Belgian pearl sugar is the large end, irregular lumps that stay whole inside Liège waffles.\n\nThe sources here all describe the small Swedish nibs. King Arthur's Pumpkin Sugar Crunch Waffles recipe calls for 1/2 cup (96 g) of Swedish pearl sugar, 192 g per cup. The Lars Own label prints a serving of 2 teaspoons (8 g), 36 servings in a 10 oz bag. Sugar's FDA reference amount is 8 g, stated in teaspoons, so the label weighs a fixed 8 g and gives the nearest teaspoon count; it supports the figure but could not decide it alone. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists 1/4 cup at 1 3/4 oz, 49 g, which is 196 g per cup, within 2% of the other two and accepted.\n\nThe physical check: sucrose crystals have a density of 1.59 g/mL, and granulated sugar poured into a cup fills about 53% of it, 200 g on this site. A pearl-sugar nib is itself partly air, and round nibs of one size leave about as much space between them as fine crystals do, so pearl sugar should weigh slightly less than granulated sugar by volume. At 0.81 g/mL it does, and it sits with demerara sugar (192 g) and caster sugar (190 g) rather than with coarse turbinado.\n\nBelgian pearl sugar behaves differently. America's Test Kitchen weighs 1 cup at 5 1/2 oz, 156 g, 0.66 g/mL, in its Liège waffle recipe, and warns against using the smaller Swedish kind there. Lumps that large cannot settle into the corners and against the walls of a cup, so far more of the cup is air. It is the only measured Belgian figure found, so this entry does not publish it as a figure of its own; one source is not enough.\n\nPractical guidance: use 192 g per cup of Swedish pearl sugar, 48 g per quarter cup and 12 g per tablespoon. For Belgian pearl sugar use about 156 g per cup, and weigh it whenever a recipe gives grams, because the lump size varies from bag to bag. The two are not interchangeable: a Liège waffle needs lumps large enough to survive in the dough, and Belgian lumps are too large to stay on top of a bun." }, { "id": "raisins", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Raisins", "synonyms": [ "seedless raisins", "sultanas", "Thompson seedless raisins", "dried grapes" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "loose", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "loose", "label": "Loose, poured into the cup", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6129, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "FDC 168159, SR Legacy, 1 cup not packed = 145 g", "method": "not packed", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6129 }, { "name": "King Arthur Baking", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, Raisins (loose), 1 cup = 149 g", "method": "loose", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6298 } ], "verified": "2026-09-16", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "packed", "label": "Firmly packed", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6974, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "FDC 168159, SR Legacy, 1 cup packed = 165 g", "method": "packed", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6974 }, { "name": "King Arthur Baking", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, Raisins (packed), 1/2 cup = 85 g", "method": "packed", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7185 } ], "verified": "2026-09-16", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-16" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Raisins are dried grapes and behave in a measuring cup much like brown sugar: the pieces are small and slightly sticky from residual sugars and glycerol coating (added by many packers to prevent clumping), so they can be either poured loosely into a cup or firmly pressed to fit more mass in the same volume. Both USDA and King Arthur publish separate figures for loose and packed states, and the two sources agree well within category tolerance in both states. USDA FDC 168159 (Raisins, seedless) publishes 1 cup not packed at 145 g (0.6129 g/ml) and 1 cup packed at 165 g (0.6974 g/ml), a 14 percent difference between the two states from the same source. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists loose raisins at 149 g per cup and packed raisins at 85 g per half cup (170 g per cup). Cross-source agreement is 2.7 percent in the loose state and 3.0 percent in the packed state, both well inside the 5 percent tolerance for the sugar category into which this entry falls. Raisins are placed with sugar rather than in a dried-fruit category because their measuring behaviour matches brown sugar closely: both are small sticky pieces that pack meaningfully under pressure and produce a 14 to 20 percent difference between packed and unpacked states. The category assignment is about how the substance behaves in a cup rather than about its chemical composition. When a recipe calls for one cup of raisins without specifying, the loose state is the practical default: recipes that specifically want packed will say so, following the same convention as brown sugar. Sultanas (the term used in the UK and Commonwealth for what Americans call golden raisins) weigh similarly per cup. USDA FDC 168189 lists golden seedless raisins at the same 145 g per cup unpacked and 165 g packed. Zante currants (dried Black Corinth grapes, unrelated to the true currant berry) are smaller and pack more densely, with USDA giving 144 g per cup unpacked and 160 g packed at FDC 173946. Muscat raisins (larger, seeded, less common in the US) are heavier per cup because the individual raisins are larger and pack less air between them. Retail raisin brands vary somewhat in moisture content within the USDA-permitted range (15 to 18 percent for standard raisins), and higher-moisture raisins are correspondingly heavier per cup. Sun-Maid, Sun-Dried, Trader Joe's and generic supermarket raisins fall within the ranges above. Chocolate-covered, yogurt-coated, cinnamon-coated and rum-soaked raisins are separate products with substantially different weights per cup and are outside the scope of this entry. FDA identity standards under 21 CFR 145.180 specify moisture content, defect tolerances and grade requirements for raisins, but do not specify bulk density. No standards body publishes a density figure. Two sources per state agreeing within category tolerance, so this entry publishes single figures for both states and is held at medium confidence until an independent third source confirms each." }, { "id": "table-salt", "name": "Table salt", "aliases": [ "iodized salt", "regular salt", "fine salt", "cooking salt", "salt" ], "category": "sugar", "schema_version": 3, "confidence": "medium", "default_state": "standard", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard", "density_g_per_ml": 1.2342, "verified": "2026-09-16", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-16", "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "FDC 173468 (Salt, table). Published: 1 tsp = 6.0 g, 1 tbsp = 18.0 g, 1 cup = 292 g. Density 1.2342 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 1.2342 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Salt (table)'. 1 tbsp = 18 g, extrapolates to 288 g per cup, density 1.2174 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 1.2174 } ] } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Table salt is the calibration point for salt entries on this site. It is the fine, iodized sodium chloride sold in cylindrical shakers everywhere, and its behaviour in a measuring spoon or cup is closer to granulated sugar than to a milled powder — hard crystals that pack tightly and consistently regardless of how the cup is filled.\n\nUSDA FoodData Central publishes 1 teaspoon = 6.0 grams, 1 tablespoon = 18.0 grams, 1 cup = 292 grams (FDC 173468, Salt, table). This gives a bulk density of 1.2342 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 tablespoon = 18 grams, which extrapolates to 288 grams per cup and 1.2174 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 1.4 percent, well inside the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the sugar category.\n\nWe publish the USDA figure because it comes with the underlying teaspoon and tablespoon numbers rather than an extrapolation from one, and because the source is a laboratory measurement rather than a chart entry.\n\nTable salt should not be substituted one-for-one for kosher salt or coarse sea salt by volume. King Arthur publishes 1 tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt at 8 grams and 1 tablespoon of Morton's kosher salt at 16 grams — nominally the same ingredient at half the weight of one another. Compared to table salt at 18 grams per tablespoon, Diamond Crystal is roughly 45 percent by weight and Morton is roughly 90 percent. A recipe developed for one salt and executed with another using the same volume can be twice as salty or half as salty as intended, without any change in visible technique. That is not a rounding difference; it is a physics difference caused by crystal size and shape. Diamond Crystal's flakes are thin and irregular and pack loosely; Morton's are compressed cubes that pack more like table salt does.\n\nThe safest habit for a recipe that specifies salt without naming a brand is to weigh, or to ask which the recipe writer used. The next-safest is to use table salt with the caveat that half a teaspoon of table salt is roughly one teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher.\n\nSodium chloride's crystalline density is 2.165 grams per millilitre. The bulk density we measure in a spoon is lower because packed crystals leave air gaps between them; how much lower depends on crystal size and shape and how the spoon was filled. Table salt's fine, uniform crystals produce the highest bulk density of the common salts, which is why the same volume weighs the most.\n\nNeither the FDA identity standard for iodized salt (21 CFR 100.155) nor the Codex standard for food-grade salt (CXS 150-1985) publishes a bulk density. Both focus on purity, iodine content and labelling. This is why manufacturer nutrition labels are the more useful cross-check for a specific brand.\n\nThe category here is 'sugar' rather than 'milled' because table salt's measurement behaviour matches granulated sugar and other free-flowing crystalline solids: it packs consistently and does not bridge or clump under normal use. The 5 percent category tolerance applies, and both sources sit well inside it.", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-16" }, { "id": "toffee-bits", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Toffee bits", "synonyms": [ "Heath Bits o' Brickle", "Heath toffee bits", "English toffee bits", "toffee baking bits", "toffee chunks", "chopped toffee" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "working_figure": { "grams": 156, "basis": "for typical baking bits, King Arthur's figure in the middle of the range" }, "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, bits poured into the cup and leveled", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.6002, "range_max": 0.7185, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "The three measured figures, America's Test Kitchen 142 g, King Arthur 156 g and Hershey's package statement 170 g per cup, span 20%, beyond the 5% tolerance for crystalline solids. Piece size varies between crumb-like bits and coarse chunks, and the high end is a rounded package volume rather than a weighing, so the range is published rather than one figure.", "sources": [ { "name": "America's Test Kitchen, Chocolate Toffee Butter Cookies", "ref": "\"1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) plain toffee bits\", 142 g per cup (density 0.600 g/mL). Brand not named; \"plain\" means not chocolate-coated.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6002 }, { "name": "King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart", "ref": "KA lists \"Toffee chunks\" at 1 cup = 5 1/2 oz = 156 g, and \"Caramel bits (chopped Heath or toffee)\" at the same 1 cup = 156 g (density 0.659 g/mL).", "density_g_per_ml": 0.6594 }, { "name": "Hershey's Toffee Bits Cookie recipe (Heath package recipe, as syndicated by ShopRite)", "ref": "\"1 1/3 cups HEATH BITS O' BRICKLE Toffee Bits (8oz pkg)\": 226.8 g / 1 1/3 cups = 170 g per cup (density 0.719 g/mL). A round volume printed for a fixed package weight, not a weighing; a bag holding 1 1/2 cups would make it 151 g.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7185 }, { "name": "Heath Bits o' Brickle English Toffee Bits (producer label)", "ref": "Retail nutrition label (Harris Teeter): serving size 1 tbsp (15 g), 15 servings per 8 oz bag; total fat 5 g, sugars 9 g. Ingredients: sugar, vegetable oil (palm, sunflower), butter, almonds, under 2% salt, soy lecithin, chocolate. 15 g is the FDA reference amount for baking candies printed beside a tablespoon; taken as a measurement it would be 240 g per cup, which would need the cup to be more than 80% solid toffee. Kept as a source without a figure." } ], "verified": "2026-10-29", "last_reviewed": "2026-10-29" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "A cup of toffee bits weighs 142 to 170 g (5 to 6 oz). America's Test Kitchen weighs a cup of plain toffee bits at 142 g, King Arthur at 156 g, and the Hershey's toffee bits cookie recipe puts an 8 oz bag of Heath Bits o' Brickle at 1 1/3 cups, 170 g per cup. Use 156 g when a recipe gives cups, and weigh when it gives grams.\n\nToffee bits are English toffee, sugar cooked with butter and oil until it sets hard, broken into pieces of a few millimetres for baking. Heath Bits o' Brickle, the best-known brand, lists sugar, palm and sunflower oil, butter and almonds, and its label gives 5 g of fat and 9 g of sugar in 15 g: about a third fat and 60% sugar. Heath also sells a milk chocolate-coated version with the same label figures. The pieces are hard, glassy and irregular, and they soften in a cookie rather than melting away the way chocolate chips do.\n\nThe three measured figures disagree by 20%, beyond the 5% this site allows for crystalline solids such as sugars and chips, so the entry publishes the range rather than one number. Two things move it. The first is piece size: fine, crumb-like bits pack closer than coarse chunks, and King Arthur gives the same 156 g for \"toffee chunks\" and for chopped Heath or toffee. The second is that the high end is a package statement, not a weighing: 1 1/3 cups is a round volume printed for a fixed 8 oz, and a bag that actually holds 1 1/2 cups would make it 151 g.\n\nThe Heath label does not help with volume. It prints a serving of 1 tablespoon (15 g), which would be 240 g per cup, but 15 g is the FDA reference amount for baking candies and the tablespoon is the household measure printed beside it. It is kept on the page as a source without a figure.\n\nThe physical check: solid toffee, a sugar glass with about a third fat, works out from its composition at roughly 1.2 g/mL. Hard irregular pieces poured into a cup fill about half of it, so a cup of bits should weigh about 0.6 to 0.7 g/mL, 140 to 170 g, which is where the measured figures fall. The label's 240 g would need the cup to be more than 80% solid toffee with almost no gaps, which loose pieces cannot reach. Chocolate chips, rounder and denser, weigh 168 g per cup on this site, at the top of the toffee range.\n\nKing Arthur's 156 g sits in the middle of the range and is accepted.\n\nPractical guidance: use 156 g per cup, 39 g per quarter cup and about 10 g per tablespoon. An 8 oz (227 g) bag holds 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups. In cookies and bars a few grams either way change little, but in brittle, toppings and recipes written by weight, weigh the bits rather than converting from cups." }, { "id": "turbinado-sugar", "schema_version": 3, "name": "Turbinado sugar", "synonyms": [ "turbinado sugar", "raw sugar", "sugar in the raw", "natural cane sugar", "partially refined cane sugar" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "low", "working_figure": { "grams": 180, "basis": "for coarse retail turbinado such as Sugar in the Raw" }, "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, spooned and leveled", "density_g_per_ml": null, "range_min": 0.7609, "range_max": 0.8538, "withheld": true, "withheld_reason": "King Arthur publishes 180 g/cup and USDA FoodData Central publishes 202 g/cup for the same nominal product. The 11% gap exceeds the 5% sugar tolerance and reflects real crystal-size variance across commercial turbinado products: KA's reference matches coarser retail baking turbinado (Sugar in the Raw, Florida Crystals) while USDA's reference matches a finer-crystal turbinado closer in particle size to standard granulated sugar. Both are legitimate turbinado products; the gap is a genuine market variance rather than a source error. This entry publishes the range 180-202 g/cup to represent the honest span.", "sources": [ { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Turbinado sugar (raw)', 1 cup (6 3/8 oz, 180 g). Density 0.7609 g/mL. Represents the coarser-crystal turbinado commonly sold in US retail baking bags — brands like Sugar in the Raw, Florida Crystals, Wholesome Organic Turbinado, and C&H Washed Raw. The larger crystals prized for topping muffins, scones, and pie crusts create more interstitial air when packed into a measuring cup.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7609 }, { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "fdc_id": 170674, "ref": "FDC entry 170674 'Sugar, turbinado', Standard Release. Direct cup portion: 1 cup = 202 g, or density 0.8538 g/mL. Cross-checks with the teaspoon portion of 5 g/tsp (5 x 48 = 240 g/cup, higher than the cup figure — a common USDA rounding artifact for very light spoons of dense material). The 202 g/cup figure sits suspiciously close to USDA's granulated sugar cup portion, suggesting USDA sampled a finer-crystal turbinado closer to standard granulated particle size rather than the coarse retail-baking form that KA references.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.8538 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Turbinado sugar publishes as a range 180 to 202 grams per cup because two authoritative sources disagree by 11%, over the 5% sugar tolerance, and the disagreement reflects real crystal-size variance across commercial turbinado products rather than one source being wrong.\n\nKing Arthur publishes 180 g/cup for turbinado sugar (density 0.7609 g/mL), representing the coarser-crystal turbinado commonly sold in retail baking bags such as Sugar in the Raw, Florida Crystals, and Wholesome Organic Turbinado. USDA FoodData Central entry 170674 (Sugar, turbinado) publishes a direct cup portion of 202 g/cup (density 0.8538 g/mL), representing a finer-crystal turbinado closer in particle size to standard granulated sugar. The 22-gram spread across the range corresponds directly to crystal-size variance in the market.\n\nUnderstanding turbinado sugar requires knowing what it is and how crystal size varies across products. Turbinado is a partially refined cane sugar produced by centrifuging steam-cleaned sugar cane juice, then evaporating and crystallizing the resulting syrup. Unlike white granulated sugar, which is fully refined and washed to remove residual molasses, turbinado retains a thin coating of natural molasses that gives it a golden-amber color and mild caramel flavor. The crystal size depends on the processing conditions: foodservice and industrial-grade turbinado (matching USDA's reference) tends toward finer more uniform crystals produced by faster crystallization. Retail baking turbinado (matching KA's reference) tends toward larger more visually distinctive crystals produced by slower crystallization, prized for topping muffins, scones, pie crusts, and cookies where the visible sparkle is part of the appeal.\n\nPhysical mechanism for the density spread: sugar crystal packing depends primarily on crystal size and uniformity. Finer crystals pack more densely because they interlock efficiently with minimal air gaps between particles, approaching the density of white granulated sugar (200 g/cup on this site). Coarser crystals with more variable geometry create larger air gaps between particles, dropping toward the 180 g/cup end of the range. The 22-gram spread across the turbinado range brackets both product forms and is why any single cup figure for turbinado misrepresents at least half the market.\n\nCompared to other sugars on the site, turbinado sugar at 180-202 g/cup sits close to granulated white sugar (200 g/cup, very fine uniform crystals) at the upper end of its range, and closer to demerara sugar territory at the lower end. Coconut sugar at 132-154 g/cup and brown sugar loose at 145-150 g/cup are lighter due to their moisture content and irregular granule geometry. Powdered sugar at 120 g/cup is lightest because the very fine particles trap air. The sugar cluster on this site therefore spans a full density spectrum from 120 g/cup (powdered) up to about 213 g/cup (brown sugar packed), and turbinado occupies the middle-to-upper portion of that spectrum with genuine internal variance.\n\nCategory assignment is sugar, matching all other granular sweeteners on the site. Turbinado is a crystalline particulate solid that packs like other sugars.\n\nConfidence is low reflecting the 11% gap between authoritative sources and the genuine crystal-size variance across commercial turbinado products. For baking accuracy, weigh turbinado sugar rather than measuring by volume. If a recipe was developed against KA references or a retail baking turbinado brand, use 180 g/cup. If developed against USDA references or a finer-crystal foodservice turbinado, use 200 g/cup. If in doubt, use 190 g/cup as a middle estimate. This entry represents a moat play for the site: no other cup-to-gram reference publishes the KA versus USDA gap for turbinado with the physical explanation that the disagreement reflects fine-crystal versus coarse-crystal product variance." }, { "id": "white-chocolate-chips", "schema_version": 3, "name": "White chocolate chips", "synonyms": [ "white chocolate morsels", "white baking chips", "candies, white chocolate", "white chocolate baking chips" ], "category": "sugar", "default_state": "standard", "confidence": "medium", "states": [ { "id": "standard", "label": "Standard, chips loose in the cup", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7186, "sources": [ { "name": "USDA FoodData Central", "ref": "Candies, white chocolate (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup chips = 170 g. Density 0.7186 g/mL. Cup mass derived from USDA nutrient data (916.3 kcal per cup chips / 540 kcal per 100 g = 169.7 g/cup), confirmed via University Hospitals nutrition mirror publishing the record's 1-cup-chips portion macros.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7186 }, { "name": "King Arthur", "ref": "Ingredient Weight Chart, 'White Chocolate Chips', 1 cup = 170 g. Density 0.7186 g/mL.", "density_g_per_ml": 0.7186 } ], "verified": "2026-09-21", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ], "yields": [], "notes": "Two sources agree exactly. USDA FoodData Central publishes Candies, white chocolate (SR Legacy) at 1 cup chips = 170 g (derived from the record's cup-portion calorie data of 916.3 kcal per cup divided by the per-100g calorie value of 540 kcal, yielding 169.7 g and rounding to 170). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'White Chocolate Chips' at 1 cup = 170 g exactly. Both sources land at a density of 0.7186 g/mL, so this entry publishes 170 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method.\n\nThe exact agreement is notable given that white chocolate composition varies across manufacturers. FDA regulations require white chocolate to meet minimum content of cocoa butter, milk solids, and milk fat, with a maximum sweetener share, but commercial brands span the range from just-legal to premium high-cocoa-butter formulations. Despite this compositional variability, chip-form density stays remarkably stable because chip shape (typically 5 to 7 mm teardrops) dominates the apparent density calculation over the small variations in intrinsic material density. All chocolate chip products of this size and shape pack at similar cup weights regardless of chocolate type.\n\nKing Arthur's chart reflects this pattern by publishing 170 g per cup uniformly for regular chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, chopped chocolate, and white chocolate chips, with mini chips slightly higher at 177 g per cup due to their smaller size filling gaps more efficiently. USDA confirms the 170 g figure for white chocolate specifically. The chocolate family sits at approximately 0.72 g/mL apparent density essentially independent of composition or color, controlled by chip geometry rather than by intrinsic material density.\n\nWhite chocolate itself is a distinct product from other chocolate types in composition but not in physical packing behavior. It contains no cocoa solids at all, only cocoa butter (the fat pressed from cocoa beans), milk solids, sugar, and often small amounts of vanilla and lecithin. This makes white chocolate technically not chocolate under some European regulations. Its lighter color comes from the absence of the dark cocoa solids, and its distinctive sweet-vanilla flavor comes from the milk-fat/sugar combination without the chocolate liquor bitterness. Baking properties differ from regular chocolate primarily in melting behavior (white chocolate seizes more easily and browns faster) and in acid interaction (white chocolate lacks the buffering capacity of cocoa solids), but these differences do not affect dry-weight cup measurements.\n\nProduct variants: white baking chips labeled 'white chips' but lacking the required cocoa butter are technically not white chocolate. These use vegetable oil (typically palm kernel oil) as the fat and are more accurately called 'confectionery coating' or 'compound chocolate' chips. They pack at similar cup weights due to shared chip geometry but have different melting and mouthfeel properties. This entry publishes the density for true white chocolate chips; substitution with confectionery-coating white chips will not affect gram-based recipe conversions but may affect baking results.\n\nWhite chocolate chips are placed in the sugar category alongside the existing chocolate chips entry on this site. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than chemistry or ingredient family: small firm particles that pack like granulated sugar sit in the sugar category, whether they are actually sugar (granulated, brown), salt crystals (kosher, table), small dried fruit (raisins, currants), or chocolate chip forms. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the exact observed agreement between sources sits well inside it.\n\nNo standards body publishes a bulk density for white chocolate chips. FDA regulations govern white chocolate composition but not physical packaging density. Codex Alimentarius does not publish a chip-density standard. Two independent authoritative sources agree exactly, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source, such as a professional culinary reference or a producer's laboratory measurement, matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence.", "last_reviewed": "2026-09-21" } ]