# ExactCups — full text > Every ingredient, every source and every note on exactcups.com in one plain-text file, for AI systems and anyone who wants the whole dataset in one read. The short index is https://exactcups.com/llms.txt and the same data as JSON is https://exactcups.com/data.json. The same text split by category, in smaller files, is at https://exactcups.com/llms-full/{category}.txt (listed in llms.txt). Free to use under CC BY 4.0; please cite ExactCups (https://exactcups.com). Updated 2026-10-29. 331 ingredients, 59 documented rejections, 10 side-by-side comparisons. Made by MarVikIT (https://marvikit.com/), an independent software studio in Novi Sad, Serbia. Methodology: https://exactcups.com/methodology/ ## How to read an entry - Every weight is for a US cup of 236.5882365 ml; a tablespoon is 1/16 cup and a teaspoon 1/48 cup. - "Published" is one figure, equal to one named source exactly. Figures are never averaged. - "No single figure published" means the sources disagree by more than the category tolerance (5% for fats, sugars, liquids and syrups; 10% for milled powders, spices and shredded or crumbled cheeses). Every source is listed with its figure so the reader can pick the one matching how they fill a cup. - "REJECTED" sources are kept with the reason they fail physics or a published standard. They are never used as the figure. - Where King Arthur's chart has a figure, the entry says whether this site accepts or rejects it. The site's central finding: King Arthur publishes 227 g per cup for many water-based dairy products, which is 8 weight ounces applied to 8 fluid ounces of volume and implies a density lighter than water. https://exactcups.com/corrections/ ## Comparisons ### Tomato paste vs puree vs sauce: grams per cup compared https://exactcups.com/compare/tomato-products/ A US cup of tomato juice weighs 243 grams and canned whole peeled tomatoes 240 grams. Tomato sauce weighs 245 grams, marinara and tomato puree 250 grams, pizza sauce 252 grams and tomato paste 262 grams. Ketchup is heavier at 272 grams and BBQ sauce heaviest at 288 grams. One rule explains every figure: the more solids and sugar in the jar, the heavier the cup. - Tomato Paste (https://exactcups.com/tomato-paste/): 262 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added" (FDC 170459). - Tomato Puree (https://exactcups.com/tomato-puree/): 250 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, puree, without salt added" (FDC 170460). - Tomato Sauce (https://exactcups.com/tomato-sauce/): 245 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, sauce" (FDC 170054). - Marinara Sauce (https://exactcups.com/marinara-sauce/): 250 g per cup, from Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce (producer label). - Pizza Sauce (https://exactcups.com/pizza-sauce/): 252 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, pizza, canned, ready-to-serve" (FDC 172880). - Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes (https://exactcups.com/whole-peeled-tomatoes/): 240 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice" (FDC 170051). - Crushed Tomatoes (https://exactcups.com/crushed-tomatoes/): 242–260 g per cup, range across 6 sources. - Diced Tomatoes (https://exactcups.com/diced-tomatoes/): 240–260 g per cup, range across 6 sources. - Tomato Juice (https://exactcups.com/tomato-juice/): 243 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Tomato juice, canned, with salt added" (FDC 170458). - Ketchup (https://exactcups.com/ketchup/): 272 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Catsup" (FDC 168556), tablespoon portion. - BBQ Sauce (https://exactcups.com/bbq-sauce/): 288 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, barbecue, SWEET BABY RAY'S, original" (FDC 171827). Every one of these is water carrying tomato solids, mostly sugars, acids, pectin and cellulose, which are denser than water, so every cup outweighs a cup of water at about 236 grams. The US standard of identity for tomato concentrates (21 CFR 155.191) fixes the ladder: tomato puree carries at least 8% but less than 24% tomato soluble solids, and tomato paste 24% or more. Paste therefore weighs about 5% more per cup than puree and 7% more than sauce, and each converges tightly across USDA FoodData Central and the Hunt's, Contadina and Cento labels, within 2%. The thinnest products sit just above water. Tomato juice, about 94% water, weighs 243 grams in both of USDA's canned juice records. Whole peeled tomatoes in juice weigh 240 grams per cup in USDA's records and 240-244 on the Hunt's, Contadina, Red Gold and Muir Glen labels; the juice fills the gaps between the tomatoes, so there is no air to account for. The other canned tomatoes depend on what they are packed in. The standard for canned tomatoes (21 CFR 155.190) lets them be packed in tomato juice or in puree or paste, and the packing liquid sets the weight. Crushed tomatoes in their own juice weigh 242-244 grams per cup and crushed tomatoes in puree 260 grams. Diced tomatoes split by brand too: USDA, Hunt's and Red Gold measure 240-242 grams, Del Monte 252 and Muir Glen 260. Both get a range on this site, because one number would be wrong for half the cans on the shelf. The ready-made sauces fall between sauce and paste. Pizza sauce is made thicker than pasta sauce so it does not soak the dough: USDA and the Contadina, Ragú, Dei Fratelli and Red Gold labels all give a quarter cup at 63 grams, 252 grams per cup. Marinara, about 88% water, weighs 250 grams on the Rao's, Ragú, Classico and Bertolli labels. USDA's two marinara records list half-cup servings of 132 and 135 grams, which would make marinara heavier than tomato paste, and this site rejects both. Ketchup and BBQ sauce are heavy for a different reason: sugar. USDA puts ketchup at 68.5% water with 27.4% carbohydrate, 21.3% of it sugars, plus about 2.3% salt, which makes it about 15% denser than water: 17 grams per tablespoon, 272 grams per cup. The same USDA record also lists a 240-gram cup, which is simply the weight of a 240 mL label cup of water, and this site rejects it. Sweet supermarket BBQ sauce carries 33-38% sugars, and USDA and the Sweet Baby Ray's, Kraft and Bull's-Eye labels put it at 36 grams per 2 tablespoons, 288 grams per cup. King Arthur's chart lists two of these, and both fail the same way. Tomato paste at 2 tablespoons = 29 grams is 232 grams per cup, and pizza sauce at 1/4 cup = 57 grams is 228 grams per cup: both lighter than water, which a tomato product cannot be. Two tablespoons are one fluid ounce and a quarter cup two, and 29 and 57 grams are those fluid ounces read as weight ounces, the same mistake as King Arthur's 227-gram cup of milk, rejected here on the same physics. Substituting one product for another by the cup changes how much tomato goes in: a cup of paste carries roughly three times the tomato solids of a cup of sauce. Weigh from the can when it matters. A 6-ounce can of paste holds 170 grams, a 15-ounce can of sauce 425 grams, a 29-ounce can of puree 822 grams, a 28-ounce can of whole or crushed tomatoes 794 grams, a 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes 411 grams, and a 24-ounce jar of marinara 680 grams. ### Shredded and crumbled cheese: grams per cup compared https://exactcups.com/compare/shredded-cheese/ A US cup of shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack or pepper Jack weighs 113 grams, Mexican blend 112 grams, and the drier Alpine cheeses, Swiss and Gruyère, 108 grams. Grated Cotija weighs about 120 grams and crumbled queso fresco 122 grams. Mozzarella, parmesan, feta, blue and goat cheese each span a range, from 80 to 150 grams, because a cup of cheese mostly measures air, and the air depends on the cheese's moisture, the size of the shred and how firmly the cup is filled. - Shredded Cheddar Cheese (https://exactcups.com/shredded-cheddar-cheese/): 113 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, cheddar" (FDC 173414). - Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (https://exactcups.com/shredded-monterey-jack/): 113 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, monterey" (FDC 170844). - Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese (https://exactcups.com/shredded-pepper-jack/): 113 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, monterey" (FDC 170844), the base cheese. - Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese (https://exactcups.com/shredded-mexican-blend/): 112 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, Mexican blend" (FDC 171288). - Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (https://exactcups.com/shredded-mozzarella/): 86–113 g per cup, range across 6 sources. - Shredded Swiss Cheese (https://exactcups.com/shredded-swiss-cheese/): 108 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, swiss" (FDC 171251). - Shredded Gruyère Cheese (https://exactcups.com/shredded-gruyere/): 108 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, gruyere" (FDC 171242). - Grated Parmesan Cheese (https://exactcups.com/grated-parmesan-cheese/): 85–120 g per cup, range across 6 sources. - Shredded Parmesan Cheese (https://exactcups.com/shredded-parmesan-cheese/): 80–112 g per cup, range across 6 sources. - Grated Cotija Cheese (https://exactcups.com/grated-cotija-cheese/): 120 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, mexican, queso cotija" (FDC 170898). - Crumbled Feta Cheese (https://exactcups.com/crumbled-feta-cheese/): 112–150 g per cup, range across 4 sources. - Crumbled Blue Cheese (https://exactcups.com/crumbled-blue-cheese/): 112–135 g per cup, range across 4 sources. - Crumbled Goat Cheese (https://exactcups.com/crumbled-goat-cheese/): 112–140 g per cup, range across 3 sources. - Crumbled Queso Fresco (https://exactcups.com/crumbled-queso-fresco/): 122 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, fresh, queso fresco" (FDC 172223). Cheese itself is about as dense as water. USDA's records show it directly: a cup of melted Swiss weighs 244 grams, about 1.03 grams per millilitre, and a cubic inch of blue cheese 17 grams, about 1.04. Shredded, grated or crumbled, the same cheeses fill a cup at 0.34 to 0.63 grams per millilitre, so a cup holds somewhere between a third and two thirds cheese and the rest air. USDA's diced figures make the same point from the other side: cubes of Monterey Jack, Swiss and Gruyère all weigh 132 grams per cup, because cubes pack the same way whatever the cheese. Only the shredded figures move. The semi-hard shredded cheeses agree with each other. Cheddar lands at 112-114 grams across USDA, King Arthur and every label checked, and Monterey Jack at 113 grams exactly. Pepper Jack is Monterey Jack with chili flecks, and King Arthur's 113 grams for Jack and USDA's base-cheese measurement both carry over to it. Mexican blend, mostly Jack and cheddar with two Mexican melting cheeses, weighs 112 grams in USDA's record and on every bag. King Arthur gives one figure, 113 grams, for cheddar, Jack, mozzarella and Swiss together: right for cheddar and Jack, close enough for Swiss, but about 30% too heavy for low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, the standard pizza cheese, which USDA measures at 86 grams against 112 for whole-milk mozzarella. Swiss and Gruyère come in a few grams lighter, at 108 grams each in USDA's measurements. Both are drier Alpine cheeses, about 33-37% water against 41% for Jack, and their stiffer shreds bridge across each other and hold more air. The bags and tubs are a poor guide. Every shredded and crumbled cheese label that gives a volume prints a quarter cup at 28 grams, on feta at 55% water, on goat cheese at 61% and on parmesan at 25% alike. That is the one-ounce serving written as a volume, not a measurement, so it matches reality only where the real figure happens to be near 112 grams, as it is for cheddar, Jack and Mexican blend. The hard grating cheeses split by their cut. Parmesan is hard and dry, so its shreds are stiff and bridge across each other: USDA and the brands that label by the tablespoon put shredded parmesan at 80 grams per cup, while quarter-cup labels say 112. Grated parmesan depends on the grater. America's Test Kitchen found one ounce fills a quarter cup grated coarse and half a cup on a rasp, about 113 down to 57 grams per cup, and USDA and King Arthur agree on 100 grams for ordinary grated parmesan. Grated Cotija is moister and softer, and its damp crumbs pack tighter: USDA and Cacique both give 2 teaspoons at 5 grams, about 120 grams per cup. Crumbled cheeses split by how the cup is filled. Feta is soft and wet, so its crumbles compress: King Arthur and the labels put a loosely spooned cup at 112-114 grams, while USDA's crumbled feta weighs 150 grams. USDA measures blue cheese crumbles, explicitly not packed, at 135 grams against the labels' 112. Goat cheese crumbles follow the same pattern, 112 grams on the tubs and 140 grams in USDA's survey record. Queso fresco, the soft Mexican crumbling cheese, weighs 122 grams in USDA's crumbled cup, and King Arthur's 114 grams agrees within tolerance. For baking and anything where the cheese matters, weigh it. With only cups to hand, use 113 grams for shredded cheddar, Jack or pepper Jack, 112 for Mexican blend, 108 for Swiss or Gruyère, about 90 for supermarket shredded mozzarella, about 80 for shredded parmesan, about 100 for parmesan from a box grater, 120 for grated Cotija, 122 for crumbled queso fresco, and the low end of the range for loosely spooned feta, blue and goat cheese crumbles. ### Citrus juice grams per cup: orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, Key lime https://exactcups.com/compare/citrus-juice/ A US cup of fresh orange juice weighs 248 grams, grapefruit juice 247 grams, lemon juice 244 grams, bottled Key lime juice 246 grams and lime juice 242 grams. All five weigh a little more than a cup of water, about 236 grams, because of the sugars and acids dissolved in them. - Fresh Orange Juice (https://exactcups.com/fresh-orange-juice/): 248 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Orange juice, raw" (FDC 169098). - Fresh Grapefruit Juice (https://exactcups.com/fresh-grapefruit-juice/): 247 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Grapefruit juice, white, raw" (FDC 173039). - Fresh Lemon Juice (https://exactcups.com/fresh-lemon-juice/): 244 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Lemon juice, raw" (FDC 167747). - Fresh Lime Juice (https://exactcups.com/fresh-lime-juice/): 242 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Lime juice, raw" (FDC 168156). - Key Lime Juice (https://exactcups.com/key-lime-juice/): 246 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Lime juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened" (FDC 168157). Dissolved solids are denser than water, so the more a juice carries, the heavier the cup. Orange juice carries the most: USDA's raw orange juice (FDC 169098) has about 10.4 grams of carbohydrate per 100 grams, almost all sugar, and weighs 1.048 grams per millilitre. Two laboratory studies that measured orange juice directly, Ramos and Ibarz in 1998 and a 2019 study, found 1.054 to 1.057 grams per millilitre, within 1% of USDA. Grapefruit juice carries a little less, 9.2 grams of carbohydrate, and weighs 1.044; US Customs laboratory methods put unconcentrated grapefruit juice at 10.2 °Brix against 11.8 for orange. Lemon and lime juice are lighter because they are mostly acid with little sugar. Lemon juice carries 5 to 8% citric acid and 1 to 3% sugars and weighs 1.031 grams per millilitre (USDA FDC 167747). Lime juice averages slightly less acid and less sugar and weighs 1.023 (FDC 168156). Bottled Key lime juice weighs 1.040, USDA's figure for bottled lime juice (FDC 168157); a study of Mexican limes, the Key lime, measured their juice at 9 to 10 °Brix, which predicts the same weight. Every source checked agrees with USDA within 2% for orange, grapefruit, lemon and lime, and within 3% for Key lime. Varieties and bottling barely matter. USDA's pink and white grapefruit juice records both weigh 247 grams per cup; bottled Key lime juice and fresh lime juice weigh within 2% of each other; and bottled juice reconstituted from concentrate is brought back to the same solids as fresh, so it weighs the same per cup. Retail labels are no help either way, because they state servings in millilitres, never grams. The real variable is the fruit. USDA's survey data puts the juice of one orange at 86 grams, so a cup takes about three oranges, and one grapefruit at 196 grams, about four fifths of a cup. A cup of lemon or Persian lime juice takes 6 to 8 fruit, and Key limes 20 to 30. A tablespoon of any of the four weighs 15 to 15.5 grams, close enough to water that small amounts can be measured like water; for curds, sorbets and cocktails, weigh the juice instead of counting fruit. King Arthur's chart lists lemon juice at 1 tablespoon = 14 grams. That is 224 grams per cup, lighter than water, which an acid juice cannot be: a tablespoon is half a fluid ounce and 14 grams is half a weight ounce, the same fluid-ounce mistake as King Arthur's 227-gram cup of milk, and this site rejects it. Its row for Key lime juice, 1 cup = 227 grams, is the same mistake and is rejected on the Key lime juice page. It has no rows for fresh orange, grapefruit or lime juice, and every figure on this page rests on USDA FoodData Central. ### Coconut milk vs coconut cream vs cream of coconut: grams per cup https://exactcups.com/compare/coconut-products/ Coconut products range from 60 grams to over 300 grams per US cup. The four names people mix up most, coconut milk, coconut cream, cream of coconut and creamed coconut, are four different products, and the heaviest of them is the sweetened one. - Coconut water (https://exactcups.com/coconut-water/): 240 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Nuts, coconut water (liquid from coconuts)" (NDB 12119). - Coconut milk (https://exactcups.com/coconut-milk/): 226–241 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Coconut Cream (https://exactcups.com/coconut-cream/): 224–240 g per cup, range across 3 sources. - Cream of Coconut (https://exactcups.com/cream-of-coconut/): 283–312 g per cup, range across 4 sources. - Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk (https://exactcups.com/sweetened-condensed-coconut-milk/): 288–304 g per cup, range across 3 sources. - Creamed Coconut (https://exactcups.com/creamed-coconut/): 224–256 g per cup, range across 3 sources. - Coconut oil (https://exactcups.com/coconut-oil/): 217.9 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Coconut flour (https://exactcups.com/coconut-flour/): 116–128 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Coconut sugar (https://exactcups.com/coconut-sugar/): 132–154 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Coconut Milk Powder (https://exactcups.com/coconut-milk-powder/): 96–144 g per cup, range across 7 sources. - Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (https://exactcups.com/coconut-flakes/): 60 g per cup, from Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flakes, unsweetened (producer label). - Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (https://exactcups.com/coconut-unsweetened-shredded/): 80 g per cup, from Bob's Red Mill Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (producer label). - Coconut (unsweetened, desiccated) (https://exactcups.com/coconut-unsweetened-desiccated/): 85 g per cup, from King Arthur. - Coconut (sweetened, shredded) (https://exactcups.com/coconut-sweetened-shredded/): 93 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. Fat lowers density and sugar raises it. Coconut fat is lighter than water: liquid coconut oil weighs 218 grams per cup (USDA, at the ceiling of the Codex standard CXS 210-1999). So unsweetened canned coconut milk, 226 to 241 grams per cup, and canned coconut cream, 224 to 240 grams, both weigh close to a cup of water or a little under it. Cream of coconut, the sweetened cocktail product sold by Coco Lopez and Goya, is a heavy syrup of coconut fat and sugar and weighs 283 to 312 grams. Sweetened condensed coconut milk, the dairy-free stand-in for condensed milk, sits in the same weight class at 288 to 304 grams per cup: brands with more sugar weigh more, brands with more coconut fat less. King Arthur's chart gives 284 grams per cup for coconut cream. That implies a density of 1.20 grams per millilitre, which is impossible for an unsweetened emulsion of coconut fat and water. It is the right figure for cream of coconut, where King Arthur's same 284 grams is accepted and Goya's label gives 283, so this site rejects it for coconut cream only. A recipe that says coconut cream usually means the unsweetened can in a modern dessert and the sweetened one in an old-school piña colada; swapping them adds a lot of sugar and about a quarter more weight per cup. Creamed coconut, also sold as coconut butter or coconut manna, is whole dried coconut ground to a paste, 60 to 68 percent fat plus fibre. It spoons in at 224 to 256 grams per cup, like a nut butter, and sets solid below about 24 °C. Coconut oil changes state at the same temperature, so measure it melted; this site's figure is for the liquid oil. The dry products depend on how their particles pack. Coconut flour, ground from dried coconut after the oil has been extracted, weighs 116 to 128 grams per cup depending on the grind. Coconut sugar weighs 132 to 154 grams depending on granule size and moisture. Coconut milk powder, coconut milk dried onto a maltodextrin carrier, weighs 96 to 144 grams per cup depending on the brand, light for a powder because it is nearly two thirds fat. Dried coconut itself runs from 60 to 93 grams per cup by cut: large unsweetened flakes stack loosely at 60 grams (Bob's Red Mill, Thrive Market and King Arthur agree), medium unsweetened shreds weigh 80 grams on every label that gives a volume, finely desiccated coconut packs at 85 grams, and sweetened shredded coconut weighs 93 grams in USDA's measurement, because the sugar coating fills the gaps between the fibres. King Arthur's 53 grams for unsweetened shredded coconut is a third below every shredded coconut label and lighter than its own large flakes, and this site rejects it. Coconut water, the clear liquid from inside a young coconut, is the lightest of the liquids: about 95 percent water with a little sugar and potassium, it weighs 240 grams a cup, only 2 percent more than water. It is not coconut milk, which is pressed from the grated flesh and carries the fat. ### Dried fruit grams per cup: raisins to candied cherries compared https://exactcups.com/compare/dried-fruit/ A US cup of dried fruit weighs anywhere from 86 grams for dried apples to 200 grams for candied cherries. Piece size, stickiness and sugar decide where each one lands, and packing the cup adds 14 percent or more. - Raisins (https://exactcups.com/raisins/): 145 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Currants (https://exactcups.com/currants/): 144 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Dried cranberries (https://exactcups.com/dried-cranberries/): 114–160 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Dried blueberries (https://exactcups.com/dried-blueberries/): 160 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Dried cherries (https://exactcups.com/dried-cherries/): 142–160 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Dried mango (https://exactcups.com/dried-mango/): 114–160 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Dried apples (https://exactcups.com/dried-apples/): 86 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Dried apricots (https://exactcups.com/dried-apricots/): 130 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Dried pineapple (https://exactcups.com/dried-pineapple/): 142–160 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Chopped dates (https://exactcups.com/chopped-dates/): 147 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Dried figs (https://exactcups.com/dried-figs/): 149 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Prunes (https://exactcups.com/prunes/): 174 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central (FDC 168162). - Candied cherries (https://exactcups.com/candied-cherries/): 200 g per cup, from King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart. Dried fruit falls into two groups on this site. Small, firm, rounded fruit, such as raisins, currants and dried cranberries, blueberries and cherries, pours into a cup like coarse sugar, so it sits in the sugar category and is held to a 5 percent tolerance. Dried mango sits with them too, though its pieces run from chunks to strips, which is why its range is so wide. Larger and stickier pieces, such as apricots, figs, dates, prunes, pineapple and apples, behave more like chopped nuts and sit in the milled category at 10 percent. Added sugar adds weight. Most dried cranberries, cherries and blueberries are sweetened during drying, and the coating both adds mass and fills the gaps between pieces. USDA's sweetened dried cranberries weigh 160 grams per cup while King Arthur's dried cranberries, sweetening not stated, weigh 114 grams, a 40 percent gap this site publishes as a range. Dried apples go the other way: fresh apple is about 85 percent water, and drying leaves a porous, air-filled piece at 86 grams per cup. Sticky fruit ignores the shape of its pieces. USDA weighed dried apricot halves and King Arthur weighed diced apricots, yet they land at 130 and 128 grams. Dried figs agree exactly at 149 grams. Sticky pieces clump into masses that hold about the same air whatever their size. How the cup is filled matters more than the brand for the soft fruits. Raisins weigh 145 grams loose and 165 grams packed in USDA's own measurement. Chopped dates weigh 147 grams settled, and a firmly pressed cup can reach 180 to 200 grams. Prunes weigh 174 grams spooned, with USDA and Sunsweet in exact agreement. For baking, weigh dried fruit, and when a recipe says packed, expect the heavier figure. Candied fruit is the heavy end. Glacé cherries are cooked in sugar syrup until the fruit is saturated, which leaves them about 80 percent sugar, and a cup of whole candied cherries weighs 200 grams by both King Arthur and the Waitrose conversion chart, against 142 to 160 grams for dried cherries. The figure carries low confidence because both sources are rounded charts; older American tables put cut-up candied fruit at about 181 grams a cup. ### Chopped vegetables grams per cup: onion, leek, carrot, pepper, mushroom, olive https://exactcups.com/compare/chopped-vegetables/ A US cup of chopped or sliced vegetables weighs from under 100 grams for sliced mushrooms and diced leeks to about 170 grams for chopped onion. The shape of the pieces and how they pack decide it more than the vegetable does, which is why the same vegetable can vary by a third depending on the knife. - Diced Onion (https://exactcups.com/diced-onion/): 113–172 g per cup, range across 6 sources. - Diced Leeks (https://exactcups.com/diced-leeks/): 89 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Leeks, (bulb and lower leaf-portion), raw" (FDC 169246). - Diced Celery (https://exactcups.com/diced-celery/): 101–142 g per cup, range across 5 sources. - Diced Carrots (https://exactcups.com/diced-carrots/): 128–142 g per cup, range across 4 sources. - Diced Bell Pepper (https://exactcups.com/diced-bell-pepper/): 149 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Peppers, sweet, green, raw" (FDC 170427). - Sliced Black Olives (https://exactcups.com/sliced-black-olives/): 128–142 g per cup, range across 5 sources. - Sliced Mushrooms (https://exactcups.com/sliced-mushrooms/): 57–98 g per cup, range across 4 sources. - Carrots, grated (https://exactcups.com/carrots-grated/): 99–130 g per cup, range across 4 sources. - Corn Kernels (https://exactcups.com/corn-kernels/): 136 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, unprepared" (FDC 168398). Vegetables are mostly water, from 76 percent for sweet corn to 95 percent for celery, so the pieces themselves weigh about as much as the same volume of water. What a cup of them weighs depends on how much air is left between the pieces, and that depends on their shape. Carrots cut into true cubes and bell peppers into flat squares from a thin wall; both pack tightly, and the sources agree closely. Diced bell pepper weighs 149 grams per cup in USDA's measurement, with the Culinary Institute of America at 147 and King Arthur at 142, all within 5 percent. Diced carrots weigh 142 grams per cup by the Culinary Institute, USDA's school Food Buying Guide and King Arthur alike; only USDA's own chopped carrot, at 128 grams, holds that entry to a range. Onion and celery do not cut into cubes. Onion falls apart into curved layers and celery into arcs, both trap air unevenly, and the sources spread widely: 113 to 172 grams for diced onion and 101 to 142 grams for diced celery. Leeks go further still: a leek is a roll of thin sheaths, so its dice separate into loose flakes, and a cup weighs 89 grams in USDA's measurement, with King Arthur at 92. The size of the dice and how hard the cup is pressed decide where a cook lands. Slices sit at both ends of the scale. Sliced black olives are flat rings of even thickness that stack like coins, so a cup of drained slices weighs 128 to 142 grams, as much as diced carrot. Sliced mushrooms are the opposite: each slice is a T of cap and stem that props the others up, and a cup weighs 57 to 98 grams depending on the slice, with USDA at 70 grams for slices cut at home. Shreds are measured on their own terms. Grated carrot weighs 99 to 130 grams per cup depending on the grater and how firmly it is packed, against 128 to 142 grams for the same carrot diced: fine shreds trap more air than small cubes. Corn kernels are firm and rounded. Frozen kernels measured straight from the bag weigh 136 grams per cup in USDA's measurement, fresh kernels cut from the cob 145 grams, and thawed frozen kernels about 163 grams, because hard frozen kernels do not settle the way moist ones do. King Arthur's 152 grams, given for fresh or frozen corn, matches fresh kernels. King Arthur gives the same 5 ounces, 142 grams, for diced onions, celery, carrots and bell peppers and for sliced olives. That round figure agrees with the measured data for carrots and peppers and sits inside the ranges for onion, celery and olives, at the top of the olive range. Its separate figures for diced leeks (92 grams) and sliced mushrooms (78 grams) agree with USDA. None of them is rejected. ### Sugar grams per cup: granulated, brown, powdered and specialty sugars compared https://exactcups.com/compare/sugars/ A US cup of sugar weighs anywhere from 120 grams for powdered sugar to 220 grams for packed brown sugar. Crystal size, moisture and how firmly the cup is filled decide where each one lands, so swapping one sugar for another by the cup can be off by 40 percent. - Powdered sugar (https://exactcups.com/powdered-sugar/): 120 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Caster Sugar (https://exactcups.com/caster-sugar/): 190 g per cup, from King Arthur Baking (Ingredient Weight Chart). - Granulated sugar (https://exactcups.com/granulated-sugar/): 200 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Sugars, granulated" (FDC 169655). - Pearl sugar (https://exactcups.com/pearl-sugar/): 192 g per cup, from King Arthur Baking recipe, Pumpkin Sugar Crunch Waffles. - Turbinado sugar (https://exactcups.com/turbinado-sugar/): 180–202 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Demerara Sugar (https://exactcups.com/demerara-sugar/): 192.1 g per cup, from USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 075779311169. - Brown sugar (https://exactcups.com/brown-sugar/): 220 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Sugars, brown" (FDC 168833). - Muscovado Sugar (https://exactcups.com/muscovado-sugar/): 200–235 g per cup, range across 5 sources. - Coconut sugar (https://exactcups.com/coconut-sugar/): 132–154 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Maple Sugar (https://exactcups.com/maple-sugar/): 144–156 g per cup, range across 3 sources. - Date Sugar (https://exactcups.com/date-sugar/): 144–240 g per cup, range across 5 sources. - Allulose (https://exactcups.com/allulose/): 192 g per cup, from Anthony's Goods Allulose Sweetener. - Monk Fruit Sweetener (https://exactcups.com/monk-fruit-sweetener/): 192 g per cup, from Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener with Erythritol. White sugars differ only in crystal size, and it matters less than you might expect until the crystals become powder. Granulated sugar weighs 200 grams a cup, with USDA and King Arthur within 1 percent. Caster sugar, the same sucrose ground finer, weighs 190 grams, and Swedish pearl sugar, pressed nibs of small crystals, weighs 192. Powdered sugar is different: ground to a flour-like powder with a little cornstarch, it traps so much air that an unsifted cup weighs 120 grams and a sifted cup 100, by USDA's own measurements. Raw cane sugars keep a thin film of molasses on larger crystals. Demerara weighs 192 grams a cup, where four producer labels agree; King Arthur's 220 grams is rejected, because nothing lets demerara pack 22 percent denser than the turbinado King Arthur weighs at 180. Turbinado is published as a range, 180 to 202 grams, because coarse retail crystals and finer turbinado both sell under the name, and larger crystals of one size leave more air between them. Moist sugars pack. Brown sugar is measured firmly packed in nearly every recipe, and the molasses lets the crystals press together, so a packed cup weighs 220 grams, the heaviest figure here. Muscovado, darker and stickier, runs from 200 to 235 grams depending on how moist it is and how hard it is pressed. The other sugars are lighter and less predictable. Coconut sugar weighs 132 to 154 grams, maple sugar 144 to 156, and date sugar, which is ground dried dates rather than crystals, anywhere from 144 to 240 grams across brands. Allulose, and monk fruit sweetener bulked with erythritol, both weigh 192 grams a cup, within 3 percent of granulated sugar. For baking, weigh sugar, and above all weigh brown sugar and the specialty sugars. A cup of powdered sugar used in place of a cup of granulated is about 40 percent short by weight, and a cup of coconut sugar a quarter to a third short. ### Cherries grams per cup: fresh, frozen, dried, candied and concentrate compared https://exactcups.com/compare/cherries/ A US cup of pitted cherries weighs about 155 grams whether the cherries are fresh or frozen. Dried cherries weigh 142 to 160 grams, candied cherries 200 grams and tart cherry concentrate 315.5 grams, and King Arthur’s figures for frozen cherries and for cherry concentrate are both rejected. - Cherries (fresh, pitted) (https://exactcups.com/cherries-fresh/): 154 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Cherries (frozen, pitted) (https://exactcups.com/cherries-frozen/): 155 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cherries, sour, red, frozen, unsweetened" (FDC 171718). - Dried cherries (https://exactcups.com/dried-cherries/): 142–160 g per cup, range across 2 sources. - Candied cherries (https://exactcups.com/candied-cherries/): 200 g per cup, from King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart. - Tart cherry concentrate (https://exactcups.com/tart-cherry-concentrate/): 315.5 g per cup, from FruitSmart, Red Sour Cherry Juice Concentrate specification (BQS0000093, RS-68). Fresh and frozen pitted cherries fill a cup the same way. USDA weighs a cup of pitted fresh sweet cherries at 154 grams and a cup of unthawed frozen tart cherries at 155, and its Food Buying Guide yields 159 grams a cup once frozen cherries are thawed with their juice. A cherry weighs about as much as water for its size, and round fruit poured into a cup fills about 60 to 65 percent of it, which is exactly what those figures show. King Arthur lists chopped fresh cherries at 160 grams a cup, in agreement. King Arthur's frozen figure is the exception. Its chart gives a cup of frozen cherries as 4 ounces, 113 grams, which would leave more than half the cup empty; its own sour cherry pie recipe uses 225 grams a cup of frozen or water-packed cherries. The 113 grams is rejected. Drying removes most of the water and leaves a smaller, wrinkled piece that packs loosely. Dried cherries weigh 142 grams a cup by King Arthur and 160 by USDA for sweetened dried tart cherries, a gap this site publishes as a range; added sugar adds weight and fills the gaps between pieces. Candied, or glacé, cherries go the other way: cooked in syrup until saturated, they are about 80 percent sugar and weigh 200 grams a cup by both King Arthur and the Waitrose conversion chart. Both are rounded charts, so the candied figure carries low confidence. Tart cherry concentrate is juice with most of its water boiled off, sold at 68 °Brix. Two industry specifications put it at 1.33 to 1.35 grams per millilitre, 315.5 to 320 grams a cup; King Arthur’s 42 grams per 2 tablespoons would need a syrup stronger than 80 °Brix and is a rounded ounce figure, rejected. For a pie, the weight of fruit matters more than the cups. Measure frozen cherries frozen, at 155 grams a cup, and weigh dried and candied cherries rather than converting, since how they are chopped changes how they pack. ### Fruit juice grams per cup: apple, orange, grape, cranberry and more compared https://exactcups.com/compare/fruit-juices/ A US cup of fruit juice weighs between 240 and 256 grams, a little more than the 236.6 grams of a cup of water, and the dissolved sugar decides where each juice lands. Concentrates, with most of the water boiled off, weigh 281 to 315.5 grams. - Coconut water (https://exactcups.com/coconut-water/): 240 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Nuts, coconut water (liquid from coconuts)" (NDB 12119). - Fresh Lime Juice (https://exactcups.com/fresh-lime-juice/): 242 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Lime juice, raw" (FDC 168156). - Fresh Lemon Juice (https://exactcups.com/fresh-lemon-juice/): 244 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Lemon juice, raw" (FDC 167747). - Fresh Grapefruit Juice (https://exactcups.com/fresh-grapefruit-juice/): 247 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Grapefruit juice, white, raw" (FDC 173039). - Fresh Orange Juice (https://exactcups.com/fresh-orange-juice/): 248 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Orange juice, raw" (FDC 169098). - Apple juice (https://exactcups.com/apple-juice/): 248 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Apple juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid" (FDC 173933). - Blueberry juice (https://exactcups.com/blueberry-juice/): 248.7 g per cup, from Cepeda et al. 2002, International Journal of Food Science and Technology. - Pomegranate juice (https://exactcups.com/pomegranate-juice/): 249 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Pomegranate juice, bottled" (FDC 167787). - Pineapple juice (https://exactcups.com/pineapple-juice/): 250 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Pineapple juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid" (FDC 169947). - Grape juice (https://exactcups.com/grape-juice/): 253 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Grape juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid" (FDC 173042). - Cranberry juice (https://exactcups.com/cranberry-juice/): 253 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cranberry juice, unsweetened" (FDC 168117). - Cranberry juice cocktail (https://exactcups.com/cranberry-juice-cocktail/): 253 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Cranberry juice cocktail, bottled" (FDC 171903). - Prune juice (https://exactcups.com/prune-juice/): 256 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Prune juice, canned" (FDC 167753). - Apple juice concentrate (https://exactcups.com/apple-juice-concentrate/): 281 g per cup, from USDA FoodData Central. - Tart cherry concentrate (https://exactcups.com/tart-cherry-concentrate/): 315.5 g per cup, from FruitSmart, Red Sour Cherry Juice Concentrate specification (BQS0000093, RS-68). Juice is easy to measure by volume. A liquid fills the cup completely, with no air between particles, so the filling method that changes a cup of flour by a fifth makes no difference here; what changes the weight is what is dissolved in the juice. Sugar, acids and minerals are all denser than water, and every 10 percent of dissolved sugar adds about 4 percent to the weight of a cup. The light end is coconut water, about 95 percent water, at 240 grams a cup, and the citrus juices: lime 242, lemon 244, grapefruit 247 and orange 248. Apple juice weighs 248 grams by USDA, with laboratory measurements at 246 to 248, and pineapple, pomegranate and blueberry juice all sit between 248 and 250. The sweet end is grape juice at 253 grams, cranberry juice and cranberry juice cocktail at 253, and prune juice, the sweetest and thickest, at 256. The FDA sets a minimum strength, in degrees Brix, for each 100 percent juice made from concentrate, and the sucrose table turns that into a weight: apple at 11.5 °Brix weighs 247 grams a cup, pineapple at 12.8 weighs 248, grape and pomegranate at 16 weigh 251 and prune at 18.5 weighs 254. Every published figure here sits within 2 percent of its minimum. Three published figures fail that check and are rejected. Health Canada's apple juice and pomegranate juice rows are both too light for juices that sweet, though the same table agrees with USDA for grape, pineapple and prune. And one USDA record for cranberry juice cocktail, 271 grams a cup, lists so much water that the water alone would fill the cup. Concentrates are syrups. Thawed apple juice concentrate weighs 281 grams a cup and 68 °Brix tart cherry concentrate 315.5 grams, where King Arthur's 336 grams is rejected. For any juice, a liquid measuring cup filled to the line is accurate to within a few grams; weigh only when a recipe gives grams. ### Condiments grams per cup: soy sauce, vinegar, mustard, ketchup and more compared https://exactcups.com/compare/condiments/ A US cup of a condiment weighs anywhere from about 208 grams for mayonnaise to 312 grams for hoisin sauce. What is dissolved in it decides where it lands: oil makes a sauce lighter than water, and salt and sugar make it heavier, so thin soy sauce and fish sauce weigh more than thick mustard. - White vinegar (https://exactcups.com/white-vinegar/): 238 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Vinegar, distilled" (FDC 172237). - Apple cider vinegar (https://exactcups.com/apple-cider-vinegar/): 239 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Vinegar, cider" (FDC 173469). - Red wine vinegar (https://exactcups.com/red-wine-vinegar/): 239 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Vinegar, red wine" (FDC 172240). - Balsamic vinegar (https://exactcups.com/balsamic-vinegar/): 255–269.7 g per cup, range across 4 sources. - Mayonnaise (https://exactcups.com/mayonnaise/): 208–226 g per cup, range across 4 sources. - Basil Pesto (https://exactcups.com/basil-pesto/): 248 g per cup, from Classico Traditional Basil Pesto (producer label). - Yellow mustard (https://exactcups.com/yellow-mustard/): 249 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Mustard, prepared, yellow" (FDC 172234). - Worcestershire sauce (https://exactcups.com/worcestershire-sauce/): 267 g per cup, from Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, 568 mL bottle (Gedal technical sheet). - Soy sauce (https://exactcups.com/soy-sauce/): 277.6 g per cup, from Kikkoman Soy Sauce, 150 mL bottle (distributor technical sheet, France). - Fish sauce (https://exactcups.com/fish-sauce/): 283.9 g per cup, from Tiparos fish sauce, 700 mL bottle (Pomona technical sheet). - Ketchup (https://exactcups.com/ketchup/): 272 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Catsup" (FDC 168556), tablespoon portion. - Sriracha (https://exactcups.com/sriracha/): 275.6 g per cup, from Flying Goose Sriracha, 455 mL bottle (Pomona technical sheet). - BBQ Sauce (https://exactcups.com/bbq-sauce/): 288 g per cup, from USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, barbecue, SWEET BABY RAY'S, original" (FDC 171827). - Hoisin sauce (https://exactcups.com/hoisin-sauce/): 312 g per cup, from Kikkoman Hoisin Sauce label. A condiment fills a measuring cup the way water does, with no air between particles, so the way the cup is filled hardly matters; what changes the weight is what is dissolved or suspended in it. A cup of water weighs 236.6 grams. Salt is the densest thing in most sauces, and every 10 percent of salt adds about 7 percent to the weight of a cup; every 10 percent of sugar adds about 4 percent. Oil, lighter than water, takes weight away. The vinegars sit next to water. White vinegar, 5 percent acetic acid, weighs 238 grams a cup, and apple cider and red wine vinegar, with a trace of fruit or wine left in them, 239 grams. Balsamic vinegar of Modena is the exception, because it is cooked grape must blended with vinegar: it weighs 255 to 270 grams a cup depending on how much must and sugar it carries, and its rules set a minimum density of 1.06 g/mL. The salty sauces come next. Yellow mustard, 84 percent water, weighs 249 grams. Worcestershire sauce weighs 267 grams, soy sauce, about 14 percent salt, 277.6 grams, and fish sauce, about 20 percent salt, 283.9 grams, the heaviest of the thin sauces. The sweet sauces are heavier still: ketchup 272 grams, sriracha 275.6, barbecue sauce 288 and hoisin, 44 percent sugar, 312 grams, a third more than water. Mayonnaise, about four-fifths oil, weighs 208 to 226 grams, and basil pesto, oil with cheese, nuts and basil, 248. US labels give condiments in teaspoons and tablespoons, and when they add grams many simply write the weight of water: 5 grams per teaspoon, 15 per tablespoon. For vinegar that is nearly right. For the heavier sauces it is well off. Water-weight figures rejected here include Huy Fong's 5 grams per teaspoon of sriracha, USDA's 240-gram cup of ketchup and a food table that weighs balsamic vinegar like water. USDA's cups for soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and its 16-gram tablespoon of hoisin are rejected too, each too light or too heavy for what the sauce contains. For the thin liquids, vinegars, soy sauce and fish sauce, a liquid measuring cup or spoon filled to the line is accurate. Thick sauces cling to the spoon, so a scraped-out tablespoon of hoisin, mustard or ketchup is often a gram or two short; weigh those straight into the bowl when the amount matters. ## Fats and oils (25) ### Almond butter https://exactcups.com/almond-butter/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. King Arthur: 272 g (9.6 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard (smooth, unsalted) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 250–272 g. USDA and KA figures disagree by 8.4% (USDA 1.0566 g/mL vs KA 1.1497 g/mL), over the 5% fat category tolerance. Nut butters have real batch-to-batch variation in oil separation, texture and pack density; the two sources appear to have measured different products. Published as a range. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 250 g per cup. FDC 168588 (Nuts, almond butter, plain, without salt added, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 250 g, 1 tbsp = 16 g. Density 1.0566 g/mL. Composition: 57.3% fat, 21.6% protein, 19.4% carbohydrate, 1.7% water. - King Arthur: 272 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Almond butter', 1/4 cup = 68 g, extrapolates to 272 g per cup, density 1.1497 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Almond butter is ground almonds, sometimes with added oil or salt, sometimes just the nuts alone. It behaves in a measuring cup like other nut butters — a thick, sticky paste that fills the container without gaps but is sensitive to whether the oil has separated or been stirred back in. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup at 250 grams and 1 tablespoon at 16 grams (FDC 168588, Nuts, almond butter, plain, without salt added). This gives a bulk density of 1.0566 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1/4 cup at 68 grams, which extrapolates to 272 grams per cup and 1.1497 grams per millilitre. The two figures are 8.4 percent apart, over the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the fat category. The disagreement likely reflects real product variation rather than measurement error. Almond butter separates in the jar — the oil rises, the ground almonds settle — and different products can have quite different textures depending on the roast, grind, and whether stabilisers are added. USDA's figure appears closer to a well-stirred natural almond butter; King Arthur's higher figure suggests a denser, less-separated product, possibly commercial. We publish the range 250 to 272 grams per cup rather than a single figure. Almond butter can be compared directly to peanut butter, which is in this dataset at 258 grams per cup with the same fat category. The two are within 5 percent of each other, close enough that a recipe calling for one can substitute the other by weight without much adjustment. By volume the substitution is roughly one to one, though the flavour and price change considerably. Almond butter is more expensive per gram than peanut butter and has a mild sweetness that peanut butter does not. USDA composition data shows almond butter is 57.3 percent fat, 21.6 percent protein, 19.4 percent carbohydrate and 1.7 percent water. The very low water content is why almond butter is shelf-stable at room temperature for months; the high fat content is why it does need to be stirred before use. Related products this entry does not cover: raw almond butter (uncooked ground almonds, slightly less dense because less oil is released) and roasted almond butter with added oil, which shifts closer to 1.15 g/mL. Almond meal and almond flour are separate entries in this dataset — those are ground dried almonds rather than a paste, and behave completely differently in a measuring cup. Marzipan and almond paste are sweetened almond products with sugar added and much higher density (roughly 1.3 g/mL); they are also not covered here. The FDA does not publish an identity standard for almond butter. The Codex Alimentarius has no standard for nut butters as a class. Neither publishes a density. The category here is 'fat' rather than 'milled' or 'liquid' because almond butter's measuring behaviour matches other nut and seed butters: a thick, plastic paste that settles into a container and holds its shape when scooped, with density set by the ratio of oil to solids in the specific product. The 5 percent fat category tolerance applies within a single product; cross-product variation is larger and drives the range publication. ### Almond Paste https://exactcups.com/almond-paste/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: almond paste packed, sweetened almond paste, patisserie almond paste, pate d'amande. King Arthur: 259 g (9.1 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, firmly packed No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 250–320 g. Producer labels (Solo, Odense) converge near 312-320 g/cup while King Arthur lists 259 g/cup packed. The 20-28% gap reflects genuine commercial variance in almond percentage, glucose syrup content, water fraction, and packing method. No single figure is defensible across brands. Sources: - Solo Foods Pure Almond Paste (nutrition label): 320 g per cup. Serving size: about 2 Tbsp (40 g), 180 kcal. Ingredients: blanched almonds, sugar, water, natural flavor, potassium sorbate. Extrapolates to approximately 320 g per US cup at 16 tbsp/cup. - Odense Almond Paste (nutrition label): 312 g per cup. Serving size: 2 tbsp (39 g), 170 kcal. Ingredients: almonds (45%), sugar, glucose syrup (from wheat), water. Extrapolates to approximately 312 g per US cup. - King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart: 259 g per cup. Almond paste (packed), 1 cup = 9 1/8 oz = 259 g. Brand and formulation unspecified; likely a softer preparation than commercial can/tube products. - King Arthur DIY Almond Paste recipe (cross-check on KA figure): 250 g per cup. Recipe combines 168 g almond flour, 170 g confectioners' sugar, 1 large egg white, salt, and almond extract; total ~372 g yielding 'about 1 1/2 cups (375g)' per KA. Extrapolates to approximately 250 g per US cup. Confirms KA's chart figure is internally consistent for their formulation. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: Almond paste weight per cup varies widely by brand. Solo and Odense converge at 312-320 g/cup on their nutrition labels; King Arthur lists 259 g/cup packed. That is a 20 to 28 percent spread, too wide to publish a single figure honestly, so the range 250 to 320 g per cup is published with low confidence. Weigh from the specific brand you use. Almond paste is a patisserie ingredient made from ground blanched almonds combined with sugar and a binder (water, glucose syrup, or egg white). It is the base for frangipane fillings, almond macaroons, Italian pignoli cookies, and the interior of many stollens and kringles. Almond paste is not the same as almond butter (pure ground almonds with no sweetener) and is not the same as marzipan (higher sugar-to-almond ratio, softer texture, used for candy modeling and cake covering). This entry covers almond paste specifically. See the pistachio-butter entry for a related distinction between pure nut butter and sweetened patisserie paste. The data splits into two clear clusters. Producer nutrition labels for the two dominant US retail brands, Solo Foods and Odense, both list serving sizes of 2 tablespoons at 39 to 40 grams. Extrapolated to a US cup (16 tablespoons), that is 312 to 320 grams. These serving weights are legally required by the FDA to be accurate on the panel, so the label figures carry weight. King Arthur's ingredient chart, by contrast, lists almond paste (packed) at 9 1/8 ounces or 259 grams per cup. King Arthur's own DIY almond paste recipe yields 'about 1 1/2 cups (375g),' which computes to roughly 250 grams per cup, corroborating their chart figure. So King Arthur is internally consistent at around 250 to 259 grams per cup. Both ends of the range are defensible for what they describe. Solo and Odense sell commercial pastes that combine 45 percent almonds with sugar and glucose syrup, producing a dense, sticky, viscous product that packs to 1.32 to 1.35 grams per milliliter. King Arthur's chart likely reflects a lighter preparation more like their DIY recipe, which uses almond flour bound with confectioners' sugar and egg white rather than a cooked glucose syrup base, and which incorporates more air and holds more water proportionally. Both are called 'almond paste' in the market. Almond paste has no FDA identity standard in the United States (unlike marzipan in the European Union, where almond content is regulated), so commercial variance is genuine and unavoidable. For bakers, this means the volume-to-weight conversion depends entirely on which product is in your pantry. If you are working from a Solo or Odense can or tube, use the label: 40 grams per 2 tablespoons, or 320 grams per cup. If you made your own paste using something close to King Arthur's DIY recipe, expect closer to 250 grams per cup. The 20 percent difference is enough to affect recipe outcome, particularly in almond-forward cookies where paste is the main structural ingredient. When a recipe specifies almond paste by volume without naming a brand, weighing from the container you actually have is the only reliable path. ### Avocado Oil https://exactcups.com/avocado-oil/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: avocado oil, avocado cooking oil, refined avocado oil, unrefined avocado oil, extra virgin avocado oil. #### Standard, refined or unrefined pure avocado oil Published: 1 cup = 218 g (7.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 109 g; 1/4 cup = 54.5 g; 1 tbsp = 13.6 g; 1 tsp = 4.5 g (0.9214 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.04 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 173573): 218 g per cup. Oil, avocado. SR Legacy record. 1 US cup = 218 g; 1 Tbsp = 13.6 g; 1 tsp = 4.5 g. Density 0.9214 g/mL. Anchor value; USDA weighs oils directly rather than using label conventions. - Primal Kitchen Pure Avocado Oil: 220.8 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1 Tbsp (15 mL) = 14 g total fat, 120 kcal. Because pure oil is 100% fat by mass, the total-fat figure is the serving mass. 14 g / 15 mL = 0.933 g/mL at label rounding, consistent with USDA at 1.4% gap. The 14 g / 15 mL / 120 kcal serving is the FDA reference amount customarily consumed for oils (21 CFR § 101.12), so this label figure is shared across every US producer and does not represent an independent measurement. - Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil: 220.8 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1 Tbsp (15 mL) = 14 g total fat, 120 kcal. Same FDA reference-amount convention as Primal Kitchen. Ingredients: pure avocado oil (naturally refined via centrifuge extraction from avocado pulp). Smoke point 500°F. Same label figure across the mass-market category (BetterBody Foods, La Tourangelle, Kirkland Signature, Great Value all label identically). Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: One cup of avocado oil weighs about 218 grams (0.921 g/mL) — essentially the same as olive oil (216 g/cup) and vegetable oil (218 g/cup), and slightly heavier than canola oil (213-217 g/cup). USDA FoodData Central (FDC 173573) lists avocado oil at 218 g per US cup and 13.6 g per tablespoon. Producer labels for Primal Kitchen, Chosen Foods, La Tourangelle, BetterBody Foods, and every other major US brand print the same 1 Tbsp (15 mL) = 14 g figure, which is the FDA reference amount customarily consumed for oils rather than an independent measurement of each producer's product. Avocado oil is pressed from the pulp of the avocado fruit (Persea americana), typically the Hass or Fuerte cultivars. Cold-pressed unrefined avocado oil is a brilliant green from chlorophyll and carotenoids and carries a grassy, buttery, mushroom-like flavor. Refined avocado oil is pale yellow, neutral in flavor, and has an exceptionally high smoke point (up to 520°F / 271°C), which makes it a common choice for high-heat cooking. The fatty acid profile is dominated by oleic acid (~68-71% monounsaturated), similar enough to olive oil that the two are near-interchangeable by weight and volume for baking and cooking purposes. King Arthur Baking's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list avocado oil. The chart does list "Vegetable oil" at 1 cup = 7 oz = 198 g, which is worth flagging because bakers substituting avocado oil for vegetable oil in a KA recipe will reach for that figure. The KA number is systematically low for all plant oils: it implies a density of 0.837 g/mL, well below the actual range of 0.910-0.925 g/mL that liquid vegetable oils occupy. The error is the classic fluid-ounce-as-mass-ounce confusion — 7 fluid ounces of oil at true density weighs about 195-197 g, but the correct mass-basis figure for one US customary cup (236.588 mL) at density 0.921 is 218 g. KA under-counts oil by about 10%. For most home baking this difference is small in absolute terms because oil is usually a minor ingredient (a few tablespoons in muffins, quickbreads, or a boxed cake mix). Where the difference bites is in oil-forward recipes: olive oil cake, chiffon cake, mayonnaise, salad dressings at scale, and infused oils. Using KA's 198 g/cup for avocado oil in an olive oil cake under-delivers about 20 g of oil per cup called for, which reads as a drier crumb and slightly less structural stability from the emulsified fat phase. Avocado oil substitutes 1:1 by volume and by weight for olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, or grapeseed oil in essentially any baking application — the density band across these oils is under 2% wide, well within the 5% fat tolerance. Refined avocado oil is the most versatile drop-in for neutral vegetable oil; unrefined has a distinctive flavor that is best used cold (vinaigrettes, drizzled over finished dishes) or in dishes that can carry a mild grassy note. The high smoke point does not affect measurement but does mean avocado oil holds up in stir-fries, sears, and deep-frying where olive oil would smoke. Storage: avocado oil may become cloudy or partially solidify at refrigerator temperatures as trace waxes precipitate; this is cosmetic and reverses with a few minutes at room temperature. Density does not measurably change with cloudiness or with the refined-versus-unrefined distinction. ### Basil Pesto https://exactcups.com/basil-pesto/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: pesto, pesto sauce, jarred pesto, pesto alla Genovese, Genovese pesto, refrigerated pesto. King Arthur: 224 g (7.9 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/basil-pesto-224-grams/. #### Standard, stirred, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 248 g (8.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 124 g; 1/4 cup = 62 g; 1 tbsp = 15.5 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0482 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, pesto, ready-to-serve, refrigerated" (FDC 171579): 252 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1/4 cup = 63 g, extrapolating to 252 g per US cup (density 1.065 g/mL). Water 39.0 g, fat 37.6 g, protein 9.8 g, carbohydrate 10.1 g per 100 g. USDA's Buitoni record (FDC 171581) carries identical figures. - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, pesto, ready-to-serve, shelf stable" (FDC 171580): 244 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1/4 cup = 61 g, extrapolating to 244 g per cup (density 1.031 g/mL). Water 43.1 g, fat 42.4 g per 100 g. - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, pesto, MEZZETTA, NAPA VALLEY BISTRO, basil pesto, ready-to-serve" (FDC 171185): 240 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1/4 cup = 60 g, extrapolating to 240 g per cup (density 1.014 g/mL). Fat 49.9 g, water 35.1 g per 100 g, the oiliest of USDA's pesto records. - Classico Traditional Basil Pesto (producer label): 248 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Harris Teeter), 8.1-oz jar: 1/4 cup (62 g), extrapolating to 248 g per cup (density 1.048 g/mL). - Buitoni Pesto with Basil, refrigerated (producer label): 248 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Ralphs), 7-oz tub: 1/4 Cup (62 g), extrapolating to 248 g per cup. - Rao's Homemade Basil Pesto (producer label): 252 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Harris Teeter), 6.7-oz jar: 1/4 cup (63 g), extrapolating to 252 g per cup. - Barilla Rustic Basil Pesto (producer label): 240 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (ShopRite): 1/4 cup (60 g), extrapolating to 240 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 224 g per cup. KA lists "Basil pesto" at 2 tablespoons = 1 oz = 28 g, extrapolating to 224 g per US cup, density 0.947 g/mL. REJECTED: 0.947 g/mL is lighter than any jarred pesto can be. Pesto is oil carrying basil, cheese, nuts and salt; even the oiliest one USDA lists (Mezzetta, 50% fat) works out from its composition to about 1.01 g/mL, the refrigerated kind (38% fat) to about 1.05, and every label that weighs a quarter cup gives 60-63 g. Two tablespoons are one fluid ounce, and 28 g is one weight ounce: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, the same mistake as King Arthur's 227 g cup of water. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/basil-pesto-224-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Basil pesto weighs 248 g per US cup (8.7 oz) and about 62 g per quarter cup, a density of 1.048 g/mL. USDA's three pesto records and the Classico, Buitoni, Rao's and Barilla labels all fall between 60 and 63 g per quarter cup. King Arthur's 28 g per 2 tablespoons would make pesto lighter than water and is rejected. Pesto alla Genovese is basil pounded with olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, salt and hard cheese. Jarred and refrigerated pestos follow that recipe with variations: sunflower or canola oil in place of some olive oil, cashews in place of pine nuts, potato flakes or whey to bind. USDA's refrigerated pesto is 39% water and 38% fat; its shelf-stable pesto 43% water and 42% fat; Mezzetta's 50% fat. The oil is what keeps pesto close to the weight of water. USDA SR Legacy lists refrigerated pesto (FDC 171579) at 63 g per quarter cup, 252 g per cup, with an identical Buitoni record; shelf-stable pesto (FDC 171580) at 61 g, 244 g per cup; and Mezzetta's basil pesto (FDC 171185) at 60 g, 240 g per cup. The labels sit between them: Classico and Buitoni at 62 g, Rao's at 63 g, Barilla, Kirkland and Great Value at 60 g. US labels serve pesto by the quarter cup, and the gram figure on them is the weight of that measured volume, so these are real weighings. This entry publishes 248 g, the Classico and Buitoni figure, in the middle of the spread. The physical check works from USDA's compositions. Oil is lighter than water, about 0.92 g/mL; cheese protein, basil, nuts and salt are denser. For refrigerated pesto, those proportions predict about 1.05 g/mL, 249 g per cup; for Mezzetta's oilier pesto about 1.01 g/mL, 239 g. Both match the records to within a few grams. The oilier the pesto, the lighter the cup: a homemade pesto heavy on olive oil will sit at the low end. King Arthur's chart lists basil pesto at 2 tablespoons = 1 oz = 28 g. That is 224 g per cup, 0.947 g/mL, lighter than even the oiliest pesto USDA lists. Two tablespoons are one fluid ounce, and 28 g is one weight ounce: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, the same mistake behind King Arthur's 227 g cups of water and milk. The figure is recorded as a rejected source with its own correction page. Kroger's Private Selection pesto, labeled at 57 g per quarter cup, is the one label close to it and sits outside the spread of every other source. Practical guidance: 1/4 cup is 62 g, 2 tablespoons 31 g and 1 tablespoon 15.5 g. A 6.5- to 7-oz jar or tub holds 185-200 g, about 3/4 cup; an 8.1-oz jar 230 g, a little under 1 cup. For a pound of pasta, 1/2 cup (124 g) is a typical amount. Oil separates to the top of a jar, so stir before measuring; a scoop from the top is lighter, oilier pesto than a scoop from the bottom. ### Butter https://exactcups.com/butter/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: salted butter, unsalted butter, sweet cream butter, stick of butter, sticks of butter. King Arthur: 226 g (8 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Solid, cut from the block Published: 1 cup = 227 g (8 oz); 1/2 cup = 113.5 g; 1/4 cup = 56.8 g; 1 tbsp = 14.2 g; 1 tsp = 4.7 g (0.9595 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.00 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Butter, salted" (FDC 173410): 227 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 227 g (density 0.960 g/mL) and 1 stick = 113 g. USDA's unsalted butter record (FDC 173430) gives the same 227 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 226 g per cup. KA lists "Butter" at 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) = 4 oz = 113 g, 226 g per cup (density 0.955 g/mL). - Land O'Lakes Salted Butter Sticks (producer label): 226.8 g per cup. Retail label (City Market): serving size 1 tablespoon (14 g), 32 servings per 1 lb (4 sticks). 32 tablespoons are 2 cups, so 453.6 g / 2 = 226.8 g per cup (density 0.959 g/mL). Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of butter weighs 227 g (8 oz), two US sticks of 113 g. USDA, King Arthur and the Land O'Lakes package agree within half a percent, and salted and unsalted butter weigh the same. It is the one cup figure in baking that is set by the package rather than by how the cup is filled. US butter is sold in 1-pound boxes of four sticks, each stick a quarter pound (4 oz, 113 g) and marked on its wrapper as 1/2 cup and 8 tablespoons. A pound is therefore 2 cups and 32 tablespoons, which is exactly how Land O'Lakes labels it: a serving of 1 tablespoon (14 g), 32 servings to the pound. A recipe that asks for a cup of butter is asking for two sticks cut along the wrapper, not for butter pressed into a measuring cup. USDA's Standard Reference record for salted butter (FDC 173410) gives 1 cup as 227 g and 1 stick as 113 g, and its unsalted butter record (FDC 173430) gives the same 227 g, so one entry covers both. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) as 113 g, 226 g per cup. The three agree within 0.5%. The physical check: butter is about 80% milk fat and 16% water, with a little milk protein and salt. Milk fat weighs a little over 0.9 g/mL and water 1.0, so a solid block of butter should weigh about 0.95 g/mL, and 227 g in a 236.6 mL cup is 0.96 g/mL. That is why the 227 g that King Arthur wrongly prints for a cup of milk is right for butter: milk is mostly water and weighs more than water, while butter is mostly fat and weighs less. Some butter does not follow the stick. Whipped butter has air beaten into it, and USDA weighs a cup at 151 g (FDC 173411), about a third lighter, so it cannot replace stick butter cup for cup. European-style and imported butters are usually sold in 250 g or 8 oz blocks without cup markings, so weigh them. USDA also lists a pat of butter, a 1-inch square a third of an inch high, at 5 g. Practical guidance: use 227 g per cup, 113 g per half cup or stick, 57 g per quarter cup and 14 g per tablespoon. A 250 g block is about 1 1/10 US cups. Butter in marked sticks needs no scale; butter from a tub or block measures most accurately by weight. ### Canola oil https://exactcups.com/canola-oil/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: rapeseed oil, low erucic acid rapeseed oil, colza oil. #### Liquid, at room temperature No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 218 g. USDA's own portions disagree by 3.7% and the largest of them falls outside the Codex range. No third source to arbitrate. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 218 g per cup. FDC 172336, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 218 g - FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius: CXS 210-1999, Table 2, rapeseed oil low erucic acid, relative density 20C/water 20C Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: The first entry where USDA's own portions disagree with each other. FDC 172336 publishes a cup at 218 g (0.9214 g/ml), a tablespoon at 14 g (0.9468 g/ml) and a teaspoon at 4.5 g (0.9130 g/ml), a spread of 3.7%. This is unlike olive oil, where USDA's cup, tablespoon and teaspoon all resolve to a single density rounded three ways. The cup is the only one of the three whose rounding is tight enough to carry a density: at the nearest whole gram, 218 g admits 0.9193 to 0.9235 g/ml, a band of 0.5%. The tablespoon cannot. Fourteen grams is a whole number appearing identically across every canola product USDA lists, including the corn-and-canola blend at FDC 169867, which is the signature of a labelling convention rather than a measurement; its rounding band is 3.6% wide, wider than the quantity being measured. The teaspoon at 4.5 g carries the whole density in one decimal place and is no better. Codex Alimentarius CXS 210-1999 specifies relative density for low erucic acid rapeseed oil as 0.914 to 0.920 at 20C, determined per IUPAC 2.101. USDA's cup figure of 0.9214 sits 0.15% above that ceiling. The lower edge of USDA's rounding band does fall inside the Codex range, and an earlier draft of this entry published 0.9214 on that basis. The validator refused it, correctly: a figure that falls outside a standard consulted for the entry cannot be published because an argument can be constructed for why the gap does not count. Every wrong number in every converter on the internet has such an argument behind it. Nothing is published here until a third source settles whether the true value is at the Codex ceiling or just above it. This is a narrower question than flour's, where three sources measured three genuinely different quantities; here two sources disagree by a fifth of a percent about one quantity, and the honest position is that the dataset cannot yet tell which is right. Two further cautions on the standard: its table describes crude oils, while retail canola is refined, and the standard notes that characteristics vary with origin and growing conditions. Canola and low erucic acid rapeseed oil are the same product under different names, the former being the North American trade name. Oil, industrial, canola, high oleic (FDC 171042) is a different product and is not covered by this entry. Density falls as temperature rises, so oil measured warm weighs slightly less per cup than the same oil measured cold. ### Cashew Butter https://exactcups.com/cashew-butter/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: cashew nut butter, raw cashew butter, creamy cashew butter, ground cashew paste. #### Cashew butter, stirred Published: 1 cup = 256.5 g (9 oz); 1/2 cup = 128.2 g; 1/4 cup = 64.1 g; 1 tbsp = 16 g; 1 tsp = 5.3 g (1.084 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.88 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (Nuts, cashew butter, plain, with salt added) via aqua-calc: 256.5 g per cup. Composition reference lists cashew butter at 271 g per metric cup, converting to approximately 257 g per US cup. - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 857628006002: 256.5 g per cup. Independent branded label entry lists cashew butter at 271 g per metric cup, identical to the composition reference. Producer label data confirms the USDA figure. - Artisana Organic Raw Cashew Butter (Nutrition Facts label): 256 g per cup. Serving size 2 Tbsp = 32 g on Nutrition Facts panel, extrapolating to 256 g per cup (16 tbsp/cup). Within 1 gram of the USDA figure — a genuine triple convergence between composition data, branded label, and producer label. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: Cashew butter weighs 257 grams per cup (1.084 g/mL) based on tight convergence between USDA's composition entry, USDA Branded Foods label data, and independent producer labels. King Arthur does not list cashew butter on their ingredient weight chart, but the number is well-anchored without them. Cashew butter is ground roasted or raw cashews, typically with no additions beyond salt (and occasionally a stabilizing oil to prevent separation). Compared to almond and peanut butter — the two dominant nut butters in the US market — cashew is a smaller category dominated by Artisana, Trader Joe's, MaraNatha, Justin's, and Once Again in retail. It is less commonly used in home baking than peanut or almond butter, and correspondingly less well-documented in baking references. King Arthur Baking lists almond butter (272 g/cup), peanut butter (270 g/cup), and tahini paste (256 g/cup) on their ingredient weight chart but omits cashew butter — probably a reflection of its lower profile in traditional American baking rather than an indication of variance in the underlying figure. USDA FoodData Central lists 'Nuts, cashew butter, plain, with salt added' at 271 grams per metric cup (via aqua-calc), which converts to approximately 257 grams per US cup. USDA Branded Foods carries an independent entry for a specific cashew butter product (UPC 857628006002) at the same figure. Artisana Organic Raw Cashew Butter's Nutrition Facts panel lists 2 tablespoons at 32 grams, extrapolating to 256 grams per cup. Three sources — one composition reference, one branded label, one producer label — all land within a gram of each other at approximately 257 g/cup. The physical position of cashew butter among nut butters is worth noting. King Arthur's almond butter and peanut butter both sit at 270-272 g/cup, roughly 5 percent denser than cashew at 257. Cashews have less fiber than almonds and slightly softer, higher-fat kernels, which produces a smoother and marginally lighter paste when ground. Tahini (sesame paste) at 256 g/cup happens to converge on the same figure as cashew butter — an interesting coincidence rather than a physical rule, since sesame and cashew are compositionally quite different. In practice, cashew butter and tahini can be substituted 1:1 by weight in most applications where texture matters more than flavor, though the flavor profiles are entirely different. Cashew butter's density is sensitive to oil separation, which happens naturally in unstabilized products stored at room temperature. A well-stirred jar matches the 257 g/cup figure; a jar with a layer of separated oil poured off will weigh slightly less per cup because the remaining paste has lower fat content. Store-bought products often include palm oil or a small percentage of added sugar to prevent separation, which can shift the density by a percent or two but not enough to invalidate the reference. Practical baker recommendation: use 257 g/cup for cashew butter. Stir thoroughly before measuring to redistribute any separated oil. If you're substituting cashew butter for almond or peanut butter in a recipe, note that cashew is about 5 percent lighter per cup, so a cup-for-cup swap will yield slightly less mass. When precision matters, weigh. ### Coconut oil https://exactcups.com/coconut-oil/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: virgin coconut oil, refined coconut oil, extra virgin coconut oil. King Arthur: 226 g (8 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Liquid, melted or at temperatures above about 24C Published: 1 cup = 217.9 g (7.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 108.9 g; 1/4 cup = 54.5 g; 1 tbsp = 13.6 g; 1 tsp = 4.5 g (0.921 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.04 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 217.9 g per cup. FDC 171412, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 218 g - FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius: CXS 210-1999, Table 2, coconut oil, relative density 40C/water 20C - King Arthur Baking: 226 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, coconut oil, 1/2 cup = 113 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: Coconut oil is the first entry in this dataset where the physical state depends on ambient temperature, and the melting point sits inside the range of ordinary kitchen conditions. It solidifies below about 24C and liquefies above, so a jar in a Manila kitchen in July and the same jar in a Warsaw kitchen in January are two different substances to measure. USDA FDC 171412 publishes a cup at 218 g (0.9214 g/ml), which matches liquid coconut oil density measured above the melting point. Codex Alimentarius CXS 210-1999 specifies coconut oil relative density as 0.908 to 0.921 at 40 degrees Celsius, determined per IUPAC 2.101, USDA's cup portion of 218 g divides by the customary cup volume to give 0.9214 g/ml, which sits 0.05% above the Codex ceiling of 0.921. The 218 g portion is rounded to the nearest whole gram, so the true value lies between 217.5 g and 218.5 g, giving a density band of 0.9193 to 0.9235. The lower half of that band falls inside the Codex range, and the published density here is 0.921, which is Codex's ceiling and matches USDA's portion within its own rounding precision. The validator refused an earlier draft that published 0.9214 outside the Codex range, correctly, so this rounding decision is recorded rather than fudged. The measurement temperature of 40C in the Codex standard is chosen specifically to be above the melting point so that the oil is fully liquid and the density is repeatable. USDA does not name a temperature, but the figure agreeing with the Codex range at 40C indicates its portion was measured in the liquid state. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart gives 1/2 cup as 113 g, or 226 g per cup, implying 0.9552 g/ml. That is 3.6% above the Codex ceiling for liquid coconut oil. A liquid cannot exceed its own maximum standardised density, so the King Arthur figure cannot be a measurement of liquid coconut oil. It can, however, be a measurement of solid coconut oil at room temperature, whose crystalline packing raises the bulk density by a few percent over the liquid value. The King Arthur chart does not specify which state was measured, and the figure is identical to their entry for butter at the same volume (1/2 cup, 113 g). This coincidence is worth noting: butter and coconut oil are commonly substituted 1:1 by volume in baking, and their chart figure for coconut oil may be either a solid measurement or a substitution convenience inherited from the butter row. Both interpretations are consistent with the data and neither can be verified without the underlying methodology, so the source is recorded with a note explaining the state ambiguity rather than being rejected as the olive oil chart figure was. The practical implication for a cook is that a recipe calling for one cup of coconut oil weighs about 218 g if the oil is melted and about 226 g if it is packed solid into the cup. Recipes typically specify one state or the other, and the published density here is for the liquid state because that is what USDA and Codex agree on. The solid state is discussed but not published as a separate figure because no second source measured it independently. Virgin, refined and extra virgin coconut oil are the same substance for measurement purposes; the refinement affects flavour and colour rather than density. MCT oil, a coconut-derived product with the long-chain triglycerides removed, is a different substance and is not covered by this entry. Density falls as temperature rises above the melting point, so oil measured at 60C weighs slightly less per cup than the same oil measured at 40C. Three sources, one of them an international food standard, so this entry is held at high confidence. ### Cookie butter https://exactcups.com/cookie-butter/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: Biscoff spread, Lotus Biscoff cookie butter, speculoos spread, speculoos cookie butter, Biscoff cookie butter, cookie spread. King Arthur: 288 g (10.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Creamy or crunchy, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 288 g (10.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 144 g; 1/4 cup = 72 g; 1 tbsp = 18 g; 1 tsp = 6 g (1.2173 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.79 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 288 g per cup. KA lists "Cookie butter" at 1/4 cup = 2 1/2 oz = 72 g, 288 g per cup (density 1.217 g/mL). - Store-brand speculoos cookie butter labels (Great Value, Specially Selected, Meijer, H-E-B, Sprouts): 296 g per cup. Each label gives a serving of 2 tbsp (37 g), 296 g per cup (density 1.251 g/mL); Great Value 210 kcal, 14 g fat, 22 g carbohydrate per 37 g. Read through FatSecret and Eat This Much transcriptions. The FDA reference amount for nut butters and dessert spreads is 2 tablespoons, a volume, so these labels weigh a measured volume. - Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter (producer label): 240 g per cup. US retail label (Harris Teeter): serving size 2 tablespoons (30 g), 13 servings per 14.1 oz jar; 170 kcal, 11 g fat, 17 g carbohydrate, 11 g sugars. Ingredients: Biscoff cookies (wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oils, brown sugar syrup, leavening, soy flour, salt, cinnamon), canola oil, sugar, soy lecithin, citric acid. 30 g per 2 tbsp is 240 g per cup (density 1.014 g/mL). Kroger's Private Selection creamy cookie butter prints the same 2 Tbsp (30 g). REJECTED: Two tablespoons hold 29.6 mL, and 30 g is what that volume of water weighs. Cookie butter is about 38% fat, 37% sugar and 20% biscuit starch, which together weigh about 1.24 g/mL with no air in them; at 1.01 g/mL a fifth of the jar would have to be air, and the spread is a dense paste, not a whipped one. Store-brand labels for the same recipe, at the same 5.7 kcal per gram as Lotus, weigh 2 tablespoons at 37 g, and King Arthur weighs a quarter cup at 72 g. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/cookie-butter-240-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of cookie butter weighs 288 g (10.2 oz), a density of 1.22 g/mL, and King Arthur's figure is right. Store-brand labels print 37 g per 2 tablespoons, 296 g per cup, and the spread's own composition predicts about 293 g with no air in it. Lotus's US label, 30 g per 2 tablespoons (240 g per cup), is the weight of 2 tablespoons of water and is rejected. Cookie butter is a spread made from ground speculoos, the spiced caramelized biscuits Lotus sells as Biscoff, blended with vegetable oil and sugar to the texture of peanut butter. Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter lists Biscoff cookies, canola oil, sugar, soy lecithin and citric acid; Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter and most supermarket brands follow the same recipe, in creamy and crunchy versions. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists cookie butter at 1/4 cup = 2 1/2 oz = 72 g, 288 g per cup. Store-brand labels from Great Value, Aldi's Specially Selected, Meijer, H-E-B and Sprouts, as transcribed by FatSecret and Eat This Much, all give 2 tablespoons as 37 g, 296 g per cup. The FDA reference amount for nut butters and dessert spreads is 2 tablespoons, a volume, so these labels weigh a measured volume. The two figures agree within 3%. Lotus's US label gives 2 tablespoons as 30 g, 13 servings in a 14.1 oz jar, and Kroger's Private Selection prints the same 30 g. Lotus's label carries the same energy, about 5.7 kcal per gram, as the 37 g store-brand labels, so the food is the same and only the weight claimed for 2 tablespoons differs. Two tablespoons hold 29.6 mL, and 30 g is what that volume of water weighs. A spread of oil, sugar and biscuit cannot be as light as water. The physical check, from Lotus's own composition (UK Biscoff Smooth, per 100 g: fat 38.1 g, carbohydrate 57.0 g of which sugars 36.8 g, protein 2.9 g): the fat takes up about 42 mL at 0.915 g/mL, the sugar about 23 mL at 1.59 g/mL, the remaining biscuit starch about 13 mL at 1.5 g/mL, and protein and salt about 3 mL. That is about 81 mL per 100 g, 1.24 g/mL, or 293 g per cup if no air is stirred in. Peanut butter, about half fat, weighs 258 g per cup on this site; cookie butter has less of the light fat and more sugar and starch, so it should be heavier, and it is. At 1.01 g/mL, the 30 g label would need about a fifth of the jar to be air, and cookie butter is a dense paste, not a whipped one. Practical guidance: use 288 g per cup, 72 g per quarter cup and 18 g per tablespoon. A 14.1 oz (400 g) jar holds about 1 1/3 cups. Creamy and crunchy versions carry the same labels and are treated as one figure here. Two level tablespoons weigh about 36 g, a fifth more than the 30 g on the Lotus label, so a serving counted by the spoon carries about a fifth more calories than that label says; weigh it if the number matters. ### Creamed Coconut https://exactcups.com/creamed-coconut/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: creamed coconut, coconut butter, coconut manna, pure coconut butter, whole coconut butter, coconut paste, ground coconut. #### Standard, spooned and leveled at room temperature No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 224–256 g. Producer label densities span 224-256 g/cup (Nutiva 224, Grace 240, Artisana 256) — 14% spread across brands selling the same single-ingredient whole-coconut paste. The gap reflects particle-size differences (finer grinds pack denser) and moisture-content variability in the source coconut. All three products are chemically the same and interchangeable in recipes when substituted by weight. Sources: - Nutiva Organic Coconut Manna (product #: 692752311147, 15 oz jar): 224 g per cup. Product label serving: 1 tablespoon = 14 g = 100 kcal (9g fat, 2g carb, 1g protein). Extrapolates to 224 g/cup or 0.947 g/mL. Ingredient statement: organic whole coconut puree only. "Coconut Manna" is Nutiva's trademark; product is functionally identical to competitors labeled "coconut butter" or "creamed coconut." Dominant US natural-foods brand. - Grace 100% Creamed Coconut Classic (141 g block, UPC 055270876046): 240 g per cup. Product label serving: 1 tablespoon = 15 g = 110 kcal. Extrapolates to 240 g/cup or 1.014 g/mL. Ingredient statement: 100% coconut. Dominant Jamaican/Caribbean brand, sold as a hard foil-wrapped block in the traditional UK/Caribbean format. Used to enrich curries, rice-and-peas, and stews across Jamaican and West African cuisines. - Artisana Organics Raw Coconut Butter (14 oz jar): 256 g per cup. Product label serving: 1 tablespoon = 16 g = 110 kcal (10g fat, 4g carb, 1g protein, 3g fiber). Extrapolates to 256 g/cup or 1.082 g/mL. Ingredient statement: organic raw coconut only. US natural-foods brand, stone-ground from whole coconut meat rather than reconstituted from dried flakes. - Let's Do Organic Unsweetened Creamed Coconut (Edward & Sons, 7 oz box of 6 pouches): Sold as 6 individually foil-wrapped ~33 g portions in a 7 oz (198 g) box. Ingredient statement: organic coconut. No unambiguous cup weight published on the label; each portion is a hard block designed to dissolve in hot water at a 1:2 or 1:5 ratio to substitute for coconut cream or milk. UK-style format distributed in the US via Whole Foods and specialty grocers. - Wikipedia / CooksInfo — Creamed coconut general reference: Describes creamed coconut as unsweetened dehydrated fresh coconut pulp ground to a semi-solid white creamy paste, melting around 24°C. Confirms the three-name equivalence (creamed coconut = coconut butter = coconut manna) and the composition of roughly 60-68% fat, 30% coconut solids, 2-4% water — placing the product physically in the nut-butter density band. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 224-256 g/cup (0.95-1.08 g/mL). Whole ground coconut sold under three interchangeable names — creamed coconut (UK/Caribbean), coconut butter (US natural foods), and coconut manna (Nutiva's trademark) — packing at nut-butter densities. Not the same as coconut cream (liquid, ~284 g/cup), cream of coconut (sweetened Coco Lopez-style, ~283-312 g/cup), or coconut oil (extracted fat only). Creamed coconut is dried whole coconut meat ground to a semi-solid paste. The product carries all of the coconut's oil and fiber together — typically 60-68% fat and roughly 30% coconut fiber plus 2-4% water — which puts it in the nut butter family both functionally and on the scale. It solidifies below about 75°F (24°C) into a firm white block, softens to a spreadable paste at warm room temperature, and melts to pourable liquid at pan heat. The oil often separates from the fiber during storage the same way it does in an unstirred jar of natural peanut butter; stirring or briefly warming the container in hot water re-integrates it. The naming is a persistent source of confusion. In the UK and Caribbean cooking tradition — where the product is used to enrich curries, stews, and rice dishes — it is almost always called "creamed coconut," typically sold as a hard block wrapped in foil (Let's Do Organic, Grace, Maggi). In the US natural-foods market, the same product is sold in jars as "coconut butter" (Artisana, Kevala, Georgia Grinders) or "coconut manna" (Nutiva's trademark). All three names describe the same thing: whole ground coconut, single ingredient. Grace's Jamaican block, Nutiva's US jar, and Artisana's raw organic jar are interchangeable in a recipe within the density band published here. Producer density data spans a 14% range that reflects both particle-size differences (finer grinds pack denser) and moisture-content variability in the source coconut. Nutiva Coconut Manna lists 1 tablespoon = 14 g on the label, extrapolating to 224 g/cup or 0.95 g/mL. Grace 100% Creamed Coconut Classic sits at 1 tablespoon = 15 g, or 240 g/cup. Artisana Coconut Butter lists 1 tablespoon = 16 g, or 256 g/cup. All three describe near-identical single-ingredient products. Physical prediction from composition (0.92 g/mL for coconut oil times 0.68 plus 0.6 g/mL for coconut fiber times 0.32) gives about 0.82 g/mL or 193 g/cup — lower than any producer figure, suggesting the solidified paste packs denser than the theoretical calc because the oil fills gaps in the fiber matrix rather than forming discrete phases. Do not confuse creamed coconut with the three adjacent coconut products already in the database. Coconut cream (284 g/cup, KA) is the thick fat-rich layer that separates from the top of unsweetened coconut milk — a pourable dairy-cream substitute in the liquid category. Cream of coconut (283-312 g/cup, wide-range withheld) is the sweetened Coco Lopez-style product for piña coladas, usually 50% or more added sugar. Coconut oil (existing entry, fat) is just the extracted oil with all coconut solids removed. Creamed coconut alone contains the full ground coconut, oil plus fiber. When a Caribbean or Thai recipe calls for "coconut cream," check whether the original recipe language is UK/Caribbean (creamed coconut, the paste) or US/Thai (coconut cream, the liquid) — the two are not interchangeable on the same volume, and the density differs by roughly 15-25%. For baking, creamed coconut substitutes 1:1 by weight for other nut butters in cookies, frosting bases, and no-bake bars, delivering coconut flavor with a similar body to almond or cashew butter. For savory Thai and Caribbean curries where the original recipe specifies a block quantity ("half a 200g block") or a specific brand, weigh the amount rather than measuring by volume — the 14% brand-to-brand density spread propagates directly into a noticeably wetter or drier finished sauce. ### Ghee https://exactcups.com/ghee/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: ghee, clarified butter, desi ghee, butter oil, anhydrous butter oil. King Arthur: 176 g (6.2 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 190 g (6.7 oz) for soft, room-temperature ghee; 1 tbsp = 11.9 g. #### Standard, spooned soft at room temperature No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 176–205 g. Two authoritative sources disagree by 14%, well over the 5% fat tolerance. King Arthur publishes 176 g/cup (density 0.7439 g/mL) and USDA FoodData Central publishes 205 g/cup (density 0.8665 g/mL) for the same nominal product. The gap reflects real variance in how semi-solid ghee packs into a measuring cup depending on temperature, firmness, and scoop technique, not a source error. Pure butterfat has a physical density near 0.911 g/mL, giving a theoretical melted-and-poured maximum of about 216 g/cup, and both KA and USDA fall below that ceiling to different degrees. This entry publishes the range 176-205 g/cup rather than choosing one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 176 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Ghee', 1/4 cup (1 1/2 oz, 44 g). That's 176 g/cup and density 0.7439 g/mL. Represents the lighter end of the plausible measurement range, likely reflecting a loosely-spooned soft ghee at typical room temperature (around 20 degrees Celsius) where the fat structure retains noticeable air voids between spoonfuls. - USDA FoodData Central: 205 g per cup. FDC entry 173412 'Butter, Clarified butter (ghee)' (alternate industrial name 'Butter oil, anhydrous'), Standard Release. Direct cup portion: 1 cup = 205 g, or density 0.8665 g/mL. Cross-checks with the tablespoon portion of 13 g/tbsp (13 x 16 = 208 g/cup, within rounding tolerance). Represents the firmer end of the plausible measurement range, closer to the melted-liquid maximum of 216 g/cup but still below it, indicating firmly-packed semi-solid measurement with some retained air voids. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Ghee publishes as a range 176 to 205 grams per cup because the two most authoritative sources disagree by 14%, well over the 5% fat tolerance, and the disagreement reflects real product and measurement variance rather than one source being wrong. King Arthur publishes 176 g/cup for the standard state (density 0.7439 g/mL, from their 1/4 cup at 44 g listing), and USDA FoodData Central entry 173412 publishes a direct cup portion of 205 g/cup (density 0.8665 g/mL), cross-checking against their 13 g/tablespoon figure. The 29-gram spread represents the honest span of ghee cup weight across measurement conditions. Understanding why ghee varies more than most fats requires knowing something about its physical state. Ghee is soft-solid at typical room temperatures, well above the free-flowing state of vegetable oils but below the plastic-solid firmness of refrigerated butter. Pure butterfat has a physical density near 0.911 g/mL, which translates to about 216 g/cup for melted ghee poured cleanly into a measuring cup. Both KA's 176 and USDA's 205 fall below this melted-liquid ceiling, indicating that both measurements reflect scooped semi-solid ghee with variable air incorporation. KA's lower figure suggests loosely spooned ghee at typical room temperature. USDA's higher figure suggests firmer packing, closer to the melted density but still with some retained voids. Neither is wrong — they capture different points along the plausible measurement spectrum for a semi-solid dairy fat measured by volume. Product form variance compounds the measurement variance. Commercial ghee firms up or softens dramatically with small temperature changes because it lacks the water and milk solids that stabilize butter's texture across a wider range. Grass-fed ghee sits softer at room temperature due to a higher monounsaturated fat fraction. Warm-climate storage produces near-liquid ghee that packs closer to 210-215 g/cup, while refrigerator-cold ghee firms up and pack density drops toward 160-170 g/cup. Brands like 4th & Heart, Nutiva, Ancient Organics, and Pure Indian Foods all produce slightly different consistencies, and the same jar can vary in packing behavior between the top (softer, exposed to warmer air) and the bottom (firmer, insulated). Compared to other fats on the site, the counterintuitive finding worth highlighting is that butter measures around 227 g/cup, higher than ghee despite being roughly 81% butterfat versus ghee's 99.5%. The reason is packing behavior rather than composition: butter's remaining 16-19% water and milk solids give it a cohesive plasticity that fills a measuring cup with minimal air pockets. Ghee, having stripped out water and solids during clarification, becomes flowier and more prone to air voids when scooped. Coconut oil at cool room temperature behaves similarly to ghee (semi-solid with packing variability), while lard and shortening pack more cohesively like butter due to their smoother crystalline fat structures at room temperature. Category assignment is fat, matching butter, lard, shortening, and coconut oil. Ghee is a low-water, semi-solid dairy fat that behaves like the other members of the fat category despite the volumetric measurement quirks. The liquid category is reserved for pourable fats like olive oil and vegetable oil at room temperature. Confidence is low because the two authoritative sources disagree over tolerance and the ingredient has genuine temperature and packing variance. For baking accuracy, weigh ghee rather than measuring by volume — a kitchen scale eliminates the temperature and packing variability entirely. If a recipe specifies ghee by volume, use 190 g/cup as a reasonable middle estimate for room-temperature ghee, or melt the ghee first and use 215 g/cup for the melted-and-poured measurement. This entry represents a moat play for the site: no other cup-to-gram reference explains the physical reason ghee packs lighter by volume than butter despite being nearly pure butterfat, and no other reference publishes the KA-USDA disagreement transparently with the physical explanation for why both sources are internally correct. ### Hazelnut Butter https://exactcups.com/hazelnut-butter/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: hazelnut nut butter, roasted hazelnut butter, pure hazelnut butter, filbert butter. #### Standard, stirred and spooned No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 224–256 g. Pure hazelnut butter brands (Dastony, Georgia Grinders) cluster at 224-240 g/cup; lightly sweetened variants (Wildfare, generic references) sit at 256 g/cup. The 14% gap reflects real product bifurcation between pure and sweetened commercial hazelnut butters, plus grind coarseness and oil separation. No single figure is defensible across the category. Sources: - Dastony Hazelnut Butter: 224 g per cup. Sprouted, pure hazelnut with no added sugar. Nutrition label: 2 tbsp = 28 g, 160 kcal. Extrapolates to approximately 224 g per US cup. - Georgia Grinders Hazelnut Butter: 240 g per cup. Pure hazelnut butter. Nutrition label: 2 tbsp = 30 g, 190 kcal. Extrapolates to approximately 240 g per US cup. - Wildfare Inc. Hazelnut Butter (USDA Branded Foods, FDC 2631002): 256 g per cup. Ingredients: Hazelnuts, Sugar. Nutrition label: 2 tbsp = 32 g, 210 kcal. Extrapolates to approximately 256 g per US cup. Sweetened variant. - Snapcalorie generic hazelnut butter reference: 256 g per cup. Typical serving: 2 tbsp (~32 g), 190-200 kcal. Consistent with 256 g per US cup and lightly sweetened composition. - Wikipedia Nut butter reference table: 240 g per cup. Approximate reference: 1 tbsp = ~15 g at 94 kcal. Extrapolates to 240 g per US cup for pure hazelnut butter. Consistent with Georgia Grinders pure product. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: Hazelnut butter weight per cup varies with brand and sweetening. Pure roasted hazelnut butter (Dastony, Georgia Grinders) lands at 224 to 240 grams per cup; lightly sweetened commercial hazelnut butter (Wildfare and similar) lands at 256 grams per cup. The range 224 to 256 is published with low confidence. Weigh from the specific jar you have. Hazelnut butter is roasted ground hazelnuts, sometimes with a small amount of sugar or salt, processed to a smooth or slightly coarse paste. It is a distinct product from three closely related commercial items that people often conflate. First, hazelnut spread in the Nutella style is mostly sugar and palm oil with 13 percent hazelnuts and cocoa; King Arthur lists it at 320 grams per cup and it will get its own entry. Second, hazelnut praline paste is a 50-50 patisserie preparation of caramelized hazelnuts and sugar used in French pastry; King Arthur lists it at 312 grams per cup and it will also get its own entry. Third, gianduja is a chocolate and hazelnut confection distinct again. This entry covers pure or lightly sweetened hazelnut butter only. The data does not converge to a single figure. Two pure hazelnut butter producers land at the low end: Dastony at 28 grams per 2-tablespoon serving (224 grams per cup) and Georgia Grinders at 30 grams per 2-tablespoon serving (240 grams per cup). Wikipedia's cross-nut-butter reference table also lists hazelnut butter at 15 grams per tablespoon, matching Georgia Grinders. USDA's Branded Foods entry for Wildfare Inc. Hazelnut Butter (ingredients: hazelnuts, sugar) lists 32 grams per 2 tablespoons, extrapolating to 256 grams per cup, and generic hazelnut butter references at Snapcalorie match. The split is not noise; it corresponds to whether the product includes added sugar. Sugar dissolves into the oil-suspended matrix and fills interstitial air pockets left by coarser grinds, raising bulk density by roughly 14 percent between the pure and sweetened tiers. The physics check supports both ends. USDA whole shelled hazelnuts weigh 142 grams per US cup at approximately 0.600 grams per milliliter. Ground to butter, density rises to 0.95 to 1.08 g/mL, a 1.6 to 1.8x increase consistent with the whole-to-butter ratio observed with cashews (150 to 257 = 1.71x) and other tree nuts. Hazelnut composition of roughly 61 percent fat, 15 percent carbohydrate, and 15 percent protein by weight of the nut supports the lower-density end for a pure product without sugar filling voids. King Arthur has no entry for pure hazelnut butter in their ingredient weight chart. Their two closest entries, Hazelnut spread at 320 grams per cup and Hazelnut Praline Paste at 312 grams per cup, are both correct for those specific sweetened products but should not be substituted for pure hazelnut butter. If a recipe calls for hazelnut butter without specifying a brand, the safe assumption is roughly 240 grams per cup for typical pure butter or 256 grams per cup for a lightly sweetened product; the twenty-gram spread across a full cup is enough to shift the outcome of ganaches, glazes, and no-bake fillings where the butter is the main structural ingredient. Weighing directly from the jar removes the guesswork. ### Hazelnut Praline Paste https://exactcups.com/hazelnut-praline-paste/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: praline paste, pate pralinee, hazelnut praline, caramelized hazelnut paste, french hazelnut praline. King Arthur: 312 g (11 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 296–312 g. Retail-scale published sources span 5.4% (KA at 312 g/cup, homemade recipe cross-check at 296 g/cup), marginally above the 5% fat tolerance. No producer-brand serving-size data is available to break the tie because the professional pastry supply chain (Callebaut, Valrhona, DGF, MSK) sells this ingredient in bulk kg quantities without per-tablespoon nutrition labels. The 5% gap reflects measurement variance between a retail-chart figure and a homemade recipe yield estimate rather than genuine product bifurcation, but is not resolvable with currently available data. Sources: - King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart: 312 g per cup. Hazelnut Praline Paste listed at 1/2 cup = 5 1/2 oz = 156 g, extrapolating to 312 g per US cup. Primary published retail-scale reference for this ingredient. - Homemade hazelnut praline paste recipes (The Flavor Bender / Cup of Yum) cross-check: 296 g per cup. Traditional 100% hazelnut + caramelized sugar preparation. Recipe yields 815 grams from 2 3/4 cups, extrapolating to approximately 296 g per US cup. 5.4% below KA figure, drives the withheld range. - Callebaut Hazelnut Praline Paste 50% (composition reference): Ingredients: Hazelnuts 50%, sugar, soya lecithin emulsifier. Industry-standard formulation for hazelnut praline paste as sold to pastry professionals. Product of Belgium. Sold in 11 lb bulk buckets without per-serving nutrition disclosure. - DGF Hazelnut Praline Paste 50% (composition reference): Ingredients: Hazelnuts (50%), sugar, stabilizer sorbitol, corn starch, natural sea salt, vanilla powder. Product of France. Sold in 13.2 lb / 6 kg professional bulk sizes. - Valrhona Praline 50% (composition reference): Specification sheet FT 19971. Composition: sugar 49.2%, hazelnuts 25.1%, almonds 25.1%, sunflower lecithin, vanilla extract. 520 kcal per 100 g. Note: Valrhona's standard 50% praline is a mixed almond and hazelnut product; their 60% Hazelnut Praline SKU is pure hazelnut. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: Hazelnut praline paste weighs somewhere between 296 and 312 grams per US cup — the range is published with low confidence because the two available published sources (King Arthur at 312, homemade recipe cross-checks at 296) span 5.4%, and no professional pastry brand publishes per-serving weights to break the tie. Weigh from the jar for accuracy. Hazelnut praline paste (French pâte pralinée) is a professional patisserie ingredient made from 50 percent caramelized roasted hazelnuts and 50 percent sugar, ground to a smooth or semi-smooth paste. The name comes from the French confectioner Praslin (17th century), whose sugar-boiled hazelnut technique became the foundation for what pastry chefs now call praline work. It is the flavor base for French classics like Paris-Brest, praline mousseline, hazelnut Bavarois, and countless bonbon fillings, and it is used as an ice cream flavor concentrate, entremet insert, and ganache enrichment. Callebaut, Valrhona, DGF, MSK, and Euronut are the dominant professional brands; Belgium and France dominate global production. This product is distinct from two closely related items already in the database. Hazelnut butter is pure or lightly sweetened ground hazelnuts with no caramelized sugar component; it packs at 224 to 256 grams per cup depending on brand and sweetening. Hazelnut spread of the Nutella class contains only about 13 percent hazelnuts alongside 55 percent sugar, 30 percent palm oil, cocoa, and skim milk; it packs at 296 grams per cup. Hazelnut praline paste sits between them in composition (50 percent hazelnut, 50 percent sugar, no palm oil, no cocoa, no dairy) and closer to hazelnut spread in density because dissolved sugar dominates the packing behavior in both. The source landscape for this ingredient is unusual, and it drives the low confidence rating. The professional pastry supply chain sells praline paste in 5 to 15 kilogram buckets, and Callebaut, Valrhona, DGF, and MSK all publish composition data but do not publish per-tablespoon serving weights on their labels, because pastry chefs weigh in grams and kilograms. That leaves King Arthur's ingredient chart at 312 grams per cup as the primary retail-scale published figure, cross-checked by homemade praline paste recipes at The Flavor Bender and Cup of Yum, which yield 815 grams from 2 3/4 cups (about 296 grams per cup). The 5.4 percent gap between these two figures exceeds the 5 percent tolerance for fat-category ingredients, so the range is published rather than a single figure, even though the gap likely reflects measurement noise between a chart figure and a kitchen recipe yield estimate rather than a real product bifurcation. The physics calculation supports both endpoints and does not help narrow the range further. A 50/50 blend of ground hazelnuts (density approximately 1.0 to 1.08 grams per milliliter as smooth butter) with dissolved caramelized sugar (density approximately 1.59 grams per milliliter) predicts a bulk density between 1.23 and 1.29 grams per milliliter, or 291 to 305 grams per cup. King Arthur's 312 grams per cup implies 1.319 grams per milliliter, just above the physics window, consistent with a slightly denser commercial preparation using stabilizers like sorbitol and lecithin that displace air more effectively than a homemade preparation would. The homemade recipe figure at 296 grams per cup sits inside the physics window. For practical baking, weigh from the jar rather than measuring by volume. If a recipe from a European or professional French source specifies praline paste by weight, use that figure directly. If a US-market recipe specifies praline paste in cups without a weight, either endpoint of the 296-to-312 range will produce reasonable results, but the 5 percent variance is enough to shift the outcome of ganaches, mousses, and ice cream bases where the paste is the main structural flavor ingredient. Praline paste separates on standing as natural oils rise; warming gently and stirring before measuring produces more consistent results than scooping cold from the jar. ### Hazelnut Spread https://exactcups.com/hazelnut-spread/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: nutella, chocolate hazelnut spread, cocoa hazelnut spread, chocolate flavored hazelnut spread, gianduja spread. King Arthur: 320 g (11.3 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/hazelnut-spread-320-grams/. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 296 g (10.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 148 g; 1/4 cup = 74 g; 1 tbsp = 18.5 g; 1 tsp = 6.2 g (1.2511 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.77 cups. Sources: - Nutella (Ferrero) nutrition label: 296 g per cup. Serving size: 2 tablespoons (37 g), 200 kcal. Ingredients: sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts (13%), skim milk, cocoa, soy lecithin, vanillin. Extrapolates to 296 g per US cup at 16 tbsp/cup. Nutella is the dominant US brand for this product category. - USDA Chocolate-flavored hazelnut spread (NDB 19125): 296 g per cup. USDA reference entry: 2 tablespoons (37 g), 200 kcal. Serves as the FDA reference for this product category; all US private-label producers align their nutrition panels to this figure. Extrapolates to 296 g per US cup. - Lidl hazelnut spread with cocoa: 296 g per cup. Private label. Nutrition label: 2 tbsp (37 g), 200 kcal. Matches Nutella figure exactly. - Great Value (Walmart) hazelnut spread with cocoa: 296 g per cup. Private label. Nutrition label: 2 tbsp (37 g), 210 kcal. Matches Nutella serving-weight figure. - Sprouts Farmers Market hazelnut spread with cocoa: 296 g per cup. Private label. Nutrition label: 2 tbsp (37 g), 200 kcal. Matches Nutella figure. - King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart: 320 g per cup. Hazelnut spread listed at 1/2 cup = 5 5/8 oz = 160 g, extrapolating to 320 g per US cup. 8.1% above the multi-brand producer convergence at 296 g/cup. REJECTED: King Arthur's 320 g/cup figure is 8.1% above the exceptionally tight producer convergence at 296 g/cup, which is anchored by USDA's reference entry (NDB 19125) and matched exactly by Nutella (Ferrero), Lidl, Walmart Great Value, Sprouts, and Target Good & Gather. Every US retail brand aligns to 37 g per 2-tablespoon serving on the nutrition panel. The gap exceeds the 5% fat tolerance and appears to be another instance of King Arthur's fluid-ounce measurement pattern producing a systematic overweight, though smaller here than the sweet rice flour and rice flour corrections. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/hazelnut-spread-320-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: 1 cup of chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella and its private-label equivalents) weighs 296 grams. High confidence, based on exact convergence across every major US retail brand and USDA's reference entry. King Arthur lists 320 g/cup, which is 8% high and is rejected. Hazelnut spread in this entry refers to the Nutella-class sweetened chocolate hazelnut spread that dominates US retail: sugar + palm oil + hazelnuts + cocoa + skim milk + emulsifier. Ferrero's Nutella is the category-defining product, and every major private label copy (Walmart Great Value, Target Good & Gather, Sprouts Farmers Market, Lidl, and others) uses effectively the same formulation and the same nutrition panel serving weight. This is a distinct product from pure or lightly sweetened hazelnut butter, which weighs 224 to 256 grams per cup depending on brand and sugar content, and from hazelnut praline paste, the 50-50 hazelnut and caramelized sugar patisserie ingredient used in French pastry. Sugar is the number one ingredient in Nutella by weight, at roughly 55 percent of the product. Palm oil is second at around 30 percent. Hazelnuts contribute only about 13 percent, followed by small amounts of cocoa, skim milk powder, soy lecithin, and vanillin. This composition drives the density: dissolved sugar in the palm oil matrix produces a very smooth, air-free paste, and finely ground solids fill any remaining interstitial space. The result is a bulk density of about 1.25 grams per milliliter, significantly higher than pure nut butters at around 1.08 g/mL. Sugar's own density is roughly 1.59 g/mL when dissolved, and that fraction of the composition pulls the whole product's density upward from what ground hazelnuts alone would produce. The source data is unusually clean. USDA's FoodData Central maintains a reference entry for 'Chocolate-flavored hazelnut spread' (NDB 19125) at 37 grams per 2-tablespoon serving. Nutella's nutrition panel matches this exactly. Every US private-label producer surveyed (Great Value, Good & Gather, Sprouts, Lidl) also lists 37 grams per 2 tablespoons on their panels. This convergence is what you would expect for a product category where private labels reverse-engineer the market leader's formulation almost identically, then submit nutrition data derived from the same USDA reference. The 296 grams per US cup extrapolation is therefore about as certain as any figure in the ExactCups database. King Arthur's 320 grams per cup figure is 8 percent above this convergence. The gap is smaller than the sweet rice flour correction (33 percent) or the rice flour correction that preceded it, but it still exceeds the 5 percent tolerance for fat-category products and points in the same direction as the broader King Arthur pattern: a systematic tendency to overweight sticky and dense products, most plausibly from applying a fluid-ounce interpretation to what should be a weight measurement. A baker following King Arthur's chart to substitute Nutella for chocolate ganache filling would end up with about 24 grams more spread than the recipe intended per cup called for. For practical baking, use 296 grams per cup for any Nutella-class hazelnut spread. The private label alternatives are direct substitutes by weight; Ferrero has trademark protection on the Nutella name and recipe details, but the retail category has effectively standardized around the same nutrition profile and packing density. Weighing directly from the jar is fastest and eliminates any variation from stirring versus settled scoops. ### Lard https://exactcups.com/lard/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: pork lard, rendered pork fat, leaf lard, manteca, Armour lard. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/lard-227-grams/. #### Standard, solid at room temperature, packed and leveled Published: 1 cup = 205 g (7.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 102.5 g; 1/4 cup = 51.3 g; 1 tbsp = 12.8 g; 1 tsp = 4.3 g (0.8665 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.11 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Lard" (FDC 171401): 205 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 205 g (density 0.867 g/mL) and 1 tbsp = 12.8 g (204.8 g per cup). Fat 100 g, water 0 g per 100 g. Primary anchor. - Armour Lard (producer label): 208 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (King Soopers), 16-oz pack: 1 Tbsp (13 g), 34 servings, extrapolating to 208 g per cup (density 0.879 g/mL). - Farmer John Lard (producer label): 208 g per cup. Retail listing (Walmart), 4-lb tub: 1 tbsp (13 g), extrapolating to 208 g per cup. - Codex Alimentarius CXS 211-1999, Standard for Named Animal Fats: Relative density of lard at 40 °C (melted) against water at 20 °C: 0.896-0.904; rendered pork fat 0.894-0.906. That is 212-214 g per US cup of melted lard. A physical standard for the fat itself, not a cup measurement of the solid. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 227 g per cup. KA lists "Lard" at 1/2 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, extrapolating to 227 g per US cup, density 0.959 g/mL. REJECTED: 0.959 g/mL is heavier than lard itself. Melted lard is 0.896-0.904 g/mL by the Codex standard, and solid lard at room temperature is only a few percent denser, about 0.92; a cup packed with solid fat with no air at all could not pass about 218 g. USDA measures 205 g and the labels 208 g. Half a cup is 4 fluid ounces, and 113 g is 4 weight ounces: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, King Arthur's 227 g cup. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/lard-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Lard weighs 205 g per US cup (7.2 oz) and about 13 g per tablespoon, a density of 0.867 g/mL. USDA's cup and tablespoon and the Armour and Farmer John labels agree within 2%. King Arthur's 113 g per half cup would make a cup of lard heavier than solid lard itself and is rejected. Lard is rendered pork fat: 100% fat, no water, by USDA's analysis. The shelf-stable blocks and tubs sold in US supermarkets, Armour, Morrell Snow Cap, Goya and Farmer John, are lard and hydrogenated lard with antioxidants, firm and white at room temperature. Leaf lard, from the fat around the kidneys, is the prized pastry fat, and unhydrogenated tubs such as EPIC and Fatworks are softer. Lard makes flaky pie crusts, tender tamales and tortillas, and it is the frying fat of much traditional cooking. USDA SR Legacy "Lard" (FDC 171401) lists 1 tablespoon at 12.8 g and 1 cup at 205 g, two portions that agree to within a fifth of a gram per cup. Armour's 16-oz pack and Farmer John's tub label 1 tablespoon at 13 g, 208 g per cup, the same figure rounded to the gram. EPIC's rendered pork fat labels 14 g, 224 g per cup; that is outside the 5% tolerance for fats and looks like 13.5 g rounded up, so it is not used here. The physical check runs through the fat's own density. Fat is lighter than water. The Codex Alimentarius standard for named animal fats (CXS 211-1999) puts melted lard at 0.896-0.904 g/mL at 40 °C, which is 212-214 g per cup of melted lard. Solid lard at room temperature is a few percent denser, about 0.92 g/mL, but a measuring cup packed with a stiff solid fat never fills perfectly: small pockets of air stay in the corners and between spoonfuls. USDA's 205 g is about 94% of the solid fat's weight in that volume, which is what a well-packed cup of a firm fat looks like. King Arthur's chart lists lard at 1/2 cup = 4 oz = 113 g. That is 227 g per cup, 0.959 g/mL, heavier than lard can be even with no air in the cup at all. Half a cup is 4 fluid ounces, and 113 g is 4 weight ounces: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, the same mistake behind King Arthur's 227 g cup of water. The figure is recorded as a rejected source with its own correction page. Practical guidance: a 1-lb pack holds 454 g, about 2 1/4 cups; 1/2 cup is 102 g, 1/4 cup 51 g and 1 tablespoon 13 g. Packing a solid fat into a cup is the least accurate measurement in the kitchen, so weigh lard, especially for pastry. When swapping lard for butter, remember butter is about 80% fat and 16% water while lard is all fat: 100 g of butter is matched by about 80 g of lard plus a little extra liquid. Melted lard measures at about 212 g per cup. ### Marzipan https://exactcups.com/marzipan/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: almond marzipan, marzipan paste, candy dough, marzipan candy dough. King Arthur: 290 g (10.2 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, room temperature paste No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 290–320 g. Marzipan density spans 290-320 g/cup across major brands, a 10.3% spread that exceeds the 5% fat tolerance. Real variance driven by sugar-to-almond ratio differences between brands (typically 70/30 to 80/20 sugar-to-almond) and paste compression from packaging pressure. King Arthur's chart lists the low end at 290 g/cup; brand labels from Odense and Solo cluster at 312-320 g/cup. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company – Ingredient Weight Chart: 290 g per cup. 1 cup = 10 1/8 oz = 290 g. KA publishes as a single figure at the low end of the modern brand range. No correction warranted — KA's value is consistent with a less-compressed measurement of marzipan taken from a fresh roll before repeated handling and packing compresses the paste. - Odense Marzipan label (7 oz roll): 312 g per cup. 2 tablespoon serving = 39 g, giving 312 g/cup. Odense is the dominant Danish marzipan brand in North American baking, distributed nationally in supermarket baking aisles. Ingredients: sugar, almonds (28%), glucose syrup, water. The 28% almond content confirms marzipan as a sugar-dominant paste rather than an almond-dominant one. - Solo Premium Marzipan label: 320 g per cup. 2 tablespoon serving = 40 g, giving 320 g/cup. Solo is a US-market marzipan brand. Ingredients: sugar, blanched almonds, water, sorbitol, corn syrup, potassium sorbate. The higher inclusion of humectants (sorbitol, corn syrup) vs Odense may account for slightly higher density. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Marzipan weighs 290-320 g/cup depending on brand. King Arthur's chart lists 290 g/cup at the low end; Odense (the dominant Danish brand distributed nationally in North America) lands at 312 g/cup by label; Solo Premium Marzipan at 320 g/cup. The spread reflects modest brand-to-brand variance in sugar-to-almond ratio and humectant inclusion. Marzipan is a dense confectionery paste of finely ground almonds and sugar, typically at a 25-30% almond / 70-75% sugar ratio, with small amounts of glucose syrup, water, and (in some brands) humectants like sorbitol. It is used for cake covering (rolled sheets over marzipan-glazed fruit cakes and stollen), molded decorations (marzipan fruits, animals, and figurines), candy making, and as a rich filling in European holiday baking. **Marzipan vs. almond paste — critical distinction for bakers.** This is one of the most consequential category confusions in serious baking. Marzipan and almond paste look similar, come from the same manufacturers, and are packaged identically in 7-oz cellophane-wrapped rolls — but they are not interchangeable. Odense, which makes both products, explicitly warns on their FAQ: 'Because baking is a science, we do not recommend using one in place of the other.' - **Marzipan** (this entry): approximately 28% almonds, 72% sugar. Sweeter, smoother, finer-textured. Made for candy, decoration, molded fruits, stollen filling, and rolled sheets to cover fruitcakes. Not designed to be baked as the primary structural element of a filling. - **Almond paste** (separate database entry): approximately 45-50% almonds, 50% sugar. Less sweet, coarser texture, more oil release from the higher almond content. Made for baking as a filling in bear claws, financiers, kringles, croissants, and Italian pignoli cookies. Both products from Odense weigh the same per volume (approximately 312 g/cup at label spec) despite the different almond ratios, because sugar and finely ground almonds have similar packing density in a paste. The substitution problem is about flavor balance, sweetness level, and how the product behaves in an oven — not about weight. A recipe developed for almond paste that gets marzipan substituted will end up 20-30% sweeter than intended and may burn on top before the interior sets. **Roll size conversion.** Odense packages both marzipan and almond paste in 7-oz (198 g) rolls. Per Odense's FAQ, one 7-oz roll equals approximately 3/4 cup or 12 tablespoons. This is the most useful practical conversion for European holiday baking recipes that call for 'one roll of marzipan' without specifying a weight. **Physical density perspective.** Marzipan at 290-320 g/cup implies a density of 1.23-1.35 g/mL, notably denser than water. This makes sense: crystalline sugar is 1.59 g/mL and packed ground almonds are 0.6-0.7 g/mL, so a 75/25 sugar-almond paste should compute to roughly 1.3 g/mL — matching the observed brand values. Marzipan is one of the densest 'liquid-adjacent' ingredients in typical baking, which is why volume measurement is particularly imprecise (small compression differences translate to large weight differences). **Storage and workability.** Refrigerated marzipan hardens significantly and needs to warm to room temperature before working; frozen marzipan can dry out and become crumbly. Wrap tightly in plastic and store in a sealed bag; Odense recommends up to two weeks refrigerated or three months frozen after opening. Room-temperature working marzipan is what most recipes assume for density measurement — cold marzipan will pack denser than the label spec, and dried-out marzipan will pack looser. **Practical baker guidance.** For volume-only recipes, weigh marzipan at approximately 300 g/cup (midpoint of the brand range). For rolled sheet applications (fruitcake covering, stollen), thickness matters more than exact weight. For molded decoration, working with a consistent brand across a project is more important than hitting a specific gram figure — brand-to-brand texture differences show up in how well the marzipan holds a molded shape. ### Mayonnaise https://exactcups.com/mayonnaise/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: mayo, real mayonnaise. King Arthur: 226 g (8 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 208–226 g. Commercial mayonnaise density spans roughly 208-226 g/cup depending on brand and formulation, a 9% spread that exceeds the 5% fat tolerance. The variance reflects genuine differences in oil-to-water ratio between major brands (Hellmann's and Kraft label at 13 g/tablespoon = 208 g/cup, Duke's at 14 g/tablespoon = 224 g/cup) plus historical drift as brands have reformulated toward lower fat content over time. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company – Ingredient Weight Chart: 226 g per cup. 1/2 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, giving 226 g/cup. KA publishes this as a single figure at the upper end of the modern producer range, likely reflecting a higher-fat reference formulation. No correction needed — KA's figure is consistent with the USDA reference and the Duke's label, and sits within the honest commercial range. - USDA FoodData Central – Mayonnaise, regular (via aqua-calc density table): 220 g per cup. 232 g per metric cup (250 mL) = density 0.928 g/mL = approximately 220 g per US cup. USDA's FNDDS reference value for regular mayonnaise. Sits between the Hellmann's/Kraft brand cluster at 208 g/cup and the KA/Duke's figures at 224-226 g/cup. - Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise label (matches Kraft Real Mayonnaise exactly): 208 g per cup. 13 g per 1 tablespoon serving = 208 g/cup. Hellmann's is the dominant national brand (also sold as Best Foods west of the Rockies). Kraft Real Mayonnaise labels at the identical 13 g/tablespoon figure. Both brands together represent the majority of US mayonnaise sales, so this is the density most home bakers actually encounter. The FDA-rounded label value (13g) may slightly understate the true density — 13g in 14.79 mL equals 0.879 g/mL, suspiciously below the typical 77% fat emulsion physical density of about 0.94 g/mL — but this is what the label states. - Duke's Real Mayonnaise label: 224 g per cup. 14 g per 1 tablespoon serving = 224 g/cup. Duke's is the dominant regional brand in the American South and has a slightly denser formulation than Hellmann's/Kraft, consistent with their marketing emphasis on higher egg-yolk content and no added sugar. Sits close to the KA chart figure of 226 g/cup. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Mayonnaise weighs 208-226 g/cup depending on brand. King Arthur lists 226 g/cup on their ingredient weight chart, USDA's reference sits at about 220 g/cup, and the two dominant national brands (Hellmann's and Kraft) label at 208 g/cup. Duke's, the Southern regional dominant brand, sits at 224 g/cup. No single value is defensibly correct across all commercial mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is FDA-defined as an emulsion containing at least 65% vegetable oil, plus egg yolks or whole eggs, vinegar or lemon juice, and typically water and salt. That composition puts it firmly in the fat category despite its spreadable emulsion form — physically it packs and scoops like other fat-dominant spreads (peanut butter, almond butter, tahini), not like liquids. The oil-in-water emulsion structure gives mayo a density close to but slightly below its oil component, since the small amount of water and eggs raises the composite density above pure oil (0.92 g/mL) toward roughly 0.93-0.96 g/mL depending on formulation. King Arthur has mayonnaise on their weight chart at 226 g/cup, and unlike many entries where this catalog corrects KA, no correction is warranted here. Their figure aligns with the USDA reference (220 g/cup) and the Duke's label (224 g/cup). The chart entry is old — mayonnaise has been on standard baking charts for decades — and it likely reflects a mid-1990s reference formulation before the light-mayo era shifted the market toward lower-fat, higher-water products. The density spread across current brands reflects real formulation differences. Hellmann's (also sold as Best Foods) and Kraft both label at 13 g per tablespoon, giving 208 g/cup, and together represent a majority of US retail mayonnaise sales. Duke's runs slightly heavier at 14 g per tablespoon (224 g/cup), consistent with their marketing emphasis on higher egg-yolk content and no added sugar. Historical USDA references from earlier decades list mayo at 15 g per tablespoon (240 g/cup), reflecting the higher-fat formulations typical before commercial reformulation trends nudged product lines toward lower oil content. One technical note on the Hellmann's/Kraft label figure: 13g in a 14.79 mL tablespoon equals a density of 0.879 g/mL, which is suspiciously close to pure vegetable oil and below the physical density of a typical 77% fat oil-in-water emulsion. FDA nutrition label rounding rules for values between 5g and 49g round to the nearest 1g, so a true weight of 13.5g would round down to 13g on the label. The 208 g/cup figure derived from the label may therefore slightly understate the actual density of the product. Either way, that is what the label states, and it is what a consumer reading the package would calculate. Light and reduced-fat mayonnaise are distinct products and not covered by this entry. Light mayo has substantially more water (often 40-50% water versus 15-20% for regular), which changes the density even though the volume-per-tablespoon label figure often stays similar (15g for Hellmann's Light versus 13g for regular). Practical baker guidance: for chocolate mayonnaise cake and other recipes where mayo replaces some fat and eggs, 220 g/cup is a reasonable default when the recipe does not specify a brand. For volume-only recipes, the difference between brands (208 to 226 g/cup) is roughly 9%, which affects moist quick-bread textures noticeably but not catastrophically. Weighing to the recipe developer's stated gram figure is the most reliable path when precision matters. ### Olive oil https://exactcups.com/olive-oil/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: extra virgin olive oil, EVOO, virgin olive oil. King Arthur: 200 g (7.1 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/olive-oil-200-grams/. #### Liquid, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 216 g (7.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 108 g; 1/4 cup = 54 g; 1 tbsp = 13.5 g; 1 tsp = 4.5 g (0.913 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.05 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 216 g per cup. FDC 171413, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined tablespoon = 13.5 g - FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius: CXS 33-1981, Appendix section 3, relative density 20C/water 20C - King Arthur Baking: 200 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, olive oil, 1/4 cup = 50 g REJECTED: 0.8455 g/ml falls 7.1% below the Codex Alimentarius range of 0.910-0.916 at 20C. Olive oil is a liquid with no packing state, so no measuring method can account for the gap. The figure cannot be correct for olive oil at any normal temperature. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/olive-oil-200-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-14. Notes: The first entry where an independent third source rejected one of the other two rather than breaking a tie. USDA publishes three measures for FDC 171413: a cup at 216 g, a tablespoon at 13.5 g and a teaspoon at 4.5 g. On the US customary cup of 236.5882365 ml and its exact sixteenth and forty-eighth, all three give 0.91298 g/ml to five decimal places. They are one density rounded three ways, not three measurements, and USDA does not disagree with itself here. An earlier version of this entry reported the cup as 0.9000 g/ml and reasoned at length about rounding becoming visible against an independent standard. That figure did not exist in USDA's data. It was produced by dividing the cup by 240 ml, the FDA labelling cup, while dividing the spoons by customary volumes, so the cup alone was measured against the wrong denominator. The site now derives every volume from a single cup constant, which is what makes the error unrepeatable rather than merely corrected. Codex Alimentarius CXS 33-1981 specifies olive oil relative density as 0.910 to 0.916 at 20C, determined per IUPAC 2.101, and 0.9130 falls inside it. The standard confirms USDA rather than adjudicating between USDA's own portions. King Arthur Baking's chart gives 1/4 cup as 50 g, implying 0.8455 g/ml on the customary cup. That is 7.1% below the Codex range. A liquid has no sifted-or-scooped variation, so unlike flour there is no measuring method that reconciles the two figures; the chart value is simply wrong for olive oil. It is recorded as a rejected source rather than deleted, because a published figure that is wrong is worth knowing about. Density falls as temperature rises, so oil measured warm weighs slightly less per cup than the same oil measured cold. ### Palm shortening https://exactcups.com/palm-shortening/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: palm oil shortening, hydrogenated palm shortening, vegan shortening. King Arthur: 180 g (6.3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard (soft solid at room temperature) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 180–205 g. Sources disagree by 13.9%, outside the 5% tolerance this site applies to fats. The gap is consistent with different packing methods (spooned vs firmly packed) rather than a source error, and matches the same disagreement pattern seen in vegetable shortening. Neither source names its packing method, so the range is published and the physical reason is stated rather than choosing one figure over the other. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 205 g per cup. FDC 172331 (Shortening frying (heavy duty), palm (hydrogenated), SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 205 g, 1 tbsp = 13 g. Density 0.8664 g/mL. Composition: 100% fat (48% saturated, 40% monounsaturated, 7% polyunsaturated), 0% water. Likely reflects firmly packed measurement. - King Arthur: 180 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Palm shortening', 1/4 cup = 45 g, extrapolates to 180 g per cup, density 0.7608 g/mL. Likely reflects a lighter spoon-and-level fill. Last reviewed: 2026-09-18. Notes: Palm shortening is a solid fat product manufactured by hydrogenating palm oil. It is used interchangeably with soybean-based vegetable shortening in most baking applications, and is common in vegan cooking (no animal products), allergen-restricted diets (no soy), and in commercial products where a firmer, higher-melting fat is preferred. Modern palm shortening is 100% fat and 0% water, with the same physical behaviour as vegetable shortening: soft enough to scoop, firm enough to hold a shape. The two accepted sources for cup weight disagree beyond the 5% tolerance this site applies to fats, in the same pattern seen with vegetable shortening. USDA FoodData Central (FDC 172331, Shortening frying heavy duty, palm hydrogenated) publishes 205 grams per cup, implying a density of 0.8664 g/mL. King Arthur Baking publishes 180 grams per cup, implying 0.7608 g/mL. The gap is 13.9%. Because both are legitimate measurements of the same substance, and the gap reflects a real physical variable (packing method) rather than a source error, this site publishes the range they cover rather than choosing one. The same physical reasoning applies as with vegetable shortening: a soft-solid fat at room temperature can be scooped gently or packed firmly, and different sources make different choices without stating which. USDA at 205 g per cup and King Arthur at 180 g per cup are consistent with one source measuring firmly packed shortening and the other measuring a gentler spoon-and-level fill. The two shortening entries on this site (vegetable and palm) share the same range-publish reason, which suggests solid-fat entries in the fats category are a class where packing method dominates source disagreement. Where palm shortening differs from vegetable shortening is composition. Palm shortening is roughly 48% saturated fat, compared to about 25% for soybean-based vegetable shortening. This higher saturated content gives palm shortening a firmer texture and a higher melting point, both of which make it a preferred choice for pastries where the fat needs to hold its shape at slightly elevated temperatures. The higher saturated content also drives the environmental and health debates around palm oil that have shaped the fat industry in recent decades, but the physical measurement (cup weight per volume) is independent of those considerations. For accuracy in baking, weigh palm shortening on a kitchen scale rather than measuring by volume. The 14% disagreement between sources on cup weight is large enough to affect the outcome of pastry doughs and biscuits where the fat-to-flour ratio matters. This entry covers standard hydrogenated palm shortening as sold for baking. It does not cover vegetable shortening (soybean-based, listed separately at the same range and for the same reasons); palm oil (liquid at warm temperatures, a distinct ingredient); palm kernel oil (a different extract from the palm fruit with different composition); or fractionated palm shortening (a specialty confectionery product with its own physical properties). The confidence grade is low because sources disagree beyond category tolerance and the entry publishes a range rather than a single figure. A third independent source measuring palm shortening under a stated packing method would resolve the ambiguity. ### Peanut butter https://exactcups.com/peanut-butter/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: smooth peanut butter, creamy peanut butter, natural peanut butter. King Arthur: 270 g (9.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Smooth, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 258 g (9.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 129 g; 1/4 cup = 64.5 g; 1 tbsp = 16.1 g; 1 tsp = 5.4 g (1.0905 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.88 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 258 g per cup. FDC 172470, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 258 g - King Arthur Baking: 270 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, peanut butter, 1/2 cup = 135 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: Sources agree within 4.5%, inside the 5% fat category tolerance but close to it. USDA FDC 172470 gives a cup of smooth peanut butter without salt at 258 g (1.0905 g/ml) and a tablespoon at 16 g (1.0821 g/ml, back-calculated from the 32 g per 2 tbsp portion), a spread of 0.77% that indicates the two USDA figures are one density rounded twice rather than two measurements. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart gives 135 g per half cup, implying 270 g per cup or 1.1412 g/ml. Peanut butter is placed in the fat category alongside butter and the oils because its measurement behaviour is fat-like rather than powder-like: it is a plastic solid at room temperature that deforms under pressure and does not compact meaningfully during filling. It is not chemically fat, being roughly 50% oil by weight with the balance in peanut solids, but the category assignment is about how the substance interacts with a measuring cup rather than its composition. Peanut butter differs from butter in one important way: US butter is sold in cup-marked wrappers, so the cup weight reflects the packaging convention and is exceptionally consistent across sources. Peanut butter jars carry no such markings, so cup weight is a real measurement of how the substance fills a vessel, and the residual measurement variation is what accounts for the USDA-King Arthur disagreement. Retail nutrition labels for the major smooth peanut butter brands (Jif, Skippy, and generic equivalents) declare 32 g per 2 tablespoons, matching the USDA portion to the nearest gram. Label figures are too coarse to count as measurements because they round on a small measure, but the fact that the consumer standard matches USDA rather than King Arthur is evidence that USDA reflects typical fill and King Arthur measured a more forcefully packed cup. Natural peanut butter (containing only ground peanuts and salt, with no added palm oil or emulsifier) separates on standing and must be stirred to reintegrate the oil before measuring; the density above assumes a stirred and homogeneous jar. Chunky and crunchy peanut butter are separate products and are not covered by this entry: USDA FDC 172473 lists chunk style at 258 g per cup, the same figure as smooth, but the presence of peanut chunks makes cup filling less repeatable and warrants a separate entry with its own sourcing. Reduced-fat peanut butter typically contains added maltodextrin and other bulking agents that increase density, and is also outside the scope of this entry. No standards body publishes a bulk density for peanut butter. FDA identity standards (21 CFR 164.150) specify that peanut butter must contain at least 90% peanuts and cover permitted additives, but not physical density. Two independent sources agree, which is enough to publish; confidence stays medium until a third independent measurement confirms it. ### Pistachio Butter https://exactcups.com/pistachio-butter/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: pistachio nut butter, creamy pistachio butter, ground pistachios, pure pistachio butter. #### Standard, stirred and spooned Published: 1 cup = 256 g (9 oz); 1/2 cup = 128 g; 1/4 cup = 64 g; 1 tbsp = 16 g; 1 tsp = 5.3 g (1.0821 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.89 cups. Sources: - USDA Branded (Pistachio Butter UPC 765857206769) via aqua-calc: 256.5 g per cup. 271 g per metric cup, listed as 9 oz per US cup; converts to approximately 256 g per US cup - Nutty Gourmet Pistachio Butter: 256 g per cup. Producer serving size: 2 tablespoons = 32 g; extrapolates to 256 g per US cup (16 tbsp/cup) - The Pistachio Factory Pistachio Butter: 256 g per cup. Producer serving size: 2 tablespoons = 32 g; extrapolates to 256 g per US cup - Wildfare Inc. Pistachio Butter (USDA Branded Foods Database): USDA Branded entry confirms pure pistachio butter composition (pistachios only, or pistachios plus sugar in sweetened variant); nutrition-facts basis consistent with 256 g per cup landing zone - Nutriscan pistachio butter reference: 256 g per cup. 2 tablespoons (32 g) at 170 kcal; consistent with 256 g per cup and pistachio composition - Fitia generic pistachio butter: 256 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 16 g; extrapolates to 256 g per US cup Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: 1 cup of pistachio butter weighs 256 grams. High confidence, based on six converging sources including USDA Branded Foods, two producer serving-size disclosures, and multiple generic nutrition databases. Pistachio butter is ground roasted pistachios, sometimes with a pinch of salt and rarely with added oil, processed to a smooth or slightly coarse paste. It sits in the same commercial category as almond butter, cashew butter, and sunflower seed butter: a pure nut or seed butter with no significant sweetener, dairy, or emulsifier content. Sweetened pistachio spreads and pistachio creams (Italian crema al pistacchio and similar) are distinct products, typically containing sugar and sometimes milk powder or oil, and they pack differently. The data converges tightly. USDA's Branded Foods database entry for a commercial pistachio butter (UPC 765857206769) lists 271 grams per metric cup, which the same database converts to 9 ounces per US cup, or approximately 256 grams. Nutty Gourmet and The Pistachio Factory both disclose 32-gram serving weights for two tablespoons, which extrapolates to 256 grams per US cup at 16 tablespoons per cup. Generic pistachio butter references at Nutriscan and Fitia give the same figure. This is the same convergence pattern seen for cashew butter (257 g/cup) and sunflower seed butter (257 g/cup), all three nut and seed butters landing within 1% of each other because they share similar bulk densities: dense ground solids with 50 to 65 percent fat by weight, minimal air incorporation, and no crystalline structure. The density check supports the figure independently. USDA raw shelled pistachios weigh about 123 grams per US cup at 0.520 g/mL as whole nuts. Grinding to a smooth butter displaces air pockets and increases density to roughly 1.08 g/mL, a 2.08x increase. This matches the whole-to-butter density ratio observed with cashews and other tree nuts. One branded outlier exists: Fiddyment Farms lists 28 grams for a 2-tablespoon serving, which would extrapolate to 224 g/cup, about 14 percent below the convergence. This appears to be a serving-size rounding rather than a genuine density difference; the calorie load (180 kcal for 28 g) is inconsistent with pistachio composition at that weight, so the serving size is likely the source of the discrepancy rather than the product. Not accepted as an independent data point. King Arthur has no entry for pistachio butter. Their ingredient weight chart lists 'Pistachio Paste' at 78 g per quarter cup, which extrapolates to 312 g per cup, but this is a fundamentally different product. King Arthur's own recipe for pistachio paste combines 160 g of roasted pistachios with 74 g of granulated sugar and 57 to 85 g of water to make one generous cup, which is a patisserie-style sweetened paste analogous to almond paste, not a nut butter. The 312 g/cup figure is correct for that specific product but should not be substituted for pistachio butter in a recipe. For baking, weigh pistachio butter rather than measuring by volume. Natural nut butters separate on standing, and cup measures taken from a well-stirred jar versus a settled jar can vary by 5 to 10 percent. Weighing eliminates the variance entirely. ### Sunflower Seed Butter https://exactcups.com/sunflower-seed-butter/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: sunbutter, sunflower butter, SunButter, sunflower nut butter, ground sunflower seed paste. #### Sunflower seed butter, stirred Published: 1 cup = 256.5 g (9 oz); 1/2 cup = 128.2 g; 1/4 cup = 64.1 g; 1 tbsp = 16 g; 1 tsp = 5.3 g (1.084 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.88 cups. Sources: - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 041512138379: 256.5 g per cup. Sunflower seed butter at 271 g per metric cup, converting to approximately 257 g per US cup. USDA-database branded entry. - USDA composition (Seeds, sunflower seed butter, without salt): 256 g per cup. USDA composition reference cited via Eat This Much lists sunflower seed butter at 256 g per cup (16 g per tablespoon), within 1 gram of the branded label figure. - SunButter product Nutrition Facts label: 256 g per cup. SunButter (Red River Commodities), the dominant US retail brand, lists 32 g per 2-tablespoon serving on the Nutrition Facts panel, extrapolating to 256 g per cup. Third convergent source alongside USDA composition and USDA branded data. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: Sunflower seed butter weighs 257 grams per cup (1.084 g/mL) based on USDA Branded Foods label data, USDA composition data, and independent producer Nutrition Facts panels. King Arthur does not list sunflower seed butter on their ingredient weight chart, but the figure is well-anchored without them and matches cashew butter and tahini at the same density. Sunflower seed butter is ground roasted sunflower seeds, sometimes with added salt or a small percentage of oil for stabilization. It emerged as the dominant nut-free alternative for school lunches and allergy-sensitive baking, driven largely by SunButter (Red River Commodities), which built the US market from a small allergy-safe niche into a mainstream category. Other retail options include Trader Joe's, Once Again, Simple Truth, and various private-label products, but SunButter's market dominance mirrors Jovial's position in einkorn — one brand shapes the reference figures. USDA Branded Foods lists sunflower seed butter (UPC 041512138379) at 271 grams per metric cup, converting to approximately 257 grams per US cup — identical to the USDA figure for cashew butter and matching the tahini paste value in King Arthur's chart. Independent producer Nutrition Facts data confirms: SunButter's label lists 32 grams per 2-tablespoon serving, extrapolating to 256 grams per cup. USDA composition data for 'Seeds, sunflower seed butter, without salt' converges on the same figure. Convergence across USDA composition, USDA branded label, and producer label — three independent sources all landing within a gram of each other. King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart lists sunflower seeds at 140 grams per cup but does not carry an entry for sunflower seed butter. As with cashew butter, this reflects the historically lower profile of seed butters in traditional American baking rather than any variance in the underlying figure — the number is settled without KA. Home bakers using sunflower seed butter in cookies, energy bars, or as a peanut butter substitute in school-safe recipes can use the 257 g/cup figure with confidence. The physical position of sunflower seed butter among ground seed and nut butters is worth noting. King Arthur's almond butter and peanut butter both sit at 270-272 g/cup — 5 percent denser than sunflower at 257 — because almonds and peanuts have higher fiber content and denser cellular structure, producing a slightly heavier paste when ground. Sunflower seeds have roughly the same fat content as cashews (about 50 percent) with slightly higher fiber, but the smaller seed size and softer kernel structure yield a smoother, less-dense paste closely matching cashew butter. Tahini (ground sesame seeds) coincidentally lands at the same 256 g/cup figure despite sesame's very different composition — sesame seeds are much smaller and higher in fiber than sunflower seeds, but the fine grind produces a similarly smooth paste. Sunflower seed butter's density is sensitive to oil separation, which happens naturally in unstabilized products stored at room temperature. Stir thoroughly before measuring to redistribute any surface oil. SunButter's original product includes small amounts of added sugar and mono- and diglycerides to prevent separation and reduce the chlorogenic acid greening reaction with baking soda that occurs in unstabilized sunflower seed butter — worth knowing when substituting into recipes containing baking soda, since the greening turns baked goods a distinctive pale green color that is harmless but visually surprising. Practical baker recommendation: use 257 g/cup for sunflower seed butter. Stir thoroughly before measuring. If substituting sunflower seed butter 1:1 for peanut butter in a recipe by weight, expect a slightly softer texture and, in recipes with baking soda, monitor for the chlorogenic acid greening reaction — adding a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar neutralizes it. ### Tahini https://exactcups.com/tahini/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: tahini paste, sesame paste, sesame butter, tahina, tahin. King Arthur: 256 g (9 oz), inside the published range. #### Well stirred, at room temperature No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 240–256 g. Two sources disagree by 6.5%, over the 5% tolerance for this category. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 240 g per cup. FDC 170189, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 240 g, 1 tablespoon = 15 g - King Arthur Baking: 256 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, tahini paste, 1/2 cup = 128 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: Two sources 6.5% apart, over the 5% tolerance for the fat category, so this entry publishes a range. USDA FDC 170189 (Seeds, sesame butter, tahini, from roasted and toasted kernels, most common type) publishes a cup at 240 g and a tablespoon at 15 g, and the two are exactly proportional at sixteen tablespoons per cup, giving 1.0144 g/ml with no rounding drift. This internal consistency indicates the two figures are one density recorded twice rather than two measurements. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart gives 128 g per half cup, implying 256 g per cup or 1.0820 g/ml. Tahini is placed in the fat category alongside peanut butter and coconut oil because its measurement behaviour is fat-like: a plastic paste at room temperature that fills a cup without meaningful compaction. It is roughly 55% oil by weight with the balance in ground sesame solids, and the physics of measuring it is closer to peanut butter than to liquid coconut milk. The 6.5% source disagreement reflects a genuine property of tahini that no other ingredient in this dataset shows to the same degree: it separates dramatically on standing. A jar left undisturbed for weeks develops a distinct top layer of nearly pure sesame oil and a stiff, dense sediment of sesame solids at the bottom. Measured before stirring, a cup scooped from the top could weigh as little as 210 g (mostly oil at about 0.92 g/ml), and a cup scraped from the bottom could exceed 280 g. Recipes universally specify well-stirred tahini, and both source figures are presumably for the stirred state, but even a well-stirred jar retains some vertical variation in composition and the exact fat-to-solid ratio at the point of measurement affects the density. Roasted and unroasted tahini have slightly different densities. USDA publishes three distinct records: FDC 170189 (roasted and toasted, 240 g/cup, most common commercial type), FDC 169406 (unroasted with non-chemically removed seed coat, 224 g/cup), and FDC 169410 (raw and stone ground). Roasting drives off moisture and slightly increases oil content by weight percentage, which raises density. This entry uses the roasted figure because it matches the standard commercial product sold under the tahini name in Western markets. Unhulled or wholegrain tahini (made from unblanched sesame seeds with the skins intact) is a distinct product with earthier flavour and coarser texture, though most publishing converters treat it as the same weight per cup as hulled tahini in the absence of separate published data. No standards body publishes a bulk density for tahini. Codex Alimentarius has no dedicated standard for sesame paste products, and the Middle Eastern regional standards (SFDA in Saudi Arabia, Israeli SI 269) specify composition and hygiene requirements rather than physical density. Two sources only, and the range is published because no third source arbitrates between USDA's tighter, internally consistent figure and King Arthur's heavier chart figure. ### Vegetable oil https://exactcups.com/vegetable-oil/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 198 g (7 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/vegetable-oil-198-grams/. #### Standard (soybean or soy-canola blend) Published: 1 cup = 218 g (7.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 109 g; 1/4 cup = 54.5 g; 1 tbsp = 13.6 g; 1 tsp = 4.5 g (0.9214 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.04 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 218 g per cup. FDC 173573 (Oil, soybean, salad or cooking, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 218 g, 1 tbsp = 13.6 g. Density 0.9214 g/mL. Composition: ~100% fat (58% polyunsaturated, 23% monounsaturated, 15% saturated), trace water and no protein or carbohydrate. Same figure applies to canola oil (FDC 173571) within 1%. - King Arthur: 198 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Vegetable oil', 1 cup = 198 g, density 0.8369 g/mL. Appears to result from rounding the ounce label (7.69 oz per cup) down to 7 oz, then multiplying by 28.35 to derive grams (7 × 28.35 = 198.45). REJECTED: 198 g/cup implies a density of 0.8369 g/mL, below the physical density of every common food-grade vegetable oil. Soybean, canola, corn, sunflower and safflower oils all sit between 0.917 and 0.923 g/mL at room temperature — a well-established physical constant published by the FDA and Codex. King Arthur's figure appears to be an ounce-rounding artifact rather than a measurement of actual oil. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/vegetable-oil-198-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: The bottle labelled 'vegetable oil' on a US supermarket shelf is not one thing. Most brands are refined soybean oil; some are canola; some are soy-canola blends; a small number are corn or sunflower. The one thing they have in common is that they are all liquid at room temperature and all sit at essentially the same density — between 0.917 and 0.923 grams per millilitre, a range narrow enough that the specific oil almost never matters for measurement. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of soybean oil at 218 grams and 1 tablespoon at 13.6 grams (FDC 173573, Oil, soybean, salad or cooking). Canola oil (FDC 173571) publishes the same 218 grams per cup within a fraction of a percent. Density comes out to 0.9214 grams per millilitre either way. This matches the physical density of pure triglyceride oils at 20 degrees Celsius, which the Codex Alimentarius standard for named vegetable oils (CXS 210-1999) publishes for each type as part of the identity specification. Standards agree because the underlying molecules — long-chain fatty acid triglycerides — have similar molecular volumes regardless of which plant they came from. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 cup at 198 grams, which implies a density of 0.8369 grams per millilitre. That figure is below every real vegetable oil, and it is close enough to what you get from rounding 7.69 ounces (the actual cup weight in ounces) down to a flat 7 ounces and then multiplying by 28.35 grams per ounce that the arithmetic origin is visible. Whether or not that is the exact cause, the physical impossibility is enough to reject the figure. Oil is not a liquid whose density varies by measurement method the way a milled powder does — the density is a property of the substance, and the substance is well-characterised. Related oil entries on this site cover the individual named oils. Olive oil sits at 216 grams per cup and 0.913 grams per millilitre — slightly less dense than soybean because of its higher monounsaturated fat content and slightly different molecular composition. Canola oil is at 218 grams per cup, essentially identical to soybean. Coconut oil, which King Arthur publishes at 113 grams per half cup (226 grams per cup, density 0.955), is denser than the liquid oils because it is solid at room temperature and packs more tightly; that entry is a separate case. When a recipe simply says 'oil' or 'vegetable oil' without specifying which one, the USDA figure of 218 grams per cup applies to almost any commercial cooking oil the reader is likely to have. For recipes that specify one oil by name, use that oil's own entry. For recipes that call for a generic 'vegetable oil', use this entry. The one meaningful exception is coconut oil: because it is solid or semi-solid at room temperature depending on the season, it is not a substitute for liquid vegetable oil at equal volume even though the densities are close. FDA regulates vegetable oils under general food safety and labelling rules rather than an ingredient-specific identity standard. The Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 210-1999 covers named vegetable oils (soybean, canola, sunflower, safflower, corn, cottonseed, peanut, palm, coconut) and specifies expected density ranges as part of the physical identification. The category here is 'fat' rather than 'liquid' because vegetable oil behaves as a pure fat in a measuring cup: it pours cleanly, self-levels immediately, does not compact or bridge, and its density is fixed by the physical properties of the oil rather than by any handling variation. The 5 percent fat category tolerance would apply if a second accepted source existed; since King Arthur's figure is rejected, the entry is medium confidence on the strength of the USDA measurement plus corroborating Codex identity standards. ### Vegetable shortening https://exactcups.com/vegetable-shortening/ Category: Fats and oils (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: shortening, solid shortening, hydrogenated vegetable shortening, all-vegetable shortening. King Arthur: 184 g (6.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard (soft solid at room temperature) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 184–205 g. Sources disagree by 11.4%, outside the 5% tolerance this site applies to fats. The gap is consistent with different packing methods (spooned vs firmly packed) rather than a source error. Neither source names its packing method, so the range is published and the physical reason for the disagreement is stated rather than choosing one figure over the other. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 205 g per cup. FDC 172332 (Shortening, household, soybean hydrogenated and palm, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 205 g, 1 tbsp = 13 g. Density 0.8664 g/mL. Composition: 100% fat, 0% water. Likely reflects firmly packed measurement. - King Arthur: 184 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Vegetable shortening', 1/4 cup = 46 g, extrapolates to 184 g per cup, density 0.7777 g/mL. Likely reflects a lighter spoon-and-level fill. Last reviewed: 2026-09-18. Notes: Vegetable shortening is a solid fat product manufactured by hydrogenating vegetable oil, historically soybean or cottonseed. Modern shortening (post-2018 FDA ban on partially hydrogenated oils) is typically made from a blend of fully hydrogenated palm oil and other vegetable oils, with essentially the same physical properties as the older formulation. It is 100% fat and 0% water, and sits between butter and oil in physical behaviour: soft enough to scoop, firm enough to hold a shape. The two accepted sources for cup weight disagree beyond the 5% tolerance this site applies to fats. USDA FoodData Central (FDC 172332, Shortening, household, soybean hydrogenated and palm) publishes 205 grams per cup, implying a density of 0.8664 g/mL. King Arthur Baking publishes 184 grams per cup, implying 0.7777 g/mL. The gap is 11.4%. Because both are legitimate measurements of the same substance, and because the difference reflects a real physical variable rather than a source error, this site publishes the range they cover rather than choosing one. The physical variable is packing method. Solid shortening at room temperature is a soft mass that can be scooped gently, spooned lightly, or firmly pressed into a measuring cup. Loose scooping traps air; firm packing removes it. The gap between USDA at 205 g per cup and King Arthur at 184 g per cup is consistent with one source measuring firmly packed shortening (the higher figure) and the other measuring a gentler spoon-and-level fill. Neither source states its packing method explicitly, so the entry publishes the range and names the physical reason. For accuracy in baking, weigh the shortening on a kitchen scale rather than measuring by volume. A recipe developed with one measurement method will produce a different fat quantity if the cook uses the other, and the difference is large enough to affect the outcome of pastry doughs and biscuits where the fat-to-flour ratio matters. This entry covers standard hydrogenated vegetable shortening. It does not cover palm shortening (King Arthur lists that separately at 180 g per cup, essentially the same density as vegetable shortening); lard (a rendered animal fat with different composition and slightly different density); butter (which contains water and milk solids in addition to fat, and is measured differently); or coconut oil (which is solid at cool temperatures but liquid at warm ones and is entered separately). The confidence grade is low because sources disagree beyond category tolerance and the entry publishes a range rather than a single figure. A third independent source measuring shortening under a stated packing method would resolve the ambiguity. ## Sugars and salts (27) ### Allulose https://exactcups.com/allulose/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: allulose, D-allulose, D-psicose, psicose, granulated allulose, rare sugar. #### Standard, granulated allulose crystals Published: 1 cup = 192 g (6.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 96 g; 1/4 cup = 48 g; 1 tbsp = 12 g; 1 tsp = 4 g (0.8115 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.18 cups. Sources: - Anthony's Goods Allulose Sweetener: 192 g per cup. 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. - RxSugar Allulose Sugar: 192 g per cup. 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. - Wholesome Sweeteners Allulose Granulated: 192 g per cup. 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. - Frontiers Review on D-Allulose (Chen et al., 2020): 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. 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. Allulose (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. Granulated 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. King 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. For 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. The 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. ### Brown sugar https://exactcups.com/brown-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, soft brown sugar. King Arthur: 213 g (7.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Firmly packed Published: 1 cup = 220 g (7.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 110 g; 1/4 cup = 55 g; 1 tbsp = 13.8 g; 1 tsp = 4.6 g (0.9299 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.03 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Sugars, brown" (FDC 168833): 220 g per cup. 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). Method, in the source's words: 1 cup, packed. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 213 g per cup. KA lists "Brown sugar (dark or light, packed)" at 1 cup = 7 1/2 oz = 213 g (density 0.900 g/mL). Method, in the source's words: dark or light, packed. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. 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. Brown 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. USDA'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. The 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. The 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. Practical 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. ### Candied cherries https://exactcups.com/candied-cherries/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: glacé cherries, glace cherries, candied red cherries, candied green cherries, fruitcake cherries. King Arthur: 200 g (7.1 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Whole, loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 200 g (7.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 100 g; 1/4 cup = 50 g; 1 tbsp = 12.5 g; 1 tsp = 4.2 g (0.8454 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.13 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 200 g per cup. 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. - Waitrose, Conversion charts (American measurements): 200 g per cup. 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. - University of Missouri Extension, In a Pinch: Food Yields (MP563): "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. - Blue Flame Kitchen, ATCO Gas (as quoted by homefamily.net): 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. - Paradise Red Cherries (producer label): 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. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. 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. Candied, 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. King 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. Two 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. The 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. Practical 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. ### Caster Sugar https://exactcups.com/caster-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: castor sugar, superfine sugar, baker's special sugar, bar sugar, fine sugar. King Arthur: 190 g (6.7 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Caster sugar, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 190 g (6.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 95 g; 1/4 cup = 47.5 g; 1 tbsp = 11.9 g; 1 tsp = 4 g (0.8031 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.19 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Baking (Ingredient Weight Chart): 190 g per cup. Lists Baker's Special Sugar (superfine sugar, castor sugar) at 1 cup = 6 3/4 oz = 190 g, implying density 0.8031 g/mL. - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 015800030850: 192.1 g per cup. 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. - CupOrGram (caster sugar reference): 190 g per cup. Lists 190 g/cup baseline, citing King Arthur as source. Confirms the widely-adopted publisher figure without adding an independent measurement. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. Caster 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. King 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. The 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. European 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. Practical 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. ### Chocolate (chopped) https://exactcups.com/chocolate-chopped/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: chopped chocolate, chopped semisweet chocolate, chopped dark chocolate, chopped milk chocolate, hand-chopped chocolate, chocolate bar chopped, chocolate broken from a bar. King Arthur: 170 g (6 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, chopped bar chocolate pieces loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 168 g (5.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 84 g; 1/4 cup = 42 g; 1 tbsp = 10.5 g; 1 tsp = 3.5 g (0.7101 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.35 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 168 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur: 170 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. USDA 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. In 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. As 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. Product 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. Chopped 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. No 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. ### Chocolate chips https://exactcups.com/chocolate-chips/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: semisweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, chocolate morsels, baking chips. King Arthur: 170 g (6 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard-size chips (approximately 60 chips per ounce) Published: 1 cup = 168 g (5.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 84 g; 1/4 cup = 42 g; 1 tbsp = 10.5 g; 1 tsp = 3.5 g (0.7101 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.35 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 168 g per cup. FDC 167976, SR Legacy, 1 cup chips (6 oz package portion) = 168 g - King Arthur Baking: 170 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Chocolate Chips, 1 cup = 170 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. 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. ### Chocolate chunks https://exactcups.com/chocolate-chunks/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: large chocolate chips, chocolate baking chunks, chocolate discs, semisweet chocolate chunks, dark chocolate chunks, Nestle Toll House Chunks, Ghirardelli baking chunks. King Arthur: 170 g (6 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, large chunks or discs loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 170–182 g. 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: - USDA FoodData Central: 182 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur: 170 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. The 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. Chocolate 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. As 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. Product 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. Chocolate 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. No 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. ### Coconut sugar https://exactcups.com/coconut-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: coconut sugar, coconut palm sugar, coco sugar, palm sugar, coconut nectar sugar. King Arthur: 154 g (5.4 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 132–154 g. 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: - King Arthur: 154 g per cup. 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. - America's Test Kitchen: 132 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. Understanding 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. USDA 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. Compared 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. Category 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. Confidence 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. ### Currants https://exactcups.com/currants/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: zante currants, corinth raisins, corinthian raisins, dried currants, dried black corinth grapes. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, small dried grapes loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 144 g (5.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 72 g; 1/4 cup = 36 g; 1 tbsp = 9 g; 1 tsp = 3 g (0.6087 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.57 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 144 g per cup. Currants, zante, dried (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 144 g. Density 0.6087 g/mL. - King Arthur: 142 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Currants', 1 cup = 142 g. Density 0.6003 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. Zante 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. Currants 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. Raisins, 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. Product 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. Currants 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. No 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. ### Date Sugar https://exactcups.com/date-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: date powder, granulated date sugar, powdered dates, dried date sugar, date crystals. #### Date sugar, spooned No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 144–240 g. 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: - NOW Real Food Date Sugar (Nutrition Facts label): 144 g per cup. 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. - Amrita Powdered Dried Dates (Nutrition Facts label): 144 g per cup. Serving size 2 tsp = 6 g, extrapolating to approximately 144 g per cup. Second independent brand at the same figure as NOW Real Food. - Date Lady Date Sugar (Nutrition Facts label): 144 g per cup. 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. - Let's Date Organic Date Sugar (Nutrition Facts label): 192 g per cup. 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. - Kartago Dates Date Sugar, Organic (Nutrition Facts label): 240 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. Date 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. The 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. The 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. King 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. Practical 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. ### Demerara Sugar https://exactcups.com/demerara-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: demerara, raw cane sugar, large crystal sugar, golden brown sugar, unrefined cane sugar. King Arthur: 220 g (7.8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/demerara-sugar-220-grams/. #### Demerara, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 192.1 g (6.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 96.1 g; 1/4 cup = 48 g; 1 tbsp = 12 g; 1 tsp = 4 g (0.812 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.18 cups. Sources: - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 075779311169: 192.1 g per cup. DEMERARA SUGAR at 203 g per metric cup (converting to ~192 g per US cup). - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 06906502532: 192.1 g per cup. DEMERARA BROWN SUGAR at 203 g per metric cup (converting to ~192 g per US cup). Independent second SKU convergent with the first entry. - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 075779920002: 192.1 g per cup. DEMERARA CANE SUGAR at 203 g per metric cup (converting to ~192 g per US cup). Third SKU convergent with the same figure. - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 069065004996: 192.1 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur Baking (Ingredient Weight Chart): 220 g per cup. Lists demerara sugar at 1 cup = 7 3/4 oz = 220 g, implying density 0.9299 g/mL. REJECTED: 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. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/demerara-sugar-220-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. Demerara 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. Four 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. The 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. The 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). Practical 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. ### Dried blueberries https://exactcups.com/dried-blueberries/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: dried blueberries, sweetened dried blueberries, blueberries dried. King Arthur: 156 g (5.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, sweetened dried berries loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 160 g (5.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 80 g; 1/4 cup = 40 g; 1 tbsp = 10 g; 1 tsp = 3.3 g (0.6763 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.42 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 160 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur: 156 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. The 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. Category 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. Compared 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. Compared 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. Confidence 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. ### Dried cherries https://exactcups.com/dried-cherries/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: dried cherries, dried tart cherries, montmorency dried cherries, cherries dried, dried sweet cherries, dried sweetened cherries. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, dried pieces loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 142–160 g. 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: - USDA FoodData Central: 160 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur: 142 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. The 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. Brand 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. Compared 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. Category 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. Confidence 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. ### Dried cranberries https://exactcups.com/dried-cranberries/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: sweetened dried cranberries, Craisins, Ocean Spray Craisins, unsweetened dried cranberries, dried cranberries (sweetened or unsweetened). King Arthur: 114 g (4 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, dried cranberries loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 114–160 g. 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: - USDA FoodData Central: 160 g per cup. 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). - King Arthur: 114 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cranberries (dried)', 1/2 cup = 57 g (114 g/cup). Density 0.4818 g/mL. State unspecified. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. The 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. Unsweetened 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. Readers 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. Product 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. Dried 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. No 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. ### Dried mango https://exactcups.com/dried-mango/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: dried mango, dehydrated mango, sweetened dried mango, mango dried, mango slices dried, dried mango pieces. #### Standard, dried pieces loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 114–160 g. 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: - Earthbound Organic (producer package data): 114 g per cup. 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. - Generic dried mango (nutrition database consensus): 160 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. USDA 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. The 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. Compared 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. Category 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. Confidence 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. ### Granulated sugar https://exactcups.com/granulated-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: white sugar, table sugar. King Arthur: 198 g (7 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Method not specified Published: 1 cup = 200 g (7.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 100 g; 1/4 cup = 50 g; 1 tbsp = 12.5 g; 1 tsp = 4.2 g (0.8454 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.13 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Sugars, granulated" (FDC 169655): 200 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 198 g per cup. KA lists "Sugar (granulated white)" at 1 cup = 7 oz = 198 g (density 0.837 g/mL). Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. 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. Granulated 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. USDA'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. The 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. The 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%. Practical 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. ### Kosher salt https://exactcups.com/kosher-salt/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. King Arthur: 256 g (9 oz), inside the published range. #### Morton's No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 230.4–256 g. 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. Sources: - King Arthur: 256 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Salt (Kosher, Morton's)'. 1 tbsp = 16 g, extrapolates to 256 g per cup, density 1.0821 g/mL. - America's Test Kitchen: 230.4 g per cup. '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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. #### Diamond Crystal Published: 1 cup = 128 g (4.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 64 g; 1/4 cup = 32 g; 1 tbsp = 8 g; 1 tsp = 2.7 g (0.541 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.77 cups. Sources: - King Arthur: 128 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Salt (Kosher, Diamond Crystal)'. 1 tbsp = 8 g, extrapolates to 128 g per cup, density 0.5410 g/mL. - America's Test Kitchen: 134.4 g per cup. '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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. 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. King 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. America'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. The 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. Morton'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. The 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. The 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. USDA 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. Neither 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. The 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. ### Maple Sugar https://exactcups.com/maple-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: maple sugar, granulated maple sugar, pure maple sugar, organic maple sugar, sucre d'érable. King Arthur: 156 g (5.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 144–156 g. 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: - King Arthur Baking Company — Ingredient Weight Chart: 156 g per cup. 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. - USDA FoodData Central — Coombs Family Farms Organic Pure Maple Sugar (branded, UPC 710282930062): 144 g per cup. 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). - Multi-brand retail aggregate — Butternut Mountain, Coombs, Highland Sugarworks, Metro Brands, Mount Mansfield Maple, Maple Joe (via eatthismuch): 144 g per cup. 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. - Butternut Mountain Farm — 16 oz Maple Sugar Pouch: 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. - Crown Maple — Organic Maple Sugar 8 oz: 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. 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. Maple 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. Density 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. Adjacent 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. Within 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. ### Mini chocolate chips https://exactcups.com/mini-chocolate-chips/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: mini semisweet chocolate chips, mini dark chocolate chips, mini milk chocolate chips, mini chocolate morsels, mini baking chips. King Arthur: 177 g (6.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, mini chips loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 173 g (6.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 86.5 g; 1/4 cup = 43.3 g; 1 tbsp = 10.8 g; 1 tsp = 3.6 g (0.7313 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.31 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 173 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur: 177 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Mini chocolate chips', 1 cup = 177 g. Density 0.7482 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. Mini 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. The 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. Product 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. Baking 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. Mini 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. No 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. ### Monk Fruit Sweetener https://exactcups.com/monk-fruit-sweetener/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: 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. #### Standard, granulated 1:1 sugar-substitute blend (erythritol + monk fruit extract, Lakanto Classic / Whole Earth / Splenda / most retail granulated brands) Published: 1 cup = 192 g (6.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 96 g; 1/4 cup = 48 g; 1 tbsp = 12 g; 1 tsp = 4 g (0.8115 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.18 cups. Sources: - Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener with Erythritol: 192 g per cup. 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. - Whole Earth Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol: 192 g per cup. 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. - Splenda Monk Fruit Sweetener Jar: 192 g per cup. 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. - USDA Branded Foods (ERYTHRITOL, UPC 858982001733) via aqua-calc: 192 g per cup. 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. - Low Carb Maven measured erythritol conversion: 200 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. 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. Monk 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. Three 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. Subvariants 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. Practical 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. ### Muscovado Sugar https://exactcups.com/muscovado-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: barbados sugar, moscovado sugar, unrefined cane sugar, khandsari, dark muscovado, light muscovado. Working figure: 1 cup = 220 g (7.8 oz) packed firmly, as for brown sugar; 1 tbsp = 13.8 g. #### Muscovado, packed No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 200–235 g. 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: - MissVickie brown sugar converter (muscovado): 235 g per cup. 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. - CupGrams (muscovado-specific reference): 220 g per cup. Lists muscovado at 220 g/cup, packed like brown sugar. Convergent with USDA brown sugar figure below. - USDA Sugar, brown (via aqua-calc): 220 g per cup. 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. - cupstogramscalculator.com (muscovado): 215 g per cup. 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. - CupOrGram (muscovado baseline): 200 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. Muscovado — 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. King 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. The 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. The 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. Practical 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. ### Pearl sugar https://exactcups.com/pearl-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: Swedish pearl sugar, pärlsocker, nib sugar, sugar nibs, hail sugar, decorating pearl sugar. King Arthur: 196 g (6.9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Small nibs, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 192 g (6.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 96 g; 1/4 cup = 48 g; 1 tbsp = 12 g; 1 tsp = 4 g (0.8115 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.18 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Baking recipe, Pumpkin Sugar Crunch Waffles: 192 g per cup. 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. - Lars Own Swedish Pearl Sugar (producer label): 192 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 196 g per cup. 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. - America's Test Kitchen, Liège Waffles: "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. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. 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. Pearl 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. The 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. The 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. Belgian 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. Practical 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. ### Raisins https://exactcups.com/raisins/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: seedless raisins, sultanas, Thompson seedless raisins, dried grapes. King Arthur: 149 g (5.3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Loose, poured into the cup Published: 1 cup = 145 g (5.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 72.5 g; 1/4 cup = 36.3 g; 1 tbsp = 9.1 g; 1 tsp = 3 g (0.6129 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.56 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 145 g per cup. FDC 168159, SR Legacy, 1 cup not packed = 145 g Method, in the source's words: not packed. - King Arthur Baking: 149 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Raisins (loose), 1 cup = 149 g Method, in the source's words: loose. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. #### Firmly packed Published: 1 cup = 165 g (5.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 82.5 g; 1/4 cup = 41.2 g; 1 tbsp = 10.3 g; 1 tsp = 3.4 g (0.6974 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.37 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 165 g per cup. FDC 168159, SR Legacy, 1 cup packed = 165 g Method, in the source's words: packed. - King Arthur Baking: 170 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Raisins (packed), 1/2 cup = 85 g Method, in the source's words: packed. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. 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. ### Table salt https://exactcups.com/table-salt/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 288 g (10.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard Published: 1 cup = 292 g (10.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 146 g; 1/4 cup = 73 g; 1 tbsp = 18.2 g; 1 tsp = 6.1 g (1.2342 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.78 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 292 g per cup. FDC 173468 (Salt, table). Published: 1 tsp = 6.0 g, 1 tbsp = 18.0 g, 1 cup = 292 g. Density 1.2342 g/mL. - King Arthur: 288 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Salt (table)'. 1 tbsp = 18 g, extrapolates to 288 g per cup, density 1.2174 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. 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. USDA 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. We 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. Table 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. The 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. Sodium 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. Neither 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. The 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. ### Toffee bits https://exactcups.com/toffee-bits/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: Heath Bits o' Brickle, Heath toffee bits, English toffee bits, toffee baking bits, toffee chunks, chopped toffee. King Arthur: 156 g (5.5 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 156 g (5.5 oz) for typical baking bits, King Arthur's figure in the middle of the range; 1 tbsp = 9.8 g. #### Standard, bits poured into the cup and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 142–170 g. 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: - America's Test Kitchen, Chocolate Toffee Butter Cookies: 142 g per cup. "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. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 156 g per cup. 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). - Hershey's Toffee Bits Cookie recipe (Heath package recipe, as syndicated by ShopRite): 170 g per cup. "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. - Heath Bits o' Brickle English Toffee Bits (producer label): 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. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. 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. Toffee 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. The 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. The 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. The 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. King Arthur's 156 g sits in the middle of the range and is accepted. Practical 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. ### Turbinado sugar https://exactcups.com/turbinado-sugar/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: turbinado sugar, raw sugar, sugar in the raw, natural cane sugar, partially refined cane sugar. King Arthur: 180 g (6.4 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 180 g (6.3 oz) for coarse retail turbinado such as Sugar in the Raw; 1 tbsp = 11.3 g. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 180–202 g. 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: - King Arthur: 180 g per cup. 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. - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170674): 202 g per cup. 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. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. King 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. Understanding 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. Physical 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. Compared 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. Category assignment is sugar, matching all other granular sweeteners on the site. Turbinado is a crystalline particulate solid that packs like other sugars. Confidence 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. ### White chocolate chips https://exactcups.com/white-chocolate-chips/ Category: Sugars and salts (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: white chocolate morsels, white baking chips, candies, white chocolate, white chocolate baking chips. King Arthur: 170 g (6 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, chips loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 170 g (6 oz); 1/2 cup = 85 g; 1/4 cup = 42.5 g; 1 tbsp = 10.6 g; 1 tsp = 3.5 g (0.7186 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.33 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 170 g per cup. 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. - King Arthur: 170 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'White Chocolate Chips', 1 cup = 170 g. Density 0.7186 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. 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. The 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. King 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. White 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. Product 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. White 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. No 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. ## Milled powders and grains (154) ### '00' Pizza flour https://exactcups.com/00-pizza-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: 00 pizza flour, '00' pizza flour, tipo 00 pizza flour, doppio zero pizza flour, italian 00 pizza flour, neapolitan pizza flour. King Arthur: 116 g (4.1 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 116 g (4.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 58 g; 1/4 cup = 29 g; 1 tbsp = 7.2 g; 1 tsp = 2.4 g (0.4903 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.96 cups. Sources: - King Arthur: 116 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, ''00' Pizza Flour', 1 cup (4 oz, 116 g). Density 0.4903 g/mL. King Arthur's 00 pizza flour is a moderate-to-high protein product optimized for Neapolitan-style pizza dough with the extensible gluten structure that produces a smooth chewy crust. - DeLallo: 117.6 g per cup. DeLallo Pizza Dough recipe on the official DeLallo blog: '4 1/4 cups (500g or 1.1 pounds) DeLallo Pizza Flour Tipo 00'. 500 grams over 4.25 cups equals 117.6 g/cup and density 0.4972 g/mL. DeLallo is one of the largest Italian ingredient brands in the US market, and their own recipe cup-to-weight conversion cross-validates the King Arthur figure with a 1.4% gap, well within the 10% milled tolerance. USDA does not publish a cup portion for 00 flour, so producer data satisfies the two-source rule. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Sources: King Arthur publishes 116 g/cup for '00' Pizza Flour (density 0.4903 g/mL). DeLallo, one of the largest Italian ingredient brands in the US, publishes their own pizza dough recipe calling for 4 1/4 cups of DeLallo Pizza Flour Tipo 00 at 500 grams, which back-calculates to 117.6 g/cup (density 0.4972 g/mL). The 1.4% gap between these two authoritative sources is well within the 10% milled tolerance, so we publish 116 g/cup with medium confidence based on the tight cross-source agreement. Understanding 00 flour requires clearing up a common misconception. The '00' designation is not a protein content marker but rather an Italian fineness grade. The Italian flour classification system runs from coarsest to finest as Tipo 2, Tipo 1, Tipo 0, and Tipo 00 (doppio zero, or double zero). Type 00 is the most finely milled grade, corresponding roughly to talcum-powder texture. Within the 00 category, individual products vary widely in protein content depending on intended use: pastry 00 flours use soft wheat with 8 to 9 percent protein, while pizza 00 flours use harder wheat with 11 to 13 percent protein. King Arthur's '00' Pizza Flour and DeLallo's Pizza Flour Tipo 00 are both moderate-to-high protein products optimized for the extensible gluten structure that Neapolitan pizza dough requires. Despite the ultra-fine milling, 00 pizza flour packs at a normal density for wheat flour because the wheat itself is standard-density and the milling fineness affects surface behavior more than bulk packing. All-purpose flour on this site sits at 120 g/cup, bread flour at similar figures, and 00 pizza flour at 116 g/cup — the small differences reflect slight variation in milling and settling behavior rather than a fundamentally different material. The characteristic 00 pizza flour behavior emerges during dough mixing, where the extremely fine particles hydrate quickly and produce the smooth, extensible dough that pizza makers value. USDA FoodData Central does not publish a specific entry for 00 flour or Tipo 00. The closest compositional references are the industrial white wheat flour entries FDC 168941 (11.5 percent protein) and FDC 168942 (13 percent protein), which bracket the protein range of pizza 00 flour but do not publish cup portions. This gap is why the site relies on the King Arthur figure cross-validated against DeLallo's producer data rather than a direct USDA cup portion. Compared to other flours on the site, 00 pizza flour at 116 g/cup sits just below all-purpose flour (120 g/cup) and roughly equal to bread flour. The slightly-lower figure reflects the mild difference in fill behavior between ultra-fine flour and the standard granulation of AP or bread flour. Whole wheat flour at 113 g/cup and whole wheat pastry flour at 96 g/cup round out the wheat flour density spectrum on the site. Category assignment is milled, matching all other wheat flours on the site. Confidence is medium reflecting the strong two-source agreement (KA plus DeLallo within 1.4 percent). For pizza dough recipes, weighing 00 flour is standard practice among serious pizza makers, and the 116-118 g/cup figure is reliable for spoon-and-level measurement. If a recipe was developed against a specific brand, check the brand's own conversion since minor product variance exists across the 00 pizza flour category. ### All-purpose flour https://exactcups.com/all-purpose-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: plain flour, AP flour, white flour. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), spooned and swept. Working figure: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz) if you spoon the flour into the cup and level it; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g. #### Dipped and swept No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 141.7 g. One source, America's Test Kitchen. A figure is published only when at least two independent sources measure the same method. Sources: - America's Test Kitchen: 141.7 g per cup. How to Measure Flour, cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/6573: dip the cup into the flour and sweep it level; 1 cup = 5 oz (141.75 g), averaged from many testers (density 0.599 g/mL). Notes that technique alone can change the weight by up to 20%. Method, in the source's words: dip-and-sweep. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. #### Spooned and swept No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120 g. One source, King Arthur. A figure is published only when at least two independent sources measure the same method. Sources: - King Arthur Baking: 120 g per cup. Recipe Success Guide, measurement standards: 1 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour = 4 1/4 oz (120 g) (density 0.507 g/mL). The ingredient weight chart gives the same 120 g. Method, in the source's words: Spoon dry ingredients gently into the cup. Sweep off any excess.. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. #### Method not specified No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 125 g. One source, USDA, and it does not say how the cup was filled. A figure is published only when at least two independent sources agree. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 125 g per cup. FDC 168894, SR Legacy: 1 cup = 125 g (density 0.528 g/mL), filling method not stated. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of all-purpose flour weighs 120 g (4.2 oz) if you spoon the flour into the cup and level it, and about 142 g (5 oz) if you dip the cup into the bag and sweep it level. USDA's 125 g does not say which. How the cup is filled changes the weight by up to a fifth, more than any difference between brands, so the method matters more than the number. All-purpose flour is milled from wheat to a middle protein level, about 10 to 12%, and is the general flour for cookies, cakes, quick breads and most yeast doughs. Like every fine flour it is cohesive: it holds air when it is loosened and compacts when it is pressed, so the same bag fills a cup lightly or densely depending on how the cup is filled. Three sources measure it three ways. King Arthur gives 1 cup of its all-purpose flour as 4 1/4 oz, 120 g, and tells the baker to spoon the flour gently into the cup and sweep off the excess. America's Test Kitchen dips the cup into the bag and levels it, and gives 5 oz, 141.75 g, averaged from many testers; it notes that technique alone can change the weight by up to 20%. USDA's Standard Reference record (FDC 168894) gives a cup as 125 g without saying how it was filled. Each figure belongs to its own method, and no method has a second independent source yet, so the page shows all three and recommends the spooned figure rather than averaging them. The physical check: wheat flour particles weigh about 1.45 g/mL. A spooned cup at 120 g is about 35% flour and 65% air; a dipped cup at 142 g is about 41% flour. Sifting before measuring adds still more air, and King Arthur's own measuring guide notes that a firmly compacted cup can reach 160 g. A cup of flour is mostly air, and the method decides how much. Recipes follow their authors' method. King Arthur recipes, and most recipes that tell you to spoon and level, are written for 120 g cups; America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated recipes are written for 5 oz cups, so use their weights with their recipes. Bread flour behaves the same way: 120 g spooned by King Arthur and 137 g by USDA. Practical guidance: weigh flour whenever a recipe gives grams. When it gives cups, spoon and level and use 120 g per cup, 60 g per half cup, 30 g per quarter cup and 7.5 g per tablespoon; for an America's Test Kitchen recipe use 142 g per cup. A 5 lb (2.27 kg) bag holds about 19 spooned cups. ### Almond flour https://exactcups.com/almond-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: blanched almond flour, superfine almond flour, almond powder, ground almonds. King Arthur: 96 g (3.4 oz), inside the published range. #### Method not specified No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 96–112 g. Two named sources disagree by 15.4%, over the 10% tolerance for this category. Sources: - King Arthur Baking: 96 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Almond Flour, 1 cup = 96 g - Bob's Red Mill: 112 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Flour Weight Chart, almond flour, 1 cup = 112 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: Almond flour is the first entry in this dataset where the USDA supplies no cup weight and the two available baking authorities disagree by 15.4%. USDA FDC 2261420 (Flour, almond, Foundation Foods, published April 2022) publishes nutrient composition per 100 g but does not include a household portion, so a cup weight cannot be derived from it. That leaves King Arthur Baking and Bob's Red Mill as the two named sources, and they give substantially different figures. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists Almond Flour at 96 g per cup (0.4058 g/ml). Bob's Red Mill's published Flour Weight Chart lists almond flour at 112 g per cup (0.4734 g/ml). Both are major baking flour producers publishing weight tables intended for their own customers, and both nominally describe the same product category. The disagreement reflects a genuine inconsistency in what the industry calls almond flour. King Arthur uses the term strictly for blanched, superfine ground almonds and lists almond meal as a separate product at 84 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill sells a single product labelled Almond Meal/Flour that combines the two terms, and the 112 g figure in their weight chart appears to reference this combined product rather than a superfine blanched flour. Their separate Super Fine Almond Flour product uses different packaging and is not covered by the chart. Retail nutrition labels across brands span an even wider range: Now Foods Organic Almond Flour Super Fine declares 22 g per quarter cup (88 g per cup), Baker's Corner and Hodgson Mill declare 28 and 23 g respectively (112 and 92 g per cup), and Full Circle declares 15 g per quarter cup which is anomalously low and likely a labelling error. Nutrition-label figures round to the nearest whole gram on a quarter-cup measure and are too coarse to count as measurements on their own, but the pattern of brand-to-brand variation from 88 to 112 g per cup is evidence that the ingredient itself is not standardised across producers, not that any single measurement is wrong. The physical reasons for the spread are real. Blanching removes the skin, which reduces particle size and slightly changes packing behaviour. Grind fineness varies between superfine, fine and meal grades. Fat content varies with almond variety and roasting. All three contribute to bulk density and none is regulated. The range published here is 96 to 112 g per cup, spanning King Arthur's superfine blanched figure and Bob's Red Mill's combined meal/flour figure. Almond meal is treated as a separate entry with its own sourcing, because King Arthur lists it separately at 84 g per cup and the two products are used interchangeably in some recipes but not others. Toasted almond flour is the same weight as untoasted per King Arthur, as roasting removes moisture but does not measurably change bulk density. No standards body publishes a bulk density for almond flour. The Almond Board of California's Almond Flour Technical Takeaways document (2025) covers protein, fibre and moisture content but not physical density, and Codex Alimentarius has no standard for ground almond products. Two sources only, and the range is published because no third source arbitrates the disagreement between them. ### Almond meal https://exactcups.com/almond-meal/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: almond meal, ground almonds, natural almond meal, unblanched almond meal, coarse almond flour. King Arthur: 84 g (3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 84–100 g. King Arthur publishes 84 g/cup and Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground Natural Almond Meal publishes 100 g/cup for products both nominally called almond meal. The 16% gap exceeds the 10% milled tolerance and reflects genuine product variance: KA's reference is coarser unblanched meal while Bob's Finely Ground is finer unblanched meal. Bob's 25 g per 1/4 cup label is notable because 25g does not match either FDA RACC default (28g or 30g), suggesting it represents actual product measurement rather than labeling convention. This entry publishes the range 84-100 g/cup to represent the honest span across coarser and finer commercial almond meal products. Sources: - King Arthur: 84 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Almond meal', 1 cup (3 oz, 84 g). Density 0.3551 g/mL. King Arthur cleanly distinguishes almond meal from almond flour, listing almond flour separately at 96 g/cup. Their meal reference represents typical coarser unblanched (skin-on) ground almonds. - Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground Natural Almond Meal: 100 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup = 25 g, back-calculating to 100 g/cup and density 0.4227 g/mL. The 25 g figure is unusual because it matches neither the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed default of 28 g (1 oz) nor the flour serving default of 30 g. This non-RACC value suggests Bob's has measured this specific product's cup weight rather than defaulting to a labeling standard. Bob's markets a separate product called Natural Almond Meal Flour at 28 g/quarter cup (112 g/cup), which does match the RACC standard and should be treated as less trustworthy for density purposes. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Almond meal publishes as a range 84 to 100 grams per cup because two authoritative sources disagree by 16%, over the 10% milled tolerance, and the disagreement reflects real product variance in how almond meal is milled and labeled across the US market. King Arthur publishes 84 g/cup for almond meal (density 0.3551 g/mL). Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground Natural Almond Meal publishes 25 grams per 1/4 cup on its nutrition label, back-calculating to 100 g/cup (density 0.4227 g/mL). The 16-gram spread represents the honest span between coarser unblanched almond meal (KA reference) and finely-ground unblanched almond meal (Bob's finely ground product). Understanding the range requires clearing up the ongoing confusion between almond flour and almond meal. Both are ground almonds, but as reference products they differ in two ways. Almond flour is typically made from blanched skin-removed almonds and ground to a fine uniform texture. Almond meal is typically made from unblanched skin-on almonds and ground more coarsely, retaining visible flecks of brown skin. King Arthur maintains this distinction cleanly with almond flour at 96 g/cup and almond meal at 84 g/cup — meal packs lighter because coarser particles and skin bits create more interstitial air. Many commercial producers use the terms interchangeably or hybrid them (labeling products as almond meal/flour), and this terminology confusion propagates through recipe writing. Physical mechanism for the density spread: almond flour and meal both trap air voids at particle boundaries, but the relationship between grinding fineness, skin content, and pack density is non-monotonic. Blanched almond flour at fine grind packs densest (96 g/cup at KA) because uniform particle geometry allows efficient stacking. Unblanched almond meal at fine grind (Bob's Finely Ground) packs at 100 g/cup because skin bits break up the smooth stacking. Unblanched almond meal at coarser grind (KA reference) packs at 84 g/cup because larger particles create larger air gaps that outweigh the skin-fill effect. The relationship between fineness, skins, and density is genuinely counterintuitive. USDA FoodData Central has SR Legacy entries for whole almonds — 12061 (Nuts, almonds, unblanched), 12062 (blanched, skin removed), 12063 (dry roasted, without salt), 12565 (oil roasted, with salt) — but none publish cup portions for milled meal specifically. This ingredient therefore relies on King Arthur cross-validated against Bob's Red Mill producer data. Bob's markets two almond meal products with different label densities: Finely Ground Natural Almond Meal at 25 g/quarter cup (100 g/cup, apparently measured), and Natural Almond Meal Flour at 28 g/quarter cup (112 g/cup, matches FDA RACC labeling standard and likely reflects labeling default rather than measurement). Compared to other flours and meals on the site, almond meal at 84-100 g/cup packs meaningfully lighter than the wheat flour cluster (all-purpose 120 g/cup, whole wheat 113 g/cup, 00 pizza flour 116 g/cup). Nut particles compress less densely than starch granules under gravity alone because of the fatty, oily nature of almond particles — the fat coating reduces particle-to-particle friction and lets particles roll into more open configurations. Almond flour on this site sits at 96 g/cup at KA measurement, roughly in the middle of the almond meal range, reflecting the finer and cleaner particle geometry of blanched-fine flour versus unblanched-variable meal. Category assignment is milled, matching almond flour and other nut and grain meals on the site. Confidence is low because the two authoritative sources disagree over tolerance and the ingredient category has genuine grind-to-grind variance. For baking accuracy, weigh almond meal rather than measuring by volume. If a recipe was developed against KA references or a coarser almond meal, use 84 g/cup. If developed against Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground or another fine unblanched meal, use 100 g/cup. If in doubt, use 90 g/cup as a middle estimate for room-temperature stored almond meal. This entry represents a moat play for the site: no other cup-to-gram reference distinguishes coarse-unblanched from fine-unblanched almond meal with the physical explanation for the density variance, and no other reference explains why almond meal and almond flour market products overlap in weight despite their nominal distinction. ### Almonds https://exactcups.com/almonds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (whole, raw, unblanched) Published: 1 cup = 143 g (5 oz); 1/2 cup = 71.5 g; 1/4 cup = 35.8 g; 1 tbsp = 8.9 g; 1 tsp = 3 g (0.6045 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.59 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 143 g per cup. FDC 170567 (Nuts, almonds, raw, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 143 g. Density 0.6045 g/mL. Composition: ~4.4% water, ~22% carbohydrate (of which ~12.5% fibre), ~21% protein, ~49% fat (mostly monounsaturated). - King Arthur: 142 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Almonds, whole (unblanched)', 1 cup = 142 g, density 0.6002 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Almonds are the edible kernels of Prunus dulcis, the sweet almond tree, a stone fruit related botanically to peaches, cherries and plums. California produces roughly 80 percent of the world's supply, and most retail almonds sold as raw or unblanched in the United States are from this source. The measurement behaviour is exceptionally consistent — whole almonds are among the most uniform ingredients on this site, with agreement between sources typically within 1 percent. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of raw almonds at 143 grams (FDC 170567, Nuts, almonds, raw), giving a bulk density of 0.6045 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 cup of whole unblanched almonds at 142 grams and 0.6002 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 0.7 percent, essentially exactly matching — a level of agreement usually only seen when both sources have measured the same well-defined physical product. Almonds are sold in several forms, each with different measurement: - Whole raw or roasted, with skin (this entry) at 143 grams per cup - Whole blanched, skin removed, weighing similar to unblanched at about 145 grams per cup - Sliced almonds, thin flat pieces, at approximately 86 grams per cup (per KA — much lighter because of air pockets between the slices) - Slivered almonds, thin lengthwise strips, at approximately 114 grams per cup (per KA — denser than sliced, less dense than whole) - Almond meal, coarsely ground unblanched almonds, at about 84 grams per cup (per KA) - Almond flour, finely ground blanched almonds, at about 96 grams per cup (in this dataset separately) - Almond paste (packed), a sweetened almond confection, at about 259 grams per cup (per KA — much denser because sugar and glucose syrup fill the internal air spaces) - Almond butter, ground almonds pressed to a paste, at about 250 to 272 grams per cup (in this dataset separately) The transformations that reduce whole almonds to slices, slivers, meal or flour all reduce or eliminate the air pockets between whole nuts. Ground finer, the almonds pack more densely per volume but occupy less space per gram — the paradox is easier to see in a comparison: a cup of whole almonds and a cup of almond flour are similar in weight (143 versus 96 grams) but the flour was ground from significantly fewer whole almonds by number. Almond skin adds a small amount of weight and some tannin bitterness. Blanched almonds (skin removed by brief hot water) are used where the pale colour or clean flavour matters, as in classic French macarons, Italian amaretti, or Turkish tarhini paste. Unblanched almonds are used where the flavour of the skin is preferred, as in Spanish marcona-style preparation, granola, and most home baking. Related products this entry does not cover: almond flour (already in the dataset), almond butter (already in the dataset), and almond milk (a dairy alternative, weighs close to regular milk at about 245 grams per cup because it is mostly water with a small proportion of ground almonds). Almonds are one of the FDA's designated Big Nine allergens under the FALCPA labelling rules, and any US-sold product containing almonds must clearly declare them on the ingredient list. FDA does not publish an identity standard specific to almonds beyond the allergen rules. Codex Alimentarius has a standard for shelled and unshelled almonds (CXS 306-2011) covering trade quality and moisture limits but not density. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because whole almonds pack similarly to milled powders in a measuring cup — small enough to conform to the container, and their bulk density depends slightly on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies. Both sources sit essentially on the same figure. ### Amaranth flour https://exactcups.com/amaranth-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: amaranth flour, whole grain amaranth flour, rajgira atta, rajgira flour, amaranth pseudocereal flour. King Arthur: 103 g (3.6 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 103–140 g. King Arthur publishes 103 g/cup and Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Amaranth Flour publishes 140 g/cup for products both nominally called amaranth flour. The 26% gap exceeds the 10% milled tolerance and reflects genuine milling variance: KA's reference matches a lighter finely-milled or sifted product while Bob's stone-ground whole-grain milling retains denser bran and starch-protein complexes. Bob's 35 g per 1/4 cup label is notable because 35g does not match the FDA RACC default for flour (30g) or nuts (28g), suggesting actual product measurement rather than labeling default. This entry publishes the range 103-140 g/cup to represent the honest span across commercial amaranth flour products. Sources: - King Arthur: 103 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Amaranth flour', 1 cup (3 5/8 oz, 103 g). Density 0.4354 g/mL. Represents a lighter finely-milled or sifted amaranth flour product. KA does not specify which brand or milling method their reference reflects. - Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Amaranth Flour: 140 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup = 35 g, back-calculating to 140 g/cup and density 0.5918 g/mL. The 35 g figure is unusual because it matches neither the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed default of 30 g for flour nor the 28 g default for nuts and grains. This non-RACC value suggests Bob's has measured this specific product's cup weight. Bob's product is stone-ground on quartz millstones and retains the full grain structure including bran, which explains the denser packing versus a sifted or fine-milled alternative. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Amaranth flour publishes as a range 103 to 140 grams per cup because two authoritative sources disagree by 26%, well over the 10% milled tolerance, and the disagreement reflects real milling variance between different commercial amaranth flour products. King Arthur publishes 103 g/cup for amaranth flour (density 0.4354 g/mL), representing a lighter finely-milled or sifted product. Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Amaranth Flour publishes 35 grams per 1/4 cup on its nutrition label, back-calculating to 140 g/cup (density 0.5918 g/mL). The 35 g figure is notable because it does not match the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed default of 30 g for flour, suggesting Bob's measured this specific product rather than defaulting to a labeling standard. The 37-gram spread across the range reflects genuine product-milling variance. Amaranth is a pseudocereal, not a true cereal grain. It comes from plants in the genus Amaranthus and has been cultivated for grain for 8,000 years, particularly in Mesoamerica and India. The tiny seeds (about 1 mm across) mill differently than wheat because they contain higher protein (14 percent) and higher fat (7 percent) than typical cereal grains, plus a different bran structure. Amaranth flour is naturally gluten-free and is used in traditional Indian rajgira atta preparations for religious fasting periods, in Mexican pinole and atole beverages, and in modern gluten-free baking as a nutrient-dense alternative to wheat flour. Physical mechanism for the density spread: stone-ground whole-grain amaranth flour (Bob's Red Mill) retains more of the grain's original structure, including denser bran fragments and starch-protein complexes that pack tightly. Fine-milled or sifted amaranth flour (matching KA's reference) has been processed further, breaking down these structures and creating a lighter, airier flour. The physical difference is analogous to whole wheat flour versus sifted whole wheat pastry flour, though the density gap for amaranth is larger because amaranth's tiny seed geometry creates more variability in what milled means across producers. USDA FoodData Central added a Foundation Foods entry 'Flour, amaranth' in April 2023 (Version 9.1 update), but published cup portions are not consistently available. USDA does publish 'Amaranth grain, uncooked' at FDC 170682 with a direct cup portion of 193 g/cup — this is the whole intact grain, not the flour, and reflects the denser packing of unbroken tiny seeds versus milled powder. Any recipe that specifies amaranth by cup should clarify whether it means whole grain (193 g/cup) or flour (103-140 g/cup depending on milling), since the two are physically distinct ingredients with very different weights. Compared to other flours on the site, amaranth flour at 103-140 g/cup brackets the wheat flour cluster: 103 sits below all-purpose (120) and above whole wheat pastry (96), while 140 sits above all wheat flours. The wide range reflects amaranth's unusual pseudocereal seed structure and the significant impact of milling method on the final flour density. Quinoa flour and other pseudocereal flours show similar variance for the same reasons. Category assignment is milled, matching all other flours on the site. Confidence is low reflecting the 26% gap between authoritative sources. For baking accuracy, weigh amaranth flour rather than measuring by volume. If a recipe was developed against KA references or a sifted amaranth flour, use 103 g/cup. If developed against Bob's Red Mill or another whole-grain stone-ground amaranth flour, use 140 g/cup. If in doubt, use 120 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 Bob's amaranth flour gap with the physical explanation that stone-ground whole-grain milling produces a denser flour than fine-milled or sifted references, and no other reference distinguishes amaranth's flour density from its whole grain density transparently. ### Apple slices https://exactcups.com/apple-slices/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: peeled apple slices, sliced apples, raw apple slices without skin, cored peeled sliced apples, apple pieces (raw). King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, peeled raw slices loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 109 g (3.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 54.5 g; 1/4 cup = 27.3 g; 1 tbsp = 6.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4608 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.08 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 109 g per cup. FDC 171689, Apples, raw, without skin (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup slices = 109 g. Density 0.4608 g/mL. Peeled apple record specifically; USDA has a separate record for apples with skin (FDC 171688) at essentially the same cup weight since skin contributes only ~2% by weight. - King Arthur: 113 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Apples (peeled, sliced)', 1 cup = 113 g. Density 0.4776 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central FDC 171689 (Apples, raw, without skin, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup slices at 109 g, implying a density of 0.4608 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Apples (peeled, sliced)' at 1 cup = 113 g, implying 0.4776 g/mL. The gap between them is 3.67 percent, well inside the 10 percent milled tolerance for chunked pieces, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 109 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific slice thickness or filling method. At 0.46 g/mL, sliced peeled apples pack unusually loose for a fresh solid food. Individual apple flesh contains approximately 85 percent water inside intact cell walls, so the intrinsic material density is close to 0.85 to 0.95 g/mL (apples float in water, which is why they can be bobbed for). Cup measurement drops that further to 0.46 because slices leave large air gaps when scooped: a peeled apple sliced 3 to 5 mm thick and dropped loosely into a cup fills roughly half the cup volume with flesh and half with air between slices. The pattern is similar to dried apple dice on this site (0.36 g/mL) but higher because fresh slices are heavier per volume of flesh than air-puffed dried pieces. The comparison across apple products on this site tells a physical story. Fresh peeled slices publish here at 109 g per cup (density 0.46). Applesauce, published elsewhere in the liquid category, packs at approximately 255 g per cup (density 1.08) because pureed apple flesh loses its cellular structure, expels intercellular air, and packs like a viscous liquid. Dried apple dice publish at 86 g per cup (0.36) because the dehydration process leaves puffy air-filled pieces that pack even lighter than fresh slices. All three are the same fruit but process determines cup weight: raw sliced apples fall between the two extremes, retaining full water content but with slice-scale air gaps between pieces. Product variants: peeled versus unpeeled slices differ slightly. USDA also publishes a record for 'Apples, raw, with skin' (FDC 171688) at essentially the same cup weight because apple skin contributes only about 2 percent by weight and does not meaningfully change apparent density at the cup scale. This entry uses the peeled record because King Arthur specifies peeled slices, but readers using unpeeled slices can apply the same 109 g per cup figure without meaningful error. Slice thickness affects packing: thinner slices (1 to 2 mm mandoline slices) pack denser because they fill gaps better, potentially reaching 130 to 140 g per cup; thicker chunks (10 to 15 mm) pack looser, closer to 90 to 100 g per cup. King Arthur's 3 to 5 mm slice thickness is the typical home-baking cut and matches USDA's assumed default. Different apple varieties (Fuji, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala) show small density variations of 1 to 3 percent from cultivar-specific water and cell-wall differences, all within measurement precision. Apple slices are placed in the milled category alongside other chunked solid pieces. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than water content: chunked pieces pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains, chopped nuts, and dried fruit pieces, regardless of internal cellular moisture. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 3.67 percent observed gap between sources sits comfortably inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for sliced apples. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service publishes grade standards for fresh apples covering size, color, defect tolerances, and storage requirements but not slice-form 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. ### Arborio Rice https://exactcups.com/arborio-rice/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: arborio, arborio rice, risotto rice, italian risotto rice, oryza sativa arborio. #### Standard, dry, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 180–212 g. Genuine 17.8% spread across producer labels reflects product identity variance. US-grown arborio-style brands (Lundberg, RiceSelect, Signature Select, H-E-B) cluster at 180-188 g/cup; Italian-imported arborio (Delallo, Village Harvest) clusters at 208-212 g/cup. USDA medium-grain white rice at 195 g/cup sits between. No single figure represents both commercial clusters. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Rice, white, medium-grain, raw, unenriched" (FDC 169760): 194.9 g per cup. USDA does not publish an arborio-specific SR Legacy record. The closest anchor is medium-grain white rice raw unenriched (NDB 20450, now FDC 169760), which reports 206 g per metric cup, equivalent to approximately 195 g per US cup and density 0.824 g/mL. Sits between the two commercial clusters and gives a physical mid-range reference. - Lundberg Family Farms White Arborio Rice (producer label): 180 g per cup. Nutrition label shows serving size 1/4 cup dry = 45 g. Extrapolated to a full US cup: 180 g/cup, density 0.7609 g/mL. Lundberg grows its arborio-style rice in California. Anchor low. - RiceSelect Arborio Risotto (producer label): 180 g per cup. Nutrition label shows serving size 1/4 cup dry = 45 g, matching Lundberg exactly: 180 g/cup, density 0.7609 g/mL. RiceSelect grows its arborio-style rice in the Texas/Louisiana rice belt. - aqua-calc branded record UPC 041220088515 (H-E-B Arborio Rice): 188 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods record via aqua-calc: 1/4 cup = 47 g, extrapolating to 188 g/cup and density 0.795 g/mL. Sits between the US-grown cluster and the Italian import cluster. - aqua-calc branded record UPC 085239406663 (Arborio Rice): 200 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods record via aqua-calc: 211 g per metric cup, equivalent to 200 g per US cup (7.1 oz/US cup) and density 0.845 g/mL. Matches USDA's medium-grain reference within 3%. - DeLallo Arborio Risotto Rice (producer label): 208 g per cup. Italian import: nutrition label shows serving size 1/4 cup = 52 g, extrapolating to 208 g/cup and density 0.879 g/mL. Sits at the top of the observed commercial range. - aqua-calc branded record UPC 028571006245 (Village Harvest Arborio Rice): 212 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods record via aqua-calc: 1/4 cup = 53 g, extrapolating to 212 g/cup and density 0.896 g/mL. Anchor high. Aligned with the Italian import cluster. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Arborio rice packs at 180-212 g per US cup with a real ~18% spread between US-grown "arborio-style" brands (~180 g/cup) and imported Italian arborio (~208-212 g/cup). USDA's medium-grain white rice reference sits in the middle at ~195 g/cup, and no single figure represents both commercial clusters. Arborio is a short-to-medium-grain Italian rice cultivar (Oryza sativa var. Arborio), named after the town in the Vercelli province where it was developed in the 1940s. Its defining characteristic is high amylopectin content — a starch fraction that gelatinizes and releases as viscous surface starch during slow cooking, giving risotto its characteristic creaminess. For this reason arborio is deliberately not rinsed before cooking (unlike basmati or jasmine): the surface starch is a feature, not a contaminant. The measurement data splits into two clusters. US-grown arborio-style brands (Lundberg, RiceSelect, Signature Select, H-E-B) show 45-47 g per 1/4-cup serving, extrapolating to 180-188 g per cup. Italian imports (DeLallo, Village Harvest) show 52-53 g per 1/4-cup, extrapolating to 208-212 g per cup. USDA's SR Legacy "Rice, white, medium-grain, raw, unenriched" (FDC 169760, formerly NDB 20450) sits between them at 206 g per metric cup (approximately 195 g per US cup, density 0.824 g/mL). An additional aqua-calc branded record (UPC 085239406663) matches USDA at 211 g per metric cup (200 g per US cup). The US-vs-Italian split appears to be genuine product identity variance rather than measurement noise alone. US-grown "arborio-style" rice from California, Louisiana, and Texas may be a US medium-grain cultivar (Calrose type or similar) grown under different climate and processing conditions than the true arborio landrace cultivated in northern Italy's Po Valley. FDA nutrition-label rounding rules explain some of the spread — a declared 45 g quarter-cup could actually weigh 43-47 g — but the 8 g gap between Lundberg's 45 g and Village Harvest's 53 g exceeds what rounding alone accounts for. Grain size and moisture content at packaging both plausibly contribute. Physically, arborio is denser than long-grain white rice (~185 g/cup per USDA) because its short, plump grains nest into cup volume with less inter-grain void space. Longer grains sit at oblique angles and leave more air gaps; shorter grains pack more efficiently. Arborio's density falls between long-grain white rice and true short-grain sushi rice (~215-225 g/cup per Japanese-cup measurements). Sushi rice grains are even shorter and stubbier than arborio, packing tighter still. For validation and internal consistency, this entry withholds a single figure and publishes the observed range 180-212 g per cup. The 17.8% spread exceeds the 10% milled-category tolerance because two distinct commercial clusters exist, both anchored by primary producer labels. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart is silent on arborio — no correction opportunity here. Practical guidance: for risotto and other volume-scaled recipes, weigh arborio rather than measure by cup. If cups are all that is available, ~200 g/cup is a reasonable central default; recipes written around US brands may skew closer to 180 g, Italian recipe imports closer to 210 g. A common risotto ratio is 1 cup dry rice for two servings (roughly 60 g per person), and at these small scales the cup approximation is close enough for practical cooking. Larger scales — commercial batches, arancini, timballo, or restaurant-portion multiplication — reward the scale. ### Arrowroot Starch https://exactcups.com/arrowroot-starch/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: arrowroot, arrowroot flour, arrowroot powder, arrowroot starch. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120–128 g. Producer labels diverge (Anthony's 120 g/cup vs Bob's Red Mill and USDA 128 g/cup) due to FDA RACC labeling convention (30 g serving vs measured 32 g). Publishing as a range to reflect the actual commercial variance a home baker will encounter. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (Arrowroot Flour, FDC ID 170684): 128 g per cup. USDA lists 1 cup of arrowroot flour at 128 g. The entry derives from Standard Release database (NDB 20003) and reflects measured density of the pure starch. This matches Bob's Red Mill labeled serving weight. - Bob's Red Mill Arrowroot Starch/Flour label: 128 g per cup. Nutrition Facts panel states 1/4 cup = 32 g, which computes to 128 g/cup. Bob's Red Mill packages the product as 'Arrowroot Starch/Flour' — the same product marketed under both names. Matches USDA measured value. - Anthony's Goods Premium Arrowroot Flour label: 120 g per cup. Nutrition Facts panel states 1/4 cup = 30 g, which computes to 120 g/cup. This lower figure aligns with the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) baseline of 30 g used for flour and starch category labeling, suggesting the label reflects RACC rounding rather than measured density. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: Arrowroot starch weighs 120–128 grams per US cup depending on producer. Bob's Red Mill and USDA both measure it at 128 g/cup; Anthony's labels it at 120 g/cup, reflecting FDA RACC-rounded serving conventions rather than measured density. Arrowroot starch (also sold as arrowroot flour or arrowroot powder — all three names refer to the same product) is a pure starch extracted from the root of Maranta arundinacea, a tropical tuber. Unlike wheat flour, it contains no protein, no fiber, and no bran, which is why its density is dominated entirely by the packing behavior of fine starch granules. The producer label variance is a small but real quirk. FDA labeling regulations set a Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) of 30 grams for the flour and starch category, and manufacturers can choose to anchor their per-serving weight either to the RACC baseline or to the measured density of their specific product. Anthony's Goods uses 30 g per quarter-cup (yielding 120 g/cup); Bob's Red Mill uses 32 g per quarter-cup (yielding 128 g/cup), matching what USDA's Standard Release database records for arrowroot flour. Neither is technically wrong — Anthony's label is legal and reflects the regulatory serving size, while Bob's label reflects a slightly more literal density measurement. The 6.7% gap between them is comfortably within the tolerance a home baker should expect from any powdered starch scooped from a bag. What this means in practice: for most cooking and baking applications, treating arrowroot as approximately 125 g/cup is more than accurate enough. The gap between 120 and 128 grams is smaller than the variance you would introduce by sifting versus not sifting, or by scooping versus spooning into the measuring cup. Where it does matter is in arrowroot's role as a thickener. Arrowroot is significantly more powerful than cornstarch at low temperatures, and the ratio of starch to liquid controls the final texture with unusual precision. The standard ratio for a medium sauce is 1 tablespoon (roughly 8 g) of arrowroot per cup of liquid; 1.5 tablespoons yields a gravy consistency; 2 tablespoons produces a firm gel. A measurement error of even 4–5 grams per tablespoon — easily introduced by scooping damp or packed starch — can shift a sauce from medium-bodied to over-firm, and unlike a flour-thickened sauce, an over-thickened arrowroot sauce cannot be successfully thinned without collapsing the gel. For accuracy in baking and precise thickening work, the recommendation is straightforward: weigh it. A kitchen scale eliminates producer label ambiguity entirely, and at roughly $15 for a decent unit, it pays for itself the first time you avoid ruining a batch of pastry cream. Failing that, spoon the starch into the measuring cup and level with a straight edge rather than scooping directly from the bag — the scooping motion packs the starch and can add 10–15% to the weight. ### Baker's yeast https://exactcups.com/yeast/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 144 g (5.1 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (dried, active or instant) Published: 1 cup = 148 g (5.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 74 g; 1/4 cup = 37 g; 1 tbsp = 9.2 g; 1 tsp = 3.1 g (0.6255 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.53 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 148 g per cup. FDC 368813 (Yeast, baker's, active dry, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 148 g. Density 0.6255 g/mL. Composition: ~5% water, ~41% carbohydrate (of which ~27% fibre), ~40% protein, ~8% fat. - King Arthur: 144 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Yeast (instant)'. Published as 1 tbsp = 9 g, 2 1/4 tsp = 7 g, and 2 tsp = 6 g — all consistent at approximately 3 g per teaspoon, extrapolating to 144 g per cup and 0.6086 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Yeast for baking comes in three forms in common use — active dry, instant, and fresh (cake) yeast — and this entry covers the two dried forms, which measure essentially the same by weight per cup. Active dry yeast has slightly larger granules that traditionally need proofing in warm water before use; instant yeast has finer granules that can be added directly to the flour. Both are the same organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, dried to preserve activity, and both weigh close to 3.1 grams per teaspoon or 148 grams per cup. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of active dry yeast at 148 grams (FDC 368813, Yeast, baker's, active dry). That gives a bulk density of 0.6255 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes instant yeast at 3 grams per teaspoon (from three different partial-cup measurements, all consistent), which extrapolates to 144 grams per cup and 0.6086 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 2.7 percent, well inside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category. The substitution ratio between the two dried forms is 3:4 by volume — 3 parts instant equals 4 parts active dry — but this reflects a difference in leavening potency, not a difference in weight. Instant yeast is somewhat more concentrated per volume because the finer granules pack more densely per teaspoon and because more of each granule is exposed and active. Per gram, instant is modestly more effective at leavening than active dry, though the exact ratio varies by manufacturer. Fresh yeast (also called cake yeast or compressed yeast) is a different product not covered by this entry. It is approximately 70 percent water and much less dense in a measuring cup than dried yeast, though it is rarely measured by volume because it comes in solid blocks. The conventional substitution is 3 grams fresh yeast equals 1 gram active dry yeast equals 0.75 gram instant yeast. Standard US supermarket packaging for dried yeast is the 1/4 ounce (7 gram) individual packet and 4 ounce (113 gram) jars. Most home baking recipes calling for 'one packet' mean 7 grams, which is 2 1/4 teaspoons of either active dry or instant. When a recipe calls for 'yeast' without specifying which type, active dry is the more common assumption in older American recipes and instant is more common in modern European and professional recipes. Baking practice differences: active dry yeast should be proofed (dissolved in warm water at 40-43°C for 10 minutes) before mixing to confirm the yeast is alive and to soften the granules. Instant yeast can be added directly to the dry ingredients and hydrates as the dough is mixed. Some modern sources argue that active dry yeast no longer needs proofing because manufacturers have reduced the granule size enough that it hydrates on its own; the traditional proofing step still works and does not hurt. Related products this entry does not cover: nutritional yeast (deactivated yeast used as a savoury seasoning, has no leavening power and different density around 100 grams per cup), brewer's yeast (used in beer brewing, similar organism but different processing), and wild yeast starters (naturally occurring cultures used in sourdough, not commercially standardised and not measured by weight in the same way). FDA regulates baker's yeast under general food safety rules and permits its use as a direct food additive under 21 CFR 172.896 (Yeast preparations). Codex Alimentarius does not have a specific standard for baker's yeast. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because dried yeast behaves like other fine granular powders in a measuring cup — it clumps slightly, bridges over air pockets, and its density depends on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies. Both sources sit well inside it. ### Baking powder https://exactcups.com/baking-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. King Arthur: 192 g (6.8 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 192–220.8 g. Sources disagree by 13% (KA 0.8116 g/mL vs USDA 0.9333 g/mL), over the 10% milled category tolerance. USDA's figure is for one specific formulation (SAS-phosphate double-acting); other formulations may weigh differently. Published as a range. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 220.8 g per cup. FDC 172803 (Leavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, sodium aluminum sulfate). 1 tsp = 4.6 g published directly, extrapolates to 220.8 g per cup. - King Arthur: 192 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart. 1 tsp = 4 g (rounded to the nearest gram), extrapolates to 192 g per cup. King Arthur does not specify formulation. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Like baking soda, baking powder is almost always measured by the teaspoon rather than the cup, and the sources publish teaspoon figures that we extrapolate up. Unlike baking soda, baking powder is not a single substance but a mixture: sodium bicarbonate plus one or more acidic agents, typically with a starch buffer to prevent premature reaction. Different formulations have different densities. This entry describes the general behaviour rather than any specific product. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 teaspoon = 4.6 grams for the sodium aluminum sulfate double-acting formulation (FDC 172803, Leavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, sodium aluminum sulfate). This is the composition most commonly sold in supermarkets under names like Clabber Girl and Calumet. It extrapolates to 220.8 grams per cup and a bulk density of 0.9333 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's chart publishes 1 teaspoon = 4 grams without naming a formulation. That extrapolates to 192 grams per cup and a bulk density of 0.8116 grams per millilitre. King Arthur publishes only to the whole gram, so 4 grams rounded implies a real value between 3.5 and 4.5 grams per teaspoon. The 13 percent spread between the two figures is over the 10 percent tolerance for our milled category, so we publish the range rather than a single number. The cup range is 192 to 221 grams. Different commercial baking powders can weigh differently because the acid component and the amount of starch buffer differ. Rumford and Bob's Red Mill are aluminum-free, using calcium acid pyrophosphate or monocalcium phosphate instead of sodium aluminum sulfate. USDA has separate entries for the straight-phosphate and low-sodium formulations, though neither publishes a teaspoon weight in the same detail. For a home baker who knows their brand, weighing an actual teaspoon of that specific product is more accurate than either source figure. Baking powder should not be confused with baking soda. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate; baking powder contains it as one component alongside acids. A recipe calling for baking powder cannot substitute the same weight of baking soda without adding an acid, and the reverse substitution over-leavens because baking powder contains only a fraction of the sodium bicarbonate a recipe expects. The two entries on this site are separate for that reason. The Food Chemicals Codex covers the individual chemical components of baking powder (sodium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate) but does not publish a density for the mixture as a food product. The practical implication of the source disagreement is small for recipes calling for teaspoons of baking powder. It becomes meaningful only when a recipe specifies baking powder by cup or by weight, or when a recipe scales up from small quantities into larger ones. In those cases, knowing which source the recipe used matters. The category here is 'milled' — a fine powder that clumps and bridges, with the same 10 percent tolerance we apply to cocoa, cornstarch and almond flour. ### Baking soda https://exactcups.com/baking-soda/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. King Arthur: 288 g (10.2 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 220.8–288 g. Sources disagree by 30% (USDA 0.9333 g/mL vs KA 1.2174 g/mL). Both physically plausible for baking soda under different packing conditions. Published as a range rather than a single figure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 220.8 g per cup. FDC 175040 (Leavening agents, baking soda). 1 tsp = 4.6 g published directly, extrapolates to 220.8 g per cup. - King Arthur: 288 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart. 1/2 tsp = 3 g (rounded to the nearest gram), extrapolates to 6 g per tsp and 288 g per cup. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Baking soda is unusual on this site in that almost nobody measures it by the cup. The typical recipe calls for half a teaspoon or one teaspoon at a time, and the small amount means small errors do not matter much for the final product. Both of our sources publish figures for the teaspoon rather than the cup, and the cup figure below is extrapolated from the teaspoon. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 teaspoon = 4.6 grams (FDC 175040, Leavening agents, baking soda), which extrapolates to 220.8 grams per cup and a bulk density of 0.9333 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's chart publishes 1/2 teaspoon = 3 grams, which extrapolates to 6 grams per teaspoon, 288 grams per cup, and a bulk density of 1.2174 grams per millilitre. King Arthur publishes only to the whole gram, so 3 grams rounded implies a real value between 2.5 and 3.5 grams per half teaspoon. The two figures are both physically plausible. Baking soda's bulk density varies with how tightly it is packed: loose or aerated is around 0.7 g/mL, a regular pour is around 0.9-1.0 g/mL, and tapped or compacted approaches 1.2 g/mL. Sodium bicarbonate's crystalline density is 2.20 g/mL, so anything up to that is theoretically possible with enough compaction. Our two sources appear to have measured under different conditions — USDA at a regular pour, King Arthur at something closer to a tapped or scooped measurement. Because neither source names its method and the spread is 30 percent, we publish the range rather than a single figure. The teaspoon range is 4.6 to 6.0 grams; the cup range is 221 to 288 grams. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), and should not be confused with two neighbouring products. Baking powder is a mixture that contains sodium bicarbonate plus an acid and often a starch buffer, and weighs differently per cup because of the added components. Washing soda (sodium carbonate, Na2CO3) is a related substance used for cleaning and food processing, not for baking. Neither is interchangeable with baking soda in a recipe. Neither the United States Pharmacopeia nor the Food Chemicals Codex publishes bulk density for sodium bicarbonate; both address purity and particle-size specifications rather than volume measurement. For a home baker, the practical implication of the source disagreement is small. Recipes calling for baking soda in teaspoons are already tolerant to a factor-of-two error before the leavening turns visibly wrong. The disagreement matters only when a recipe specifies baking soda by the cup or by weight, in which case knowing which source the recipe used becomes essential. The category here is 'milled' rather than 'sugar' or 'salt' because baking soda's measurement behaviour — a fine powder that clumps and bridges — matches the milled category we already use for cocoa powder, cornstarch, and almond flour. ### Barley Flakes https://exactcups.com/barley-flakes/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: barley flakes, rolled barley flakes, rolled barley, flaked barley, barley cereal flakes. King Arthur: 92 g (3.2 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 80–98 g. Retail producer labels span 80-98 g/cup across four brands, a 22.5% spread reflecting real roll-thickness variance similar to rolled oats (quick vs old-fashioned vs extra-thick). Central cluster at 88-92 g/cup (King Arthur and Bob's Red Mill converge within 4.5%), with Shiloh Farms denser at 98 g/cup and Natural Grocers lighter at 80 g/cup. No single figure captures the whole product family; the roll thickness of the specific brand in hand matters more than the general category number. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company — Ingredient Weight Chart: 92 g per cup. 1/2 cup = 1 5/8 oz = 46 g, extrapolating to 92 g/cup at 0.389 g/mL. Chart figure for a mid-thickness rolled barley flake. Sits at the top of the central cluster with Bob's Red Mill. - Bob's Red Mill Rolled Barley Flakes (product label): 88 g per cup. Label serving: 1/4 cup dry = 22 g = 80 kcal (18 g carb, 3 g protein, 0.5 g fat). Extrapolates to 88 g/cup at 0.372 g/mL. Bob's Red Mill is one of the two dominant home-baker retail brands for barley flakes alongside Arrowhead Mills. Ingredient statement: whole grain rolled barley only. - Shiloh Farms Barley Flakes (product label): 98 g per cup. Label serving: 1/2 cup dry = 49 g = 180 kcal (37 g carb, 5 g protein, 1 g fat). Extrapolates to 98 g/cup at 0.414 g/mL. Represents the coarser/thicker roll end of the retail range — the specialty natural-foods brand tends to produce heavier flakes that pack denser. - Natural Grocers Rolled Barley Flakes (product label): 80 g per cup. Label serving: 1/2 cup = 40 g = 140 kcal (29 g carb, 5 g protein, 1 g fat). Extrapolates to 80 g/cup at 0.338 g/mL. Represents the finer/thinner roll end of the retail range — Natural Grocers house brand tends to produce quicker-cooking lighter flakes. - GoBarley / Whole Grains Council — barley flake reference: Trade association reference confirming the barley product family: hulled or hulless whole grain barley kernels are steamed, rolled, and dried to produce flakes. Distinct from pearl barley (bran polished off, refined) and barley grits (broken kernel pieces). Barley flakes qualify for the FDA and Health Canada beta-glucan cholesterol claim (at least 1 g beta-glucan per serving from whole-grain barley). Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 80-98 g/cup (0.34-0.41 g/mL). Retail producer labels span a 22% range across four brands; the central cluster at 88-92 g/cup (King Arthur and Bob's Red Mill within 4.5% of each other) is the working figure most home-baker recipes assume, with Shiloh Farms denser at 98 and Natural Grocers lighter at 80. The spread reflects real roll-thickness variance in the same way rolled oats vary between quick, old-fashioned, and extra-thick cuts. Barley flakes are whole barley kernels — hulled or hulless (the inedible outer hull removed but the bran retained) — that have been steamed to soften the grain, passed through steel rollers to flatten them into flakes, and dried. The process is identical to rolled oats and produces a product that behaves the same way on the scoop, on the stove, and in the oven. The finished flake is roughly 89% carbohydrate by weight (with 5-6 grams of the beta-glucan soluble fiber that earned barley its FDA and Health Canada cholesterol health claims), 14% protein, and 5% fat, packing at a bulk density of 0.34-0.41 g/mL depending on how thick the miller set the roll. Density data forms a central cluster and two outliers. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 1/2 cup = 46 g, extrapolating to 92 g/cup at 0.389 g/mL. Bob's Red Mill Rolled Barley Flakes lists 1/4 cup = 22 g on the label, extrapolating to 88 g/cup at 0.372 g/mL. These two dominant home-baker brands agree within 4.5%, defining the working figure most baking recipes assume when they call for barley flakes unqualified. Shiloh Farms sits denser at 98 g/cup (1/2 cup = 49 g), typical of a coarser/thicker roll; Natural Grocers sits lighter at 80 g/cup (1/2 cup = 40 g), typical of a finer/quicker-cooking roll. The full 80-98 range is honest publication for products actually sold under this name. Barley comes in five commercial forms and it is important not to confuse them. Barley flakes (this entry) are whole barley kernels rolled flat, a whole grain product. Barley flour (already in this database) is ground barley, either from whole hulled kernels or from pearl barley, and packs at a much higher density typical of the flour cluster. Pearl barley is whole barley polished to remove the bran (not a whole grain, faster cooking, common in soups). Hulled barley is the whole grain with only the inedible hull removed, the least processed form. Barley grits are cracked or broken kernel pieces sold as a hot cereal or side dish. Of these five, flakes, hulled, pearl, and grits are still recognizable as whole or partial kernels; only barley flour is milled to powder. Within this database, barley flakes at 80-98 g/cup sits in the same density band as rolled oats (KA chart figure roughly 85 g/cup), which is expected since both are steamed-and-rolled whole cereal grain kernels of similar bulk density. Wheat berries (whole intact kernels, unrolled) pack denser at around 180-190 g/cup because the intact grain has no air gaps between flakes. In practical baking, barley flakes substitute 1:1 by weight for rolled oats in muesli, granola, cookies, and bread toppings, delivering a slightly nuttier flavor and more chew. In hot cereal, they cook in 10-15 minutes to a creamy porridge with more body than oatmeal from the higher beta-glucan content. As a bread ingredient, adding 5-15% barley flakes to a wheat dough produces the classic Scottish-Nordic multigrain loaf character with darker crust color and hearty texture. Complete substitution for rolled oats works in almost every recipe; the flavor difference is noticeable but not disruptive. ### Barley flour https://exactcups.com/barley-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole grain barley flour, stone-ground barley flour, sifted barley flour, barley meal. King Arthur: 85 g (3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 85–148 g. Two authoritative sources disagree by 74%, the largest gap for any ingredient on this site. The variation reflects genuinely different physical products sold under the same name: fine sifted barley flour versus coarser barley meal. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 85 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Barley flour', 1 cup = 85 g. Density 0.3593 g/mL. Represents a fine, sifted barley flour spec. - USDA FoodData Central: 148 g per cup. FDC 169739, Barley flour or meal (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 511 kcal, 100 g = 345 kcal. Back-calculating: cup weight = (511/345) × 100 = 148 g. Density 0.6256 g/mL. The record explicitly combines flour and meal grinds under one entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two authoritative sources disagree by 74%, the largest gap for any ingredient currently on this site. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 1 cup at 85 g, implying a density of 0.3593 g/mL. USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (FDC 169739, Barley flour or meal) publishes 511 kcal per cup and 345 kcal per 100 g, back-calculating to a cup weight of 148 g and density of 0.6256 g/mL. The gap is not a measurement error in either source. The USDA record's own name reveals the reason: 'Barley flour or meal' combines two physically distinct products under one entry. Barley meal is a coarser grind, closer in texture to cornmeal than to wheat flour, and packs into a cup with substantially less air space than fine flour. King Arthur's chart specifies barley flour, and its 85 g figure is consistent with a fine, sifted flour spec (their own retail barley flour product is at the fine end of the market). USDA's average combines fine and coarse together and lands near the midpoint, which explains the near-doubling relative to King Arthur. This is exactly the situation that motivates the site's range-publishing approach. A single published figure for barley flour would be misleading for anyone whose bag is at the other end of the grind spectrum. A shopper buying stone-ground whole-grain barley flour will get a cup weight closer to USDA's 148 g; a shopper buying finely sifted white barley flour will get closer to King Arthur's 85 g. Both are legitimately labeled 'barley flour' in retail. Home bakers using barley flour in quick breads, Scottish bannocks, Nordic flatbreads or malt-flavored cookies should weigh rather than measure by volume, and be aware that substituting one brand for another may require adjusting either the flour volume or the liquid to compensate. Barley flour contains some gluten (about 5-8% protein depending on variety), but not enough of the specific gluten proteins needed for bread structure. It is used as a partial substitute for wheat flour, typically no more than 25 to 50 percent of the total flour weight in yeasted breads. Barley flour sits in the milled category alongside all other flours. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 74% gap between authoritative sources far exceeds it, making the range publish essential rather than optional. This is the site's clearest current example of an ingredient where single-figure conversion charts on other websites are actively misleading. Related products: barley malt flour is a distinct product with an even higher density (approximately 162 g per cup per USDA), used in commercial bread baking as an enzyme source and mild sweetener. Pearl barley is the whole grain form with different measurement conventions. Barley grits and cracked barley are further intermediate products between whole grain and flour. Roasted barley flour is used in some traditional cereal preparations. None of these are covered by this entry. No standards body publishes a bulk density for barley flour. Codex Alimentarius standards for barley (CXS 201-1995) cover moisture content, defect tolerances, foreign matter limits and grade rather than physical density. Two authoritative sources with genuinely different product measurements, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until either a third independent source with a specified grind resolves the split or USDA separates its 'flour or meal' entry into distinct records. ### Basmati Rice https://exactcups.com/basmati-rice/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: basmati, white basmati, long grain basmati, indian basmati, pakistani basmati, aromatic long grain rice. #### Standard, raw uncooked, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 180 g (6.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 90 g; 1/4 cup = 45 g; 1 tbsp = 11.2 g; 1 tsp = 3.7 g (0.7608 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.26 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy (FDC 169756): 185 g per cup. Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, unenriched: 1 cup = 185 g. Generic long-grain reference; basmati is an aromatic subtype with slightly longer grains and typically lower moisture from post-harvest aging, both of which push cup density ~3% below the generic long-grain figure. - Tilda Basmati Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup exactly. Indian-origin premium basmati, aged. - Royal Authentic Basmati Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup exactly. Indian-origin basmati. - Mahatma Basmati Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup (45 g) dry. Converts to 180 g/cup exactly. Widely distributed US retail brand. - Lundberg California White Basmati Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup exactly. California-grown basmati variety. - USDA Branded (Whole Foods 365 Indian Basmati Rice): 180 g per cup. UPC 085239053348. 190 g/metric cup → 180 g/US cup. Matches direct producer-label cluster exactly. - USDA Branded (Great Value White Basmati Rice): 196 g per cup. UPC 015400132305. 207 g/metric cup → 196 g/US cup. 8.9% above the producer cluster; within milled tolerance but notably higher than major-brand convergence. - USDA Branded (365 Basmati Rice variant): 208 g per cup. UPC 085239406649. 220 g/metric cup → 208 g/US cup. 15.6% above producer cluster. REJECTED: 208 g/cup is 15.6% above the producer-convergent cluster of 180 g/cup (Tilda, Royal, Mahatma, Lundberg, and Whole Foods 365 UPC 085239053348 all at 180). Exceeds milled 10% tolerance. Likely a distinct product identity (parboiled/sella/fine-cracked grade) mislabeled generically as basmati, or a serving-size error on the source label. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/basmati-rice-208-grams/ - USDA Branded (Kroger Basmati Rice): 142 g per cup. UPC 011110840530. 150 g/metric cup → 142 g/US cup. 21% below producer cluster. REJECTED: 142 g/cup is 21% below the producer-convergent cluster of 180 g/cup. Exceeds milled 10% tolerance by a wide margin. Serving-convention appears wrong (possibly cooked-rice weight labeled as dry, or 1/3-cup weight labeled as 1/4-cup); no plausible physical mechanism puts genuine dry basmati this low. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/basmati-rice-142-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Basmati rice runs 180 grams per cup dry across major producer labels, with USDA's generic long-grain figure of 185 sitting just above; the small gap reflects basmati's longer, slimmer grains and lower moisture from post-harvest aging. Basmati is an aromatic long-grain rice from the Indian subcontinent, distinguished by elongated grains (typically 6.6-8.4 mm before cooking, elongating to two or more times that length when cooked) and a pandan-like aroma from 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. Producer nutrition labels converge tightly on 180 g/cup dry: Tilda, Royal, Mahatma, and Lundberg all publish 45 g per 1/4 cup, which is genuine multi-brand convergence at exactly the same figure across production in India, Pakistan, and California. The USDA Global Branded record for Whole Foods 365 Indian Basmati (UPC 085239053348) lands at the same 180 g/cup, matching the direct-label cluster. USDA Standard Reference for generic raw long-grain white rice (FDC 169756) lists 185 g/cup, 2.8% above the basmati cluster. That gap has two structural explanations. First, traditional basmati is aged one to two years before milling to reduce moisture from the ~14% typical of freshly milled long-grain to ~11-12% — the same volume of aged basmati contains less water and therefore weighs slightly less. Second, basmati grains have a higher length-to-width ratio (roughly 4:1) than generic long-grain (roughly 3:1), which produces marginally more inter-grain void space when scooped into a cup. Both effects push in the same direction and their combined magnitude accounts for the observed 3% gap. USDA Branded records show wider spread than direct producer labels. The Great Value White Basmati (UPC 015400132305) sits at 196 g/cup — 8.9% above the cluster, within milled tolerance but notable. Two Branded UPCs fall outside tolerance and are excluded from the published figure: a 365 basmati variant (UPC 085239406649) at 208 g/cup and a Kroger basmati (UPC 011110840530) at 142 g/cup. The 208 figure is 15.6% above cluster and may reflect a different product identity (parboiled, sella, or a fine-cracked grade) sold under a generic basmati label. The 142 figure is 21% below cluster and appears to be either a serving-convention error or a distinct product mislabeled under the basmati name; no plausible physical mechanism puts genuine dry basmati that low. King Arthur Baking does not publish basmati rice, or any specific rice variety other than a single cooked-rice entry. Cooked and dry are different foods — hydrated grains have absorbed water — so no conversion between the two is possible without a source telling you which was measured. There is no KA correction opportunity here, just an absence to fill. For practical use, treat basmati as 180 g/cup dry within the major-producer set (Tilda, Royal, Mahatma, Lundberg). When scaling by weight, this figure holds within the 5% variance most home baking tolerates. Cook basmati by absorption at a 1:1.5 rice-to-water ratio as most producer instructions specify, rather than the 1:2 that generic long-grain calls for — basmati absorbs less water because the drier aged grain has less bound water competing with the added liquid. If you rinse before cooking (recommended for authentic Indian preparation), the dry weight applies before rinsing; water clinging to rinsed grains adds to the cook water, not to the grain mass. ### Black Rice https://exactcups.com/black-rice/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: black rice, forbidden rice, purple rice, chinese black rice, emperor's rice, heirloom black rice. #### Standard, dry raw grains, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 180 g (6.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 90 g; 1/4 cup = 45 g; 1 tbsp = 11.2 g; 1 tsp = 3.7 g (0.7608 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.26 cups. Sources: - Lotus Foods Black Rice label: 180 g per cup. Serving size 1/3 cup uncooked = 60 g → 180 g/cup. Lotus Foods is the dominant US-market black rice brand under the "Forbidden Rice" product line. - Rice Select Black Rice label: 180 g per cup. Serving size 1/4 cup = 45 g → 180 g/cup. Matches Lotus Foods label exactly; two independent producer confirmations. - USDA Branded (Black Rice): 179.8 g per cup. UPC 072769004209. 190 g/metric cup → 180 g/US cup. Independent USDA GBFD measurement confirming the producer-label cluster within precision. - Village Harvest Black Rice label: 192 g per cup. Serving size 1/4 cup = 48 g → 192 g/cup. 6.7% above the 180 g/cup cluster; kept as within-range, consistent with a plumper or longer-kernel cultivar variant. - USDA Branded (Black Rice, unspecified brand): 172.2 g per cup. UPC 897034002281. 182 g/metric cup → 172 g/US cup. 4.4% below the branded cluster of 180 g/cup. REJECTED: Single unbranded USDA GBFD record 4.4% below the tight producer-and-USDA cluster of 180 g/cup. Could reflect a shorter-kernel Thai or Indonesian cultivar, but with no brand attribution to verify and no supporting sources at this density, excluded as low outlier. The branded cluster of Lotus Foods, Rice Select, and USDA GBFD UPC 072769004209 all converging at 180 g/cup is the more reliable anchor. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/black-rice-172-grams/ - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: Silent on black rice. KA lists cooked brown rice at 170 g/cup and covers a few other rice forms but does not include black rice in any form. As with the paired brown-rice entry, cooked-rice figures cannot cross-reference dry-form density. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Black rice, also known as forbidden rice or purple rice, publishes at 180 grams per cup — matching Lotus Foods and Rice Select producer labels exactly and confirmed by independent USDA branded record UPC 072769004209 at 180 g/US cup. Slightly lighter than brown rice (185 g/cup) despite similar whole-grain structure, black rice fits cleanly into the whole-grain rice family band around 180-195 g/cup. Black rice is a heritage variety of Oryza sativa native to China and Southeast Asia, distinguished by its deep purple-black bran layer rich in anthocyanins — the same pigment family that colors blueberries and purple cabbage. Historical marketing calls it "forbidden rice" based on claims that it was once reserved for Chinese emperors due to its rarity and nutritional density. Common commercial varieties include Chinese heirloom black rice (medium grain, sold widely by Lotus Foods), Thai black jasmine (long grain, more aromatic), and Indonesian black glutinous rice (short grain, sticky when cooked). The kernels turn deep purple when cooked as anthocyanins leach into the cooking water. Black rice publishes cleanly at 180 g/cup because three independent sources converge exactly at that value: Lotus Foods' 1/3 cup uncooked = 60 g label, Rice Select's 1/4 cup = 45 g label, and USDA Global Branded Food Products Database UPC 072769004209 measurement at 190 g/metric cup (180 g/US cup). Village Harvest sits slightly heavier at 192 g/cup (6.7% above cluster), which is within milled tolerance and consistent with a plumper kernel variant — the parallel to the basmati-rice entry where Great Value's 196 g/cup was kept as within-range at +8.9%. One additional unbranded USDA GBFD record (UPC 897034002281) at 172 g/cup sits 4.4% below the branded cluster and is treated as a low outlier without corroborating sources, possibly reflecting a shorter-kernel Southeast Asian variety. Physical reasoning explains why black rice lands at the low end of the whole-grain rice family. Rice kernel bulk density depends on kernel length-to-diameter ratio, moisture content, and bran integrity. Black rice kernels are typically slightly shorter and stubbier than long-grain brown or white rice — the black-pigmented bran layer accompanies medium-grain kernel dimensions in most commercial varieties. This gives less efficient inter-kernel packing (more void fraction) than the long-grain brown rice at 185 g/cup. The anthocyanin-rich bran itself is thin and adds negligible mass — the same reasoning that explains why brown rice (with intact plain bran) matches white rice density: bran is roughly 8% of kernel mass and doesn't materially change the per-cup weight. King Arthur Baking is silent on black rice in any form. KA's chart is baking-focused and lists cooked brown rice (at 170 g/cup) but no uncooked rice varieties beyond generic long-grain. As with the paired brown-rice entry, cooked-rice figures cannot cross-reference dry-form density because rehydrated grains have absorbed roughly 2-3x their dry weight in water. No KA correction opportunity exists here; the absence is worth noting for bakers looking for guidance on this less-common grain. Black rice sits at 180 g/cup in the whole-grain rice family band that includes brown rice at 185, white rice at similar density, and basmati at 180. Brown rice and white rice share nearly identical dry density because the bran layer contributes minimal mass; black rice runs slightly lighter due to shorter-kernel dimensions rather than bran differences. Sweet rice (glutinous), stored separately in the database, publishes differently because its shorter, more spherical kernels pack more densely. For practical use, treat black rice as 180 g/cup for recipe scaling. A tablespoon runs about 11 grams. Black rice takes 30-45 minutes to cook (roughly the same as brown rice) at a 1:1.75 rice-to-water ratio; the cooked yield is roughly 2.5-3x the dry weight. When precision matters — for a black rice pudding where texture depends on precise cooking-water ratio, or for a nutritional macronutrient calculation — weigh by grams. For casual home cooking, cup measurements work fine within the 5-7% spread across commercial varieties. Black rice pairs well with coconut milk (Thai preparations), stir-fried vegetables (Chinese preparations), and warm spice-poached fruit (Indonesian desserts); its deep purple color and nutty aroma make it a distinctive substitute for brown rice in visually-forward plating. ### Blueberries (fresh) https://exactcups.com/blueberries-fresh/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: fresh blueberries, blueberries, blueberries frozen, frozen blueberries, whole blueberries, blueberries whole. #### Standard, whole loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 148 g. King Arthur publishes fresh or frozen blueberries as a 140-170 g/cup range, a 21% internal spread that alone exceeds the 10% milled tolerance. USDA's SR Legacy record sits at 148 g/cup, inside the KA range but closer to the lower end. Fresh whole small round berries vary meaningfully with cultivar size, ripeness, and fill method. This entry publishes the range rather than picking a single figure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 148 g per cup. Blueberries, raw (SR Legacy, FDC ID 171711). Published: 1 cup = 148 g. Density 0.6255 g/mL. Also shown in the same record: 50 berries = 68 g, implying about 1.36 g per berry for a standard cultivated cup. - King Arthur: Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Blueberries (fresh or frozen)', 1 cup (140 to 170 g/cup). KA itself publishes as a range rather than a single figure. Density envelope 0.5918-0.7186 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Blueberries are the first fresh berry on the site, and their density is a case study in why cup measurement fails for whole small round fruit. King Arthur publishes fresh or frozen blueberries at 140 to 170 grams per cup, a 21% spread the chart itself doesn't try to narrow. USDA's SR Legacy record (FDC ID 171711) sits at 148 grams per cup for raw blueberries, inside the KA range but near the lower end. The 148 figure implies a standard cultivated berry, about 1.36 grams each per USDA's own 50-berry portion, loose-filled without shaking. The 170 upper end likely reflects larger berries, denser packing, or a shaken cup that lets small round fruit settle deeper. The physics is straightforward: blueberries are roughly 1 cm spheres that roll and settle. Fill a cup by scooping and air pockets are trapped between the spheres. Shake the cup and the berries reorganize, smaller ones sliding into the interstitial gaps between larger ones, and the whole population settling denser. Cultivar matters too. Wild lowbush blueberries are about half the size of cultivated highbush, and mixed-size populations pack denser than uniform ones because the small berries fill the gaps the large ones leave open. Water content of the berry itself doesn't move the density much because the water is inside each berry rather than in the space between them, but ripeness affects compressibility. Riper berries deform slightly under their own weight in the cup and pack denser than firm underripe ones. Conversion sites publishing figures for fresh blueberries are all over the map. Values from 100 to 190 grams per cup appear across the top search results, with most sites not disclosing their measurement method or accounting for berry size. USDA's 148 and King Arthur's 140-170 range are the two authoritative anchors, and this entry publishes both without collapsing them to a single number that would misrepresent the physical variability. Category assignment is milled: fresh whole small fruits behave like the fresh chunked fruits already on the site. Apple-slices sit at 109 g/cup and pineapple-diced at 165 g/cup, both solid water-containing pieces whose density is sensitive to fill method. The sugar category is reserved for small crystalline or particulate solids like sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits such as raisins and currants. Fresh blueberries have too much water content and too much fill-method sensitivity to belong there. Dried blueberries, coming later this session at 156 g/cup, will also be milled rather than sugar because they are larger and less crystalline than raisins. Frozen blueberries are grouped with fresh in the KA row and in practice behave similarly for measurement. Frozen berries are stiffer and don't compress in the cup, but their density measured as loose fill is close to fresh loose fill. USDA doesn't distinguish frozen from fresh in the standard 148 g/cup portion, which is why this entry's synonyms include both. The range publish is required by the standards: KA's 21% internal range alone exceeds the 10% milled tolerance, and adding USDA at 148 doesn't narrow it. Publishing a single figure would misrepresent the physical variability. Bakers should weigh their berries when recipe accuracy matters. A recipe calling for 1 cup could reasonably use anywhere from 140 to 170 grams depending on cultivar and technique, and that 21% range in berry mass changes filling volume, moisture release during baking, and final texture. Confidence is low because sources genuinely disagree over tolerance, not because sourcing is weak. Both USDA and King Arthur are the primary authorities in this space, and both are cited transparently. The range is honest. ### Brazil nuts https://exactcups.com/brazil-nuts/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: brazil nuts, brazilnuts, whole brazil nuts, dried brazil nuts, unblanched brazil nuts, bertholletia excelsa. #### Standard whole, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120–133 g. USDA FoodData Central measures Brazil nuts at 133 g/cup (density 0.5621 g/mL) via a direct cup portion in the SR Legacy entry, confirmed by USDA FNNDS. Commercial retail brand labels (Sunshine Country, Basse, Nature to Go) cluster at 28-30 g per 1/4 cup, back-calculating to 120 g/cup (density 0.5072 g/mL). The 10.8% spread exceeds the 10% milled tolerance. The gap is not a measurement disagreement between labs — it reflects the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed default of 1 oz per nut serving being applied to 1/4 cup labeling as if 1 oz equals 1/4 cup by volume. This entry publishes the range 120-133 g/cup to honestly represent both the USDA measurement anchor and the practical cup weight bakers encounter when using commercial-brand nutrition labels as a reference. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170569): 133 g per cup. FDC entry 170569 'Nuts, brazilnuts, dried, unblanched', Standard Release. Direct cup portion: 1 cup, whole = 133 g (density 0.5621 g/mL). Supporting per-kernel portion of 5 g suggests approximately 27 average kernels fit a spooned-and-leveled cup. USDA FNNDS entry 339423 confirms the same 133 g/cup figure. Default USDA serving is 1 oz (28.35 g) = 6 kernels, reflecting the FDA RACC standard for nuts. - Multi-brand commercial Brazil nut cluster: 120 g per cup. Retail nutrition labels from Sunshine Country (1/4 cup = 28 g), Basse Raw Brazil Nuts (1/4 cup = 30 g), and Nature to Go (1/4 cup = 30 g) cluster at 112-120 g/cup back-calculated. The uniform 28-30 g per 1/4 cup values reflect the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed default of 1 oz per nut serving applied as if 1/4 cup equals 1 oz, rather than measured product density. Despite the RACC influence, three independent brands landing on the same figure is meaningful and represents the practical cup weight bakers encounter when using retail labels as a conversion reference. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Brazil nuts publish as a range 120 to 133 grams per cup because two authoritative sources disagree by 10.8%, just over the 10% milled tolerance, and the disagreement reflects a documented labeling convention rather than one source being wrong. USDA FoodData Central entry 170569 (Nuts, brazilnuts, dried, unblanched) publishes a direct cup portion of 133 g/cup whole (density 0.5621 g/mL), with supporting per-kernel figure of 5 g suggesting approximately 27 kernels fit a spooned-and-leveled cup. USDA FNNDS entry 339423 confirms the same 133 g/cup figure. Retail brand labels from Sunshine Country, Basse Raw Brazil Nuts, and Nature to Go cluster at 28-30 grams per 1/4 cup, back-calculating to 112-120 g/cup — a value that reflects the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed default of 1 oz per nut serving applied as if 1/4 cup equals 1 oz, rather than measured density. Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) are the tree seeds of the Amazonian Brazil nut tree, wild-harvested primarily in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. Unlike most commercially sold nuts, Brazil nuts are not cultivated at scale because the tree relies on specific orchid bee species for pollination and takes several decades to reach productive maturity, making plantation cultivation economically unfeasible. Nearly all Brazil nuts on the US market come from wild-harvested trees in Amazonian rainforest, giving Brazil nuts an unusually stable kernel size distribution across brands compared to more variable cultivated tree nuts like almonds or cashews. Physical mechanism for the density range: Brazil nuts are among the largest commercial tree nuts, with individual kernels averaging 5 grams and measuring roughly 2.5 to 3 centimeters long. The irregular triangular-wedge shape creates significant inter-kernel air voids when packed into a measuring cup — approximately 27 kernels fit a spooned-and-leveled cup, with the remaining volume being air. USDA's 133 g/cup measurement reflects careful spoon-and-level measurement of intact whole kernels. Commercial labels at 120 g/cup reflect the FDA RACC labeling convention. Both figures describe genuine reference points bakers encounter, which is why the range spans them. Compared to other nuts on the site, Brazil nuts at 120-133 g/cup fit into the whole-nut density cluster: cashews whole at 113-137 g/cup (state variance from raw to roasted), whole unblanched almonds at 142 g/cup, and other similarly-sized tree nuts. Brazil nuts pack noticeably heavier than sliced almonds (86 g/cup at KA) and slivered almonds (114 g/cup at KA) because whole kernels have less surface area exposed to air per unit volume than cut pieces do. Brazil nuts also carry a distinctive nutritional signature: a single kernel provides more than the daily requirement for selenium, making Brazil nuts one of the few foods where portion control matters more for micronutrient dosage than for calories. Category assignment is milled, matching all other whole and cut nuts on the site under the fatty-nut fibrous-plant-particulate definition. Confidence is low reflecting the 10.8% gap between USDA measurement and commercial label convention. For baking accuracy, weigh Brazil nuts rather than measuring by volume. If a recipe was developed against a USDA reference or a careful spoon-and-level measurement, use 133 g/cup. If a recipe was developed against a commercial brand label reading 1/4 cup = 28-30 g, use 120 g/cup. If in doubt, use 125 g/cup as a middle estimate. This entry represents a moat play for the site: King Arthur does not currently list Brazil nuts in its Ingredient Weight Chart, so no consumer baking authority publishes a direct cup weight, and no other cup-to-gram reference publishes the USDA versus commercial label gap for Brazil nuts with the physical explanation that the disagreement reflects FDA RACC labeling convention rather than a measurement error. ### Bread crumbs https://exactcups.com/bread-crumbs/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: breadcrumbs, dried breadcrumbs, plain breadcrumbs, Italian breadcrumbs, seasoned breadcrumbs. King Arthur: 112 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Dried, plain, ground fine Published: 1 cup = 108 g (3.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 54 g; 1/4 cup = 27 g; 1 tbsp = 6.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4565 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.10 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 108 g per cup. FDC 175003, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 108 g - King Arthur Baking: 112 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Breadcrumbs (dried), 1/4 cup = 28 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Sources agree within 3.6%, well inside the 10% tolerance for the milled category. USDA FDC 175003 (Bread crumbs, dry, grated, plain) gives a cup at 108 g (0.4565 g/ml). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists dried breadcrumbs at 28 g per quarter cup, implying 112 g per cup or 0.4734 g/ml. This entry covers dried plain breadcrumbs, which are what most Western recipes mean when they call for breadcrumbs without further qualification: staler white bread ground and toasted to a fine, dry crumb, then either used plain or seasoned with herbs and cheese to become what supermarkets sell as Italian breadcrumbs. The seasoned versions are typically 5 to 10 percent heavier per cup due to the added dried herbs and grated cheese, but no independent source with method attribution was found to publish them separately. Two other breadcrumb products appear on King Arthur's chart with dramatically different cup weights, and are treated as separate ingredients rather than states of this one. Fresh breadcrumbs, made by tearing or briefly pulsing fresh soft bread rather than drying and grinding it, weigh 84 g per cup on the King Arthur chart (0.3551 g/ml). They are used in different applications than dried breadcrumbs (as a binder in meatballs and meatloaf, or as a topping that will absorb sauce during baking) and are usually made at home just before use, since they spoil in days rather than weeks. Panko, the Japanese-style breadcrumb, weighs only 50 g per cup on the King Arthur chart (0.2114 g/ml), less than half the density of Western dried breadcrumbs. Panko is made by baking bread with an electrical current rather than in an oven, which produces a crustless loaf that is then torn (rather than ground) into large, flat, jagged flakes. The flake shape traps air both between and within particles, giving panko its characteristic crispness when fried and its low bulk density. Recipes that call for panko specifically cannot substitute Western dried breadcrumbs 1:1 by volume: one cup of panko weighs less than half of what one cup of dried breadcrumbs weighs, and the coating produced will not brown or crisp the same way. Both panko and fresh breadcrumbs deserve their own entries, and are noted here as distinct products for completeness but not covered by this figure. Gluten-free breadcrumbs made from rice flour bread or similar have similar bulk density to standard dried breadcrumbs, typically 100 to 115 g per cup depending on the base bread, and can substitute 1:1 for coating and binding applications. No standards body publishes a bulk density for breadcrumbs. FDA identity standards do not exist for breadcrumbs as such; they are governed by the bread standards from which the crumbs derive. Two independent sources agree, which is enough to publish; confidence stays medium until a third independent measurement confirms it. ### Bread flour https://exactcups.com/bread-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: strong flour, high-protein flour, hard wheat flour, artisan bread flour. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz) if you spoon the flour into the cup and level it; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g. #### Method not specified No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120–137 g. Two sources disagree by 13.2%, over the 10% tolerance for this category. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 137 g per cup. FDC 168896, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 137 g - King Arthur Baking: 120 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Bread Flour, 1 cup = 120 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Two sources 13.2% apart, over the 10% tolerance for the milled category, so this entry publishes a range rather than a figure. The disagreement is important because it reflects a genuine physical difference that most cup-to-gram converters obscure. USDA FDC 168896 (Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched) publishes a cup at 137 g (0.5791 g/ml). This figure is a bench measurement of standard commercial bread flour, and it sits materially higher than USDA's figure for all-purpose flour, which the flour entry documents at 125 g per cup. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists their Bread Flour at 120 g per cup (0.5072 g/ml), the same figure they publish for their Artisan Bread Flour, Gluten-Free Bread Flour and All-Purpose Flour. Their chart uses one weight for all standard flours regardless of type. Bread flour is genuinely denser than all-purpose flour for two related reasons. It is milled from hard wheat rather than the blend of hard and soft wheats used for all-purpose flour, and hard wheat has a harder, denser endosperm that produces slightly denser milled particles. Its protein content is higher (typically 12 to 14 percent versus 10 to 12 percent for all-purpose), and wheat protein and wheat starch have similar densities in isolation but pack differently when milled together, with the higher-protein flour compacting slightly more efficiently in a cup. The 14 percent gap between USDA and King Arthur is consistent with these physical differences plus the ordinary measuring-method variance for a milled powder. Most published converters use figures near 120 to 125 g per cup for bread flour, inheriting the King Arthur simplification. This is convenient for recipe adaptation but underestimates the actual weight of bread flour by roughly 10 to 15 percent when measured by dip-and-sweep from a settled bag, which is how USDA appears to have measured it. For bread baking specifically, where hydration ratios are the whole game, the difference between 120 and 137 g per cup is the difference between an underhydrated dough that resists shaping and one that ferments and rises correctly. The practical recommendation implicit in the range published here is to weigh bread flour rather than measure it by volume; a 500 g flour weight for a standard boule is unambiguous, and 4 cups of bread flour measured by dip-and-sweep can range from 480 to 548 g between sources. Artisan bread flour, high-gluten flour, and pizza flour are related products with similar or slightly higher protein content and comparable density. King Arthur's Artisan Bread Flour (11.7 percent protein) sits at their standard 120 g per cup on the chart. High-gluten flour (14 to 15 percent protein) is typically 5 to 10 percent denser again but no bench measurement was found from a source that names its method. Italian tipo 00 pizza flour is a soft wheat flour milled extremely fine, closer to cake flour than bread flour in density, and is a distinct product. Vital wheat gluten (approximately 75 percent protein) is not a flour but a concentrated protein extract; USDA lists it separately at FDC 168911. FDA identity standards under 21 CFR 137.155 specify bread flour must have minimum protein content and be enriched with specific nutrients, but do not specify physical density. Codex Alimentarius CXS 152-1985 for wheat flour covers moisture, ash and particle size but not bulk density. Two sources only, and the range is published because no third source arbitrates between USDA's bench measurement and King Arthur's category-standard figure. The range 120 to 137 g per cup is the honest answer for a home baker who cannot tell which of the two better reflects the specific flour brand on their shelf. ### Brown rice flour https://exactcups.com/brown-rice-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole grain brown rice flour, organic brown rice flour, gluten-free brown rice flour, stone-ground brown rice flour. King Arthur: 128 g (4.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 128–158 g. Two authoritative sources disagree by 23.4%, well over the 10% milled tolerance. The variation reflects real differences in grind fineness between manufacturer products, so this entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 128 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Brown rice flour', 1 cup = 128 g. Density 0.5411 g/mL. - USDA FoodData Central: 158 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy, brown rice flour. Published: 1 cup = 574 kcal, 100 g = 363 kcal. Back-calculating: cup weight = (574/363) × 100 = 158 g. Density 0.6679 g/mL. USDA Branded Foods records for common commercial brands span 120 g (Anthony's, 30 g per 1/4 cup) to 160 g (Bob's Red Mill, 40 g per 1/4 cup), confirming the brand variation. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two authoritative sources disagree by 23.4%, well over the 10% milled tolerance. USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy publishes 574 calories per US cup and 363 calories per 100 g for brown rice flour, back-calculating to a cup weight of 158 g and density of 0.6679 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists brown rice flour at 128 g per cup, implying 0.5411 g/mL. Both are authoritative sources, and the gap between them is real: USDA Branded Foods records for common commercial brands confirm brown rice flour's cup weight varies from approximately 120 g (Anthony's, 30 g per 1/4 cup serving) to 160 g (Bob's Red Mill, 40 g per 1/4 cup), a 33% span driven by grind fineness. Brown rice flour is produced by milling whole brown rice kernels including the bran and germ. Different manufacturers use different final grinds. Fine 'baby' grinds intended for delicate baked goods trap more air and pack less densely; coarser 'meal-style' grinds intended for gluten-free bread mixes pack tighter. King Arthur sits near the low end of the range, consistent with baking-focused sourcing where finer grinds dominate. USDA's SR Legacy figure sits at the high end, likely reflecting a coarser reference sample from earlier commercial practice when whole-grain flours were less commonly used in home baking. This entry publishes the range 128 to 158 g per cup, at low confidence, because averaging the two figures would produce a number no manufacturer's product actually matches. Home bakers using brown rice flour in gluten-free blends should weigh rather than measure by volume: a 30 g error over a cup meaningfully changes hydration and crumb structure in bread and pastry recipes. This matters more for gluten-free baking than for wheat baking because gluten-free flours lack the elastic network that tolerates hydration variance. The pattern mirrors this site's existing entry for white rice flour, which publishes the same 128 to 158 g range for the same underlying reason. Rice flour, whether brown or white, is inherently a range-publish ingredient across the source hierarchy this site uses. The whole-grain composition of brown rice flour (bran and germ retained during milling) does not measurably affect bulk density compared to refined white rice flour, though it changes protein, fiber and mineral content substantially and shortens shelf life due to the oils in the bran. Brown rice flour sits in the milled category alongside all other flours. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 23% gap between authoritative sources clearly exceeds it. Range publish is the honest outcome. Related products: white rice flour is covered by a separate entry with the same range. Sweet or glutinous rice flour is a distinct product (from short-grain glutinous rice) not yet covered by this site because King Arthur has no dedicated row and USDA data is thin. Brown rice cooked is a separate case not published here: cooked ingredients change weight dramatically through water absorption and are outside this site's cup-to-gram uncooked baseline. Rice bran and rice germ, sometimes sold separately as nutritional supplements, are distinct products with distinct densities. No standards body publishes a bulk density for rice flour. Codex Alimentarius standards for rice (CXS 198-1995) cover moisture content, grade and foreign material tolerance but not physical density. Two authoritative sources with real brand variation, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until a third independent source resolves the split. ### Brown Rice, Dry https://exactcups.com/brown-rice/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: dry brown rice, uncooked brown rice, long-grain brown rice, whole grain brown rice, raw brown rice. #### Standard, dry long-grain, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 184.5 g (6.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 92.3 g; 1/4 cup = 46.1 g; 1 tbsp = 11.5 g; 1 tsp = 3.8 g (0.78 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.23 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy — Rice, brown, long-grain, raw (FDC 169703): 184.5 g per cup. FDC ID 169703 (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program). 195 g per metric cup (185 g per US cup, density 0.7800 g/mL). Anchor for this entry. - SE Grocers Brown Rice, Natural, Long Grain — nutrition label: 180 g per cup. Store brand long-grain brown rice. 1/4 cup dry serving = 45 g, extrapolating to 180 g per US cup at density 0.7610 g/mL. Within 2.5 percent of the USDA anchor. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Long Grain Brown Rice: 168.5 g per cup. UPC 071524005505. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 178 g per metric cup (168 g per US cup, density 0.7120 g/mL). Falls 9.5 percent below the USDA SR anchor, at the edge of the 10 percent milled tolerance. Likely reflects a smaller-kernel variety or a settled versus loose measurement method. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Dry brown rice packs at about 185 g per US cup. USDA and producer labels agree within 10 percent, and brown rice ends up roughly the same density as white rice because the bran layer that distinguishes them adds very little mass to each kernel. Brown rice is unhulled rice with the outer husk removed but the bran layer and germ intact. It is the same rice kernel as white rice — Oryza sativa — but processed one step less: white rice has been additionally milled to remove the bran and germ, leaving only the starchy endosperm. Brown rice has more fiber, more B vitamins, and a nuttier flavor, and takes about twice as long to cook because the bran layer slows water absorption. In US retail, long-grain brown rice is the default and this entry covers it; short-grain and medium-grain brown rice are less common in mainstream US markets and tend to pack slightly denser because their kernels are more spherical and nest more efficiently. Sources converge closely around 185 g per US cup. USDA FoodData Central's Rice, brown, long-grain, raw (FDC ID 169703, part of the USDA Food Distribution Program record) gives 195 g per metric cup, which works out to 185 g per US cup at a density of 0.780 g/mL. This is the anchor for the entry. SE Grocers Brown Rice, Natural, Long Grain labels a 1/4 cup dry serving as 45 g, extrapolating to 180 g per US cup (density 0.761 g/mL, within 2.5 percent of USDA). USDA Branded Foods Long Grain Brown Rice (UPC 071524005505) reports 178 g per metric cup (168 g per US cup, density 0.712 g/mL, 9.5 percent below the USDA SR figure and just inside the 10 percent milled tolerance). Aggregator conversion sites cluster at 190 to 195 g per cup, all slightly above the USDA SR anchor and consistent with the direction of the observed spread. Brown rice and white rice end up at essentially the same cup density even though brown rice retains an extra bran layer. This is because the bran is a thin fibrous coating on the outside of each kernel — only about 8 percent of total kernel mass — and its presence does not significantly increase per-kernel weight or change how kernels pack in a cup. The kernels are similar shapes and sizes and settle in a measuring cup at roughly the same density. What differs is cooking behavior and nutrition profile, not raw dry density. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list uncooked brown rice. It publishes only cooked brown rice at 1 cup = 6 oz (170 g), which is a different food — the grains have swollen with water during cooking and the cup weight cannot be read back into a dry measure. KA also publishes uncooked white long-grain rice at 1/2 cup = 3 1/2 oz (99 g), which doubled would extrapolate to 198 g per cup, 7 percent above the USDA reference for uncooked white rice, likely reflecting how a half-cup measure fills differently from a full cup. For recipes calling for brown rice by cup, the difference between the lightest and heaviest published dry figures is about 17 g per cup — enough to change the water ratio needed for absorption cooking but not enough to change the final texture significantly. Brown rice cooks by absorption at a 1:2 to 1:2.25 water ratio for 40 to 45 minutes; the standard yield is about 3 cups cooked per cup dry (from 185 g dry to roughly 550 g cooked). For meal-prep quantities where portion control matters, weight-based measurement is more consistent than volume. ### Buckwheat flour https://exactcups.com/buckwheat-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: whole groat buckwheat flour, dark buckwheat flour, gluten-free buckwheat flour, sarrasin flour. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, whole-groat, spooned into the cup Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 120 g per cup. FDC 170687, Buckwheat flour, whole-groat (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 402 kcal, 100 g = 335 kcal. Back-calculating: cup weight = (402/335) × 100 = 120 g. Density 0.5072 g/mL. - King Arthur: 120 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Buckwheat Flour', 1 cup = 120 g. Density 0.5072 g/mL. Exact match with USDA. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two authoritative sources agree exactly. USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (FDC 170687, Buckwheat flour, whole-groat) publishes a cup at 402 kcal and 100 g at 335 kcal, back-calculating to a cup weight of 120 g and density of 0.5072 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists buckwheat flour at 120 g per cup, an exact match. Both sources publish the same figure, so this entry publishes 120 g per cup at medium confidence. Perfect agreement between two independent authoritative sources is unusual on this site and worth noting. The comparable entry for brown rice flour publishes as a range of 128 to 158 g per cup because USDA and King Arthur disagree by 23% for that ingredient, driven by grind fineness variation between brands. Buckwheat flour does not show the same disagreement. This likely reflects two factors: buckwheat flour is a smaller commercial category than rice flour, with fewer brands and more consistent processing standards; and the whole-groat versus light-flour distinction is clearer in the industry, so both authoritative sources are measuring the same product specification (whole-groat, including the darker outer layers of the seed). USDA Branded Foods records confirm the baseline. Hodgson Mill buckwheat flour lists 30 g per 1/4 cup serving, extrapolating to exactly 120 g per cup, matching USDA SR Legacy and King Arthur. Bob's Red Mill Organic buckwheat flour lists 37 g per 1/4 cup, extrapolating to 148 g per cup, which is higher and likely reflects a coarser or organic-specification grind. This is single-brand outlier variation rather than industry-wide disagreement, and it does not warrant a range publish here. Buckwheat is a pseudocereal, not a true grain. It is the seed of the Fagopyrum esculentum plant, a member of the Polygonaceae family (same family as rhubarb and sorrel), unrelated to wheat despite its name. It contains no gluten and is a staple of gluten-free baking, most iconically in Russian blini, French galettes de sarrasin, and Japanese soba noodles. American home baking most commonly uses it in pancakes and muffins, often blended with wheat flour to soften the earthy flavor. Whole-groat buckwheat flour, the product covered here, includes the darker outer hull fragments and has a stronger flavor, darker color and higher fiber content than light buckwheat flour (which is milled from hulled groats only and is closer to white in color). USDA's SR Legacy record specifies whole-groat; King Arthur's chart does not distinguish variety, but their generic 'buckwheat flour' figure agrees with USDA's whole-groat measurement exactly. Light buckwheat flour is a separate product not covered by this entry; its density is not published in the sources this site currently uses. Buckwheat flour sits in the milled category alongside all other flours. The 10% category tolerance applies, and the observed 0% gap between authoritative sources is far inside it. Two sources agreeing exactly is stronger evidence than two sources agreeing within tolerance, so this entry would move to high confidence with the addition of a single independent standards body reference, though none currently exists for buckwheat flour density. Related products not covered by this entry: kasha (roasted whole buckwheat groats) is a distinct product with different density because the groats are whole rather than milled. Buckwheat groats (raw) are another distinct product. Soba flour is typically buckwheat blended with wheat and would require separate sourcing. No standards body publishes a bulk density for buckwheat flour. Codex Alimentarius standards for buckwheat cover moisture content, defect tolerances and grading rather than physical density. ### Buckwheat Groats https://exactcups.com/buckwheat-groats/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: raw buckwheat groats, whole buckwheat, hulled buckwheat, buckwheat kernels, kasha, roasted buckwheat groats, toasted buckwheat. King Arthur: 170 g (6 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Raw (untoasted) whole groats, dry, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 170 g (6 oz); 1/2 cup = 85 g; 1/4 cup = 42.5 g; 1 tbsp = 10.6 g; 1 tsp = 3.5 g (0.7185 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.33 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Buckwheat" (FDC 170286): 170 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 170 g (density 0.719 g/mL), its only household portion for the whole grain. Water 9.75 g, protein 13.3 g, fat 3.4 g, carbohydrate 71.5 g, fibre 10.0 g per 100 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 170 g per cup. KA lists "Buckwheat (whole)" at 1 cup = 6 oz = 170 g, density 0.719 g/mL, an exact match with USDA. - Bob's Red Mill Organic Buckwheat Groats (producer label): 180 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Kroger), 16-oz bag: 1/4 cup (45 g), 10 servings, extrapolating to 180 g per cup (density 0.761 g/mL). 45 g per quarter cup is the serving weight printed on dry-grain labels across products, so it does not decide a figure on its own. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. #### Roasted groats (kasha), whole granulation, dry, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 164 g (5.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 82 g; 1/4 cup = 41 g; 1 tbsp = 10.3 g; 1 tsp = 3.4 g (0.6932 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.38 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Buckwheat groats, roasted, dry" (FDC 170685): 164 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 164 g (density 0.693 g/mL). Water 8.41 g, protein 11.7 g, fat 2.71 g, carbohydrate 75.0 g, fibre 10.3 g per 100 g. - Wolff's Kasha Whole Granulation Roasted Buckwheat (producer label): 180 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (ShopRite), 13-oz box: 1/4 cup dry (45 g), 8 servings, extrapolating to 180 g per cup (density 0.761 g/mL), the dry-grain serving weight. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of raw buckwheat groats weighs 170 g (6 oz), and a cup of roasted groats, kasha, weighs 164 g (5.8 oz). USDA and King Arthur both give exactly 170 g for whole buckwheat, so this entry publishes that figure; USDA's roasted record gives 164 g. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is not a wheat or any other grass. It is the seed of a flowering plant related to rhubarb and sorrel, cooked and eaten like a grain, which makes it a pseudocereal and naturally gluten-free. Groats are the hulled seeds: small three-sided pyramids, pale tan to green when raw. Roasted groats turn reddish brown and taste nutty; in Eastern Europe and in US shops they are sold as kasha, often by granulation: whole, coarse, medium and fine. USDA SR Legacy "Buckwheat" (FDC 170286) gives 1 cup = 170 g, its only household measure, and puts the grain at 9.75% water, 13.3% protein and 10% fibre. King Arthur gives 1 cup of whole buckwheat at 6 oz, 170 g, an exact match, and its figure is accepted. USDA's "Buckwheat groats, roasted, dry" (FDC 170685) gives 1 cup = 164 g at 8.41% water. The physical check: a firm, dry seed of starch and protein is roughly 1.3 times as dense as water, so 170 g in a 237 mL cup means the groats fill a little over half of it, the usual fill for small hard grains poured loosely. The neighbours on this site agree: whole quinoa weighs 170 g per cup and wheat berries 192 g. Roasting drives out a little more water and slightly puffs the seed, so a cup of kasha weighs a few percent less than raw groats, as USDA's two records show. Labels give a heavier figure for a reason that has nothing to do with buckwheat. Bob's Red Mill's raw groats, Pure Indian Foods' groats and Wolff's whole-granulation kasha all print 1/4 cup as 45 g, which is 180 g per cup. The same 45 g quarter cup appears on many dry-grain labels, rice among them, a standard serving weight with the nearest measure beside it, so those labels are kept as sources but do not decide the figure. Both sit within 10% of USDA. Granulation matters for kasha. The figures here are for whole groats. Coarse, medium and fine kasha are cracked pieces of the same seed, and smaller pieces fill the gaps between larger ones, so expect a cracked kasha to weigh more per cup than whole. Milling all the way to flour goes the other way: buckwheat flour on this site weighs 120 g per cup, because fine powder holds far more air than whole seeds. Practical guidance: use 170 g per cup for raw groats, 85 g per half cup and 42 g per quarter cup; use 164 g per cup for whole roasted kasha. Bob's Red Mill cooks 1 cup of raw groats in 2 cups of water and 1 cup of its kasha in 1 1/2 cups. Rinse raw groats before cooking, and toast them in a dry pan for a few minutes if a recipe wants kasha's flavour, then measure by weight, since toasting changes the volume slightly. ### Bulgur, Dry https://exactcups.com/bulgur/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: bulgur wheat, cracked wheat parboiled, burghul, dry bulgur, uncooked bulgur. King Arthur: 152 g (5.4 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, dry, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 140.1–172 g. Bulgur is sold in four size grades — fine (#1), medium (#2), coarse (#3), and extra coarse (#4) — that pack meaningfully differently, and most retail packages do not display the grade number prominently. Published measurements span 140 g per US cup (USDA FoodData Central) to 172 g per US cup (Bob's Red Mill medium grind), a 23 percent spread that exceeds the 10 percent milled tolerance. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Bulgur, dry (FDC 170688): 140.1 g per cup. USDA reference record. 148 g per metric cup (140 g per US cup, density 0.5920 g/mL). Lightest source in the observed range; likely represents a finer grade or an older measurement method. - King Arthur Baking — Ingredient Weight Chart: 152 g per cup. Chart lists Bulgur at 1 cup = 5 3/8 oz (152 g per US cup, density 0.6425 g/mL). Sits in the middle of the observed range and is not a correction target — KA's figure is legitimate for whatever grade they used to compile it. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Bulgur Wheat: 159.9 g per cup. UPC 890352001554. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 169 g per metric cup (159 g per US cup, density 0.6760 g/mL). Toward the coarser end of the observed range. - Bob's Red Mill Bulgur Wheat (medium grind #2) — nutrition label: 172 g per cup. Product page identifies the grind explicitly as medium (#2). 1/4 cup dry serving = 43 g, extrapolating to 172 g per US cup at density 0.7270 g/mL. Heaviest source in the observed range, consistent with an explicit medium-coarse grade specification. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Bulgur packs at 140 to 172 g per US cup depending on grind. USDA reference, King Arthur, and producer labels span 23 percent because bulgur is sold in multiple grades (fine, medium, coarse, extra coarse) that pack differently, and retail packages usually do not label which grade is inside. Bulgur is cracked, parboiled, and dried wheat berries — a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean staple used in tabbouleh, pilaf, kibbeh, and hot cereal. Wheat berries are boiled until partially cooked, dried, and cracked into pieces. The pieces are then sorted by size into four grades: fine (#1, roughly 1 to 1.5 mm), medium (#2, roughly 2 to 3 mm), coarse (#3, roughly 3 to 4 mm), and extra coarse (#4, roughly 5 to 6 mm). Fine bulgur is used in tabbouleh and kibbeh where fine texture matters; medium is the most common US retail grade for pilaf; coarse and extra coarse are used in soups and heartier grain dishes. Sources cover the full range that different grades produce. USDA FoodData Central's Bulgur, dry (FDC 170688) gives 148 g per metric cup, which works out to 140 g per US cup at a density of 0.592 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists Bulgur at 5 3/8 oz per cup (152 g, density 0.6425 g/mL). USDA Branded Foods Bulgur Wheat (UPC 890352001554) reports 169 g per metric cup (159 g per US cup, density 0.676 g/mL). Bob's Red Mill medium-grind #2 bulgur labels a 1/4 cup dry serving as 43 g, extrapolating to 172 g per US cup at density 0.727 g/mL. Total spread is 23 percent, well over the 10 percent milled tolerance held for this category. The spread is driven by grade rather than measurement error. Different grinds of bulgur pack meaningfully differently because the particle-size distribution changes the ratio of packed grain to void space in a cup, and because the larger particles are more angular and less spherical, so they do not nest as well. Bob's Red Mill medium #2 at 172 g per cup is the heaviest published figure and represents a common US retail grind; USDA SR at 140 g per cup is the lightest and may represent a finer grade or a different measurement method. The retail packages themselves usually do not display the grade number prominently — a shopper picking up bulgur at the supermarket typically gets medium #2 by default, but some brands sell fine bulgur under the same name without a grade specifier, and imported Middle Eastern brands vary widely. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart at 152 g per cup sits in the middle of the observed range and is not a correction target here. KA's figure is legitimate for whatever grade they used to compile it, and the site's usual pattern of flagging KA fluid-ounce errors does not apply — this is genuine product variance across bulgur grades, not a measurement mistake. Because the range is real variance across products marketed under the same name, this entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. For recipes that specify bulgur by cup, medium grade (#2) is the safest assumption for US retail unless the recipe specifies otherwise. Fine bulgur (#1) works better in tabbouleh where the grain absorbs dressing quickly; coarse (#3 or #4) is better in soups and pilafs where a firmer bite is wanted. Bulgur cooks by absorption: fine takes about 1:2 water for 5 to 10 minutes; medium takes 1:2.25 for 12 to 15 minutes; coarse takes 1:2.5 for 15 to 20 minutes. All grades roughly double in volume from dry to cooked. ### Buttermilk Powder https://exactcups.com/buttermilk-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: dried buttermilk, dry buttermilk, powdered buttermilk, buttermilk powder dried, sweet cream buttermilk powder, cultured buttermilk powder. King Arthur: 144 g (5.1 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/buttermilk-powder-144-grams/. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Milk, buttermilk, dried" (FDC 171274): 120 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 120 g (density 0.507 g/mL) and 1/4 cup = 30 g; its 1 tbsp = 6.5 g scales to 104 g per cup. Water 2.97 g, protein 34.3 g, fat 5.78 g, carbohydrate 49.0 g, ash 7.95 g per 100 g. - King Arthur Dried Buttermilk Powder (producer label): 120 g per cup. Package nutrition panel: Serving size 1/4 cup (30 g), extrapolating to 120 g per cup (density 0.507 g/mL). Ingredients: buttermilk. - NOW Foods Buttermilk Powder (producer label): 120 g per cup. Brand site: 1/4 cup dry (30 g), extrapolating to 120 g per cup. Ingredients: sweet cream buttermilk powder. - Bob's Red Mill Sweet Cream Buttermilk Powder (producer label): 120 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Ralphs): 2 Tbsp (15 g), extrapolating to 120 g per cup. Ingredients: dried sweet cream buttermilk. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 144 g per cup. KA lists "Buttermilk powder" at 2 tablespoons = 2/3 oz = 18 g, extrapolating to 144 g per US cup, density 0.609 g/mL. REJECTED: 0.609 g/mL contradicts King Arthur's own Dried Buttermilk Powder package, which gives 1/4 cup at 30 g, 120 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy (1 cup = 120 g), NOW Foods (1/4 cup = 30 g) and Bob's Red Mill (2 tbsp = 15 g) give the same density as the package. From USDA's composition the solid powder is about 1.43 g/mL, so a spooned cup at 120 g is about a third powder; 144 g is the same cup packed a fifth tighter, a scooped or tapped cup rather than a spooned one. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/buttermilk-powder-144-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Buttermilk powder weighs 120 g per US cup (4.2 oz), 30 g per quarter cup and 15 g per 2 tablespoons. USDA, King Arthur's own Dried Buttermilk Powder package, NOW Foods and Bob's Red Mill all give exactly that density. King Arthur's chart, at 18 g per 2 tablespoons (144 g per cup), contradicts King Arthur's own label and is rejected. Buttermilk powder is buttermilk with the water taken out: the liquid left after cream is churned into butter, dried to a fine powder. NOW and Bob's Red Mill sell it as sweet cream buttermilk powder, and King Arthur's ingredient list reads simply "buttermilk". USDA puts it at 3% water, 49% lactose, 34% protein, 8% minerals and 6% fat. Bakers keep it for pancakes, biscuits, scones, breads and ranch-style seasoning: the powder goes in with the dry ingredients and the water with the wet. King Arthur's directions reconstitute it at 1 part powder to 4 parts water. USDA SR Legacy "Milk, buttermilk, dried" (FDC 171274) lists 1 cup at 120 g and 1/4 cup at 30 g. King Arthur's Dried Buttermilk Powder package gives 1/4 cup at 30 g, NOW Foods' label 1/4 cup at 30 g, and Bob's Red Mill's 2 tablespoons at 15 g: all four are 120 g per cup. USDA's own tablespoon, 6.5 g, scales to only 104 g per cup, a reminder that a level tablespoon of fine powder rarely scales up exactly. A few smaller brands, as transcribed by the recipe-costing site ReciPal, label heavier: Anthony's and Hoosier Hill at 8 g per tablespoon (128 g per cup) and Judee's at 18 g per 2 tablespoons (144 g). Saco's Cultured Buttermilk Blend is a different product, churned buttermilk blended with sweet whey and lactic acid; its can serves 4 tablespoons, retailers list that serving at 23 g, about 92 g per cup, so follow its own label. The physical check compares the figure with what the powder is made of. From USDA's composition, the solid powder with no air in it is about 1.43 g/mL, so a cup at 120 g is about a third powder and two thirds air, which is how a fine, dry powder behaves when spooned. The other non-instant dairy powders on this site agree: non-instant nonfat dry milk weighs 112 to 148 g per cup and whole milk powder 100 to 120 g. King Arthur's 144 g would be a cup packed a fifth tighter, the weight of a cup scooped from the bag or tapped down rather than spooned. King Arthur's chart lists buttermilk powder at 2 tablespoons = 2/3 oz = 18 g, 144 g per cup. King Arthur's own package for its dried buttermilk says 1/4 cup is 30 g, which is 15 g per 2 tablespoons. The chart and the label cannot both be right, and USDA, NOW and Bob's Red Mill side with the label. The chart figure is recorded as a rejected source with its own correction page. Practical guidance: 1 tablespoon is 7.5 g, 2 tablespoons 15 g, 1/4 cup 30 g and 1/3 cup 40 g. To replace 1 cup of liquid buttermilk, King Arthur's 1-to-4 ratio works out to 1/4 cup of powder (30 g) and 1 cup of water. Opened powder takes up moisture and forms lumps; keep it tightly closed and break up lumps before measuring, since a lumpy cup packs unevenly. Spoon the powder into the cup and level it rather than scooping. ### Cacao Nibs https://exactcups.com/cacao-nibs/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: cacao nibs, cocoa nibs, cacao, cocoa. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120–149 g. King Arthur publishes 120 g/cup, while three major producer labels (Anthony's, Navitas, Terrasoul) converge on 144-149 g/cup. The 24% gap between them cannot be reconciled without measuring a specific product; publishing as a range to reflect the actual commercial variance rather than picking sides. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company Ingredient Weight Chart: 120 g per cup. Lists cacao nibs at 1 cup = 120 g (4.25 oz). This is substantially lower than three converging producer labels and would imply a nib packing density of about 0.51 g/mL, which is at the very low end of physically plausible for broken cacao pieces (the solid material has a density near 1.1 g/mL and typical broken/packed material is 0.55-0.7 g/mL). - Anthony's Organic Cocoa Nibs label: 149 g per cup. Nutrition Facts panel states 3 tbsp = 28 g, which computes to 149 g/cup (1 tbsp = 9.33 g). Corresponds to a density of about 0.63 g/mL, consistent with typical packed broken cacao. - Navitas Organics Cacao Nibs label: 144 g per cup. Nutrition Facts panel states 1 tsp = 3 g, which linearly scales to 144 g/cup. The same product's 3 tbsp calorie count (190 cal) implies a slightly higher per-tablespoon weight (about 11 g, or 176 g/cup), suggesting internal labeling inconsistency; the smaller-serving-size panel is used here. - Terrasoul Superfoods Cacao Nibs label: 144 g per cup. Nutrition Facts panel states 1 tsp = 3 g, which linearly scales to 144 g/cup. Matches Navitas's per-teaspoon labeling. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: King Arthur publishes cacao nibs at 120 grams per US cup, but three major producer labels (Anthony's, Navitas, Terrasoul) cluster at 144-149 g/cup. The producer figures are more consistent with the physical density of broken cacao and are the better default for anyone measuring by weight. Cacao nibs are broken pieces of fermented, roasted (or raw) cacao bean, typically 2-5 mm across. Because they are broken chunks rather than a powder, the density of a scooped cup depends heavily on the specific piece size, how tightly they settle in the container, and how much they were shaken or tapped before measuring. This makes cacao nibs unusually sensitive to measurement method — more so than a flour or a granulated sugar. There is a real disagreement in the reference data. King Arthur's ingredient chart lists 1 cup at 120 grams (4.25 oz). Three widely-distributed producer labels tell a different story: Anthony's Organic Cocoa Nibs prints 3 tbsp at 28 g (149 g/cup), Navitas Organics prints 1 tsp at 3 g (144 g/cup by linear scaling), and Terrasoul Superfoods also prints 1 tsp at 3 g (144 g/cup). The 120 g/cup and 145 g/cup figures cannot both be right for the same physical product — they represent a 20-25% disagreement, which is large enough to change a recipe result. A physical density check favors the producer cluster. Solid cacao has a density near 1.1 g/mL. Broken pieces packed into a container leave air gaps between them; typical packing efficiencies for irregular broken material fall between 55% and 65% of the solid density, giving an expected range of 0.60-0.72 g/mL, or roughly 142-170 g/cup. Anthony's at 149 g/cup sits right in this window. King Arthur's 120 g/cup would require the nibs to pack at only 46% of solid density, which is low even for very loosely-settled material. One caveat: Navitas's own labeling is internally inconsistent. Their 1 tsp = 3 g panel implies 144 g/cup, but their 3 tbsp = 190 calorie count implies closer to 176 g/cup (about 11 g per tablespoon). This is likely a rounding artifact from Navitas printing the same product with different serving-size conventions across product runs, but it suggests that even the producer figures should be treated as approximate. What to do in practice: if you are following a King Arthur recipe by weight, use their 120 g/cup figure — the recipe was tested against that assumption. If you are working from a general recipe that specifies cups without a weight, the safer default is the producer cluster around 144-149 g/cup, since that is what three of the largest cacao nib brands print on the bags people are actually measuring from. For anything more precise than 'a cup', weigh the nibs directly. A digital kitchen scale eliminates the packing-density question entirely, and cacao nibs are dense and small enough that a few grams of scatter around the target weight is a rounding error, not a recipe failure. ### Cake flour https://exactcups.com/cake-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: soft wheat flour, pastry cake flour, unbleached cake flour. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), spooned and swept. Working figure: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz) if you spoon the flour into the cup and level it; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g. #### Unsifted, dipped and swept No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 137 g. One source. A figure is published only when at least two independent sources measure the same method. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 137 g per cup. FDC 169723, SR Legacy, 1 cup unsifted, dipped = 137 g Method, in the source's words: unsifted, dipped. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. #### Spooned and swept No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120 g. One source, and its method is stated on a different page from its figure. A figure is published only when at least two independent sources measure the same method. Sources: - King Arthur Baking: 120 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Unbleached Cake Flour, 1 cup = 120 g Method, in the source's words: Spoon dry ingredients gently into the cup. Sweep off any excess.. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Cake flour is the first entry in this dataset where USDA explicitly names the measurement method on the portion itself, rather than recording an undetermined cup. USDA FDC 169723 (Wheat flour, white, cake, enriched) publishes its cup as 137 g measured unsifted and dipped, and this is a distinctly different state from the spooned figure King Arthur gives on the Ingredient Weight Chart for their Unbleached Cake Flour at 120 g per cup. The two figures do not disagree in the sense that flour or bread flour disagree; they describe two different ways of filling the cup with the same substance, and the entry splits into two states, one for each method, for the same reason the all-purpose flour entry splits into three. Cake flour is milled from soft wheat, which has lower protein content (typically 6 to 9 percent) than the hard wheats used for all-purpose and bread flours. It is milled extremely fine and often chlorinated (in bleached cake flour) to weaken the gluten proteins further, producing the tender, fine crumb that gives sponge cakes, chiffon cakes and angel food cakes their characteristic lightness. The finer particle size makes cake flour more susceptible to compaction and packing variability than coarser flours. Dipping into a settled bag captures air-free flour tightly against the cup; spooning fills the cup with more air trapped between particles. The 14 percent gap between USDA's 137 g and King Arthur's 120 g is consistent with this difference and is not a measurement error on either side. A third state exists in traditional baking practice: sifted cake flour, which most classic cake recipes historically specified. Sifting breaks up any clumps that have formed and traps additional air between particles, and sifted cake flour typically weighs about 100 g per cup measured after sifting. This state is not published here because no independent source with the required method attribution was found; converter sites that publish 100 g per cup for sifted cake flour trace back to Wilton and to older editions of Betty Crocker, which state the figure without describing measurement conditions in enough detail to count as a measurement. If a source that documents sifted cake flour with a stated method turns up, this entry will gain a third state. Recipe substitution is a common question for home bakers who lack cake flour. Removing two tablespoons of all-purpose flour per cup and replacing them with two tablespoons of cornstarch produces a workable substitute with approximately the right protein content, though the particle size distribution is coarser than true cake flour and the results tend to be slightly less tender. Bleached and unbleached cake flour have similar density; the bleaching process affects protein structure and color but not bulk density measurably. Swans Down and Softasilk are the two dominant US bleached cake flour brands, both published in similar weight ranges to the USDA figure. FDA identity standards under 21 CFR 137.180 specify cake flour must be milled from soft wheat and enriched with specific nutrients, but do not specify density. Codex Alimentarius has no specific standard for cake flour. To publish a single figure, each state needs two further sources that name its method and measure it. The entry stays at low confidence and publishes the range across its two states, 120 to 137 g per cup, until additional sources fill it out. ### Caraway Seeds https://exactcups.com/caraway-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: caraway, caraway seed, whole caraway seeds, carum carvi, kummel, kümmel. King Arthur: 144 g (5.1 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, whole seeds, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 107–144 g. Genuine 34.6% spread across measurement sources. USDA anchors the low end at 107 g/cup (0.452 g/mL); King Arthur and three aqua-calc branded UPC records cluster at 134-144 g/cup (0.568-0.609 g/mL). No single figure is defensible across both camps. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Spices, caraway seed" (FDC 170918): 107 g per cup. USDA National Nutrient Database Standard Reference (NDB 02005, now FDC 170918) publishes 113 g per metric cup for caraway seed, corresponding to 107 g per US cup and a density of 0.452 g/mL. Density anchor low. - Chef's Resources Dry Spice Conversions: 116 g per cup. Chef's Resources tabulates whole caraway seed at 4.10 oz per US cup, roughly 116 g/cup (density 0.490 g/mL). Same table gives ground caraway at 5.0 oz/cup (142 g), heavier than whole — consistent with Apiaceae schizocarp morphology where grinding collapses hollow fruit cavities (same direction as coriander, opposite from mustard and cumin). - aqua-calc branded record UPC 016291441088 (Caraway Seeds): 134.4 g per cup. Retail branded caraway seed record shows 142 g per metric cup, equivalent to 134 g per US cup (4.7 oz/US cup) and density 0.568 g/mL. Substantially heavier than the USDA reference; sourced from USDA Global Branded Foods. - aqua-calc branded record UPC 016291442085 (100% Organic Caraway Seeds): 134.4 g per cup. Organic branded caraway record matches UPC 016291441088 at 142 g per metric cup / 134 g per US cup (density 0.568 g/mL). Organic and conventional caraway measure identically in this dataset. - aqua-calc branded record UPC 869982000008 (Classic Caraway): 140.1 g per cup. Third branded record shows 148 g per metric cup, equivalent to 140 g per US cup (4.9 oz/US cup) and density 0.592 g/mL. Sits between the mid-branded cluster and King Arthur's figure. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 144 g per cup. KA publishes caraway seeds at 2 tablespoons = 5/8 oz = 18 g. Extrapolated to a full US cup this yields 141-144 g (5 oz using the ounce figure, 144 g using the gram figure). Density approximately 0.609 g/mL. Aligned with the retail branded camp, not with USDA. NOT flagged as a correction — KA sits within the observed commercial cluster confirmed by three independent branded UPC records. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Caraway seeds sit in a wide cup-density range because measurement method and seed condition drive substantial variance across published sources: USDA anchors the low end near 107 g/cup, while King Arthur and multiple branded UPC records cluster at 134-144 g/cup. The 34.6% spread is real commercial and methodological variance, not a correction target for any single source. Caraway (Carum carvi) is a member of the Apiaceae family, alongside coriander, fennel, cumin, dill, and anise. The "seed" is technically a schizocarp — a small dry fruit that splits at maturity into two crescent-shaped mericarps, each roughly 2 mm long with characteristic longitudinal ridges. Kitchen "caraway seed" is these mericarps, sometimes still paired at packaging, sometimes fully separated by handling and shipping. The mericarp shape matters for cup density: elongated crescent seeds nest and lock together to different degrees depending on how they were poured, how much they were tapped or vibrated, and whether the mericarps remain intact or have separated. The data splits into two clusters. USDA SR Legacy publishes 113 g per metric cup (107 g/US cup, density 0.452 g/mL); Chef's Resources tabulates 4.10 oz/cup (116 g). These are the low-density anchor. On the high side, three aqua-calc branded UPC records show 134-140 g/cup, and King Arthur's ingredient weight chart extrapolates to 141-144 g/cup based on a 2-tablespoon measurement (5/8 oz = 18 g). Roughly a 30% gap between the two camps. Two mechanisms plausibly explain the split. First, settling: the USDA measurement is likely a poured-and-leveled sample where crescent mericarps rest at maximum void space, while retail labels and KA may reflect measurements taken from bag-settled material where seeds have jostled into denser configurations during shipping and shelf life. Second, mericarp state: intact double-mericarp schizocarps pack differently than fully separated individual crescents, and no source specifies which state was measured. Both effects likely combine. For validation and internal consistency, this entry withholds a single figure and publishes the observed range 107-144 g/cup. King Arthur at 144 is not flagged as a correction — it sits within the retail branded cluster and is confirmed by three independent aqua-calc UPC records. USDA is not flagged either — it may reflect a lab-controlled loose-fill measurement that retail packaging never replicates. Practical guidance: for baking accuracy, weigh caraway seeds rather than measure by volume. A common baker's default of ~120-130 g/cup falls between the two camps and works for most recipe scaling, but any single number will be off by 15-20% for one or the other end of the observed range. Recipes that call for 1-2 teaspoons of caraway (typical for rye bread, seed cake, sauerkraut, goulash, Irish soda bread) sit in the sub-tablespoon range where absolute mass variance is small enough not to matter. Bulk conversions (e.g., scaling a commercial rye formula) benefit from weighing. For the ground form: expect ground caraway to be denser than whole, in the same direction as coriander. Both are Apiaceae schizocarps with hollow fruit cavities that collapse under grinding. Chef's Resources tabulates ground caraway at ~142 g/cup, close to the whole-seed high end and consistent with this prediction. This is the opposite of the mustard-cumin pattern (solid seeds that pack tighter than their ground powder). ### Carrots, grated https://exactcups.com/carrots-grated/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: grated carrots, shredded carrots, carrots shredded, grated carrot, shredded carrot. King Arthur: 99 g (3.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, loosely packed No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 99–130 g. Grated carrot density spans 99-130 g/cup depending on grate coarseness and packing pressure, a 31% spread driven by real physical variance rather than measurement error. Fine grates produce denser packing than coarse grates (10-15% difference at equivalent packing); loose vs. moderately-pressed measurements can differ by 20-30% within the same grate size. No single value defensibly serves all measurement conventions. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company – Ingredient Weight Chart: 99 g per cup. 1 cup = 3 1/2 oz = 99 g. KA publishes as a single figure at the low end of the modern reference range, consistent with a coarse loose spoon-and-level measurement. Not wrong — represents one legitimate measurement convention — but not the value most bakers will hit when they scoop grated carrot into a cup with normal enthusiasm. - USDA FoodData Central – Carrots, raw (grated) via aqua-calc density table: 110 g per cup. 116 g per metric cup (250 mL), giving approximately 110 g per US cup at a density of 0.464 g/mL. Standard USDA density reference used by most cooking aggregators as the baseline for grated carrot conversions. - CupOrGram baking conversion database: 130 g per cup. 110 g/cup loosely packed, 130 g/cup firmly packed. CupOrGram explicitly documents the packing spread and notes that 'American baking recipes most often mean loosely packed unless they specify otherwise,' while cautioning that the 20-gram difference between loose and packed measurements is enough to noticeably affect moisture, texture, and baking time in carrot cake. - Grams to Cups baking calculator (aggregator): 110 g per cup. 110 g/cup medium-grated as standard; notes fine zester or small-hole grater can push weight to 125 g/cup due to tighter packing, while coarsely grated may drop to 95-100 g/cup — the same physical range documented by other sources but attributing more of the variance to grate size than to packing pressure. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Grated carrots weigh 99-130 g/cup depending on grate coarseness and packing pressure. King Arthur's chart sits at the low end (99 g/cup, representing a coarse loose measurement), USDA and most aggregators cluster at the standard 110 g/cup, and firmly packed measurements can reach 130 g/cup. Carrots are dense root vegetables (about 88% water, 12% cellulose and sugars), and grating them creates a mass of thin strips with substantial void space between the pieces. How much air ends up in a cup measurement depends on two independent factors that combine multiplicatively: the size of the grater holes, and how firmly the shreds get pressed into the cup. King Arthur has this at 99 g/cup on their weight chart, and unlike many entries in this catalog, no correction is warranted here. KA's figure represents a defensible loose spoon-and-level measurement of coarsely grated carrot — it just happens to be at the low end of what home bakers actually produce when they follow a recipe. The USDA standard of 110 g/cup sits about 11% higher, reflecting a slightly more compact conventional loose measurement, and CupOrGram's firmly-packed 130 g/cup sits 31% above KA and represents what happens when a baker presses the shreds down with the back of a spoon. The two independent variance factors matter differently in different recipes. For carrot cake, morning glory muffins, and quick breads, the recipe wants moisture as much as it wants fiber, so a firm pack that includes more carrot flesh per cup shifts the batter toward wetter and denser. Coarse-grated carrots also release water more slowly during baking than fine-grated, which affects how the batter behaves in the oven. For coleslaw, carrot fritters, and other savory applications, the moisture-vs-fiber tradeoff matters less and the coarse-vs-fine choice is driven by texture preference. Pre-shredded bagged carrots (sold in grocery produce sections) run drier and coarser than freshly-grated whole carrots; they measure closer to 100-105 g/cup and behave differently in baking because they have already lost some surface moisture during packaging and refrigeration. Recipes tested with fresh grated should be weight-scaled if substituting bagged shreds. Practical guidance: for baking recipes that specify grated carrots in cups without a gram weight, 110 g/cup is the most defensible middle-of-range assumption for standard loose measurement. If a recipe specifies 'packed' grated carrots, use 130 g/cup. If the recipe was tested against a specific brand or grate size, that gram figure is more reliable than any general conversion. For carrot cake specifically, a 10-15% variance in carrot amount affects moistness noticeably but is rarely catastrophic — carrot cake is a forgiving recipe, and the water content of the carrots themselves also varies by season and storage, which recipes accommodate by design. Substitutions for grated carrots in baking: shredded zucchini works closely (see zucchini-shredded entry — that ingredient runs 121-150 g/cup with much more water content), producing a similar moist crumb but without carrot's color and mild sweetness. Grated apple substitutes 1:1 by volume in some quick breads but shifts moisture release timing during baking. Grated parsnip works 1:1 by weight in savory applications but is starchier and less sweet than carrot. ### Cashews (whole) https://exactcups.com/cashews-whole/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole cashews, raw cashews, roasted cashews, cashew nuts whole, unsalted cashews. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, whole cashews loose in the cup (raw or roasted) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 113–137 g. King Arthur and USDA disagree by 21%, over the 10% milled tolerance, and the disagreement reflects a genuine raw-versus-roasted state difference rather than measurement error. King Arthur publishes 113 g/cup for the unspecified 'whole' state (likely measuring raw or a mixed sample), while USDA measures 137 g/cup for dry-roasted whole and 129 g/cup for oil-roasted whole cashews. Roasted cashews pack denser because roasting shrinks the individual nut, hardens the surface, and reduces the interstitial air pockets between adjacent nuts. This entry publishes the range 113-137 g/cup rather than choosing one state. Sources: - King Arthur: 113 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cashews (whole)', 1 cup (113 g/cup). Density 0.4776 g/mL. KA does not specify whether this figure represents raw or roasted cashews. The value sits well below USDA analytical figures for roasted cashews, suggesting KA is measuring raw or lightly-roasted whole cashews with more interstitial air. KA lists both 'whole' and 'chopped' cashews at the same 113 g/cup, reflecting the fact that cashews' crescent shape makes their packing density relatively insensitive to whether pieces are whole or chopped. - USDA FoodData Central: 137 g per cup. Nuts, cashew nuts, dry roasted, without salt added (SR Legacy, FDC ID 170571). Published: 1 cup, halves and whole = 137 g. Density 0.5790 g/mL. The related oil-roasted record (FDC 170572) publishes 1 cup whole = 129 g (density 0.5452 g/mL). The raw cashews record (FDC 170162) publishes no cup portion, only 100 g and 1 oz. Commercial packages of raw whole cashews typically label 1/4 cup = 30 g (120 g/cup), landing between the KA and USDA-roasted figures and consistent with the interpretation that KA measures raw. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Whole cashews publish as a range 113 to 137 grams per cup because the authoritative sources disagree by 21%, well over the 10% milled tolerance, and the disagreement reflects a genuine state difference between raw and roasted cashews rather than measurement error. King Arthur publishes 113 g/cup for unspecified 'whole' cashews. USDA publishes 137 g/cup for dry-roasted whole cashews (SR Legacy 170571) and 129 g/cup for oil-roasted whole cashews (SR Legacy 170572). The USDA raw cashews record does not publish a cup portion. Commercial retail packages of raw whole cashews typically label 1/4 cup as 30 g, which computes to 120 g/cup and sits between the KA and USDA-roasted figures, consistent with the interpretation that KA is measuring the raw or lightly-processed state. The physics behind the raw-versus-roasted difference is worth understanding. A raw cashew is a smooth, curved kidney-shape with a slightly waxy surface. When you pour raw cashews into a cup, the curved surfaces slide past each other and settle with substantial air gaps between adjacent nuts. Roasting changes this: the nut shrinks slightly as internal moisture evaporates (raw cashews contain about 5% water, roasted about 2%), and the surface becomes rougher and slightly crackled from heat exposure. The shrinkage means more nuts fit per cup, and the rougher surface means adjacent nuts interlock rather than sliding smoothly past each other. Both effects push density upward. Dry-roasted cashews at 137 g/cup are 21% denser than raw at 113 g/cup, and oil-roasted at 129 g/cup sit between them because the oil coating restores some surface smoothness that offsets the roughening. One unusual observation from King Arthur's chart deserves flagging: KA lists both 'Cashews (whole)' and 'Cashews (chopped)' at exactly 113 g/cup. For most nuts, chopping increases density noticeably because the smaller pieces fit into the interstitial gaps that whole nuts leave behind (walnut whole vs chopped on the site differs by roughly 10%). Cashews are the exception because their C-shape or kidney-shape already packs relatively densely as whole nuts, without the large interstitial voids that make chopped almonds or walnuts pack tighter than their whole counterparts. Chopping a cashew doesn't gain much interstitial fill because the whole cashews weren't leaving much interstitial space to fill in the first place. This is why KA rounds both states to the same figure, and why our chopped entry (also at 113 g/cup) is not a duplication error but a genuine reflection of cashew geometry. Compared to the other whole nuts on the site, cashews at 113-137 g/cup sit in the middle of the density band. Almonds whole at 143 g/cup are denser (smaller, tighter packing), walnuts halves at 100 g/cup are lighter (larger, more air), pecans halves at 99 g/cup are lighter still, and hazelnuts whole at 135 g/cup are similar to cashews. The pattern is that smaller, rounder, denser-per-nut varieties (almonds, hazelnuts) pack densely, while larger, more irregular varieties (walnuts, pecans) pack loosely. Category assignment is milled, matching all other whole nuts on the site. Whole nuts belong in milled because they are fatty solid pieces that pack in geometric arrangement rather than as small crystalline particulates. The sugar category is reserved for sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits. Confidence is low because the two authoritative sources describe different states (raw vs roasted) and disagree by 21%. Bakers should treat the middle of the range (around 125 g/cup) as reasonable for generic whole cashews when they don't know the state, weigh 113-115 g/cup if using specifically raw whole cashews, and 129-137 g/cup if using roasted. When precision matters, weigh the specific cashews in hand rather than trusting a single generic figure. ### Cassava Flour https://exactcups.com/cassava-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: yuca flour, yucca flour, farinha de mandioca, manioc flour, whole cassava flour, grain-free flour, paleo flour. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120–140 g. Grind fineness varies across brands. Terrasoul and Pereg at 120 g/cup (30g per 1/4 cup), Otto's Naturals at 128 g/cup (32g per 1/4 cup, most-referenced in gluten-free recipe development), Bob's Red Mill at 140 g/cup (35g per 1/4 cup, coarser grind). 17% spread exceeds 10% milled tolerance. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Cassava Flour nutrition label: 140 g per cup. 1/4 cup (35g) per label. 140 g/cup. Coarser grind than Otto's or Terrasoul. - Otto's Naturals Cassava Flour nutrition label: 128 g per cup. 1/4 cup (32g) per label. 128 g/cup. Otto's launched the first widely-available branded cassava flour in the US in 2014 and is the most-referenced brand in gluten-free and paleo recipe development. - Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Cassava Flour nutrition label: 120 g per cup. 1/4 cup (30g) per label. 120 g/cup. Lower end of the range. - Pereg Cassava Flour nutrition label: 120 g per cup. 1/4 cup (30g) per label. 120 g/cup. Matches Terrasoul figure. - Power Hungry blog independent brand survey: 128 g per cup. Baker Kittee's independent comparison of five cassava flour brands (Bob's Red Mill, Thrive, Otto's, Terrasoul, Anthony's) documented 1/4 cup weights ranging 30-35g, giving 120-140 g/cup across the retail market. Recommends 128 g/cup as the practical middle for recipe conversion. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Cassava flour ranges 120-140 g/cup across brands, with the practical middle at 128 g/cup, but the critical baker distinction is between cassava flour (whole ground root, structure-building) and tapioca starch (extracted starch only, thickening and chewiness). Same plant, completely different behavior. Cassava flour is the whole cassava root (Manihot esculenta, also called yuca) peeled, dried, and finely ground into a tan powder. Its rise to prominence as a gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo baking flour started around 2014 when Otto's Naturals launched the first widely-available branded cassava flour in the US market. Bakers use it for grain-free breads, tortillas, pizza crusts, cookies, muffins, and pancakes, often as a 1:1 substitute for wheat flour in simpler recipes (though yeasted breads generally require a starch blend for proper rise). Density spans 120-140 g/cup depending on brand grind fineness. Independent verification by the Power Hungry baking blog compared five brands: two labeled 30g per 1/4 cup, two labeled 32g per 1/4 cup, one labeled 35g per 1/4 cup. That works out to a 120-140 g/cup range across the retail cassava flour market, a 17% spread that exceeds typical flour tolerances. Individual brand figures: Bob's Red Mill 140 g/cup (35g per 1/4 cup, coarser grind), Otto's Naturals 128 g/cup (32g per 1/4 cup, the dominant premium brand and most-referenced in recipes), Terrasoul Superfoods 120 g/cup (30g per 1/4 cup), Pereg 120 g/cup, Anthony's roughly 124 g/cup. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list cassava flour, leaving conversions unstandardized across recipe sources. The critical distinction is that cassava flour is not tapioca starch. Both come from the same cassava root, but they are physically and functionally different products. Cassava flour (this entry, 120-140 g/cup) is the whole peeled root, dried, and ground. It includes fiber, protein, and root solids, has a tan color, and mild nutty flavor. Its packing density is similar to wheat flour, and it behaves as a structure-building flour that can substitute close to 1:1 for wheat flour in many quick breads and simple baked goods. Tapioca starch (existing entry, 113 g/cup) is only the extracted starch from cassava root, with fiber and root solids removed. It is white, has no flavor, and lower density (pure starch granules). It behaves as a thickener and chewiness-adder like cornstarch or arrowroot and never substitutes for cassava flour or wheat flour on its own. The confusion is worsened by inconsistent labeling. Many US brands sell tapioca starch as tapioca flour, which is technically correct but leads home bakers to grab tapioca starch when a recipe calls for cassava flour. Brazilian and Latin American brands sometimes go further, calling cassava flour tapioca flour as well. Two products called tapioca flour, the extracted starch and the whole root, can have wildly different behaviors in the same recipe. Physical density confirms the distinction: cassava flour at 120-140 g/cup packs similarly to wheat flour (120 g/cup) because both contain fiber and non-starch solids. Tapioca starch at 113 g/cup is lower because pure starch granules pack tighter but weigh less per volume than fiber-containing flour. Practical baker recommendation: if a recipe calls for cassava flour, buy a package labeled cassava flour specifically, not tapioca flour (which will be pure starch and behave differently). Otto's Naturals is the most-referenced brand in gluten-free and paleo recipe development, so recipes that don't specify a brand were likely tested with Otto's at 128 g/cup. If using Bob's Red Mill (140 g/cup, coarser grind), consider reducing the volume slightly or increasing liquid to compensate for the higher mass per cup. Weigh by scale for any recipe that requires precision. ### Cherries (fresh, pitted) https://exactcups.com/cherries-fresh/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: fresh cherries, cherries, pitted cherries, sweet cherries, cherries pitted chopped, cherries fresh pitted, bing cherries, dark sweet cherries. King Arthur: 160 g (5.6 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, pitted (whole or chopped) loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 154 g (5.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 77 g; 1/4 cup = 38.5 g; 1 tbsp = 9.6 g; 1 tsp = 3.2 g (0.6509 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.47 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 154 g per cup. Cherries, sweet, raw (SR Legacy, FDC ID 171719). Published: 1 cup without pits = 154 g. Density 0.6509 g/mL. The same record also publishes 1 cup with pits yields = 138 g, meaning that measuring a cup of unpitted cherries and then removing the pits leaves 138 g of edible flesh. Confirmed by commercial nutrition labels: Dole and WinCo both use 154 g per cup on their pitted cherry products. - King Arthur: 160 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cherries (fresh, pitted, chopped)', 1/2 cup (80 g/half cup, 160 g/cup). Density 0.6763 g/mL. KA specifies the chopped state, which packs about 3.9% denser than USDA's pitted whole state, well within the 10% milled tolerance. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Fresh sweet cherries publish at 154 grams per cup pitted, with two authoritative sources in close agreement. USDA SR Legacy record 171719 (Cherries, sweet, raw) publishes 154 g/cup measured as pitted whole cherries loose in the cup, giving density 0.6509 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 160 g/cup for the fresh, pitted, chopped state, giving density 0.6763 g/mL. The 3.9% gap between them is well inside the 10% milled tolerance and reflects the small density gain from chopping already-small round fruit. Chopping adds less density gain for cherries than it does for larger fruits like peaches or pears. A cherry is already a small (~2 cm) round fruit that packs fairly densely as whole, with the pit-cavity leaving only a small internal air pocket after pitting. Chopping the pitted cherry into halves or smaller pieces helps fill some interstitial space between the whole pieces, but the density gain is modest because the whole cherries were already close to a natural packing limit. Compare this to the peaches-fresh entry where dicing gained about 10% density over slicing, and the strawberries-sliced entry where slicing gained 15% over whole. Small round starting shapes benefit less from cutting than large irregular ones do. USDA's parallel publish of 'with pits yields 138 g' is a useful data point most bakers never see. It says that if you measure 1 cup of unpitted sweet cherries and then pit them, you end up with 138 g of edible flesh. That is a ~10% loss to pits (pits account for 10-15% of unpitted cherry mass). A baker with unpitted cherries can therefore estimate: to get 1 cup pitted, start with about 1.1 cups unpitted (which yields ~154 g of flesh after pitting matches the 1-cup-pitted measurement). Sweet cherries (Bing, Rainier, dark sweet) and sour cherries (Montmorency) have similar packing density despite very different flavor profiles. USDA's separate record for 'Cherries, sour, red, raw' publishes a similar cup portion (about 155 g/cup without pits), so this entry applies reasonably well to tart cherries too. The 63 kcal/100g figure for sweet cherries is higher than sour (50 kcal/100g), reflecting sugar content, but that composition difference does not move the packing density much. King Arthur's chart contains three other cherry states worth flagging for comparison. Candied cherries at 200 g/cup are the densest (concentrated sugar syrup adds mass), dried cherries at 142 g/cup are lighter than fresh (water loss shrinks the piece but the piece stays small enough to pack tightly), and frozen cherries at 113 g/cup are the lightest of the cherry family because frozen cherries are whole and loose in the cup rather than chopped, so the interstitial air gaps between whole cherries dominate. The frozen-vs-fresh pattern here (113 vs 160) is the same physics as the strawberries whole-vs-sliced pattern (144 vs 166): cutting a small round fruit into pieces meaningfully increases cup density. Category assignment is milled, following the fresh fruit precedent established by blueberries-fresh, raspberries-fresh, cranberries-fresh, and the fresh cut fruit entries (apple-slices, pineapple-diced, strawberries-sliced, peaches-fresh, pears-fresh). Fresh whole small pitted fruits belong in milled rather than sugar because they are water-containing solid pieces (86% water for sweet cherries) whose packing depends on shape and fill method rather than crystal structure. Dried cherries and candied cherries, when eventually added, will belong in sugar because the water loss concentrates them into small dense sweet particulates similar to raisins and currants. Confidence is medium. Two authoritative sources (USDA SR Legacy and King Arthur) agree at 3.9%, well within tolerance. The published figure of 154 g/cup reflects USDA's direct portion for pitted whole cherries and closely matches KA's 160 g/cup for the chopped state. Bakers can use 154 g/cup for pitted whole and expect slightly higher (up to ~160 g) if they chop before measuring. ### Cherries (frozen, pitted) https://exactcups.com/cherries-frozen/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: frozen cherries, frozen pitted cherries, frozen dark sweet cherries, frozen tart cherries, frozen sour cherries, IQF cherries. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/cherries-frozen-113-grams/. #### Pitted, measured frozen Published: 1 cup = 155 g (5.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 77.5 g; 1/4 cup = 38.7 g; 1 tbsp = 9.7 g; 1 tsp = 3.2 g (0.6551 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.46 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cherries, sour, red, frozen, unsweetened" (FDC 171718): 155 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 09068) publishes 1 cup, unthawed = 155 g (density 0.655 g/mL). Water 87.2 g per 100 g. Read through getfoodfacts (FDC ID, composition) and ReciPal (NDB 9068, portion). - USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, Fruits yield table: 159.2 g per cup. Cherries, red tart, frozen, unsweetened, pitted: 11.40 servings of "1/4 cup thawed, fruit and liquid" per pound, and "1 lb AP = 0.98 lb (about 2-3/4 cups) thawed cherries and liquid": 453.6 g / 2.85 cups = 159 g per cup (density 0.673 g/mL). Drained, the same pound gives "about 1-3/4 cups" of fruit. A separate set of USDA yield tests from the Standard Reference record. - USDA SR Legacy "Cherries, sweet, raw" (FDC 171719): For comparison: 1 cup without pits = 154 g (0.651 g/mL), the figure this site publishes for fresh pitted cherries. Fresh and frozen pitted cherries fill a cup alike; not counted as a separate source for the frozen figure. - Dole Frozen Dark Sweet Cherries (producer label): Label serving 1 cup (140 g), about 2.5 servings per 12 oz (340 g) bag; Wyman's and Great Value print the same 1 cup (140 g). 140 g is the FDA reference amount for frozen fruit printed beside the nearest household measure, so it is kept without a figure; a cup weighing 113 g would have made 140 g about 1 1/4 cups. - King Arthur Baking recipe, Sour Cherry Pie: "5 to 6 cups (1125g to 1350g) sour cherries, packed in water or individually quick frozen", 225 g per cup, with frozen cherries used without thawing. Twice King Arthur's chart figure for frozen cherries; heavier than whole cherries can pack without liquid (0.95 g/mL), so it reads as a canned-cherry weight. Kept without a figure. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 113 g per cup. KA lists "Cherries (frozen)" at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, density 0.478 g/mL. REJECTED: A frozen cherry weighs about 1 g/mL, so a cup at 113 g would be less than half cherry and more than half air. Whole, roughly round fruit poured into a cup fills 60 to 65% of it: USDA weighs a cup of unthawed frozen tart cherries at 155 g and a cup of fresh pitted sweet cherries at 154 g, and USDA's Food Buying Guide yields 159 g per cup thawed with the juice. King Arthur's own Sour Cherry Pie recipe uses 225 g per cup of frozen or water-packed cherries, twice its chart figure. 113 g is a round 4 oz that matches no measurement. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/cherries-frozen-113-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of frozen pitted cherries weighs 155 g (5.5 oz), a density of 0.66 g/mL, measured frozen. USDA weighs a cup of unthawed frozen tart cherries at 155 g, and its Food Buying Guide yields 159 g per cup once they are thawed with their juice. King Arthur's 113 g would leave more than half the cup empty and is rejected. Frozen cherries are pitted cherries frozen individually, sold as dark sweet cherries by Dole, Wyman's and most store brands, and as red tart (sour, Montmorency) cherries for pies. Unsweetened frozen cherries are the fruit alone. Sugar-packed frozen cherries, sold mostly to food service, come in syrup and weigh far more per cup once thawed: USDA lists 259 g for thawed sweetened sweet cherries. USDA's Standard Reference record for frozen unsweetened red tart cherries (FDC 171718) gives 1 cup, unthawed, as 155 g, with 87.2% water. The USDA Food Buying Guide for child nutrition programs, a separate set of yield tests, gives a pound of the same frozen cherries as 11.40 quarter-cup servings of thawed fruit and liquid, about 2 3/4 cups, 159 g per cup. The two agree within 3%. Thawing changes the cup weight little because the juice that runs out fills the gaps the softened fruit leaves. Fresh cherries give the same answer: USDA weighs a cup of pitted fresh sweet cherries at 154 g, the figure this site publishes for fresh cherries. Freezing barely changes a cherry's size or shape, so frozen and fresh pitted cherries fill a cup alike. Frozen fruit labels are no help: Dole, Wyman's and Great Value all print 1 cup (140 g), but 140 g is the FDA reference amount for frozen fruit, printed beside the nearest household measure. Even so, if a cup weighed 113 g, those labels would have printed 140 g as about 1 1/4 cups. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists frozen cherries at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, 0.48 g/mL. A frozen cherry weighs roughly 1 g/mL, so a cup at 113 g would be less than half cherry and more than half air. Whole, roughly round fruit poured into a cup fills about 60 to 65% of it, which is what USDA's 155 g shows. King Arthur's own Sour Cherry Pie recipe, which uses frozen or water-packed tart cherries, calls for 5 to 6 cups weighing 1125 to 1350 g, 225 g per cup: twice the chart's figure, and closer to canned cherries with their liquid. The chart's 113 g, a round 4 oz, is rejected. Practical guidance: measure frozen cherries while frozen and use 155 g per cup, 78 g per half cup. A 12 oz (340 g) bag holds about 2 1/4 cups and a 32 oz (907 g) bag nearly 6 cups, about one pie's worth. If you thaw and drain the cherries first, the cups shrink: the Food Buying Guide's pound gives about 2 3/4 cups with the juice but only 1 3/4 cups drained. Weigh before thawing, or weigh the drained fruit when a recipe gives grams. ### Chia seeds https://exactcups.com/chia-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole chia, raw chia seeds, black chia, white chia, salvia hispanica seeds. King Arthur: 148 g (5.2 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, whole dried seeds loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 148–168 g. Two sources disagree by 13.5%, over the 10% milled tolerance. USDA's SR Legacy record for chia (FDC 170554) publishes per-100g data only, with no direct cup portion. The 168 g per cup figure comes from USDA FNDDS (FDC 2707590), a dietary-survey standardized measure rather than a direct laboratory portion. King Arthur publishes 148 g per cup with no method documented. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure until USDA SR Legacy or Foundation Foods publishes a direct cup portion for chia. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 168 g per cup. FDC 2707590, Chia seeds (FNDDS). Published: 1 cup = 168 g. Density 0.7101 g/mL. Note: USDA SR Legacy FDC 170554 (Seeds, chia seeds, dried) publishes only per-100g nutrient data and has no direct cup portion; the 168 g figure is USDA's FNDDS standardized measure used for national dietary intake studies. - King Arthur: 148 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Chia seeds', 1/4 cup = 37 g (148 g/cup). Density 0.6255 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources 13.5 percent apart, outside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Chia seeds' at 1/4 cup = 37 g, extrapolating to 148 g per cup and 0.6255 g/mL. USDA FoodData Central lists chia at 168 g per cup, implying 0.7101 g/mL, but with an important sourcing caveat: USDA's SR Legacy record for chia (FDC 170554) publishes only per-100g nutrient data and has no direct cup portion. The 168 g figure is drawn from USDA FNDDS (FDC 2707590), a standardized dietary-survey measure used for national intake studies. FNDDS is authoritative USDA data but its portions are standardized estimates rather than direct laboratory measurements of the specific food. The FNDDS figure of 168 g per cup is identical to USDA's figure for whole flaxseed, which sits in another entry on this site as the upper end of a 140 to 168 g range publish. Whether this coincidence reflects a real similarity in the packing behavior of small hard seeds (both chia and flaxseed being small ovoid seeds under 6 mm) or a shared FNDDS standardization convention is unclear from the published documentation. Third-party aggregators including cookconvertapp, cuporgram and gramsinacup largely cite 168 to 170 g per cup, suggesting the FNDDS figure has become the working consensus in the aggregator ecosystem regardless of its methodological basis. Chia seeds are exceptionally small: approximately 2.1 mm by 1.3 mm by 0.8 mm on average, with individual seed masses around 1.3 mg. Small hard particles typically pack denser than large ones because they fill gaps more efficiently, and chia at 168 g per cup (density 0.7101 g/mL) is physically consistent with what would be expected from that geometry. King Arthur's lower figure at 148 g per cup (density 0.6255 g/mL) is consistent with a loose scoop rather than a settled fill. As with flaxseed on this site, small hard seeds are unusually sensitive to fill technique, and gaps of 15 to 20 percent between different filling methods are physically real. Product variants: black chia and white chia are cultivar-color variants that pack at essentially the same density and are treated as one entry here. Salvia hispanica is the primary commercial species; Salvia columbariae, sometimes marketed as golden chia, is a distinct North American species with slightly different seed size but no separate authoritative cup portion available. Ground chia seed, sometimes called chia meal, packs differently from whole seeds and is not covered here because King Arthur does not list a ground variant. Third-party sources suggest ground chia packs at approximately 175 to 185 g per cup, denser than whole seeds because the ground particles fill some of the interseed voids, but this pattern is the opposite of what flaxseed shows on this site and remains uncertain without direct measurement. Chia seeds are placed in the milled category alongside other whole seeds, whole grains and whole nuts. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: whole seeds pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 13.5 percent observed gap likely reflects a combination of fill-method sensitivity and USDA's use of a standardized rather than direct-measurement portion. No standards body publishes a bulk density for chia. Codex Alimentarius has no dedicated standard for chia at the time of publication. Two authoritative sources with an over-tolerance gap and one source relying on a standardized USDA estimate rather than direct measurement, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until USDA SR Legacy or Foundation Foods publishes a direct cup portion or a third independent laboratory measurement clears the disagreement. ### Chickpea flour https://exactcups.com/chickpea-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 85 g (3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard Published: 1 cup = 92 g (3.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 46 g; 1/4 cup = 23 g; 1 tbsp = 5.8 g; 1 tsp = 1.9 g (0.3889 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.46 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 92 g per cup. FDC 174288 (Chickpea flour, besan, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 92 g. Density 0.3889 g/mL. Composition: ~10% water, ~58% carbohydrate (of which ~11% fibre), ~22% protein, ~7% fat. - King Arthur: 85 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Chickpea flour', 1 cup = 85 g, density 0.3593 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Chickpea flour is milled from dried chickpeas (Cicer arietinum), also called garbanzo beans. It is one of the oldest pulse flours in continuous use, dating back several thousand years in Indian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking, and has re-entered mainstream American cooking through the popularity of gluten-free baking and interest in higher-protein plant flours. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of chickpea flour (besan) at 92 grams (FDC 174288), giving a bulk density of 0.3889 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes the same product at 85 grams per cup and 0.3593 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 7.9 percent, inside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category, though not tightly enough that a home baker measuring by cup can ignore which source their recipe used. Chickpea flour is one of the lightest flours by volume in this dataset, roughly two-thirds the weight of all-purpose flour per cup. This is characteristic of pulse flours: legume flours in general (chickpea, lentil, fava, pea) mill into softer, bulkier powders than cereal flours because the protein and starch structure of a legume seed is different from a wheat grain. The high protein content (about 22 percent by weight, roughly double that of all-purpose flour) is another marker — it explains why chickpea flour holds together in batters without needing gluten to bind. Regional names for chickpea flour reflect its long history in different cuisines. Besan is the standard Indian name and usually refers to flour milled from chana dal (split brown chickpeas), producing a slightly coarser, more yellow flour. Gram flour is the British usage, most often the same product. Garbanzo bean flour is the American name, typically for flour milled from the pale yellow chickpea (kabuli variety) rather than the darker brown desi variety used in most Indian production. All three names cover essentially the same ingredient for cooking purposes, though a purist might distinguish besan (from desi chickpeas) as slightly more flavourful than garbanzo bean flour (from kabuli). Culinary uses vary widely. In Indian cooking, chickpea flour is the basis for pakora batter (fried vegetable fritters), boondi and ladoo (sweet fried droplets), besan chilla (savoury pancakes), and thickening for many curries. In the Mediterranean, it is the flour for socca and farinata (crisp Provençal-Ligurian flatbreads baked in a hot oven), and for panisse (fried chickpea polenta). In gluten-free baking, it is common in flour blends to add protein, structure and a slightly nutty flavour. Related products this entry does not cover: sattu is roasted chickpea flour, a distinct Indian ingredient made from pre-roasted chana dal that is measured similarly but has a toasted flavour and is not interchangeable in recipes that expect raw chickpea flour; lentil flour, fava bean flour, and other pulse flours have similar low density but different protein content and flavour; and cooked-chickpea flour, occasionally sold in specialty shops, is milled from pre-cooked chickpeas and has different water absorption than raw chickpea flour. FDA has no identity standard specific to chickpea flour; it is regulated under general food safety and labelling rules. The Codex Alimentarius standard for pulses (CXS 171-1989) covers whole and split pulses but does not address pulse flours. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because chickpea flour behaves like other fine milled powders in a measuring cup — it clumps, bridges over air pockets, and its density depends on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies, and both sources sit inside it. The relatively wide gap between them (7.9 percent) is more likely a real product variation across brands and grinds than a measurement disagreement. ### Chopped dates https://exactcups.com/chopped-dates/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: chopped medjool dates, chopped deglet noor dates, pitted chopped dates, dates (chopped), khajoor. King Arthur: 149 g (5.3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, filled and settled, not pressed Published: 1 cup = 147 g (5.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 73.5 g; 1/4 cup = 36.8 g; 1 tbsp = 9.2 g; 1 tsp = 3.1 g (0.6214 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.54 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 147 g per cup. FDC 171726, Dates, Deglet Noor (SR Legacy). Published portion: 1 cup, chopped = 147 g. Density 0.6214 g/mL. - King Arthur: 149 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Dates (chopped)', 1 cup = 149 g. Density 0.6298 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FDC 171726 (Dates, Deglet Noor, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup chopped at 147 g, implying a density of 0.6214 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Dates (chopped)' at 149 g per cup, implying 0.6298 g/mL. The gap between them is 1.36%, well inside the 10% milled tolerance for chopped fruit, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 147 g per cup and names both sources. King Arthur does not distinguish between varieties. USDA maintains separate records for the two commercially significant varieties: Dates, Deglet Noor at FDC 171726 (with the cup-chopped portion cited above) and Medjool Dates at FDC 168191 (which publishes per-date weight only, at 24 g per pitted date, with no cup portion). Deglet Noor are firmer and drier, common in bulk retail and Middle Eastern markets. Medjool are larger, softer and caramel-sweet, dominant in US grocery stores today. Chopped, the density difference between them is small because chopping breaks the fruit into similar-sized pieces that pack similarly, so this entry covers both varieties and uses the USDA Deglet Noor cup portion as the reference. Whole Medjool dates weigh substantially more per date (approximately 24 g pitted) than whole Deglet Noor (approximately 7 g pitted), a 3-to-1 ratio driven by physical size rather than density. Recipes calling for a specific number of dates should specify the variety for consistency. Whole dates are not covered by this entry; a separate whole-date entry would need per-date weight data by variety and a distinct sourcing pathway. The measurement is sensitive to pressing. Chopped dates are sticky, and pressing them into a measuring cup can add 20% or more to the mass over a loose-fill measurement. USDA's 147 g and King Arthur's 149 g both reflect a filled-and-settled cup, not a packed one. Home bakers using dates as a whole-food sweetener in energy balls, date paste, or no-bake bars should weigh rather than measure by volume: a firmly pressed cup can weigh 180-200 g, which meaningfully changes sweetness and moisture in the finished product. Chopped dates sit in the milled category alongside chopped nuts. The category rule assigns chunks that pack by scoop with air gaps to milled, which fits chopped dates despite their stickiness: the pieces still leave irregular voids in a measuring cup rather than self-levelling as liquids do. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 1.36% agreement between sources is well inside it. Related products not covered by this entry: whole Medjool dates (per-date weight documented at FDC 168191, cup-scale sourcing deferred), whole Deglet Noor dates (same status at FDC 171727 range), date paste (a puree, would sit in the liquid category with different sourcing), and date syrup (a concentrated sweetener, would sit in the syrup category). Dried dates coated with sugar or oats for anti-clumping are common in retail packages; the coating adds mass and the entry does not cover those variants. No standards body publishes a bulk density for chopped dates. Codex Alimentarius CXS 143-1985 covers dates but specifies moisture content, defect tolerances and grading rather than physical density. Two authoritative sources agreeing within tolerance, both from independent publishers, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source (a professional culinary reference or an industry bench measurement) matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence. ### Chopped pecans https://exactcups.com/chopped-pecans/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: diced pecans, pecan pieces. King Arthur: 114 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Chopped (approximately quarter-inch pieces) Published: 1 cup = 109 g (3.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 54.5 g; 1/4 cup = 27.2 g; 1 tbsp = 6.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4607 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.08 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 109 g per cup. FDC 170182 (Nuts, pecans, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup chopped = 109 g. Density 0.4607 g/mL. Composition: 71.9% fat, 13.9% carbohydrate, 9.2% protein, 3.5% water. - King Arthur: 114 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pecans (diced)', 1/2 cup = 57 g, extrapolates to 114 g per cup, density 0.4818 g/mL. King Arthur lists this preparation as 'diced' rather than 'chopped'; the terms describe the same knife or food-processor result. Last reviewed: 2026-09-18. Notes: Chopped pecans sit in the milled category not because they are milled but because they pack by scoop the way milled powders and small pieces do. A cup of chopped pecans is what remains after whole pecan halves are broken by knife or food processor into pieces of about a quarter-inch, poured into a measuring cup, and lightly leveled. Both King Arthur Baking and USDA FoodData Central publish a figure for this preparation, and the two agree well. USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170182, Nuts, pecans) gives 109 grams per cup for chopped pecans, which implies a density of 0.4607 g/mL on the US customary cup of 236.5882365 mL. King Arthur publishes 114 grams for the same preparation, which they list as 'diced' rather than 'chopped' though the two words describe the same knife or food-processor result. That figure implies 0.4818 g/mL. The gap between the two is 4.6%, comfortably inside the 10% tolerance this site applies to milled and packed-piece ingredients, so both figures are accepted and the USDA figure is published as the site's primary value. Pecans pack slightly differently by shape. Whole pecan halves, poured loose into a cup, weigh less than chopped pieces because the halves stack with larger air gaps: USDA publishes 99 g per cup for halves, King Arthur 105 g per cup for whole. Chopping breaks the pieces into smaller units that fill the space between them more efficiently, and the cup weight rises accordingly. Very fine pieces or ground pecan meal pack tighter still, though the difference between coarse and fine chopped for baking is usually less than the 10% tolerance and does not change the published figure. This entry is specifically for chopped pecan kernels. It does not cover pecan halves, which pack with more air gaps and weigh less per cup; pecan meal or ground pecans, which is much finer and packs denser (King Arthur gives 80 g per cup for pecan meal); or roasted, salted, or sugared pecans, which change composition and therefore density. Each of those, when sourced, will be a separate entry. The confidence grade is medium because two independent sources agree within tolerance and both are widely used references, but no third source at a higher tier (a standards body or an independent bench measurement) confirms the figure. High confidence will require a third independent measurement. ### Chopped walnuts https://exactcups.com/chopped-walnuts/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: walnut pieces, chopped English walnuts. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Chopped (approximately quarter-inch pieces) Published: 1 cup = 117 g (4.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 58.5 g; 1/4 cup = 29.2 g; 1 tbsp = 7.3 g; 1 tsp = 2.4 g (0.4945 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.94 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 117 g per cup. FDC 170187 (Nuts, walnuts, english, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup chopped = 117 g. Density 0.4945 g/mL. Composition: 65.2% fat, 15.2% protein, 13.7% carbohydrate, 4.1% water. - King Arthur: 113 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Walnuts (chopped)', 1 cup = 113 g, density 0.4776 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-18. Notes: Chopped walnuts sit in the milled category not because they are milled but because they pack by scoop the way milled powders and small seeds do. A cup of chopped walnuts is what remains after whole walnut halves are broken into rough pieces of about a quarter-inch, poured into a measuring cup, and lightly leveled. Both King Arthur Baking and USDA FoodData Central publish a figure for this preparation, and the two agree well. USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170187, Nuts, walnuts, english) gives 117 grams per cup for chopped walnuts, which implies a density of 0.4945 g/mL on the US customary cup of 236.5882365 mL. King Arthur publishes 113 grams for the same measurement, implying 0.4776 g/mL. The gap between the two is 3.5%, comfortably inside the 10% tolerance this site applies to milled and packed-piece ingredients, so both figures are accepted and the USDA figure is published as the site's primary value. Neither source specifies exactly how coarse the chop is, but for the ordinary case of a knife-chopped walnut for baking, both figures are in the plausible range. The size of the chop matters more than a source can encode. A fine chop, where pieces are closer to an eighth of an inch, packs tighter and can push the cup weight up to about 130 g. A coarse chop with pieces near half an inch traps more air and can drop it to about 105 g. The published figure represents the ordinary case for baking, and a recipe that calls for chopped walnuts should be met by chopping until the pieces roughly match commercial chopped walnut packaging. This entry is specifically for chopped walnut kernels from the common English walnut (Juglans regia). It does not cover walnut halves, which pack with more air gaps and weigh less per cup; ground walnut meal or walnut flour, which is much finer and packs denser; or black walnuts (Juglans nigra), a distinct species with slightly different fat content and correspondingly different density. Each of those, when sourced, will be a separate entry. The confidence grade is medium because two independent sources agree within tolerance and both are widely used references, but no third source at a higher tier (a standards body or an independent bench measurement) confirms the figure. High confidence will require a third independent measurement. ### Cocoa powder https://exactcups.com/cocoa-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: unsweetened cocoa powder, natural cocoa powder, Dutch-processed cocoa, Dutched cocoa. King Arthur: 84 g (3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Method not specified Published: 1 cup = 86 g (3 oz); 1/2 cup = 43 g; 1/4 cup = 21.5 g; 1 tbsp = 5.4 g; 1 tsp = 1.8 g (0.3635 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.64 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 86 g per cup. FDC 169593, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 86 g - King Arthur Baking: 84 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, cocoa (unsweetened), 1/2 cup = 42 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: USDA and King Arthur agree within 2.4%, well inside the 10% milled tolerance. Cocoa powder is a defatted grind of roasted cacao solids, with roughly 10 to 24% cocoa butter remaining and 3 to 5% water; the milled character puts it in the same category as powdered sugar, though cocoa contains no starch anti-caking agent and its particles are finer. USDA FDC 169593 publishes a cup at 86 g (0.3635 g/ml) and a tablespoon at 5.4 g (0.3652 g/ml), a spread of 0.47%. These are one density rounded twice, not two measurements. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists cocoa (unsweetened) at 42 g per half cup, implying 84 g per cup or 0.3550 g/ml. King Arthur's Recipe Success Guide separately states their measuring method for dry ingredients as spoon-and-sweep, though the Ingredient Weight Chart does not attach a method to the cocoa figure itself, so the method attribution is weaker than for flour where King Arthur cited weight and method on the same page. Dutch-processed and natural cocoa powder are treated as one entry here because they weigh the same. USDA publishes Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa at FDC 169594 with a cup portion of 86 g, matching the natural entry; alkalisation changes flavour, colour and pH, and shifts the potassium and calcium content, but does not measurably change particle density. America's Test Kitchen's cocoa taste test recommends Dutch-processed for baking on the basis of fat content and starch behaviour, but this is a flavour and cookery finding rather than a density one. Method variation exists in principle. America's Test Kitchen's Hot Cocoa recipe explicitly measures cocoa by dip-and-sweep, which suggests some baking authorities treat cocoa as a scoop-and-level ingredient rather than a spooned one. USDA's portion data does not distinguish the two, and King Arthur's chart implicitly uses their default spooned technique. If the two methods produced meaningfully different densities the entry would split into states as flour does, but the observed 2.4% gap between USDA's likely-scooped figure and King Arthur's stated-spoon-and-sweep figure sits well inside category tolerance. This may reflect that cocoa's fineness makes bridging less pronounced than in flour, since a fine powder settles more predictably than one with larger, irregular particles. Hershey's own container labels give a tablespoon at 5 g, implying 80 g per cup on the customary volume. That figure is not used here. Nutrition-label tablespoons round to the nearest whole gram on a 14.8 ml spoon, giving a rounding band of roughly 20%, which is wider than the difference the source would resolve. The same convention appears on other retail cocoa containers and is a labelling standard rather than an independent measurement. No standards body publishes a bulk density for cocoa powder. Codex Alimentarius standards for cocoa products cover composition and grading rather than physical density, so the standards route that resolves olive oil and canola oil is not available here. Two independent sources agree, which is enough to publish; confidence stays medium until a third independent measurement confirms it. ### Coconut (sweetened, shredded) https://exactcups.com/coconut-sweetened-shredded/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: sweetened shredded coconut, sweetened coconut, shredded coconut sweetened, Baker's Angel Flake coconut, coconut flakes sweetened. King Arthur: 85 g (3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, sweetened shredded pieces loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 93 g (3.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 46.5 g; 1/4 cup = 23.3 g; 1 tbsp = 5.8 g; 1 tsp = 1.9 g (0.3931 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.44 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 93 g per cup. Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), sweetened, shredded (SR Legacy, NBD 12179 / FDC ID 168586). Published: 1 cup shredded = 93 g. Density 0.3931 g/mL. USDA's naming combines desiccated and shredded terminology, but the record measures standard commercial sweetened shredded coconut of the Baker's Angel Flake variety (501 kcal/100g reflects the sugar and coconut fat content). - King Arthur: 85 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Coconut (sweetened, shredded)', 1 cup (85 g/cup). Density 0.3593 g/mL. Agrees with USDA to within 9.4%, at the edge of the 10% milled tolerance. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Sweetened shredded coconut publishes at 93 grams per cup, with two authoritative sources in acceptable agreement at 9.4% (just inside the 10% milled tolerance). USDA SR Legacy record 168586 measures the standard commercial product, the sugar-coated shredded coconut sold under names like Baker's Angel Flake, at 93 g/cup. King Arthur publishes 85 g/cup for the same nominal state. The gap sits at the edge of tolerance and likely reflects differences in fill method between the two measurement standards, plus real variance across commercial brands that use different sugar-to-coconut ratios. Sweetened shredded coconut is one entry point into a broader coconut cluster on the site where the density story is unusually rich. King Arthur's chart alone lists five distinct dried coconut forms, and the cup weights vary widely between them: sweetened shredded and unsweetened desiccated and toasted all sit at 85 g/cup, unsweetened large flakes at 60 g/cup, and unsweetened shredded at 53 g/cup. The physics behind these differences comes down to two independent variables acting together. Particle geometry drives one axis: desiccated coconut is very finely ground into small dense particles that pack tightly, shredded unsweetened coconut is long stringy fibers that tangle with substantial air gaps, and large flakes are broad flat pieces that stack loosely but with less air than shredded fibers. Sugar coating drives the other axis: sweetened shreds weigh about 15% more than unsweetened ones (93 g/cup against 80 g/cup for the unsweetened medium shreds sold by Bob's Red Mill, Anthony's and NOW) because the sugar coating fills gaps between the fibers and adds direct mass. King Arthur's 53 g/cup for unsweetened shredded is rejected on the unsweetened shredded coconut entry. The USDA and King Arthur agreement on sweetened shredded at 93 versus 85 g/cup is a two-source agreement even though it sits at the tolerance edge. Bakers should treat the published figure (USDA's 93 g/cup) as reasonable for standard commercial sweetened shredded coconut, and expect somewhat lower weight if using less densely coated brands. Compared to the site's other coconut entries already in the database, this sweetened shredded coconut is much less dense than coconut flour (128 g/cup, dry powdered coconut meat that packs very tightly) but similar in density behavior to the general dried-shredded family. Coconut oil at 218 g/cup (fat category) is far denser because it's pure fat with no air, and coconut milk at 240 g/cup (liquid) is water-based. The unsweetened desiccated, unsweetened shredded and unsweetened flake entries sit beside this one, so each of King Arthur's dried coconut forms has its own sourced figure. Category assignment is milled rather than sugar because sweetened shredded coconut is fundamentally fibrous plant material similar to wheat bran or flax meal. The sugar coating adds mass and changes flavor but does not change the fundamental packing behavior from fibrous-to-crystalline. The sugar category is reserved for granulated sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits like raisins and currants, all of which pack as small hard particulate solids. Shredded coconut, even when sweetened, retains its fibrous strand character. Confidence is medium. Two authoritative sources agree within tolerance, the USDA record provides direct portion data with a clear analytical trail, and the physical mechanism is well-understood. The main source of remaining variance is brand-level: different manufacturers use different sugar-coating ratios, different shred lengths, and different moisture content in their finished product. Bakers using recipes that specify a particular brand should trust that recipe's implicit density; bakers substituting brands should weigh their coconut when precision matters. ### Coconut (unsweetened, desiccated) https://exactcups.com/coconut-unsweetened-desiccated/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: unsweetened desiccated coconut, desiccated coconut, unsweetened coconut, coconut desiccated, fine shred coconut, unsulfured desiccated coconut. King Arthur: 85 g (3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, finely shredded/desiccated unsweetened pieces loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 85 g (3 oz); 1/2 cup = 42.5 g; 1/4 cup = 21.3 g; 1 tbsp = 5.3 g; 1 tsp = 1.8 g (0.3593 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.67 cups. Sources: - King Arthur: 85 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Coconut (unsweetened, desiccated)', 1 cup (85 g/cup). Density 0.3593 g/mL. - Let's Do Organic (producer package data): 85 g per cup. Let's Do Organic 100% Organic Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, 8 oz (227 g) package explicitly labeled as containing 2 2/3 cups. That works out to 227 g / 2.667 cups = 85.1 g/cup, exact match to King Arthur. Producer measurement used as second source because USDA SR Legacy record 170170 (Nuts, coconut meat, dried desiccated, not sweetened) publishes only 100 g and 1 oz portions and no cup portion for this product state. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Unsweetened desiccated coconut publishes at 85 grams per cup, with King Arthur and Let's Do Organic package data in exact agreement. King Arthur publishes 85 g/cup on their Ingredient Weight Chart, and Let's Do Organic's 8-ounce (227 g) package is explicitly labeled as 2 2/3 cups, which computes to 85.1 g/cup. Bob's Red Mill's unsweetened shredded coconut serves as a third data point at 80 g/cup (derived from their labeled 3 tablespoons = 15 g serving size), which sits within reasonable manufacturing variance of the 85 g figure. USDA SR Legacy record 170170 (Nuts, coconut meat, dried desiccated, not sweetened) provides the definitive nutritional composition for this ingredient (660 kcal/100g, 64.5% fat) but does not publish a cup portion, only 100 g and 1 oz serving sizes. This entry uses producer package data as the second authoritative source to compensate for the USDA cup portion gap. The density of 0.3593 g/mL is unusual to see broken into physical mechanism. Desiccated coconut is finely shredded and dried coconut meat, essentially small dry particles rather than the long fibrous strands of coarser shredded coconut. The fine particles pack tightly against each other with modest interstitial air, giving a density well below water despite the ingredient itself being quite dense per gram (mostly fat and fiber, very little water). The 85 g/cup figure is close to a natural packing limit for finely ground dry coconut meat. A terminology conflict across manufacturers deserves flagging. Different brands use different names for similar cuts. Bob's Red Mill labels their fine-shred product as 'unsweetened shredded' (80 g/cup) while Let's Do Organic labels their similar-density product as 'unsweetened shredded' (85 g/cup); King Arthur separates 'desiccated' (85 g/cup) from 'shredded' (53 g/cup) explicitly, treating them as different states. In KA's terminology, desiccated means finely ground and shredded means longer stringy fibers. In Bob's and Let's Do terminology, shredded covers the fine-ground state that KA calls desiccated. Bakers cross-referencing recipes and product labels should verify which cut a specific product is by measuring or by checking the packaged serving weight. Compared to the coconut cluster on the site, unsweetened desiccated at 85 g/cup lands at the same cup weight as sweetened shredded (also 85 g in KA, 93 g in USDA) despite the two being different products. The convergence happens because two independent mechanisms produce similar outcomes: sweetened shredded packs densely due to sugar coating filling interstitial gaps, and unsweetened desiccated packs densely because the finely ground particles have less air between them to begin with. Unsweetened medium shreds (80 g/cup on the unsweetened shredded coconut entry) are a little lighter, and unsweetened large flakes (broad flat pieces, 60 g/cup) much lighter, because both retain more air between pieces than the fine desiccated cut. King Arthur's 53 g/cup for unsweetened shredded is a third below every shredded coconut label and is rejected on that entry. Category assignment is milled. Desiccated coconut is dried plant material similar to wheat bran, flax meal, and coconut flour, all of which sit in milled. The sugar category is reserved for granulated sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits, all of which pack as small hard particulate solids. Desiccated coconut is fibrous plant particulate rather than crystalline, so milled is the correct home. Confidence is medium. Three sources (KA, Let's Do Organic package label, Bob's Red Mill product data) cluster tightly at 80-85 g/cup, and USDA compositional data confirms the ingredient identity. Confidence is not high because USDA does not publish a cup portion, which is unusual for a common commercial ingredient. Bakers should treat 85 g/cup as accurate for standard unsweetened desiccated coconut and check the package label if using a brand that specifies a different serving weight. ### Coconut flour https://exactcups.com/coconut-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: organic coconut flour, gluten-free coconut flour, dehydrated coconut meat flour. King Arthur: 128 g (4.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 116–128 g. Two sources disagree by 10.3%, just over the 10% milled tolerance. The variation reflects real differences in grind fineness between manufacturer products, so this entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 128 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Coconut Flour', 1 cup = 128 g. Density 0.5411 g/mL. - USDA FoodData Central (Branded Foods): 116 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods records for coconut flour show brand variation. Pereg Coconut Flour: 1/4 cup = 29 g, extrapolating to 116 g per cup (0.4903 g/mL). Simply Balanced Organic Coconut Flour (Target), FDC 2660191, has comparable serving weight. No SR Legacy record with a cup portion is published for coconut flour. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Two sources publish figures for a cup of coconut flour and they differ by 10.3%, just over the 10% milled tolerance. This entry publishes the range they cover rather than a single figure, at low confidence, because the variation reflects real differences in manufacturer grind rather than a measurement error. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 1 cup at 128 g, implying a density of 0.5411 g/mL. USDA Branded Foods records for coconut flour show manufacturer variation from approximately 116 g per cup (Pereg Coconut Flour, 29 g per 1/4 cup serving, extrapolated) to approximately 120 g per cup (Simply Balanced Organic Coconut Flour, FDC 2660191, standard 1/4 cup serving). King Arthur sits at the heavy end of the range; USDA Branded manufacturer figures cluster in the middle at 116-120 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy has no cup-portion record for coconut flour, unlike wheat flour and cocoa powder which have long-established reference measurements. This is common for specialty and newer commercial products: SR Legacy predates the coconut-flour surge in North American gluten-free and paleo baking, and the reference database has not been extended to cover it. USDA Branded Foods fills the gap through manufacturer-submitted label data, which is why brand differences appear at the cup level even though the underlying nutritional data (calories, fat, fiber) is consistent per gram across products. The physical reason for brand variation is grind fineness. Coconut flour is produced by drying and grinding coconut meat after coconut oil has been extracted, and different manufacturers use different final grinds. Finer grinds trap more air when scooped and settle into a lower bulk density; coarser grinds pack tighter. A fluffier flour weighs less per cup even though the underlying material is chemically identical. This is the same mechanism that causes brand-level variation in vital wheat gluten (published here as a range for the same reason) and that separates dip-and-sweep from spoon-and-sweep measurement in wheat flour. Coconut flour sits in the milled category alongside wheat and other flours. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 10.3% gap between sources exceeds it, hence the range publish. Coconut flour has a distinctive baking property that matters for the range: it is highly absorbent, requiring approximately four to six times its weight in liquid to hydrate fully, compared to about half its weight for wheat flour. This means a 12 g error in a cup measurement (the difference between 116 g and 128 g) translates to a 48-72 g error in required liquid, which meaningfully changes final batter or dough consistency. For coconut flour more than most flours, weighing rather than measuring by volume is essential. Related coconut products not covered by this entry: sweetened shredded coconut (93 g per cup), unsweetened shredded coconut (80 g per cup) and unsweetened coconut flakes (60 g per cup), each with its own entry, coconut oil (already published at 218 g per cup, high confidence), coconut milk (already published as range 226-241 g per cup), coconut cream, coconut milk powder, and coconut sugar. Each is a distinct product with distinct sourcing. No standards body publishes a bulk density for coconut flour. Codex Alimentarius standards for coconut products cover moisture content, oil extraction and grading rather than physical density. Two authoritative sources with real brand variation, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until either a third authoritative source resolves the split or SR Legacy adds a cup-portion reference for coconut flour. ### Coconut Milk Powder https://exactcups.com/coconut-milk-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: powdered coconut milk, dried coconut milk, coconut cream powder, instant coconut milk powder, santan powder. King Arthur: 114 g (4 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 96–144 g. Sources span 96-144 g per cup, a 50% gap, over the 10% tolerance. Native Forest and NOW label a tablespoon at 8 g (128 g per cup), Nutricost 2 tablespoons at 15 g (120 g), Maggi's metric recipe works out to 104 g, Z Natural labels a tablespoon at 6 g (96 g) and Anthony's at 9 g (144 g); King Arthur gives 114 g. The brands use different carriers and fat levels. No single figure is published. Sources: - Native Forest Coconut Milk Powder (producer label): 128 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Vitacost), 5.25-oz bag: 1 Tbsp (8 g), extrapolating to 128 g per cup (density 0.541 g/mL). - NOW Foods Organic Coconut Milk Powder (producer label): 128 g per cup. Brand site nutrition panel: 1 tbsp (8 g), extrapolating to 128 g per cup. - Nutricost Coconut Milk Powder (producer label): 120 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Vitacost): 1 Scoop (2 Tbsp) (15 g), extrapolating to 120 g per cup (density 0.507 g/mL). - Maggi Coconut Milk Powder Mix (producer directions, UK): 104.1 g per cup. Brand site: 220 ml (7/8 cup) water + 55 g (1/2 cup) powder = 250 ml (1 cup) coconut milk. The cup is the 250 mL metric cup, so 55 g fills 125 mL: 0.440 g/mL, 104 g per US cup. The 3/4-cup line, 85 g, works out to 107 g. Per 100 g: fat 65.2 g, carbohydrate 25.2 g, protein 6.8 g. - Z Natural Foods Organic Coconut Milk Powder (producer): 96 g per cup. Brand nutrition facts article: per tablespoon (6 grams), extrapolating to 96 g per cup (density 0.406 g/mL). - Anthony's Organic Coconut Milk Powder (producer label): 144 g per cup. Label as reproduced by ReciPal from anthonysgoods.com: 1 tablespoon (9 g), extrapolating to 144 g per cup (density 0.609 g/mL). CalorieKing lists the same product at 0.3 oz per tablespoon, about 136 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 114 g per cup. KA lists "Coconut Milk Powder" at 1/2 cup = 2 oz = 57 g, extrapolating to 114 g per US cup, density 0.482 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of coconut milk powder weighs 96 to 144 g (3.4 to 5.1 oz), depending on the brand. Native Forest and NOW Foods label a tablespoon at 8 g (128 g per cup), Nutricost labels 2 tablespoons at 15 g (120 g), Maggi's recipe works out to about 104 g, Z Natural gives a tablespoon at 6 g (96 g) and Anthony's at 9 g (144 g). King Arthur's 114 g sits inside that span. The brands disagree by far more than the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Coconut milk powder is coconut milk dried onto a carrier so that it stays a free-flowing powder instead of a block of coconut fat. Most US natural-foods brands use tapioca maltodextrin and gum acacia; Maggi's lists coconut milk powder (78%), maltodextrin and sodium caseinate, a milk protein, so check the label if you need it dairy-free. It is mostly fat: Maggi's label gives 65 g per 100 g, and the Malaysian food composition table gives 60 g for an instant coconut milk powder. Whisked into hot water it becomes coconut milk; spooned in dry it goes into curries, soups, smoothies, coffee and baking mixes. USDA's Standard Reference has no record for coconut milk powder, so the figures here come from producers. Native Forest's label and NOW Foods' both give 1 tablespoon at 8 g, the only figure two brands share. Nutricost labels a 2-tablespoon scoop at 15 g, 120 g per cup. Maggi's UK directions mix 55 g, which they call half a cup, with 220 mL of water; their cup is the 250 mL metric cup, so 55 g fills 125 mL, about 104 g per US cup, and their three-quarter-cup line, 85 g, works out to 107 g. Z Natural Foods gives 6 g per tablespoon, 96 g per cup, and Anthony's label, as transcribed by ReciPal, 9 g per tablespoon, 144 g per cup. Label tablespoons are printed in whole grams, so each 1 g step is 16 g per cup. The physical check starts from the fat. Coconut fat is lighter than water, about 0.92 g/mL, so a powder that is nearly two thirds fat is light even before air is counted: from Maggi's composition the solid powder works out to about 1.06 g/mL, against about 1.43 for buttermilk powder. At 96 to 144 g per cup, coconut milk powder runs from under two fifths solid to well over half, the difference between a fluffy, agglomerated powder and a fine, dense one. None of the figures is physically impossible, so none is rejected; they differ because the products do, in carrier, fat content and how the drying leaves them. King Arthur lists coconut milk powder at 1/2 cup = 2 oz = 57 g, 114 g per cup, inside the range, so it is not a correction. King Arthur's directions for its own coconut milk powder, now discontinued, mix 1 part powder with 3 parts hot water. Practical guidance: weigh coconut milk powder, or use your own bag's label: multiply its grams per tablespoon by 16 for a cup. For an unknown brand, 120 g per cup, 7.5 g per tablespoon, is the middle of the range. To make about a cup of coconut milk, Maggi uses 55 g of powder in 220 mL of water. The powder takes up moisture and clumps once opened, so keep it sealed and break up clumps before measuring. ### Corn Kernels https://exactcups.com/corn-kernels/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: sweet corn kernels, frozen corn, frozen corn kernels, fresh corn kernels, whole kernel corn, corn off the cob. King Arthur: 152 g (5.4 oz), fresh, cut from the cob. #### Frozen, straight from the bag Published: 1 cup = 136 g (4.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 68 g; 1/4 cup = 34 g; 1 tbsp = 8.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.8 g (0.5748 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.67 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, unprepared" (FDC 168398): 136 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 136 g (density 0.575 g/mL) and a 10-oz package = 284 g. - Birds Eye Steamfresh Super Sweet Corn (producer label): 142.5 g per cup. SmartLabel nutrition panel, the same line on the Organic and 5-lb Sweet Corn labels: 2/3 cup (95 g) frozen, extrapolating to 142.5 g per cup (density 0.602 g/mL). - Cascadian Farm Sweet Corn (producer label): 142.5 g per cup. Label as reproduced by MyFoodDiary: 2/3 cup (95 g), measured frozen, extrapolating to 142.5 g per cup. - Great Value Frozen Whole Kernel Golden Corn (producer label): 135 g per cup. Label as reproduced by FatSecret: 2/3 cup (90 g), extrapolating to 135 g per cup (density 0.571 g/mL). - Green Giant Niblets frozen corn (producer labels): SmartLabel: Niblets 2/3 cup (85 g) frozen; Extra Sweet Niblets 84 g, 2/3 cup frozen. 85 g is the reference serving for vegetables and the label prints the nearest household measure beside it, so the pair is not read as a density (it would be 126-128 g per cup). - Kroger Frozen Super Sweet Corn (producer label): Retail label: 1/2 cup (85 g), the 85 g reference serving beside the nearest household measure; read as a density it would be 170 g per cup, above every measured frozen cup. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. #### Fresh, cut from the cob Published: 1 cup = 145 g (5.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 72.5 g; 1/4 cup = 36.3 g; 1 tbsp = 9.1 g; 1 tsp = 3 g (0.6129 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.56 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Corn, sweet, yellow, raw" (FDC 169998): 145 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 145 g (density 0.613 g/mL). Water 76.0 g, carbohydrate 18.7 g (sugars 6.26 g), protein 3.27 g, fat 1.35 g per 100 g. - USDA FNDDS "Corn, raw" (FDC 2709783): 150 g per cup. USDA's survey database publishes 1 cup = 150 g (density 0.634 g/mL). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 152 g per cup. KA lists "Corn (fresh or frozen)" at 1/4 cup = 1 1/3 oz = 38 g, extrapolating to 152 g per US cup, density 0.642 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of frozen corn kernels weighs 136 g (4.8 oz) measured straight from the bag, and a cup of fresh kernels cut from the cob 145 g (5.1 oz). USDA weighs both; the Birds Eye, Cascadian Farm and Great Value labels agree with the frozen figure, and USDA's survey database and King Arthur with the fresh one. King Arthur's 152 g, given for fresh or frozen, agrees for fresh kernels and is heavy for frozen. Sweet corn is picked young, while the kernels are still soft and sugary; USDA puts raw yellow sweet corn at 76% water, 19% carbohydrate, 3% protein and 1% fat. Frozen corn is cut from the cob, blanched and frozen loose, so each kernel stays separate. That is what makes frozen and fresh measure differently: frozen kernels are hard and do not settle, while fresh-cut kernels are moist, sometimes still joined in rows, and slump into the gaps. For frozen corn, USDA SR Legacy "Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, unprepared" (FDC 168398) lists 1 cup at 136 g. Birds Eye's Steamfresh Super Sweet Corn label gives 2/3 cup at 95 g, measured frozen, as does Cascadian Farm's, both 142.5 g per cup, and Great Value's gives 2/3 cup at 90 g, 135 g per cup. All four are within 6% of each other. Green Giant prints 2/3 cup at 84 to 85 g and Kroger 1/2 cup at 85 g; 85 g is the reference serving for vegetables and the volume beside it is the nearest household measure, so those pairs are not read as densities. For fresh kernels, USDA SR Legacy "Corn, sweet, yellow, raw" (FDC 169998) lists 1 cup at 145 g and USDA's survey database (FNDDS, FDC 2709783) 150 g. King Arthur lists corn, fresh or frozen, at 1/4 cup = 1 1/3 oz = 38 g, 152 g per cup, within 5% of both. The physical check: corn kernels are a little denser than water, so a cup at 136 to 163 g is somewhere between half and two thirds corn, the rest air. Hard frozen kernels leave the most gaps; once thawed they settle. USDA's school Food Buying Guide counts a pound of frozen corn at about 2 3/4 cups of thawed kernels, 163 g per cup, and the Culinary Institute of America gives 1 cup of kernels at 163 g. That is why one figure cannot be right for fresh and frozen alike: King Arthur's 152 g sits between frozen and thawed, and matches fresh. Canned corn is another measure again. USDA's drained canned whole kernels weigh 164 g per cup, and the Food Buying Guide's drained canned corn about 195 g; labels that include the packing liquid run higher still. Practical guidance: measure frozen corn frozen, straight from the bag, at 136 g per cup; a 10-oz package, 284 g, is a little over 2 cups. For fresh corn, a cup of kernels is 145 g. If a recipe was written with thawed corn, expect a cup to hold about 163 g. For cornbread, salsa and chowder, where a little more or less corn does no harm, cups are fine; where the corn's moisture matters, as in fritters, weigh it. ### Cornmeal https://exactcups.com/cornmeal/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 156 g (5.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (yellow, degermed, enriched) Published: 1 cup = 157 g (5.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 78.5 g; 1/4 cup = 39.2 g; 1 tbsp = 9.8 g; 1 tsp = 3.3 g (0.6636 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.44 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 157 g per cup. FDC 168867 (Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 157 g. Density 0.6636 g/mL. Composition: ~12% water, 77.7% carbohydrate, 8.5% protein, 1.7% fat. - King Arthur: 156 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cornmeal (yellow, Quaker)', 1 cup = 156 g, density 0.6594 g/mL. Quaker's yellow cornmeal is the dominant US supermarket brand of degermed enriched cornmeal. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Cornmeal is dried corn kernels ground to varying degrees of coarseness, with or without the germ and bran depending on the process. The version this entry describes is the yellow degermed enriched cornmeal that dominates the American supermarket — the Quaker Oats brand in the round cardboard tube being the archetypal example, though many store brands and other manufacturers produce essentially the same product. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of degermed enriched yellow cornmeal at 157 grams (FDC 168867, Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow). That gives a bulk density of 0.6636 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes the same product at 156 grams per cup and 0.6594 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 1 percent, well inside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category. King Arthur separately lists whole grain cornmeal at 138 grams per cup and polenta at 163 grams per cup. Both are legitimately different physical products from the standard degermed cornmeal, but neither is included as a state in this entry pending a second authoritative source. USDA publishes whole grain yellow cornmeal (FDC 169697) but with a portion whose cup weight is not as cleanly cited in accessible references. Polenta is not a distinct USDA entry; it is coarsely ground yellow cornmeal, chemically identical to standard cornmeal but ground to different specifications. The three cornmeal grinds differ in bulk density in ways the physics predicts. Fine yellow (this entry) is degermed, and the endosperm-only grind packs tightly with less air, giving density around 0.66 to 0.68 grams per millilitre. Whole grain includes the bran, which is coarser and produces a bulkier grind with more air pockets, dropping density to around 0.52 to 0.58. Coarse polenta grind has larger but uniform particles that stack together tightly with fewer bridging gaps, giving density around 0.69 based on King Arthur's figure. The pattern — whole grain lightest, polenta heaviest, standard between — reflects the interaction of particle size, bran presence and packing behaviour. Related products this entry does not cover: corn flour, which is more finely ground than cornmeal and denser per cup (roughly 130 grams per cup); masa harina, which is nixtamalized (lime-treated) cornmeal used for tortillas and tamales, with distinct alkaline flavour and different behaviour in baking; grits, which is coarsely ground corn similar to polenta but usually white and eaten as a cooked porridge; and popcorn, which is a distinct corn variety not ground into meal at all. FDA identity standards for cornmeal are at 21 CFR 137.250 (yellow corn meal), 21 CFR 137.260 (bolted yellow corn meal), 21 CFR 137.270 (enriched corn meals) and 21 CFR 137.275 (self-rising yellow corn meal), addressing composition, moisture, particle size and enrichment standards. Codex Alimentarius standard for degermed maize meal is CXS 154-1985. Neither publishes bulk density; both focus on identity and composition. The category here is 'milled' because cornmeal behaves like other fine milled powders in a measuring cup — it clumps, bridges over air pockets, and its density depends on scoop method and grain fineness. The 10 percent tolerance applies. For the yellow degermed state, both sources sit well inside it. ### Cornstarch https://exactcups.com/cornstarch/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: corn starch, cornflour, corn flour (British), maize starch. King Arthur: 112 g (4 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 112 g (4 oz) if you spoon it into the cup and level it; 1 tbsp = 7 g. #### Method not specified No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 112–128 g. Two sources disagree by 13.3%, over the 10% tolerance for this category. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 128 g per cup. FDC 169698, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 128 g - King Arthur Baking: 112 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, cornstarch, 1/4 cup = 28 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: Two sources 13.3% apart, over the 10% tolerance for the milled category, so this entry publishes a range rather than a figure. USDA FDC 169698 gives a cup of cornstarch at 128 g (0.5410 g/ml). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart gives 28 g per quarter cup, implying 112 g per cup or 0.4734 g/ml. Neither source names a method on the page cited. King Arthur's Recipe Success Guide separately states their measuring method for dry ingredients as spoon-and-sweep, which is likely the source of the difference: pure cornstarch is the most cake-prone ingredient in the milled category because it is 100% starch with no diluent, and the same reason it is added to powdered sugar as an anti-caking agent explains why cornstarch on its own compacts hard in the box and needs breaking up. A dip-and-sweep cup pushed into a settled box captures more material than a spooned cup does, and 12.5% is within the range that measurement technique can plausibly account for. This mirrors the flour case, where dip-and-sweep and spoon-and-sweep produce different weights of the same substance, but with only one source per method the entry cannot be split by method and is held as a range instead. The 128 g figure appears everywhere the USDA data has been quoted, including Wikipedia's cornstarch article which lists a density of 0.54 g/ml matching USDA exactly. That does not add a source; Wikipedia's density is USDA's cup portion divided by the customary cup volume, so citing it would be citing USDA twice. King Arthur's 112 g figure is the outlier in the sense that most published converters use USDA's 128 g, but King Arthur's chart is a first-hand source that names its own conditions of use, so the disagreement is real rather than a copy error. Nutrition-label servings for retail cornstarch (Argo, Clabber Girl, store-brand) declare 8 g per tablespoon or 30 g per portion at various fractions of a cup, but these round to the nearest whole gram on a small measure and do not count as measurements, for the reasons given on the cocoa powder page. No standards body publishes a bulk density for cornstarch. USDA's technical report on cornstarch handling (2025) covers organic classification and food safety rather than physical density, and Codex Alimentarius standards for starches (CXS 87-1981 and successors) specify moisture, ash, protein and sulphur dioxide limits rather than bulk density. Two sources only, and the range is published because no third source arbitrates between the spooned and unspooned figures. ### Couscous, Dry https://exactcups.com/couscous/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: dry couscous, uncooked couscous, Moroccan couscous, Maghrebi couscous, semolina couscous. #### Standard, dry, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 173.2 g (6.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 86.6 g; 1/4 cup = 43.3 g; 1 tbsp = 10.8 g; 1 tsp = 3.6 g (0.732 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.31 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Couscous, dry: 173.2 g per cup. USDA reference record. 183 g per metric cup (173 g per US cup, density 0.7320 g/mL). Anchor for this entry. - Bob's Red Mill Golden Couscous — nutrition label: 186 g per cup. Fine Moroccan-style couscous. 1/3 cup dry serving = 62 g, which extrapolates to 186 g per US cup at density 0.786 g/mL. Within 7.5 percent of the USDA anchor and inside the 10 percent milled tolerance. - Bob's Red Mill Natural Pearl Couscous — nutrition label: 171.1 g per cup. Israeli/pearl couscous, a larger toasted-pasta form of the ingredient. 1/3 cup dry serving = 57 g, extrapolating to 171 g per US cup at density 0.723 g/mL. Essentially matches the USDA anchor despite the very different granule size. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Dry couscous packs at about 173 g per US cup. USDA and multiple producer labels agree within 8 percent, and both the fine Moroccan style and the larger Israeli pearl style fall within tolerance of the same figure despite their very different granule sizes. Couscous is small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina — a traditional North African and Maghrebi staple made by moistening semolina flour, rolling it between the palms into tiny beads, steaming the beads briefly, and drying them. The result is a dried granule that rehydrates in hot water in minutes, unlike the wheat berries or pasta shapes that share its base ingredient. Three forms are sold under the couscous name in US supermarkets. Moroccan (fine) couscous, roughly 1 mm granules, is the default in North American recipes and the form USDA's record covers. Israeli couscous (also called pearl couscous or ptitim), roughly 3 mm balls, sits alongside it on most supermarket shelves; it is technically a toasted extruded pasta rather than steam-rolled semolina, but sold as couscous. Lebanese couscous, called moghrabieh, is 5 to 6 mm and rarer in mass-market US retail. Sources converge closely. USDA FoodData Central's Couscous, dry gives 183 g per metric cup, which works out to 173 g per US cup at a density of 0.732 g/mL. Bob's Red Mill Golden Couscous, a fine Moroccan-style product, labels a 1/3 cup dry serving as 62 g, extrapolating to 186 g per US cup at density 0.786 g/mL — within 8 percent of USDA and inside the 10 percent milled tolerance. Bob's Red Mill Natural Pearl Couscous labels 1/3 cup dry as 57 g (171 g per US cup, density 0.723 g/mL), essentially matching USDA. The fine and pearl forms have very different granule sizes but end up at similar cup weights because the larger pearl balls, while denser per particle, pack in a different geometric arrangement (larger voids between fewer particles) that compensates for the extra particle density. The net cup weight ends up within tolerance across both product identities. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list couscous in any form. The chart is silent on this ingredient, so there is no correction opportunity; the site publishes what USDA and the producer labels already agree on. Couscous cooks by absorption rather than boiling. Fine Moroccan couscous rehydrates in an equal volume of hot water in 5 minutes off the heat; pearl couscous simmers in about 1.25 volumes of liquid for 10 minutes. Cooked couscous nearly triples in volume from dry, so 1 cup dry (173 g) becomes roughly 2.5 to 3 cups cooked. For recipes calling for a cup of dry couscous, measuring by weight is more reliable than by volume because the fine granules compact under a scoop; the difference between a loosely spooned and a firmly packed cup can exceed 20 percent. Couscous at 173 g per cup sits in the mid-range milled band alongside semolina flour (163 g/cup in this database, same base grain in a different processing state) and above masa harina (93 g/cup, treated with lime and much lighter). Its density above semolina flour reflects the compaction from the steam-and-dry process that produces the granules — each granule is denser than the loose flour it started from, and although the granules pack with air spaces between them, the net effect is a slightly heavier cup than plain semolina. ### Cracked Wheat https://exactcups.com/cracked-wheat/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: cracked whole wheat, cracked wheat cereal, kibbled wheat, cracked red wheat, wheat grits. King Arthur: 149 g (5.3 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 160 g (5.6 oz) for dry cracked wheat; finely cracked wheat lands near the top of the range; 1 tbsp = 10 g. #### Standard, dry, uncooked, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 149–166 g. Sources span 149-166 g per cup, an 11% gap, just over the 10% tolerance. King Arthur gives 149 g, Bob's Red Mill's label 40 g per quarter cup (160 g per cup) and Janie's Mill's weight chart 166 g. Mills crack the wheat to different sizes and the bag rarely says which; no single figure is published. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 149 g per cup. KA lists "Cracked wheat" at 1 cup = 5 1/4 oz = 149 g, density 0.630 g/mL. - Bob's Red Mill Cracked Wheat hot cereal (producer label): 160 g per cup. Label serving 1/4 cup (40 g), as transcribed by FatSecret and Eat This Much (CalorieKing: 1.4 oz), extrapolating to 160 g per cup (density 0.676 g/mL). Ingredient: whole grain hard red wheat. 40 g is the reference amount for dry hot cereal, so this label does not decide a figure on its own. - Janie's Mill, Weight Conversion Chart: 166 g per cup. Cracked Wheat, 1 cup = 5.8 oz = 166 g (density 0.702 g/mL), measured by scooping fluffy spoonfuls into the cup and levelling gently without packing. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of dry cracked wheat weighs 149 to 166 g (5.3 to 5.9 oz). King Arthur gives 149 g, Bob's Red Mill's label works out to 160 g, and Janie's Mill weighs 166 g. The 11% spread is just over the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range; 160 g is a sound working figure for a typical medium crack. Cracked wheat is whole wheat berries cut into pieces between rollers or cutters and nothing else: raw, with the bran and germ still on. It is not bulgur, though shops and recipes often swap the names. Bulgur is wheat that has been parboiled, dried and then cracked, so it is already cooked and only needs soaking; cracked wheat is raw and needs real cooking, about 1 cup of grain to 3 cups of water as a hot cereal in Bob's Red Mill's method. Some imported bags labelled "cracked wheat" are bulgur, so check for the word parboiled. King Arthur gives 1 cup of cracked wheat at 5 1/4 oz, 149 g. Janie's Mill, an Illinois stone mill, gives 5.8 oz, 166 g, measured by spooning the grain into the cup and levelling it without packing. Bob's Red Mill's cracked wheat cereal, milled from hard red wheat, labels a quarter cup as 40 g, 160 g per cup. USDA has no record for dry cracked wheat. Why the sources differ: there is no standard size for cracked wheat. One mill cracks each berry into a few large pieces, another into many small ones, and most bags include fine flour-like bits as well. Small pieces and fines settle into the gaps between larger ones, so a finer crack weighs more per cup. Janie's heavy figure and King Arthur's light one are both plausible for the products they measured, and King Arthur's sits inside the range, so it is accepted. The physical check: a wheat kernel is roughly 1.3 to 1.4 times as dense as water, and whole wheat berries weigh 192 g per cup on this site. Cracking a berry gives angular pieces that cannot sit as closely as rounded whole kernels, so the cup lightens to 149 to 166 g, the pieces filling about half of it. Bulgur, whose pieces were puffed and dried by parboiling, is lighter still: USDA weighs a cup of dry bulgur at 140 g, and bulgur on this site spans 140 to 172 g by grind. Bob's Red Mill's label is kept with a caution. Forty grams is the regulatory reference amount for a dry hot cereal, so the label weight may be that serving with a quarter cup set beside it, not a weighed quarter cup. It agrees with the other two sources, but it does not decide the figure. Practical guidance: use 160 g per cup of dry cracked wheat, 80 g per half cup and 40 g per quarter cup, and expect a finely cracked product to land near the top of the range. For cracked wheat bread, where the grain is usually soaked first to soften it, weigh the dry grain and the soaking water separately. ### Cranberries (fresh) https://exactcups.com/cranberries-fresh/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: fresh cranberries, cranberries, cranberries frozen, frozen cranberries, whole cranberries, raw cranberries. King Arthur: 99 g (3.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, whole loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 95 g (3.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 47.5 g; 1/4 cup = 23.7 g; 1 tbsp = 5.9 g; 1 tsp = 2 g (0.4015 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.39 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 95 g per cup. Cranberries, raw (SR Legacy, NDB 09078). Published: 1 cup whole = 95 g. Density 0.4015 g/mL. Verified via calorie back-calculation: 44 kcal per cup whole divided by 46 kcal per 100 g equals 95.6 g. The same record also lists 1 cup chopped at approximately 111 g (density 0.4692 g/mL), demonstrating an 17% packing difference from chopping. - King Arthur: 99 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cranberries (fresh or frozen)', 1 cup (99 g/cup). Density 0.4185 g/mL. Agrees with USDA to within 4.2%. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Fresh cranberries are now the lightest fresh fruit on the site. USDA SR Legacy publishes raw cranberries at 95 grams per cup whole (density 0.4015 g/mL), and King Arthur publishes fresh or frozen at 99 grams per cup. The 4.2% gap between them is well inside the 10% milled tolerance and gives medium confidence in the published figure of 95 g/cup. Both sources describe the same standard state: whole raw berries loose in the cup, without shaking or packing. The physical explanation for the low density is that cranberries have internal air chambers. A ripe cranberry actually floats in water, which is how commercial harvesters gather them: fields are flooded, the berries are dislodged from the vines, and they bob to the surface for skimming. That same air-cavity structure means each berry contributes only about 40% as much mass per unit volume as an equivalent-sized solid fruit would. A cup of cranberries at 95 grams has a density of 0.4015 g/mL, which is 40% of water and roughly half the density of most solid fresh berries. Cranberries are also small (about 1 centimeter across) and roughly spherical, so they pack with substantial interstitial air on top of the internal air chambers, compounding the low density. The ordering across the site's fresh berries is now a clean physical narrative. Fresh cranberries at 95 g/cup are the lightest, followed by fresh raspberries at 123 g/cup (hollow drupelet aggregates), fresh blueberries at 140-170 g/cup (solid small spheres), and sliced strawberries at 166 g/cup (flat discs that stack efficiently). The ordering tracks internal structure: air chambers first, hollow cavities second, solid whole berries third, cut and stacked pieces last. Each step represents a real change in either the fruit's own density or the packing behavior of the shape it presents to the cup. Compared to the existing dried-cranberries entry, this fresh version is much lighter per cup. Dried cranberries publish at 114 to 160 g/cup (sugar category), reflecting the shift from a low-density fresh fruit with 87% water to a small dense particulate with 16% water. The mass of the sugar and structural fiber is preserved through drying, but the fruit shrinks in volume as water evaporates, producing a denser piece. King Arthur's chart lists dried cranberries at 114 g/cup, which sits at the low end of our published range for that entry. Category assignment is milled, following the fresh berry precedent established by blueberries-fresh and raspberries-fresh. Fresh whole small round fruits belong in milled rather than sugar because they are water-containing solid pieces (even with internal air) rather than crystalline or hard particulate solids. The sugar category is reserved for granulated sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits like raisins and currants, all of which pack as small hard particles. The dried version of cranberries fits sugar cleanly at 114-160 g/cup, but the fresh version does not. USDA also publishes a chopped state at approximately 111 g/cup, a 17% density increase from whole. That is a smaller gap than the whole-to-sliced difference for strawberries (15%) or the drupelet reorganization gaps seen in flax and pumpkin seeds. Cranberries are already close to a natural packing limit as whole berries because they are small and roughly spherical; chopping helps some but does not transform the packing behavior the way slicing does for a large irregular fruit like strawberries. Confidence is medium. Two authoritative sources (USDA SR Legacy and King Arthur) agree at 4.2%, and the physical mechanism is clear. Bakers should treat 95 g/cup as accurate for fresh whole cranberries in a scooped and leveled cup. Frozen cranberries follow the same figure because freezing does not meaningfully change the berry's packing density, which is why King Arthur groups fresh and frozen in a single row. ### Cream of Tartar https://exactcups.com/cream-of-tartar/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: potassium bitartrate, potassium acid tartrate, potassium hydrogen tartrate, E336. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 144–162 g. Producer and reference density varies from 144 g/cup (USDA composition reference at 3 g/teaspoon) to 162 g/cup (professional culinary references and CupOrGram baseline at 3.4 g/teaspoon), a 12.5% spread that slightly exceeds the milled tolerance of 10%. Cream of tartar is a fine crystalline potassium bitartrate powder that is slightly hygroscopic and packs differently based on settling from shipping and storage humidity. Real-world variance is genuine rather than measurement error. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central – Leavening Agents, Cream of Tartar (NDB ID 18373): 144 g per cup. 1 teaspoon = 3 g, giving 144 g/cup. Standard USDA composition reference used by most home-cooking nutrition databases. The 3g/tsp figure is a rounded convention typical of USDA nutrition-database entries for tiny-serving leaveners and spices, and may under-represent the true density of commercial cream of tartar powder slightly. - McCormick Culinary Cream of Tartar label (25 oz professional pack): 154 g per cup. 0.8 g per 1/4 teaspoon serving = 3.2 g/teaspoon = 154 g/cup. McCormick's precise 0.8g figure (rather than a rounded 1g) suggests a genuine measurement rather than a labeling convention. McCormick describes their product as 'a dense powder with a slight acidic, distinctive flavor'; McCormick is the dominant retail brand for cream of tartar in North America. - Traditional Oven professional culinary reference: 162 g per cup. 3.38 g per teaspoon = 162 g/cup. Cites bulk density of commercially produced cream of tartar at 0.68 g/cm³, giving 162 g per US cup. This is the highest of the three reference sources and represents a less-settled or coarser-grind version of the product. - CupOrGram baking conversion baseline: 162 g per cup. 162 g/cup baseline, matching the Traditional Oven professional value. CupOrGram documents a real-world practical range of 152-172 g/cup (a 6% band from their baseline), which they attribute to fine powders and leaveners settling during storage. This is consistent with the physical behavior of cream of tartar as a hygroscopic crystalline powder. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Cream of tartar weighs 144-162 g/cup depending on source. USDA's food composition reference sits at the low end (3 g/teaspoon = 144 g/cup); McCormick's brand label lands in the middle (0.8 g per 1/4 teaspoon = 154 g/cup); professional culinary references and baking aggregators cluster at the high end (3.4 g/teaspoon = 162 g/cup). Cream of tartar is potassium bitartrate, a fine crystalline powder that is a natural byproduct of winemaking. Tartaric acid crystallizes on the inside of wine barrels during fermentation; those crystals are collected, purified, and milled to produce the ingredient sold in the spice aisle. Chemically it is a mild acid salt with the formula KC4H5O6, sold under the European food additive code E336. In baking, it serves three main functions: stabilizing beaten egg whites for meringues and angel food cake, activating baking soda when baking powder is not available, and preventing sugar syrup from crystallizing in candy and caramel work. King Arthur has no cream of tartar entry on their Ingredient Weight Chart, so this catalog entry is based entirely on producer labels and reference sources. The density spread across sources reflects real physical variance rather than disagreement about what cream of tartar is. The powder is finely crystalline and packs differently depending on how much it has settled during shipping and storage, and it absorbs a small amount of ambient humidity that shifts its bulk density. Fresh from an unopened jar, cream of tartar typically packs closer to the 154-162 g/cup end of the range; after months of pantry storage in a household humidity cycle, it can compress toward the 144-150 g/cup end. Neither is 'correct' — both reflect the ingredient at different points in its handling life. USDA's 3 g/teaspoon figure is worth understanding as a nutrition-database convention rather than a precision density measurement. USDA FNDDS and SR Legacy entries for leaveners typically round to convenient whole-gram values because the primary purpose of the database is calorie and macronutrient calculation, where small variations in leavener weight are nutritionally negligible. McCormick's 0.8 g per quarter-teaspoon figure, by contrast, is unusually precise for a supplement-style label, and their inclusion of the 0.8 rather than a rounded 1.0 suggests genuine measurement. The professional culinary reference at 0.68 g/cm³ bulk density (giving 162 g/cup) represents laboratory-condition measurements of newly-opened product. Practical baker guidance: cream of tartar is almost always used in tiny per-recipe volumes — 1/4 teaspoon per egg white for stable meringue, 1/2 teaspoon for a batch of snickerdoodles, 1 to 2 teaspoons in DIY baking powder combinations. At these amounts, the density variance across the range represents fractions of a gram and does not affect recipe outcomes. Weight-based measurement matters only for larger applications such as commercial candy production or bulk baking powder manufacture. Common substitutions: for egg white stabilization, lemon juice or white vinegar at roughly 1/8 teaspoon per egg white can substitute for 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar, though the added liquid may slightly alter texture. For baking soda activation, cream of tartar is difficult to replicate — the acid substitution options are more application-specific (buttermilk, yogurt, molasses, or brown sugar can each provide the acid needed depending on the recipe). For DIY baking powder, the classic ratio is 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch to make 1 teaspoon of single-acting baking powder. ### Cumin Seeds, Whole https://exactcups.com/cumin-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole cumin seeds, jeera, jeera whole, cumin seed, Cuminum cyminum seed. #### Standard, whole seeds, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 95.6–108.9 g. USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (96 g per US cup) and Chef's Resources (109 g per US cup) disagree by 13.5 percent, exceeding the 10 percent milled tolerance. Whole cumin seeds are elongated and ridged; measured density depends on settling method (loose versus tapped fill) and on seed origin and freshness (Indian jeera, Iranian, and Turkish cumin vary in seed size and volatile-oil content). King Arthur's chart is silent on this ingredient, so no third reference breaks the tie. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy — Spices, cumin seed (whole): 95.6 g per cup. USDA reference record. 101 g per metric cup (96 g per US cup, density 0.4040 g/mL). Anchor for the low end of the observed range. - Chef's Resources — Dry Spice Yields chart: 108.9 g per cup. Table lists Cumin Seeds at 3.84 oz/cup (109 g per US cup, density 0.4602 g/mL). Anchor for the high end of the observed range; 13.5 percent above the USDA figure, plausibly reflecting a tapped or settled measurement method versus USDA's looser fill. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Whole cumin seeds pack at 96 to 109 g per US cup. USDA and Chef's Resources disagree by 13 percent, likely reflecting differences in measurement method, seed origin, or moisture content — enough variance that the site publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Cumin seeds are the small (roughly 5 mm long and 2 mm wide), elongated, ridged seeds of Cuminum cyminum, an annual plant in the parsley family. Cumin is one of the most widely used spices globally, second only to black pepper by volume, and is a signature ingredient in Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and North African cuisines. It shows up in curry powder, garam masala, taco seasoning, ras el hanout, and berbere. Cumin seeds are sold whole (tempered in hot ghee for Indian tadka, toasted whole for Mexican dishes, or steeped in brines and pickle mixes) and ground (the more common Western form). This entry covers the whole seed; the ground form has its own physical behavior and would be a separate entry. Published sources disagree substantially. USDA FoodData Central's SR Legacy record for Spices, cumin seed (whole) gives 101 g per metric cup, which works out to 96 g per US cup at a density of 0.404 g/mL. Chef's Resources publishes 3.84 oz per cup (109 g, density 0.460 g/mL). The 13.5 percent spread exceeds the 10 percent milled tolerance held for this category. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list whole cumin seeds in any form, so there is no third reference figure to break the tie between USDA and CR. The variance is plausibly genuine rather than measurement error. Cumin seeds are elongated with pronounced ridges, and elongated particles pack differently depending on how they settle in the cup. A loose, unshaken cup has more air trapped between randomly oriented seeds; a tapped or settled cup has seeds that have reoriented and nested more efficiently. Seed moisture and essential-oil content also drive density: fresh cumin with intact volatile oils is heavier per particle than older seeds that have lost oil to oxidation. Origin matters too — Indian cumin (jeera), Iranian cumin, and Turkish cumin are all sold as Cuminum cyminum but differ in average seed size and oil content. The USDA figure may represent a specific origin or measurement method that CR did not use. Cumin seeds ground into powder shift density in the same direction as most other solid-seeded spices: the fluffy powder is lighter per cup than the whole seeds it came from. In the ground-mustard entry the site notes that ground mustard is roughly half the cup weight of whole mustard seeds; the ground-cumin pattern is milder (published ground figures cluster near 96 g per cup, similar to the low end of the whole-seed range) but goes in the same direction. Grinding replaces tightly nesting hard spheroids with a cohesive fluffy powder that bridges across the cup walls. This is the opposite of the ground-coriander pattern, where whole seeds contain internal hollows that ground powder fills, and ground coriander ends up denser than whole. For recipes calling for whole cumin seeds by volume, the difference between the low and high end of published sources is about a rounded tablespoon per cup. In practice, most whole cumin uses (Indian tadka, blooming in hot fat, whole seed rubs) call for teaspoons rather than cups, and at that scale the variance is negligible. For bulk-batch recipes (spice blends, pickling, chili base) where a cup measure is used, weighing by gram is more accurate. ### Diastatic Malt Powder https://exactcups.com/diastatic-malt-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: diastatic malt, malted barley flour, diastatic barley malt, active malt powder, sprouted barley flour, enzyme active malt. King Arthur: 85 g (3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 85–168 g. Composition variance dominates density. Pure malted barley flour products (King Arthur, Modern Mountain, Bakers Club) sit near 96 g/cup, matching regular barley flour density. Blended products with added dextrose and wheat flour (Red Star, Kalustyan's) pack denser at 140-170 g/cup because dextrose crystals fill gaps between flour particles. Sources: - King Arthur Diastatic Malt Powder nutrition label: 96 g per cup. 1 teaspoon (2g) per product label. 2g x 48 tsp/cup = 96 g/cup, density 0.406 g/mL. King Arthur's product is 100% malted barley flour with no additives. - Physical density inference from King Arthur barley flour chart entry: 85 g per cup. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists plain barley flour at 85 g/cup (density 0.359 g/mL). Since King Arthur's Diastatic Malt Powder is 100% malted barley flour, its physical density should sit near 85-96 g/cup. The 96 g/cup label figure likely reflects a rounded 1.77g/tsp level-scoop measurement rounded up to 2g. - The Fresh Loaf baker measurement (Antilope, level packed scoop): 168 g per cup. Documented measurement: 1 teaspoon scooped and leveled = 3.5g, giving 168 g/cup at density 0.710 g/mL. Consistent with blended products containing malted barley flour plus dextrose plus wheat flour (Red Star, Kalustyan's composition). - King Arthur Baking Company substitution reference blog: King Arthur publishes 0.8g diastatic malt powder equivalent to 1g barley malt syrup for enzyme activity. Useful for recipe substitution but does not directly establish density. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Diastatic malt powder ranges 96-168 g/cup depending on composition. Pure malted barley flour products (King Arthur, Modern Mountain, Bakers Club) sit near 96 g/cup, while blends with dextrose and wheat flour (Red Star, Kalustyan's) pack denser at 140-170 g/cup. Used in bread baking as an enzyme booster, not a sweetener. Diastatic malt powder is finely ground sprouted barley that retains the amylase enzymes generated during germination. Those enzymes break flour starch into simple sugars, feeding yeast and improving crust color and rise. The typical dose is tiny — 0.5% to 2% of total flour weight, roughly 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per 3 cups of flour — because too much creates gummy, over-browned crumb. Common uses: bagels (dough and boiling water), pretzels, long-fermented sourdoughs, artisan breads made with organic or whole-wheat flour that doesn't already contain added barley malt, and pizza doughs where extended cold fermentation would otherwise deplete available sugars. Cup weight varies substantially based on composition. King Arthur's Diastatic Malt Powder is 100% malted barley flour with no additives; their nutrition label lists 1 teaspoon = 2g, giving 96 g/cup. Modern Mountain Baking Company's version is also 100% malted barley flour, similar density. Blended products like Red Star Diastatic Malt (malted barley flour + wheat flour + dextrose) and Kalustyan's diastatic malt (same ingredient set) pack denser because the added dextrose is a fine crystalline sugar that fills gaps between flour particles. Bakers who measure by level scoop report cup weights up to 168 g/cup for blended products, a 75% variance from King Arthur's pure figure. Physical density comparison: pure malted barley flour behaves like regular barley flour, which King Arthur lists at 85 g/cup. The 96 g/cup King Arthur figure for diastatic malt is 13% higher than plain barley flour, reflecting either the slight density change from sprouting and drying or label rounding of the 1.77g per level teaspoon actual measurement to 2g. Blended products with dextrose (which alone packs at roughly 200 g/cup as a fine crystal) can push density much higher depending on blend ratio. Substitution equivalence with barley malt syrup: King Arthur publishes 0.8g diastatic malt powder per 1g barley malt syrup. That means for a recipe calling for 1 tablespoon barley malt syrup (21g), substitute roughly 17g diastatic malt powder (about 2 teaspoons of a pure-barley-flour product like King Arthur's). The math accounts for the malt syrup's higher moisture content and the concentrated enzyme activity in the dried powder. Diastatic malt powder is enzymatically active in ways barley malt syrup is not once heated, so use with caution — start at 0.1-0.2% flour weight and work up. Distinct from non-diastatic malt powder: the two products look similar but function differently. Non-diastatic malt powder (King Arthur lists at 144 g/cup) has had its enzymes deactivated by heat during production. It provides sweetness, flavor, and browning to baked goods but does not accelerate fermentation. Diastatic malt provides enzyme activity for improved rise; non-diastatic provides flavor and color only. Bakers should never assume interchangeability — a recipe calling for diastatic malt will fall flat if non-diastatic is substituted (the enzyme boost is lost), while over-dosed diastatic can turn a non-diastatic recipe into a gummy over-browned mess. Distinct from malted milk powder: malted milk powder contains dry milk solids, sugar, and malt extract, a completely different product intended for chocolate malt beverages and malt balls. Not a substitute for either diastatic or non-diastatic malt powder in bread applications. King Arthur lists malted milk powder at 140 g/cup — coincidentally similar to non-diastatic malt powder by weight but with completely different functional behavior. Practical baker recommendation: for any recipe calling for diastatic malt by teaspoon or tablespoon volume, weight is the reliable measure — dose 0.5% to 1% of flour weight for most bread applications, up to 2% for the strongest fermentation boost. Start conservatively; excess diastatic malt turns crumb gummy and crust overly dark. Check the ingredient list on your product: pure malted barley flour products deliver the strongest enzyme activity per gram, while blends are diluted with dextrose or wheat flour and require slightly higher doses to achieve equivalent enzyme activity. ### Diced Bell Pepper https://exactcups.com/diced-bell-pepper/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: chopped bell pepper, diced green pepper, diced red pepper, chopped green pepper, diced sweet pepper, bell pepper diced. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, raw, diced or chopped, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 149 g (5.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 74.5 g; 1/4 cup = 37.3 g; 1 tbsp = 9.3 g; 1 tsp = 3.1 g (0.6298 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.52 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Peppers, sweet, green, raw" (FDC 170427): 149 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup chopped = 149 g (density 0.630 g/mL), 1 tbsp = 9.3 g (149 g per cup) and 1 cup sliced = 92 g. Water 93.9 g, carbohydrate 4.64 g, fibre 1.7 g per 100 g. USDA's red pepper record (FDC 170108) carries identical portion weights. - The Culinary Institute of America, Conversions chart: 147 g per cup. Bell pepper, 1 cup diced = 5.2 oz = 147 g (density 0.621 g/mL). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 142 g per cup. KA lists "Bell peppers (fresh)" at 1 cup = 5 oz = 142 g, density 0.600 g/mL; the same 5 oz as KA gives for diced onions, celery and carrots. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of diced bell pepper weighs 149 g (5.3 oz). USDA weighs a cup of chopped sweet pepper at 149 g, the Culinary Institute of America gives 147 g for diced, and King Arthur 142 g. All three sit within 5% of each other, so this entry publishes USDA's figure, and King Arthur's agrees within tolerance. Bell peppers are the sweet, mild members of Capsicum annuum, sold green, before they ripen, and red, yellow or orange once ripe. They are mostly water: USDA puts green peppers at 93.9% water and 4.6% carbohydrate, and red peppers carry a little more sugar. A pepper is a hollow fruit with a thin wall, so diced pepper is really a pile of small, flat squares cut from that wall rather than cubes. That shape matters for the cup: flat pieces lie against each other and leave less air than the layers of diced onion or the arcs of diced celery. USDA SR Legacy "Peppers, sweet, green, raw" (FDC 170427) lists 1 cup chopped at 149 g, 1 tablespoon at 9.3 g, which scales to the same 149 g per cup, and 1 cup sliced at 92 g. USDA's red pepper record (FDC 170108) carries exactly the same portion weights, so colour does not change the figure in USDA's measurements; it is not counted as a separate source here. The Culinary Institute of America's conversion chart gives 1 cup diced bell pepper at 5.2 oz, 147 g. King Arthur gives 1 cup of fresh bell peppers at 5 oz, 142 g. The physical check: tissue that is 94% water is roughly as dense as water, so a cup of dice at 149 g is about three fifths pepper and two fifths air between the pieces, a tight fill for chopped vegetables that fits the flat pieces. USDA's own tablespoon lands on the same density, which is a good sign the cup figure is not a fluke. Sliced strips leave far more air: USDA's 92 g per cup sliced, and a school portion guide's 1.75 oz per half cup of strips, about 99 g per cup, are a different measure and should not be used for diced pepper. King Arthur's 142 g is the same 5 oz the chart gives for diced onions, celery and carrots and for sliced olives, a round working figure. For bell pepper it lands within 5% of USDA and the Culinary Institute and is accepted. Frozen diced peppers are another case. Kroger, Food Club, Hanover and ShopRite print 3/4 cup at 83 to 85 g, at or just under the 85 g reference serving for vegetables with the nearest household measure beside it. That works out to 111 to 113 g per cup, but it is not a measured density, so it is not used here. Measure frozen dice straight from the bag and expect a lighter cup than fresh. Practical guidance: use 149 g per cup for diced or chopped bell pepper, 75 g per half cup, 37 g per quarter cup and about 9 g per tablespoon. Pat washed peppers dry before dicing, since water clinging to small pieces adds weight and steams rather than sautés. For fajitas and stir-fries, where peppers are cut into strips, use about 92 g per cup, or better, count the peppers. ### Diced Carrots https://exactcups.com/diced-carrots/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: chopped carrots, diced carrot, chopped carrot, carrots diced, carrot cubes. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 142 g (5 oz) for carrots diced by hand to about 1/4 inch; 1 tbsp = 8.9 g. #### Standard, raw, diced or chopped, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 128–142 g. Sources span 128-142 g per cup, an 11% gap, just over the 10% tolerance. The Culinary Institute of America, USDA's school Food Buying Guide and King Arthur all give 142 g for diced or chopped carrot; USDA SR Legacy's cup of chopped carrot is 128 g. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Carrots, raw" (FDC 170393): 128 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup chopped = 128 g (density 0.541 g/mL), 1 cup strips or slices = 122 g and 1 cup grated = 110 g. Water 88.3 g, carbohydrate 9.58 g (sugars 4.74 g), fibre 2.8 g per 100 g. - USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, carrots, fresh, chopped: 142 g per cup. Yield table: 1 lb as purchased = 0.83 lb trimmed, peeled carrots, 10.60 quarter-cup servings of raw chopped carrot per pound, which is 142 g per cup (density 0.600 g/mL). - The Culinary Institute of America, Conversions chart: 142 g per cup. Carrot, 1 cup diced = 5 oz = 142 g (density 0.600 g/mL). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 142 g per cup. KA lists "Carrots (diced)" at 1 cup = 5 oz = 142 g, density 0.600 g/mL; the same 5 oz as KA gives for diced onions, celery and bell peppers. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of diced carrots weighs 128 to 142 g (4.5 to 5 oz). The Culinary Institute of America, USDA's school Food Buying Guide and King Arthur all give 142 g, while USDA's own cup of chopped carrot is 128 g. The gap is 11%, just over the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range; for a quarter-inch dice spooned into the cup, 142 g is the figure most sources share. Carrots are 88% water by USDA's figure, with about 10% carbohydrate, about half of it sugar, and they are firmer than most vegetables. Diced carrot is the one true cube among the common aromatics. Onion breaks into curved layers and celery into arcs, but a carrot cuts into small solid cubes, and cubes of a firm vegetable settle into a cup in a fairly predictable way. USDA SR Legacy "Carrots, raw" (FDC 170393) lists 1 cup chopped at 128 g, 1 cup of strips or slices at 122 g and 1 cup grated at 110 g. USDA's Food Buying Guide for child nutrition programs, the yield tables used in school kitchens, gives 10.6 quarter-cup servings of raw chopped carrot per pound as purchased at an 83% trim yield, which is 142 g per cup. The Culinary Institute of America's conversion chart gives 1 cup diced at 5 oz, 142 g. King Arthur gives 1 cup diced at 5 oz, 142 g. King Arthur's figure is the same 5 oz the chart uses for diced onions, celery and bell peppers, a round working figure. For carrots, unlike onion and celery, it matches two sources that reach 142 g by different routes, the Food Buying Guide by yield arithmetic and the Culinary Institute by direct conversion, so it is not a correction. The physical check: carrot tissue is about as dense as water or a little more, so a cup of dice at 142 g is about three fifths carrot and two fifths air, which is how small cubes settle when spooned into a cup. USDA's 128 g is the same cup holding a tenth less carrot, most likely a coarser, more irregular chop that leaves bigger gaps. Grated carrot is a different measure: fine shreds trap more air, and this site gives grated carrot its own entry at 99 to 130 g per cup. Sliced carrots sit with the dice. The Food Buying Guide counts a pound of ready-to-use sliced carrots at about 3 1/8 cups, 145 g per cup, and a school portion guide gives 2.5 oz per half cup of slices, 142 g per cup; USDA's slices are lighter at 122 g. Practical guidance: for carrots diced by hand to about 1/4 inch, use 142 g per cup, 71 g per half cup and 36 g per quarter cup; for a rough, chunky chop, closer to 128 g. The classic mirepoix ratio is by weight, two parts onion to one part each of carrot and celery, so for soups, stocks and braises weigh the three together rather than measuring each by the cup. ### Diced Celery https://exactcups.com/diced-celery/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: chopped celery, celery diced, diced celery stalks, chopped celery stalks, celery chopped. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, raw, diced or chopped, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 101–142 g. Sources span 101-142 g per cup, a 41% gap, over the 10% tolerance. USDA's cup of chopped celery is 101 g, but its own tablespoon works out to 120 g; USDA's school Food Buying Guide gives 122-141 g for diced celery; the Culinary Institute of America gives 113 g; King Arthur gives 142 g. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Celery, raw" (FDC 169988): 101 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup chopped = 101 g (density 0.427 g/mL); the same record lists 1 tbsp = 7.5 g (120 g per cup) and a medium 7 1/2-8 inch stalk at 40 g. Water 95.4 g per 100 g. - USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, celery, fresh, trimmed, diced: 122 g per cup. Yield table: 1 lb as purchased = 0.83 lb ready to cook, 12.30 quarter-cup servings of diced celery, which is 122 g per cup (density 0.517 g/mL). - USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, celery, diced, ready-to-use: 141 g per cup. Yield table: 1 lb = 1 lb ready to cook, 12.90 quarter-cup servings, which is 141 g per cup (density 0.595 g/mL). - The Culinary Institute of America, Conversions chart: 113 g per cup. Celery, 1 cup diced = 4 oz = 113 g (density 0.478 g/mL); 1 stalk = about 1/2 cup diced = 2 oz = 57 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 142 g per cup. KA lists "Celery (diced)" at 1 cup = 5 oz = 142 g, density 0.600 g/mL; the same 5 oz as KA gives for diced carrots, onions, bell peppers and sliced olives. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of diced celery weighs 101 to 142 g (3.6 to 5 oz). USDA's cup of chopped celery is 101 g, its tablespoon works out to 120 g, USDA's school Food Buying Guide gives 122-141 g for diced celery, the Culinary Institute of America 113 g, and King Arthur 142 g. The sources disagree by more than the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Celery is 95% water, among the wettest of vegetables, and its crisp, fibrous stalks are close to the density of water. Diced celery is a pile of small crescents and arcs, the cross-section of a curved, ribbed stalk, and those shapes do not nest well. How much air they trap depends on the size of the dice, how much of the hollow inner curve each piece keeps, and how hard the cup is pressed. USDA SR Legacy "Celery, raw" (FDC 169988) lists 1 cup chopped at 101 g, but its 1 tablespoon at 7.5 g scales to 120 g per cup, so USDA's own record spans 19%. USDA's Food Buying Guide, the yield tables used in school kitchens, gives 12.3 quarter-cup servings of diced celery per pound as purchased at 83% yield, which is 122 g per cup, and 12.9 servings for ready-to-use diced celery, 141 g per cup. The Culinary Institute of America's conversion chart gives 1 cup diced at 4 oz, 113 g, and one stalk at about half a cup. King Arthur lists diced celery at 1 cup = 5 oz = 142 g, at the top of the range. The same 5 oz appears in King Arthur's chart for diced onions, carrots and bell peppers and for sliced olives, so it reads as a round working figure rather than a measurement of celery. It is close to the Food Buying Guide's ready-to-use dice, which is cut by machine into small even pieces that pack tightly, so it is not rejected, but for celery diced by hand it is on the heavy side. Pre-cut tubs are not much help: Wegmans prints 2/3 cup at 85 g, the reference serving for vegetables, and H-E-B describes its 7-oz tub of chopped celery as about 2 cups, roughly 99 g per cup. Practical guidance: for celery diced by hand to about 1/4 inch and spooned into the cup, use 115-120 g; for a coarser chop loosely filled, about 100 g; for small machine-cut dice, up to 140 g. A medium stalk weighs about 40 g by USDA's figure and gives about 1/3 cup diced; the Culinary Institute counts a larger stalk as half a cup. For mirepoix, stuffing and soups, where celery is one part of a ratio, weigh it alongside the onion and carrot. ### Diced Leeks https://exactcups.com/diced-leeks/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: chopped leeks, diced leek, chopped leek, raw diced leeks, leek pieces. King Arthur: 92 g (3.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, raw, white and light green parts, diced or chopped, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 89 g (3.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 44.5 g; 1/4 cup = 22.3 g; 1 tbsp = 5.6 g; 1 tsp = 1.9 g (0.3762 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.55 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Leeks, (bulb and lower leaf-portion), raw" (FDC 169246): 89 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 89 g (density 0.376 g/mL), its only cup portion for raw leeks, given without naming the cut; it also counts one leek at 89 g. Water 83.0 g, carbohydrate 14.2 g, fibre 1.8 g, protein 1.5 g, fat 0.3 g per 100 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 92 g per cup. KA lists "Leeks (diced)" at 1 cup = 3 1/4 oz = 92 g, density 0.389 g/mL. - The Culinary Institute of America, Conversions chart: Leek, 1 cup sliced = 4 oz = 113 g; 1 leek, white and green parts = 1 1/4 cups sliced (approx.) = 6 oz = 170 g. Sliced rings, not dice, so not used for the diced figure. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of diced raw leeks weighs 89 g (3.1 oz). USDA weighs a cup of raw leek at 89 g and King Arthur gives 92 g for diced leeks, 3% apart, so this entry publishes USDA's figure and King Arthur's agrees. Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum, porrum group) are the mildest member of the onion family. Cooks use the white and light green part, the bulb and lower leaf that grew under the soil, and cut away the tough dark green tops. A leek is not a ball of thick layers like an onion but a tight roll of thin leaf sheaths. Dicing it gives small, thin, curved squares that separate into loose flakes, and loose flakes trap a lot of air. USDA SR Legacy "Leeks, (bulb and lower leaf-portion), raw" (FDC 169246) lists 1 cup at 89 g and puts leeks at 83% water, 14.2% carbohydrate and 1.8% fibre, drier and sweeter than onion. The record does not name the cut for its cup, but it is the only cup USDA gives for raw leeks, and it lands within 3% of King Arthur's diced figure of 3 1/4 oz, 92 g. King Arthur's figure is accepted. The physical check: tissue that is 83% water with sugars and fibre is a little denser than water, about 1.05 g per millilitre, so 89 g in a cup means the flakes fill just over a third of it. That is lighter than diced onion (113 to 172 g per cup on this site) or diced celery (101 to 142 g), and it fits the shape: an onion's layers are several millimetres thick, a leek's sheaths much thinner, so leek dice have more surface and more gaps for each gram of leek. Slicing into rings changes the figure. The Culinary Institute of America weighs a cup of sliced leek at 4 oz, 113 g, and gives one leek's white and green parts as about 1 1/4 cups sliced, 170 g. Rings that hold together stack more tightly than loose flakes, so sliced leeks weigh about a quarter more per cup than diced. That figure is kept apart from this entry. Retail labels are no help. Trader Joe's sliced leeks and Frieda's leeks print "1 cup (85 g)", and 85 g is the reference serving for vegetables, so the gram figure comes from the regulation rather than from a weighed cup. It happens to sit close to USDA. Cooking collapses the flakes. Health Canada weighs 125 mL of chopped, boiled and drained leeks at 55 g, about 104 g per cup, heavier per cup than raw dice because soft cooked leek packs into the cup with little air. Practical guidance: use 89 g per cup for raw diced or chopped leek, 45 g per half cup and about 6 g per tablespoon. USDA counts one leek at 89 g, about a cup of dice; the Culinary Institute's larger leek gives 1 1/4 cups of slices. Leeks hide grit between their layers, so dice first, then wash the pieces and drain them well, since water clinging to the flakes adds weight to the cup. ### Diced Onion https://exactcups.com/diced-onion/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: chopped onion, chopped onions, diced onions, diced yellow onion, onion diced. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 150 g (5.3 oz) for a 1/4-inch dice spooned into the cup and leveled; 1 tbsp = 9.4 g. #### Standard, raw, diced or chopped, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 113–172 g. Sources span 113-172 g per cup, a 52% gap, over the 10% tolerance. USDA's chopped onion is 160 g and Health Canada's 162 g; USDA's school Food Buying Guide gives 145-172 g for diced and chopped onion; King Arthur gives 142 g; the Culinary Institute of America gives 113 g for diced. The size of the dice and how hard the cup is filled decide it. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Onions, raw" (FDC 170000): 160 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup chopped = 160 g (density 0.676 g/mL), 1 tbsp chopped = 10 g and 1 cup sliced = 115 g. Water 89.1 g per 100 g. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008): 161.7 g per cup. Onions, yellow, chopped, raw: 60 mL = 41 g, which is 161.7 g per US cup (density 0.683 g/mL). - USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, onions, fresh, diced 1/4-inch, prepackaged: 151 g per cup. Yield table: 1 lb as purchased = 1 lb (about 3 cups) ready to cook, 12.00 quarter-cup servings, which is 151 g per cup (density 0.639 g/mL). - USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, onions, fresh whole, chopped: 172 g per cup. Yield table: 1 lb as purchased = 0.88 lb ready to cook, 9.30 quarter-cup servings per pound as purchased, which is 172 g per cup (density 0.726 g/mL). - The Culinary Institute of America, Conversions chart: 113 g per cup. Onion, 1 cup diced = 4 oz = 113 g (density 0.478 g/mL); 1 medium onion = about 1 3/4 cups diced = 7 oz = 198 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 142 g per cup. KA lists "Onions (fresh, diced)" at 1 cup = 5 oz = 142 g, density 0.600 g/mL; the same 5 oz as KA gives for diced carrots, celery, bell peppers and sliced olives. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of diced onion weighs 113 to 172 g (4 to 6.1 oz), depending on how fine the dice is and how hard the cup is filled. USDA's chopped onion is 160 g, the USDA school Food Buying Guide's 1/4-inch dice is 151 g, King Arthur says 142 g and the Culinary Institute of America 113 g. The sources disagree by far more than the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Onion is about 89% water by USDA's figures, and its flesh is nearly as dense as water. So the onion itself is not what varies; the air between the pieces is. Small pieces from a fine chop nest into each other and leave little air, while a coarse half-inch dice stacks like building blocks with gaps at every corner. Moisture matters too: chopped onion gives up juice and slumps, so a cup filled with freshly chopped onion and pressed down weighs more than one spooned in loosely. USDA SR Legacy "Onions, raw" (FDC 170000) lists 1 cup chopped at 160 g and 1 tablespoon chopped at 10 g, which agree, and 1 cup sliced at 115 g. Health Canada's table gives chopped yellow onion at 41 g per 60 mL, 162 g per US cup. USDA's Food Buying Guide, the yield tables used in US school kitchens, gives about 3 cups per pound for prepackaged 1/4-inch diced onion, 151 g per cup, and works out to 172 g per cup for whole onions chopped by hand. The Culinary Institute of America's conversion chart gives 1 cup diced at 4 oz, 113 g, and a medium onion at about 1 3/4 cups diced. King Arthur lists diced onion at 1 cup = 5 oz = 142 g, inside the range. The same 5 oz appears in King Arthur's chart for diced carrots, celery and bell peppers and for sliced olives, which have very different shapes and water contents, so it reads as a round working figure rather than a measurement of each vegetable; for onion it happens to fall in the middle. Frozen chopped onion bags are no help: they print 85 g, the reference serving for vegetables, beside either 2/3 or 3/4 cup. Practical guidance: for a typical 1/4-inch dice spooned into the cup and leveled, use 150 g; for a fine chop pressed down, 160 g; for a coarse half-inch dice, about 115-120 g. A medium onion, about 110 g trimmed by USDA's portion, gives roughly 3/4 cup chopped; a large one, 150 g, about 1 cup. When a recipe's flavour depends on the onion, as in a soffritto, French onion soup or a curry base, weigh it: the difference between a coarse and a fine cup is a third more onion. ### Dried apples https://exactcups.com/dried-apples/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: dried apple pieces, dried diced apples, sulfured dried apples, dehydrated apple pieces, apple rings (diced). King Arthur: 85 g (3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, dried pieces or dice loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 86 g (3 oz); 1/2 cup = 43 g; 1/4 cup = 21.5 g; 1 tbsp = 5.4 g; 1 tsp = 1.8 g (0.3635 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.64 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 86 g per cup. Apples, dried, sulfured, uncooked (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 86 g. Density 0.3635 g/mL. Cup mass derived from published portion ratio (209 kcal per cup / 243 kcal per 100 g = 86.0 g/cup), cross-checked against 1 oz portion (69 kcal / 243 kcal × 100 g = 28.4 g, matching 1 oz). - King Arthur: 85 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Apples (dried, diced)', 1 cup = 85 g. Density 0.3592 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within measurement precision. USDA FoodData Central publishes Apples, dried, sulfured, uncooked (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 86 g, implying a density of 0.3635 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Apples (dried, diced)' at 1 cup = 85 g, implying 0.3592 g/mL. The gap between them is 1.18 percent, well inside any reasonable tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 86 g per cup and names both sources. The USDA cup mass was derived from the published portion ratio (209 kcal per cup divided by 243 kcal per 100 g = 86.0 g/cup), confirmed via multiple USDA-data mirrors and cross-checked against the 1 ounce portion. Dried apples pack at unusually low density for the milled category. At 0.36 g/mL, they sit below almost every other food this site tracks. Almond flour publishes here at approximately 0.4 g/mL, whole wheat flour at approximately 0.5, and all-purpose flour at approximately 0.53 g/mL. Dried apples are substantially lighter than any of these, and dramatically lighter than other dried fruits on this site: dried apricot halves publish at 0.55 g/mL, dried figs at 0.63, currants at 0.61, and chopped dates at 0.64. The reason is the drying process combined with source water content. Apple flesh has an unusually high water content when fresh, roughly 85 percent water by weight, and removing that water leaves behind a light, porous, air-filled structure rather than a dense compact piece. Dried apricots, figs and dates dry from lower initial water content (around 70 to 80 percent) and retain more of their intrinsic density after moisture loss. The comparison to apple sauce, published elsewhere on this site in the liquid category at close to 1 g/mL like other water-based purees, is instructive. Apple sauce retains all of the fruit's original water. Removing the water from apple flesh does not concentrate it into a dense piece: the piece expands and holds internal air during drying, then collapses only partially on cooling. This is why dehydrated apple slices look like puffy chips, and why a cup of dried apples weighs less than a third of what a cup of apple sauce weighs even though both are the same fruit. Product variants: sulfured versus unsulfured dried apples differ in preservation method but pack at essentially the same density. Dried apple rings (whole slices with the core cut out) pack differently from diced pieces because rings can nest and stack rather than tumble; ring-based cup measurements are approximately 20 percent lower than diced measurements per third-party sources, though no authoritative second source lists rings separately. Freeze-dried apples are a distinct product with much lower density (approximately 0.15 to 0.20 g/mL) because freeze-drying preserves nearly all of the piece's internal air; freeze-dried apple entries will be added when authoritative sourcing supports them. Dried apples are placed in the milled category alongside other chunked dried fruits (dried apricots, dried figs, chopped dates on this site). The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: irregular semi-rigid pieces pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and nuts, regardless of the specific density magnitude. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the near-zero observed gap between sources sits comfortably inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for dried apples. Codex Alimentarius has commodity standards for dried fruits covering moisture content and preservation methods but not physical density. Two independent authoritative sources agree within measurement precision, 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. ### Dried apricots https://exactcups.com/dried-apricots/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: sulfured dried apricots, dried apricot halves, diced dried apricots, chopped dried apricots, dried prunus armeniaca. King Arthur: 128 g (4.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, halves or diced pieces loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 130 g (4.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 65 g; 1/4 cup = 32.5 g; 1 tbsp = 8.1 g; 1 tsp = 2.7 g (0.5495 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.74 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 130 g per cup. Apricots, dried, sulfured, uncooked (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup, halves = 130 g. Density 0.5495 g/mL. Confirmed via proportional consistency across 0.5 cup (65 g) and 1.5 cup (195 g) portions. - King Arthur: 128 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Apricots (dried, diced)', 1/2 cup = 64 g (128 g/cup). Density 0.5411 g/mL. KA measures diced pieces where USDA measures halves; both figures land within 1.5% because dried apricot pieces pack loosely regardless of shape. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance across different piece states, an unusual pattern that reflects the physical behavior of sticky dried fruit. USDA FoodData Central publishes Apricots, dried, sulfured, uncooked (SR Legacy) at 1 cup halves = 130 g, implying a density of 0.5495 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Apricots (dried, diced)' at 1/2 cup = 64 g, extrapolating to 128 g per cup and 0.5411 g/mL. The gap between them is 1.54 percent, well inside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 130 g per cup and names both sources. The USDA cup portion is confirmed by proportional consistency across cup fractions: 0.5 cup halves at 65 g and 1.5 cup halves at 195 g both divide to the same 130 g per cup. The interesting feature here is that USDA measures halves and King Arthur measures diced pieces, yet the figures nevertheless nearly coincide. For most nuts and grains on this site, cutting or chopping a whole piece changes its cup weight noticeably: chopped walnuts at 117 g per cup are denser than walnut halves at 99 (USDA) or 128 (KA), and chopped hazelnuts at 115 are meaningfully lighter than whole hazelnuts at 135. Dried apricots do not show this pattern because the pieces are sticky and semi-rigid, dominated by concentrated glucose and fructose after moisture loss. They do not slide freely against each other into settled arrangements, and their intrinsic density of roughly 1.35 to 1.45 g/mL is only partly realized in cup measurements. The apparent 0.55 g/mL indicates about 40 percent air by volume regardless of piece shape. Whether the pieces are halves or dice, they form irregular clumps with similar overall air content. This is why dried apricots publish at a single figure with medium confidence despite the source-state mismatch: the physical mechanism of sticky-fruit clumping makes the halves-versus-diced distinction less important than it would be for nuts. A reader converting from cups to grams gets a workable answer whether they scoop halves or chop first. The 1.54 percent gap between USDA's halves and King Arthur's diced sits well inside the 10 percent milled tolerance and represents measurement noise plus normal fill variation, not a meaningful state-dependent density difference. Product variants: sulfured versus unsulfured dried apricots differ in preservation method but pack at essentially the same density. Sulfured apricots retain their bright orange color and slightly higher moisture; unsulfured are darker brown and slightly drier, which may produce a small density increase (perhaps 3 to 5 percent) but no authoritative source publishes separate cup portions. Turkish dried apricots (typically whole pitted) and California dried apricots (typically halved) trade at similar cup weights per USDA data. Sweetened or infused dried apricots, sometimes marketed as 'soft' dried apricots, contain added glycerin or corn syrup that increases moisture and density; these would earn separate entries if a second authoritative source becomes available. Dried apricots are placed in the milled category alongside other dried-fruit pieces (chopped dates on this site sits in the same category for the same physical reason). The category rule tracks packing behavior: irregular semi-rigid pieces pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 1.54 percent observed gap between sources sits comfortably inside it. Raisins on this site are categorized as sugar rather than milled because their smaller particle size and packing behavior aligns more closely with granulated sugar than with chunked dried fruit. No standards body publishes a bulk density for dried apricots. Codex Alimentarius has a standard for dried apricots 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. ### Dried egg whites https://exactcups.com/dried-egg-whites/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: egg white powder, powdered egg whites, dried egg white powder, albumen powder, dehydrated egg whites. King Arthur: 88 g (3.1 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 88 g (3.1 oz) as a middle figure, or weigh 4 to 5 g of powder per egg white replaced; 1 tbsp = 5.5 g. #### Standard, powder spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 80–107 g. The four figures, Judee's label 80 g, King Arthur 88 g, Deb El Just Whites label 96 g and USDA 107 g (sifted) per cup, span 34%, beyond the 10% tolerance for powders. Most of the spread is whole-gram rounding on small spoon measures, and USDA's figure is for a sifted cup of a stabilized powder, so the range is published rather than one figure. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Egg, white, dried, stabilized, glucose reduced" (FDC 170895): 107 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 01258) publishes 1 cup, sifted = 107 g (density 0.452 g/mL). Water 5.5 g, protein 84.1 g per 100 g. Read through ReciPal (USDA database NDB 1258) and getfoodfacts (FDC ID and composition). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 88 g per cup. KA lists "Egg whites (dried)" at 2 tablespoons = 3/8 oz = 11 g, 88 g per cup (density 0.372 g/mL). - Deb El Just Whites (producer label): 96 g per cup. Label serving 2 tsp (4 g), 10 kcal, 3 g protein (FatSecret, archived listing), 96 g per cup (density 0.406 g/mL); whole-gram rounding puts 2 tsp anywhere from 3.5 to 4.5 g, 84 to 108 g per cup. Package directions, as quoted by Texas Cooking: "For each egg white you need, use 2 level teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons of warm water." - Judee's Dried Egg Whites (producer label): 80 g per cup. Label serving 1 tbsp (5 g), 20 kcal, 4 g protein (FatSecret), 80 g per cup (density 0.338 g/mL); whole-gram rounding covers 72 to 88 g per cup. Judee's states that its 8 oz bag equals 45 egg whites, about 5 g of powder per white. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of dried egg whites weighs 80 to 107 g (2.8 to 3.8 oz). Judee's label gives 5 g per tablespoon (80 g per cup), King Arthur 11 g per 2 tablespoons (88 g), Deb El's Just Whites 4 g per 2 teaspoons (96 g) and USDA 107 g for a sifted cup. The powder is light and fluffy, so spoon measures are unreliable; weigh it, using 4 to 5 g of powder for each egg white. Dried egg white, sold as egg white powder, powdered egg whites or albumen powder, is pasteurized liquid egg white with its trace of natural glucose removed, so it does not brown in storage, then spray-dried to a fine powder. USDA's Standard Reference record (FDC 170895, egg white, dried, stabilized, glucose reduced) lists 5.5% water and 84% protein. Bakers use it for meringues, macarons and royal icing without raw-egg concerns, and to add whites without separating eggs. It is not meringue powder, which blends egg white with sugar, starch and stabilizers. The figures span 34%, beyond the 10% this site allows for powders, so the entry publishes the range. Most of the spread is rounding. Labels state whole grams on small spoons: 4 g for 2 teaspoons could be anything from 3.5 to 4.5 g, 84 to 108 g per cup, and 5 g per tablespoon covers 72 to 88 g. USDA's 107 g is for a sifted cup, which for most powders is the lightest way to fill one; that it is the heaviest figure here suggests a denser, more granular powder than today's retail brands. King Arthur's 88 g sits inside the range and is accepted. The physical check comes from the egg itself. A large fresh egg white weighs 30 to 35 g (King Arthur's chart) and is about 88% water, so it holds about 4 g of dry solids. Judee's says its 8 oz bag equals 45 egg whites, 5 g each. Just Whites' package directions use 2 level teaspoons of powder with 2 tablespoons of warm water per white, about 4 g at its labelled weight. Both match the 4 g of solids in a real white, and 2 tablespoons of water, about 30 g, replaces the water. Dry egg protein has a density of about 1.3 g/mL, so a cup at 80 to 107 g is only a quarter to a third solid and the rest air, typical of a fine, cohesive spray-dried powder, which is why a spoonful varies so much. Practical guidance: weigh the powder by the number of whites it replaces, 4 to 5 g each, and reconstitute it with about 2 tablespoons of water per white. By volume, a level tablespoon holds 5 to 7 g; use 88 g per cup as a middle figure. Whisking the powder into the recipe's sugar before adding water helps it dissolve without lumps. For macarons and meringues, where a few grams of protein change the result, a scale is the only reliable measure. ### Dried figs https://exactcups.com/dried-figs/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: dried mission figs, dried calimyrna figs, chopped dried figs, whole dried figs, dried ficus carica. King Arthur: 149 g (5.3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, chopped pieces or whole loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 149 g (5.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 74.5 g; 1/4 cup = 37.3 g; 1 tbsp = 9.3 g; 1 tsp = 3.1 g (0.6298 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.52 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 149 g per cup. Figs, dried, uncooked (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 149 g. Density 0.6298 g/mL. - King Arthur: 149 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Figs (dried, chopped)', 1 cup = 149 g. Density 0.6298 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree exactly, an unusually clean case on this site. USDA FoodData Central publishes Figs, dried, uncooked (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 149 g, implying a density of 0.6298 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Figs (dried, chopped)' at 1 cup = 149 g, implying the same 0.6298 g/mL. Both sources land on the identical figure without specifying a filling method, so this entry publishes 149 g per cup with medium confidence. USDA does not specify chopped versus whole in its cup portion for dried figs, while King Arthur specifies chopped. That the two figures nonetheless coincide follows the same pattern documented on this site for dried apricots, where USDA halves and King Arthur diced converge on essentially the same density: sticky dried fruit is dominated by clumping rather than by piece geometry, so whether the pieces are whole, halved, or chopped does not meaningfully change the cup mass. Dried fig pieces do not slide freely into settled arrangements. They adhere to each other and to the cup surface, forming irregular masses with similar overall air content regardless of size. At 0.6298 g/mL, dried figs pack noticeably denser than dried apricots at 0.55 g/mL, even though the two fruits have similar macronutrient composition (both roughly 249 kcal per 100 g, 63 g carbohydrate, 30 g water). The likely explanation is the seed content: dried figs contain many small hard seeds embedded in the flesh, often several dozen per fig, that contribute mass without proportionally contributing volume. Apricot pits are removed before drying, so apricot pieces are essentially pure fruit flesh. This is why figs land in a different density band than apricots despite similar bulk composition, and why fig cup weights are more stable across sources: the seed mass anchors the figure and reduces the state-dependent variability that appears elsewhere. Product variants: Black Mission and Calimyrna are the two dominant commercial dried fig varieties in the United States. Mission figs are smaller, darker and slightly denser per fig; Calimyrna are lighter-colored, larger and more delicate. Both trade under USDA data at essentially the same cup weight. Turkish Smyrna figs and Greek Kalamata figs are traded in Europe with similar cup masses. Sweetened or infused dried figs, sometimes marketed as 'soft' or 'plumped' figs, contain added glycerin or fruit juice that increases moisture and density and would earn separate entries if a second authoritative source becomes available. Fig paste, jam or spread is a fundamentally different product with continuous fruit flesh and no air gaps; its density approaches 1.3 to 1.4 g/mL similar to other preserves, and does not belong in this dried-fig entry. Dried figs are placed in the milled category alongside other dried-fruit pieces and chopped dates on this site. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: irregular semi-rigid pieces pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the exact agreement between sources sits comfortably inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for dried figs. Codex Alimentarius has a standard for dried figs covering moisture content, defect tolerances and sulfur dioxide limits but not physical density. 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. ### Dried pineapple https://exactcups.com/dried-pineapple/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: sweetened dried pineapple, dried pineapple pieces, dried pineapple chunks, candied pineapple, dried ananas comosus. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, dried pieces or chunks loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 142–160 g. Two sources disagree by 12.68%, over the 10% milled tolerance. USDA FNDDS (code 62120100) publishes 160 g per cup while King Arthur publishes 142 g per cup. USDA does not publish a dedicated dried pineapple record in SR Legacy or Foundation Foods, so the FNDDS figure is a standardized dietary-survey measure rather than a direct laboratory portion. The gap may reflect a real difference between sweetened and unsweetened forms (most commercial dried pineapple is sweetened, which packs denser due to added sugar) or fill-method variability. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 160 g per cup. Pineapple, dried (FNDDS 62120100). Published: 1 cup = 160 g, 1 slice/chunk = 8 g. Density 0.6763 g/mL. USDA SR Legacy has no dedicated dried pineapple record; the 160 g figure is USDA's FNDDS standardized measure used for national dietary intake studies. High per-100g carbohydrate content (~84 g) in the FNDDS record suggests the entry covers sweetened commercial dried pineapple. - King Arthur: 142 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pineapple (dried)', 1/2 cup = 71 g (142 g/cup). Density 0.6003 g/mL. State unspecified. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources 12.68 percent apart, outside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central lists Pineapple, dried under FNDDS code 62120100 at 1 cup = 160 g, implying a density of 0.6763 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Pineapple (dried)' at 1/2 cup = 71 g, extrapolating to 142 g per cup and 0.6003 g/mL. The USDA figure comes with an important sourcing caveat: USDA's SR Legacy and Foundation Foods databases do not include a dedicated dried pineapple record. The 160 g figure is drawn from USDA FNDDS, a standardized dietary-survey measure used for national intake studies rather than a direct laboratory portion. FNDDS is authoritative USDA data but its portions are standardized estimates. The gap between the two sources may reflect a real difference in product state rather than measurement noise. The FNDDS record shows approximately 84 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, which is unusually high for pure fruit and suggests the record covers sweetened commercial dried pineapple (the dominant form in the US market, with added cane sugar or fruit juice concentrate). King Arthur's entry does not specify sweetened versus unsweetened. If FNDDS measures sweetened and King Arthur measures unsweetened or generic, the added-sugar mass in the sweetened form would account for a density difference of roughly this magnitude. Alternatively, both sources may measure the same sweetened product and the gap reflects fill-technique variation similar to what appears for other dense sticky dried fruits on this site. Without documented filling methods and without a clean state-matched pair of sources, the two figures cannot be reconciled cleanly and this entry publishes the range. Dried pineapple at 142 to 160 g per cup (density 0.60 to 0.68) packs at the upper end of the dried-fruit cluster on this site. Dried figs publish at 149 g per cup (0.63), dried apricot halves at 130 (0.55), dried apple dice at 86 (0.36), and currants at 144 (0.61). Pineapple's high density despite similar fresh water content to apples (both around 85 percent water fresh) reflects the structural difference in fruit flesh. Apple cells contain more intercellular air and collapse into puffy, aerated pieces during drying. Pineapple's fibrous flesh with tightly-packed juice sacs collapses more completely on drying, producing denser pieces with less internal air. This is the same physical mechanism that separates dried figs (dense, seed-rich) from dried apricots (less dense, pure flesh) discussed elsewhere on this site. Product variants: sweetened versus unsweetened dried pineapple differ substantially. Sweetened pineapple is treated with cane sugar or juice concentrate before drying and can carry 30 to 50 percent added sugar by weight, which increases both mass and density. Unsweetened natural dried pineapple retains the fruit's own sugars only and packs lighter. Freeze-dried pineapple, which preserves nearly all of the piece's internal air structure, packs at approximately 0.15 to 0.20 g/mL (comparable to freeze-dried apples) and is a distinct product not covered by this entry. Sulfured versus unsulfured pineapple differs in browning-preservation method but has essentially no density impact. Dried pineapple is placed in the milled category alongside other dried-fruit pieces on this site (dried apricots, dried figs, dried apples, chopped dates). The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: irregular semi-rigid pieces pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 12.68 percent observed gap is a genuine physical disagreement rooted in state ambiguity rather than a measurement error in either source. No standards body publishes a bulk density for dried pineapple. Codex Alimentarius has commodity standards for canned and juice pineapple but not for dried products. Two authoritative sources with an over-tolerance gap, USDA sourcing weaker than direct SR Legacy measurement, and unresolved state ambiguity, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until USDA SR Legacy or Foundation Foods publishes a direct dried-pineapple portion, or until a matching state-specified pair of sources can arbitrate the gap. ### Dry Milk Powder https://exactcups.com/dry-milk-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: powdered milk, dry milk, milk powder, dried milk, nonfat dry milk, instant nonfat dry milk, NFDM, whole milk powder, skim milk powder, milk solids, dried nonfat milk, dried whole milk. King Arthur: 112 g (4 oz), non-instant (spray-dried) nonfat dry milk. #### Instant nonfat dry milk (grocery) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 68–92 g. Instant/agglomerated processing varies by brand. Grocery brands converge tightly near 68 g/cup; bulk and baking-line instants pack denser at 88-92 g/cup. Sources: - USDA Branded (Instant Nonfat Dry Milk, UPC 085239051375): 68 g per cup. 73 g/metric cup = 69 g/US cup per USDA FoodData Central, via aqua-calc - USDA Branded (Signature Select Instant Nonfat Dry Milk, UPC 021130385164): 71 g per cup. 74 g/metric cup = 71 g/US cup per USDA FoodData Central, via aqua-calc - Multi-brand grocery convergence (Signature Select, Publix, Meijer, Great Value, Village Farm): 69 g per cup. Five separate brand nutrition labels all list 1/3 cup dry = 23g, so 69 g/cup. Reflects FDA reference amount for instant NFDM that reconstitutes 1/3 cup dry to 1 cup fluid milk. - Honeyville Instant Nonfat Dry Milk: 88 g per cup. Nutrition label: 1/4 cup (22g) makes 1 cup, so 88 g/cup. Bulk emergency-food packaging. - USDA Branded (Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk, UPC 050000276707): 92 g per cup. 1/4 cup = 23g per USDA FoodData Central, so 92 g/cup. Baking-oriented product, denser than grocery-line agglomerated instants. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. #### Non-instant (spray-dried) nonfat dry milk No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 112–148 g. Non-instant nonfat spans grind fineness from KA chart entry (112 g/cup) through USDA branded Bob's Red Mill (128 g/cup) to KA's extra-fine Baker's Special (148 g/cup per KA nutrition label). Sources: - King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart (Dried nonfat milk, powdered): 112 g per cup. 1/4 cup = 1 oz = 28g, so 112 g/cup. Listed identically to Baker's Special in KA's chart, which is physically implausible given Baker's Special is marketed as extra-fine granules that pack denser than conventional powder. - USDA Branded (Bob's Red Mill Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder, UPC 039978115201): 128 g per cup. 135 g/metric cup = 128 g/US cup per USDA FoodData Central. Bob's Red Mill product page confirms reconstitution requires whisk or blender, indicating non-instant. - King Arthur Baker's Special Dry Milk nutrition label: 148 g per cup. 1/4 cup = 37g per King Arthur package data, so 148 g/cup. Contradicts KA's own Ingredient Weight Chart figure of 112 g/cup by 32%. KA markets Baker's Special as extra-fine granules for professional bakers. - Army Quartermaster JCCOE Recipe Manual Section A No. 10(1): Explicitly states instant nonfat dry milk may be substituted pound-for-pound but not measure-for-measure for non-instant nonfat, because the cup measures differ. Professional-source confirmation of the physical distinction. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. #### Whole milk powder No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 100–120 g. Whole milk powder varies by processing: KA's non-instant at 100 g/cup, Nestle NIDO's instant at 120 g/cup. Sources: - King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart (Dried whole milk, powdered): 100 g per cup. 1/2 cup = 1 3/4 oz = 50g, so 100 g/cup. KA product page explicitly identifies this as non-instant, requires warm water or dry-blending into other dry ingredients for reconstitution. - USDA Branded (Nestle NIDO Fortificada Dry Whole Milk, UPC 00028000823177): 120 g per cup. 1/4 cup = 30g per USDA FoodData Central, so 120 g/cup. Instant/agglomerated whole milk powder. - Nestle NIDO Fortificada 4.85 lb canister packaging: 120 g per cup. Package data: 73 servings of 1/4 cup in 4.85 lb (2199g), so 30.1g per 1/4 cup = 120 g/cup. Confirms USDA branded figure via independent producer-label calculation. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Dry milk powder ranges from 68 g/cup (grocery-store instant nonfat) to 148 g/cup (King Arthur's extra-fine Baker's Special) — a 2x spread driven by drying method, not by fat content. Dry milk powder is dehydrated milk sold as a shelf-stable ingredient for baking, cooking, and beverage reconstitution. Bakers add it to bread doughs for softer crumb and longer shelf life — particularly enriched breads, hamburger buns, and dinner rolls — and to ice creams for richness. Cup-weight confusion is severe because "dry milk" spans multiple physically distinct products at the same shelf label. The dominant variable is drying method, not fat content. Modern grocery-store dry milk is almost always instant (agglomerated): the powder is briefly re-wetted and re-dried to form porous clumps that dissolve quickly in cold water. Those clumps trap air, so a cup of instant powder weighs far less than the same volume of the fine spray-dried powder professional bakers use. Fat content nudges density by a smaller amount than processing does. Instant nonfat dry milk — Carnation Instant, Great Value, Publix, Meijer, Signature Select — converges near 68 g/cup at the grocery-shelf end. Nutrition labels from five separate brands all list 23g per 1/3 cup, and USDA branded food data for their UPCs confirms 68-74 g/cup. Honeyville's bulk emergency-food instant nonfat runs denser at 88 g/cup, and Carnation's baking-line label pushes to 92 g/cup. Range: 68-92 g/cup, driven by how heavily the instant processing has agglomerated the specific product. Non-instant nonfat dry milk is the baking-supply form: fine spray-dried powder that requires whisking or blending to dissolve. USDA data for Bob's Red Mill Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder (UPC 039978115201) lists 128 g/cup; King Arthur's chart entry for Dried nonfat milk (powdered) gives 112 g/cup. King Arthur's Baker's Special (extra-fine granules marketed for professional bakers) tops the range at 148 g/cup per King Arthur's own nutrition label — though notably their Ingredient Weight Chart lists it at 112 g/cup, identical to their generic nonfat entry, a 32% self-contradiction that the label figure resolves in favor of the denser reading. The Army Quartermaster recipe manual makes the distinction explicit: instant nonfat dry milk may be substituted pound-for-pound for non-instant but not measure-for-measure, because the cup measures differ. Whole milk powder spans 100 g/cup (King Arthur's non-instant Dried Whole Milk, per their chart at 50g per 1/2 cup) to 120 g/cup (Nestle NIDO Fortificada, an instant whole milk product with USDA-branded data at 30g per 1/4 cup). Same fat content, different processing, different cup weight. Practical recommendation: identify your specific product before converting. Grocery-store instant nonfat sits near 68 g/cup. Baking-supply non-instant nonfat runs 112-148 g/cup depending on grind fineness. Instant whole milk (NIDO) sits at 120 g/cup. King Arthur's non-instant Dried Whole Milk drops to 100 g/cup. If the label doesn't tell you the drying method, check reconstitution instructions: instant products dissolve in cold water with stirring; non-instant products need warm water or whisking. Given the 2x possible spread, weighing on a scale is the only path to recipe precision. ### Durum flour https://exactcups.com/durum-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: extra fancy durum flour, durum wheat flour, fine durum flour, finely ground durum flour. King Arthur: 124 g (4.4 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 124 g (4.4 oz) if you spoon the flour into the cup and level it; 1 tbsp = 7.8 g. #### Standard, fine durum flour (not semolina) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 124–142 g. King Arthur, which spoons flour into the cup and levels it, gives 124 g; America's Test Kitchen, which dips the cup and sweeps it level, gives 142 g. The 14% gap is beyond the 10% tolerance for flours and matches the gap between the two methods for every flour, so the range is published rather than one figure. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 124 g per cup. KA lists "Durum Flour" at 1 cup = 4 3/8 oz = 124 g (density 0.524 g/mL). King Arthur measures flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling it (120 g for all-purpose flour). - America's Test Kitchen, Orange-Chocolate Durum Bread: 142 g per cup. "2 cups (10 ounces) durum flour", 5 oz, 142 g per cup (density 0.600 g/mL); the same recipe gives "1 cup (5½ ounces) bread flour". Notes: "Use durum flour in this recipe, which is more finely ground than semolina flour" and "Avoid Caputo Semola Rimacinata." America's Test Kitchen measures flour by dipping the cup and sweeping it level (5 oz for all-purpose flour). - King Arthur Baking Durum Flour (package label): Package (item 100243): serving size 1/4 cup (30 g), 45 servings per container; ingredients: durum wheat; described as "high in protein, finely textured". 30 g is the FDA reference amount for flour printed beside a quarter cup, so it is kept as a source without a figure (it would be 120 g per cup). Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of durum flour weighs 124 to 142 g (4.4 to 5 oz), and the difference is how the cup is filled. King Arthur, which spoons flour into the cup and levels it, gives 124 g; America's Test Kitchen, which dips the cup into the bag and sweeps it level, gives 142 g. Spooned, use 124 g. Durum flour is milled from durum wheat (Triticum durum), the hard, high-protein, amber wheat used for dried pasta. Milled coarse, durum becomes semolina, the gritty meal of pasta dough and many Italian and North African breads. Milled further, past the semolina stage, it becomes durum flour, sold in the US as extra fancy durum or simply durum flour. King Arthur describes its durum flour as finely textured, and America's Test Kitchen notes that durum flour is more finely ground than semolina flour and warns against swapping in Caputo's semola rimacinata, a re-milled semolina, in its durum bread. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists durum flour at 1 cup = 4 3/8 oz = 124 g. America's Test Kitchen's Orange-Chocolate Durum Bread calls for 2 cups (10 ounces), 5 oz or 142 g per cup. The 14% gap is beyond the 10% this site allows for flours, so the range is published, and King Arthur's figure is accepted at the bottom of it. The two sources disagree in exactly the way they disagree about every flour. King Arthur weighs all-purpose flour at 120 g a cup by spooning; America's Test Kitchen weighs it at 5 oz, 142 g, by dipping and sweeping. Their durum figures, 124 g and 142 g, sit in the same places, and the same ATK recipe gives bread flour at 5 1/2 oz a cup. Durum flour therefore packs like an ordinary fine wheat flour, as its milling predicts. King Arthur's own durum flour bag prints 1/4 cup as 30 g, 120 g per cup, but 30 g is the FDA reference amount for flour printed beside a quarter cup, so it is kept as a source without a figure. The physical check: wheat flour particles have a density of about 1.45 g/mL. Spooned all-purpose flour at 120 g fills about 35% of a cup with flour, and durum flour at 124 g fills 36%. Semolina at 167 g, USDA's figure on this site, fills nearly half, because its hard, coarse granules hold little air. That gap is the practical trap. A recipe written for semolina that gets durum flour by the cup is about a quarter short by weight, and durum flour swapped for semolina cup for cup is a third over. Indian durum atta, a whole-meal durum flour, carries the same 30 g per quarter cup label convention and has not been measured separately. Practical guidance: use 124 g per cup if you spoon and level, 142 g if you scoop, and weigh whenever a recipe gives grams. When a recipe allows either durum flour or semolina, convert between them by weight, not by volume. ### Einkorn Flour https://exactcups.com/einkorn-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: einkorn all-purpose flour, einkorn AP flour, AP einkorn flour, Jovial einkorn flour, farro piccolo flour. #### All-purpose einkorn, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - Jovial Foods (Einkorn Baking Tips): 120 g per cup. Published brand guidance: 120 g/cup for all-purpose einkorn flour, contrasted with 96 g/cup for whole-grain einkorn on the same reference page. - Jovial Foods product label: 120 g per cup. Nutrition Facts panel on 32 oz retail bag lists 30 g per 1/4 cup serving, extrapolating to 120 g/cup. - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc): 120.2 g per cup. Entry for Jovial 100% Organic Einkorn All-Purpose Flour (UPC 815421011005): 127 g per metric cup, converting to ~120 g per US cup. - Cultured Food Life: 120 g per cup. Secondary cookbook reference citing 120 g/cup as the standard for all-purpose einkorn flour. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: All-purpose einkorn flour weighs 120 grams per cup (0.5072 g/mL) based on Jovial's official label data, USDA Branded Foods records, and cross-referenced retailer listings. Jovial dominates US retail, and their spec sits at exactly the same figure King Arthur uses for modern all-purpose flour — a coincidence of particle physics rather than a general rule. Einkorn (Triticum monococcum, "single grain" in German) is the oldest cultivated wheat, domesticated in southeastern Anatolia around 10,000 BC and never hybridized in the modern era. Its retail presence in the US is dominated by Jovial Foods, an Italian-sourced brand that essentially built the market single-handed; a secondary tier of small stone-mill producers fills specialty niches. King Arthur Baking, notably absent from the source list here, does not stock einkorn flour and does not list it on their ingredient weight chart. That absence is informative — the correction thesis this site is built around does not apply, because there is no King Arthur figure to correct against. The USDA Foundation Foods program only added einkorn (as a berry, not flour) in October 2024, and there is still no USDA composition profile for einkorn flour itself. What USDA's database does contain is branded label data submitted by Jovial, which reports 127 g per metric cup — converting to 120 g per US cup within rounding. Jovial's published baking guidance also states 120 g/cup, and their 32 oz retail bag Nutrition Facts panel lists 30 g per quarter-cup, which extrapolates to the same figure. When a producer's own guidance, their label data, and independent cookbook references all point to one number, single-figure publishing is warranted. Smaller stone-mill producers report lower figures — Janie's Mill lists 103 g/cup, for instance — because their einkorn products are less sifted than Jovial's high-extraction all-purpose flour. Those are functionally closer to whole-grain einkorn (96 g/cup) than to Jovial-style AP, and bakers using a small-mill product should check the specific bag rather than assume the 120 g/cup figure applies. The physical reasoning behind Jovial's 120 g/cup is worth pausing on. Modern all-purpose wheat flour and sifted einkorn flour arrive at similar cup weights despite their compositional differences because both are dominated by starch-and-protein endosperm particles in a comparable size range after milling. Einkorn's endosperm is somewhat softer and its protein slightly higher, but the packing density in a scoop-and-level measurement is set by particle geometry and moisture content, not by which wheat species the grain came from. Whole-grain (whole-wheat) einkorn flour is a distinct product and behaves differently — around 96 g/cup based on the same Jovial sources. Bakers substituting einkorn into recipes designed for modern wheat should reduce liquid by 15 to 20 percent regardless of which form they use, because einkorn absorbs water more slowly and has weaker, gliadin-dominant gluten that snaps back rather than stretching. Weighing rather than scooping matters more here than for standard AP flour, since einkorn's irregular particle size makes volume measurement more variable in real kitchens even when the reference figure is settled. ### Espresso Powder https://exactcups.com/espresso-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: instant espresso, instant espresso powder, espresso baking powder, baking espresso powder. King Arthur: 112 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 112 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56 g; 1/4 cup = 28 g; 1 tbsp = 7 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4734 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.02 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company – Ingredient Weight Chart: 112 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 1/4 oz = 7 g, giving 112 g/cup. KA's chart entry is the standard baking reference for espresso powder and reflects their own KA-brand instant espresso product (3 oz jar). - Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso Coffee – container derivation: 113 g per cup. 2 oz jar (56.7 g total) contains approximately 24 one-teaspoon servings, giving 2.36 g per teaspoon = 7.1 g per tablespoon = 113 g/cup. Medaglia D'Oro is the dominant Italian instant espresso brand used in baking since 1924, and its density matches King Arthur's brand product to within 1% — indicating tight production consistency across the professional instant-espresso category. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Espresso powder weighs 112 g/cup with tight convergence across the two major professional baking brands (King Arthur at 112 g/cup, Medaglia D'Oro at 113 g/cup). This is one of the cleaner single-figure entries in this catalog — instant espresso is a manufactured concentrate with tight production tolerances, unlike variable ingredients like shredded vegetables or fermented starters. Espresso powder is made by taking dark-roasted espresso coffee beans, brewing them, drying the brewed liquid into a solid concentrate, and then grinding that concentrate to a very fine powder. It is fully water-soluble and dissolves instantly in liquid, which is the key property that makes it useful in baking. A pinch of espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavor in brownies, cakes, and cookies without transitioning the finished bake to a mocha flavor — the standard amount is 1/2 to 2 teaspoons per recipe. King Arthur has this on their weight chart at 7 g/tablespoon = 112 g/cup, and no correction is needed. Medaglia D'Oro, the dominant Italian instant espresso brand in the American baking market since 1924, derives to almost exactly the same figure (2.36 g/teaspoon from the 2 oz jar makes 24 one-teaspoon servings). The professional instant-espresso category is remarkably consistent because manufacturing tolerances at industrial-scale coffee processing are tight. **Distinction from instant coffee.** Espresso powder and instant coffee are not the same product, and the substitution ratio is not 1:1. Espresso powder is made from darker-roasted beans, brewed more concentrated before drying, and ground finer — the finished powder is roughly 50% more concentrated by weight than standard instant coffee. To substitute instant coffee for espresso powder in a baking recipe, use 1.5 teaspoons of instant coffee per 1 teaspoon of espresso powder called for. Density-wise, instant coffee is also slightly less dense per volume (roughly 95-100 g/cup vs. espresso powder's 112 g/cup) because the particles are coarser and pack less tightly. **Distinction from coffee grounds (fresh-ground beans).** Espresso powder is soluble; freshly-ground coffee beans are not. Substituting coffee grounds for espresso powder in a recipe leaves gritty coffee particles in the finished bake because the grounds cannot dissolve. If a recipe calls for espresso powder and only fresh-ground beans are available, the correct substitution is to brew a small amount of very strong espresso from the beans and use that liquid, reducing other liquid in the recipe to compensate. **Distinction from whole espresso beans.** Whole beans pack at roughly 200 g/cup, nearly twice the density of espresso powder, and are not usable as a substitute without brewing. **Density in context.** Espresso powder at 112 g/cup is denser than unsweetened cocoa powder (KA lists cocoa at 84 g/cup) despite similar particle appearance. The difference reflects the brewed-then-dried granule structure of espresso powder versus the fluffy unprocessed cellular structure of cocoa. This is why substituting cocoa powder for espresso powder by volume gives a different weight than by weight substitution. **Buttercream and frosting tip.** Espresso powder dissolves best in warm liquid before being added to fat-based frostings and buttercreams. King Arthur recommends dissolving 1 tablespoon of espresso powder in 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or hot water before whisking into buttercream, which prevents visible dark specks in the finished frosting. **Practical baker guidance:** for the typical baking amount of 1/2 to 2 teaspoons per recipe, the density figure rarely matters — measuring by teaspoon is fine at this scale, and the recipe outcome is not sensitive to sub-gram precision. Weight measurement matters when scaling professional recipes (large-batch commercial baking) or when the recipe developer specifies grams. For volume-only recipes, 7 g per tablespoon is the reliable conversion. ### Farro https://exactcups.com/farro/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: farro, farro perlato, pearled farro, farro integrale, whole grain farro, farro semiperlato, semi-pearled farro, emmer wheat, emmer farro. Working figure: 1 cup = 180 g (6.3 oz) for pearled farro, the most common kind in US stores; 1 tbsp = 11.3 g. #### Standard dry, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 180–208 g. Farro is sold in three distinct pearling levels with meaningfully different cup weights: pearled (hull removed) at 180 g/cup, semi-pearled at approximately 190-195 g/cup, and whole grain (hull intact) at 208 g/cup. The 15% gap between the extremes exceeds the 10% milled tolerance. King Arthur does not publish a farro reference, so the range is anchored by multi-producer cross-validation: Bob's Red Mill, In Harvest, and Kroger all label pearled farro at 45 g per 1/4 cup (180 g/cup), and Bob's separately labels whole grain farro at 52 g per 1/4 cup (208 g/cup). All these are non-RACC values that reflect actual product measurement rather than labeling defaults. This entry publishes the range 180-208 g/cup to honestly represent the pearling spectrum. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Organic Pearled Farro (with multi-producer cross-validation): 180 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Organic Farro (pearled, UPC 039978118608) retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup = 45 g, back-calculating to 180 g/cup and density 0.7609 g/mL. Cross-validated by two independent producers publishing the identical 45 g per 1/4 cup: In Harvest Organic Farro and Kroger Farro (both pearled). The 45 g figure is unusual because it matches no standard FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed default for cereal grains, and its appearance across three independent brands confirms it represents actual product measurement rather than a labeling convention. Pearled farro (farro perlato in Italian) has had the outer hull and most of the bran removed via abrasion, leaving primarily endosperm and germ for faster cooking (25-30 minutes). - Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Grain Farro: 208 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Organic Farro (whole grain, UPC 039978008602) retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup = 52 g, back-calculating to 208 g/cup and density 0.8792 g/mL. This is a distinct product from Bob's pearled farro, retaining the full outer hull and bran layer (farro integrale in Italian). The 52 g value is also non-RACC, confirming measurement rather than labeling default. Whole grain farro requires 45-60 minutes cooking time and delivers maximum fiber and nutrient retention. USDA FoodData Central Branded Foods entry 45015716 (WHOLE GRAIN EMMER FARRO) exists as a nutritional reference but does not publish a cup portion consistently. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Farro publishes as a range 180 to 208 grams per cup because commercial farro products vary meaningfully in cup weight based on pearling level, and no King Arthur reference figure exists to anchor a single value. The range represents the honest span between pearled farro (hull removed, faster cooking, most common in US retail) at the lighter end and whole-grain farro (hull retained, longest cooking, most nutrient-dense) at the denser end. Bob's Red Mill sells two distinct farro products with cleanly separated cup weights: Organic Pearled Farro at 45 grams per 1/4 cup (180 g/cup, density 0.7609 g/mL) and Organic Whole Grain Farro at 52 grams per 1/4 cup (208 g/cup, density 0.8792 g/mL). The 15% gap between these two products from the same producer is not a labeling artifact — both use non-RACC gram values reflecting actual product measurement. In Harvest Organic Farro and Kroger Farro (both pearled) label 45 g per 1/4 cup identically, matching Bob's pearled figure precisely. This multi-producer cross-validation at 180 g/cup gives strong confidence in the pearled end of the range. USDA FoodData Central includes Branded Foods entry 45015716 (WHOLE GRAIN EMMER FARRO) as a nutritional reference but does not consistently publish cup portions across its farro entries. Understanding farro requires knowing that the term is not species-specific in the US market. In Italy, farro properly refers to any of three ancient wheat species: farro piccolo (einkorn, Triticum monococcum), farro medio (emmer, Triticum dicoccum), and farro grande (spelt, Triticum spelta). Emmer wheat is the most common commercial farro in both Italy and the US export market. All three species are ancient relatives of modern bread wheat, cultivated for 7,000 to 12,000 years, and all retain more of the original grain nutrition than modern refined wheat. Farro is not gluten-free but is lower in gluten than modern bread wheat and is often better tolerated by people with mild wheat sensitivity, though not by those with celiac disease. Physical mechanism for the density spread: whole-grain farro (farro integrale) retains the outer hull and bran layer intact, adding mass to each grain while barely increasing volume — this is why 1 cup of whole-grain farro weighs more (208 g) than 1 cup of pearled farro (180 g). Pearled farro (farro perlato) has the hull and outer bran removed via abrasion, leaving only the endosperm and germ. The pearled grains occupy roughly the same cup volume as whole-grain (kernels of similar size) but weigh less because material has been physically removed. Semi-pearled farro (farro semiperlato) sits between the two, typically 190-195 g/cup, retaining part of the bran for nutritional value while still cooking in reasonable time. Compared to other whole grains and grain-like ingredients on the site, farro at 180-208 g/cup packs similar to other intact cereal grains: amaranth grain at 193 g/cup, quinoa in a comparable range, and wheat berries close to 200 g/cup. The intact-grain category consistently packs denser than the milled-flour category because unbroken kernels have less air trapped between and within particles. All-purpose flour at 120 g/cup weighs much less per cup than any whole grain despite being the same underlying wheat, because milling incorporates air voids that intact grains lack. Category assignment is milled, matching other whole grains on the site under the fibrous-plant-particulate definition. Confidence is low reflecting the 15% gap between pearled and whole-grain farro and the absence of a King Arthur reference. For cooking accuracy, weigh farro rather than measuring by volume. If a recipe was developed against pearled farro (most common in US retail), use 180 g/cup. If developed against whole-grain farro, use 208 g/cup. If in doubt about the pearling level, use 190 g/cup as a middle estimate matching semi-pearled products. This entry represents a moat play for the site: no other cup-to-gram reference explicitly distinguishes pearled from whole-grain farro with the physical mechanism explanation, and no other reference makes the multi-producer cross-validation (Bob's Red Mill, In Harvest, Kroger) transparent for an ancient grain that King Arthur has not indexed. ### Fennel Seeds https://exactcups.com/fennel-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: fennel seeds, whole fennel seeds, saunf, sonf, moti saunf, fennel seed. #### Standard, dry whole seeds, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 92.7–104.6 g. 12.8% spread between USDA SR Legacy whole-seed anchor (93 g/cup) and Chef's Resources direct measurement (105 g/cup) exceeds the milled 10% tolerance. Elongated crescent-shaped seeds pack differently by settling method (loose vs tapped) and seed origin. Same pattern documented for cumin-seeds (96-109 g/cup, 13.5% spread) — the whole-seed settling problem is real for elongated non-spherical spices. Range published to reflect that reality rather than picking a spurious midpoint. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Spices, fennel seed (whole)" (FDC 171323): 92.7 g per cup. FDC 171323. 98 g/metric cup → 93 g/US cup. Primary physical-measurement anchor from USDA laboratory determination on whole fennel seed. - USDA Branded (Fennel Seeds): 95.6 g per cup. UPC 026662550981. 101 g/metric cup → 96 g/US cup. Independent USDA GBFD measurement within 3% of USDA SR anchor. - Chef's Resources spice conversion table: 104.6 g per cup. "Fennel Seed": 3.69 oz per cup → 105 g/cup. Direct measurement from CR's oz-per-cup table; toward the high end of the cluster, consistent with tapped or heaping-fill convention. - USDA Branded (Fennel Seed, Morton & Bassett): 134 g per cup. UPC 016291441231. 142 g/metric cup → 134 g/US cup. 44% above the USDA anchor and outside physically plausible fennel-seed density. REJECTED: 134 g/cup is 44% above the USDA SR whole-seed anchor of 93 g/cup and beyond any physically plausible bulk density for elongated crescent-shaped fennel seeds, which pack with high void fraction due to shape. Likely a tapped-fill measurement convention or FDA serving-size rounding artifact rather than genuine loose-fill density. Excluded from the range. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/fennel-seeds-134-grams/ - USDA Branded (Fennel Seeds, unspecified brand): 192 g per cup. UPC 718343230557. 203 g/metric cup → 192 g/US cup. Physically impossible for whole fennel seed — would exceed particle density. REJECTED: 192 g/cup is more than twice the USDA SR whole-seed anchor and physically impossible: whole fennel seeds are elongated hollow crescents with true particle density around 0.9-1.1 g/mL and bulk density around 0.4 g/mL. A cup weighing 192 g would require particles more dense than pure fennel biomass in a 100%-void-free pack, which cannot happen. Almost certainly a labeling data-entry error (possibly a per-fluid-ounce vs per-cup confusion, or a ground-fennel figure mislabeled as whole). Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/fennel-seeds-192-grams/ - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: Silent on fennel seed in any form. KA's chart focuses on baking staples; fennel seed is a savory Italian, Indian, and Mediterranean cooking spice, so absent from the chart. No KA correction opportunity here. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Whole fennel seeds land in the 93-105 grams per cup range across USDA and producer measurements, driven by the settling-method sensitivity of elongated crescent-shaped seeds. The USDA SR Legacy anchor sits at 93 g/cup, USDA branded records at 96 g/cup, and Chef's Resources at 105 g/cup — a 13% spread that matches the pattern seen for cumin seeds and other elongated spices where whole-seed density depends on how the cup was filled. Fennel seeds come from Foeniculum vulgare, a Mediterranean-native herb in the parsley family cultivated worldwide for its sweet licorice-flavored seed. The seeds are actually dry schizocarp fruits: elongated green-yellow crescents 5-10 mm long with prominent longitudinal ridges. Turkish and Egyptian fennel produces slightly plumper seeds with higher anethole content (the compound responsible for the licorice flavor); Indian fennel (saunf) has smaller seeds with a milder profile and is often eaten as a post-meal digestive. The seeds are essential in Italian sausage, Indian tempering (tarka), Chinese five-spice, French bouillabaisse, and countless Mediterranean fish and pork preparations. The density spread reflects genuine physical variance. USDA SR Legacy's laboratory measurement of whole fennel seed (FDC 171323) gives 98 g/metric cup, which converts to 93 g/US cup — a firm anchor for the low end. USDA Global Branded Food Products Database entry UPC 026662550981 measures a branded product at 96 g/US cup, essentially confirming the USDA SR figure within measurement noise. Chef's Resources' oz-per-cup table lists fennel seed at 3.69 oz/cup (105 g/cup), roughly 13% above the USDA anchor. This spread is consistent with the well-documented settling-method sensitivity of elongated seeds: loose-fill measurements land near 93-96 g/cup, while tapped or heaping-fill measurements approach 105 g/cup. Physical reasoning explains both the density range and its variance. Fennel seeds contain roughly 15% protein, 15% fat (dominated by the volatile anethole-rich essential oil), 40-52% carbohydrate (mostly fiber), and 6-9% moisture. True particle density is around 0.9-1.1 g/mL. Bulk cup density lands at 40% of particle density (93-105 g/cup = 0.39-0.44 g/mL) because the elongated crescent shape prevents efficient inter-particle packing. Fennel seeds settle with more void space than round seeds like mustard (159-200 g/cup, ~1.7x denser per cup despite similar per-seed mass) because crescents bridge each other and leave gaps that spherical seeds would fill. Tapping or shaking the cup partially collapses this void structure, adding 10-15% to the measured density — hence the CR high-end figure. Two USDA GBFD records are rejected as outliers. Morton & Bassett fennel seed (UPC 016291441231) at 134 g/cup sits 44% above the USDA anchor and outside plausible bulk density for elongated seeds — likely a tapped-fill or FDA serving-size rounding artifact. A separate branded record (UPC 718343230557) at 192 g/cup is physically impossible: no whole fennel seed packs at twice particle density, and this figure would require negative void fraction. Almost certainly a data-entry error, possibly confusing fluid-ounce vs mass-ounce or mislabeling a ground-fennel figure as whole seed. Neither is treated as legitimate alternative data. King Arthur Baking is silent on fennel seeds. The chart focuses on baking staples, and fennel seed is a savory Italian, Indian, and Mediterranean cooking spice rather than a bread or cake component. No KA correction opportunity exists here. The fennel-seed range sits alongside the paired ground-fennel category (Chef's Resources gives 106 g/cup for the ground form, so ground fennel is nearly identical in cup density to whole fennel). This is unusual for solid seeds — cumin and mustard both become significantly lighter when ground, because their whole-seed forms pack tightly and ground powder bridges more air. Fennel is different because whole fennel seeds already pack loosely due to their crescent shape, so grinding does not create a large density change. The tight whole/ground similarity is a useful physical prediction for future elongated-seed spice additions. For practical use, 96-100 g/cup is a reasonable working figure for recipe scaling of whole fennel seeds. A tablespoon runs about 6 grams, a teaspoon about 2 grams. Turkish and Egyptian fennel packs slightly denser due to plumper seeds; Indian saunf packs slightly lighter due to smaller seeds. When precision matters — for a large batch of Italian sausage where seed-to-meat ratio drives flavor, or for a spice blend where fennel is a primary note — weigh by grams. For casual home cooking (a pinch in a curry base, a spoonful crushed into vinaigrette), cup measurements work fine within the noise floor of the dish. ### Flax meal https://exactcups.com/flax-meal/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: ground flaxseed, ground flax seeds, flaxseed meal, milled flaxseed, linseed meal, ground linseed. King Arthur: 100 g (3.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 100–112 g. Two sources disagree by 12%, just over the 10% milled tolerance. The variation reflects real differences in how finely the seed is milled and how the resulting oily powder settles in a cup, so this entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 100 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Flax meal', 1/2 cup = 50 g, extrapolated to 100 g per cup. Density 0.4227 g/mL. Represents a fluffier reference measurement. - USDA FoodData Central: 112 g per cup. FDC 169414, Seeds, flaxseed (SR Legacy). Underlying nutrition data extrapolates to approximately 7 g per tablespoon of ground flaxseed, or 112 g per cup (0.4734 g/mL). Multiple USDA Branded Foods records for commercial ground flaxseed products (Central Market, Bob's Red Mill, and others) independently confirm 7 g per tablespoon as the industry standard serving size, supporting the 112 g per cup figure. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two authoritative sources disagree by 12%, just over the 10% milled tolerance. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 1/2 cup at 50 g (extrapolating to 100 g per cup, 0.4227 g/mL). USDA FoodData Central and multiple commercial brands converge on 7 g per tablespoon, extrapolating to 112 g per cup (0.4734 g/mL). The gap is small but consistent across multiple brands aligning with USDA, so this entry publishes the range rather than choosing one figure. Ground flaxseed (also called flax meal or flaxseed meal) is a fine oily powder produced by grinding whole flax seeds. The oil content is high (approximately 42% of the seed by weight is oil), which makes ground flax pack differently than dry powders like wheat flour. The oily coating on each particle causes slight clumping that responds to scoop-and-shake versus spoon-and-level techniques, producing the small but real density variation between sources. King Arthur likely measures a fluffier spoon-and-level fill; the brand consensus at 112 g per cup reflects the standard nutrition-label serving that assumes a settled measure. Ground flaxseed is a common vegan egg substitute: 1 tablespoon of ground flax (approximately 7 g) mixed with 3 tablespoons of water and left for 5 minutes forms a gel that binds baked goods similarly to a single chicken egg. The substitution ratio depends on getting the flax weight right, which is why weighing is preferable to volume measurement for this use. Whole flaxseed is a distinct product measured separately on this site's forthcoming whole-flaxseed entry. King Arthur lists whole flaxseed at 35 g per 1/4 cup, extrapolating to 140 g per cup, roughly 40% denser than the ground form. The density difference is not a measurement error: whole seeds pack tightly with minimal air space between the smooth oval shapes, while ground meal has more air space in the powder matrix. The distinction matters because whole flaxseeds pass through the digestive system largely intact due to their hard outer hull; only ground flax delivers the omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid) and lignans that make flax nutritionally significant. Golden flaxseed and brown flaxseed have the same density and identical omega-3 content. Golden flax has a milder flavor and is preferred for light-colored baked goods; brown flax is more traditional. Both are Linum usitatissimum, the same species. Storage matters for accuracy over time. Ground flaxseed's high oil content and increased surface area from grinding cause it to oxidize rapidly at room temperature, developing a rancid flavor within weeks. Commercially packaged flax meal typically includes antioxidants or nitrogen-flushed packaging to slow this; once opened, refrigeration or freezer storage is required. Freshly-ground flax from a spice grinder is optimal but must be used within days. Rancidity does not significantly affect the density, but it does affect the flavor of finished baked goods and reduces the omega-3 bioactivity. Flax meal sits in the milled category alongside flours and other ground powders. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 12% gap between authoritative sources is just outside it, warranting the range publish rather than a single figure. Related products: whole flaxseed (denser at approximately 140-150 g per cup, separate entry planned), flaxseed oil (a distinct product in the fat category, not covered here), chia seed (a nutritionally similar seed sometimes substituted for flax in vegan egg preparations, but with different density). Linseed is the British and European name for flaxseed; the two terms refer to the same seed. No standards body publishes a bulk density for ground flaxseed. Codex Alimentarius has no dedicated flax standard. Two authoritative sources with a small but consistent gap, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until a third independent source resolves the disagreement. ### Flaxseed https://exactcups.com/flaxseed/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole flaxseed, flax seeds, linseed, whole linseed, brown flaxseed, golden flaxseed. King Arthur: 140 g (4.9 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, whole seeds loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 140–168 g. Two sources disagree by 20.0%, far over the 10% milled tolerance. USDA publishes 168 g per cup, King Arthur publishes 140 g per cup. Neither source documents a filling method. Whole flaxseed is small, hard and glossy, so seeds slide freely against each other and settle differently depending on scoop technique. A settled or lightly-tapped fill approaches the USDA figure; a loose bag-to-cup scoop approaches King Arthur. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 168 g per cup. FDC 169414, Seeds, flaxseed (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup whole = 168 g. Density 0.7101 g/mL. - King Arthur: 140 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Flaxseed', 1/4 cup = 35 g (140 g/cup). Density 0.5918 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources 20 percent apart, far outside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central FDC 169414 (Seeds, flaxseed, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup whole = 168 g, implying a density of 0.7101 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Flaxseed' at 1/4 cup = 35 g, extrapolating to 140 g per cup and 0.5918 g/mL. The USDA figure is confirmed by multiple independent mirrors of the same FDC record, each showing 168 g as the direct 1-cup-whole portion. Whole flaxseed is small, hard and glossy — brown or golden ovals about 4 to 6 mm long — and should intuitively pack densely because small hard particles fill air gaps efficiently. Both source figures are physically possible for this seed but they imply meaningfully different fill states. The USDA figure at 0.7101 g/mL is consistent with a settled or lightly-tapped scoop where seeds have had a chance to migrate into voids. The King Arthur figure at 0.5918 g/mL is consistent with a loose scoop straight from bag to cup with no settling. Small hard seeds are unusually sensitive to this handling difference because they slide against each other easily: a firm tap or a shake can shift a cup mass by 15 to 20 percent, which is exactly the size of the observed gap. Neither source documents its method. The contrast with flax meal published on this site is instructive. Flax meal, which is whole flaxseed ground to a coarse powder, is published here as a range of 100 to 112 g per cup, meaningfully less dense than whole flaxseed. This is the opposite of naive intuition: grinding usually seems as though it should increase density by breaking up the particles and letting them fill gaps. In practice, grinding a small hard seed into a coarse powder replaces sliding contacts between smooth ovals with static contacts between rough angular fragments, and the rough particles bridge and create voids that intact seeds do not. The same physical pattern shows up in USDA's tables for hazelnuts, where whole kernels publish at 135 g per cup and chopped kernels sit at 115 g per cup. Small whole units pack denser than their ground equivalents when the ground product is a coarse meal rather than a fine flour. Product variants: brown flaxseed and golden flaxseed differ in seed-coat pigmentation but pack at essentially the same density and are treated as one entry here. Milled flaxseed and cold-milled flaxseed products marketed under Bob's Red Mill and similar brands are the same product category as flax meal already published on this site. Flaxseed oil, sometimes marketed as linseed oil, is a distinct product not currently covered by this site's oil entries because King Arthur does not list it and USDA data shows significant brand variation. Flaxseed is placed in the milled category alongside other whole seeds and grains, and their milled products. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: whole seeds pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and whole nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 20 percent observed gap between sources is a genuine physical disagreement that likely reflects fill-method sensitivity rather than a measurement error in either source. No standards body publishes a bulk density for flaxseed. Two authoritative sources with an over-tolerance gap and no method documentation to arbitrate, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until a third independent source or a documented fill method resolves the disagreement. ### Graham Cracker Crumbs https://exactcups.com/graham-cracker-crumbs/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: graham cracker crumbs, graham crumbs, crushed graham crackers, graham cracker crumb, graham crust crumbs. King Arthur: 100 g (3.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, pre-crushed or home-crushed graham cracker crumbs Published: 1 cup = 102.4 g (3.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 51.2 g; 1/4 cup = 25.6 g; 1 tbsp = 6.4 g; 1 tsp = 2.1 g (0.4328 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.21 cups. Sources: - Nabisco Honey Maid Graham Cracker Crumbs: 102.4 g per cup. Nutrition label states 2.5 Tbsp (16 g) as the serving, described on-pack as one-eighth of a 9-inch pie shell. 16 g / (2.5 × 14.787 mL) = 0.4328 g/mL, reading out to 102 g per US customary cup. Sold in 13.5 oz canisters (UPC 044000002183). Ingredients: unbleached enriched flour, sugar, graham flour (whole grain wheat), canola oil, high fructose corn syrup, palm oil, honey, leavening, salt, soy lecithin, artificial flavor. - USDA FoodData Central Branded Foods (UPC 044000002183): 102.4 g per cup. USDA Branded Food record for Nabisco Honey Maid Graham Cracker Crumbs lists 108 g per metric cup = 3.6 oz per US cup = 102 g per US cup. Same underlying label data as the direct Nabisco source above (USDA Branded records are label-derived, not chemically analyzed), but confirms the figure has been submitted to and published by USDA. - Keebler Graham Cracker Crumbs (USDA Branded): 102.2 g per cup. USDA Branded Food records for Keebler-brand graham cracker crumbs (including Keebler Graham Cracker Crumbs Chocolate, UPC 00030100116912, at 108 g/metric cup = 102 g/US cup) confirm convergence with Nabisco at label precision. Second major branded source at essentially the same density. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 100 g per cup. Chart states 'Graham cracker crumbs (store-bought or crushed from whole) 1 cup (6 to 7 crackers) = 3.5 oz = 100 g'. 100 g / 236.588 mL = 0.4227 g/mL. Within 2% of the Nabisco/USDA figure, well under the 10% milled category tolerance — KA is correct here and is a supporting source, not a correction target. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: One cup of graham cracker crumbs weighs about 102 grams (0.432 g/mL). Nabisco Honey Maid, Keebler, and King Arthur Baking all converge at 100 to 102 grams per cup at label precision. A widely-cited 84 g/cup figure from the BakeGrams converter cites 'King Arthur Baking and USDA food database references' as its source but matches neither — the correct figure across every authority is close to 102, not 84. Graham cracker crumbs are sold pre-crushed in 13.5-ounce canisters (Nabisco Honey Maid and Keebler are the two dominant US brands) or produced at home by crushing whole graham crackers in a food processor or a zip-top bag with a rolling pin. Ingredients across brands are essentially the same: enriched wheat flour, graham flour (whole-grain wheat), sugar, an oil (canola, palm, or soybean), honey, leavening, salt, and lecithin. The crumb texture varies from very fine dust to coarse fragments depending on brand and crushing method. USDA Branded Food Data has records for multiple graham cracker crumb products, all in the 108-110 g per metric cup range, which converts to 102-104 g per US cup. The Nabisco Honey Maid label itself (UPC 044000002183) prints a serving size of 2.5 tablespoons (16 g) — that back-calculates directly to 102 grams per cup at density 0.433 g/mL. King Arthur Baking's Ingredient Weight Chart lists graham cracker crumbs at 100 grams per cup and equates that to '6 to 7 whole crackers.' The two figures agree within 2%, well under the 10% milled category tolerance. Whole graham crackers as sold: a single full Nabisco Honey Maid rectangle weighs about 14 to 15 grams. Six to seven crackers therefore give 90 to 105 grams of crumbs, which is where KA's 100 g/cup figure comes from and why it lines up with the pre-crushed 102 figure. When crushing at home, degree of grinding matters: very fine dust-like crumbs pack denser (a scoop reads 105-110 g/cup) and coarse fragments pack looser (85-95 g/cup). Store-bought pre-crushed products are uniformly fine and sit reliably at 102. For cheesecake and pie crust math, the classic ratio is 1.5 cups crumbs to 5 tablespoons melted butter and 2-3 tablespoons sugar for a 9-inch springform pan. At 102 g/cup, that is 153 g crumbs, 70 g butter, 25-40 g sugar — a butter-to-crumb ratio around 0.46 that produces a crust that holds together when sliced but does not turn greasy. Using BakeGrams' 84 g/cup would call for 126 g of crumbs and would leave the butter overbalanced, producing a crust that pools fat during pre-baking and slips off the pan when sliced. Using KA's 100 g/cup rather than 102 makes no practical difference. Common substitutions all sit near the same density band. Digestive biscuits (McVitie's) can substitute 1:1 by weight at about 100 g per cup crushed. Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer crumbs are darker and less sweet but similarly dense (~100 g/cup). Vanilla wafer crumbs (Nabisco Nilla) run slightly lighter at about 85-90 g/cup and produce a more crumbly, less structured crust. For gluten-free bakes, gluten-free graham-style crackers from Kinnikinnick or Pamela's approximate the density but may need slightly more butter to bind well because gluten-free flour absorbs fat less efficiently. ### Graham Flour https://exactcups.com/graham-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: whole wheat graham flour, coarse whole wheat flour, graham whole wheat flour, stone ground graham flour. King Arthur: 96 g (3.4 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/graham-flour-96-grams/. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Graham Flour (USDA Branded, UPC 039978003096): 120 g per cup. Ingredients: whole grain hard red spring wheat. Nutrition label: 1/4 cup (30 g), 110 kcal. Extrapolates to 120 g per US cup. Bob's Red Mill sells graham flour as a distinct SKU from their whole wheat pastry flour. - Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Graham Flour (USDA Branded, UPC 039978009906): 120 g per cup. Ingredients: organic whole grain hard red spring wheat. Nutrition label: 1/4 cup (30 g), 110 kcal. Same 120 g per US cup as the conventional SKU. Confirms convergence across two Bob's Red Mill product lines. - Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Graham Flour: 120 g per cup. Stone-ground whole wheat, sold as a distinct product from Hodgson Mill's whole wheat pastry flour. Nutrition data extrapolates to approximately 120 g per US cup, matching Bob's Red Mill. Hodgson Mill's packaging explicitly notes the graham vs pastry flour distinction and directs pastry users to a separate SKU. - King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart: 96 g per cup. Listed as 'Whole Wheat Pastry Flour / Graham Flour' at 1 cup = 3 3/8 oz = 96 g, treating the two products as interchangeable. 20% below the multi-producer convergence at 120 g/cup for graham flour as sold by Bob's Red Mill and Hodgson Mill. REJECTED: King Arthur's chart conflates two distinct products under one line item: 'Whole Wheat Pastry Flour / Graham Flour' at 96 g/cup. The 96 g figure is defensible for a soft-wheat pastry flour (KA's own whole wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat), but it does not describe graham flour as sold by Bob's Red Mill (hard red spring wheat, coarser grind) or Hodgson Mill. Multi-producer convergence shows graham flour proper at 120 g/cup, 25% higher than KA's figure. This is a scope error, not a pure density measurement error: KA has treated a distinct product category as if it were their own house product. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/graham-flour-96-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: 1 cup of graham flour weighs 120 grams. High confidence, based on convergence across Bob's Red Mill (two SKUs) and Hodgson Mill. King Arthur lists 96 g/cup by lumping graham flour together with whole wheat pastry flour on their chart; that figure works for a soft-wheat pastry flour but understates true graham flour by 25 percent. Graham flour is a coarse-ground whole wheat flour named after Sylvester Graham, a 19th-century American reformist minister who championed unrefined whole-grain baking as part of a broader dietary movement. Traditional graham flour is milled with a distinctive technique: the endosperm is ground fine, as in white flour, while the bran and germ are ground coarsely and combined back in, producing a flour with visible bran flecks and a slightly grainy texture. Modern commercial graham flour, including Bob's Red Mill and Hodgson Mill's products, is generally milled from hard red spring wheat and ground more coarsely than standard whole wheat flour. It is the base ingredient in true graham crackers, though most commercial graham crackers today use regular whole wheat flour or even bleached white flour with molasses and honey for the characteristic flavor. Graham flour is a distinct product from whole wheat pastry flour, though the two are often confused. Whole wheat pastry flour is milled from soft white wheat, which has lower protein content (around 9 percent versus 12 to 13 percent for hard red wheat) and produces tender results in cookies, cakes, and biscuits. Graham flour with its higher-protein hard red wheat is better suited to hearty breads, muffins, pancakes, and graham crackers, where a coarser texture and more assertive wheat flavor are desired. Bob's Red Mill sells both products as separate SKUs, and Hodgson Mill's graham flour packaging explicitly directs pastry-flour users to their separate whole wheat pastry flour product. King Arthur is the notable exception: their ingredient weight chart lumps the two under a single line item, 'Whole Wheat Pastry Flour / Graham Flour,' both at 96 grams per cup. This is idiosyncratic to King Arthur and does not reflect industry consensus. The source data for graham flour proper converges cleanly. Bob's Red Mill's regular Whole Wheat Graham Flour (USDA Branded database entry, UPC 039978003096) lists 30 grams per quarter-cup serving on the nutrition panel, extrapolating to 120 grams per US cup. Their organic version (UPC 039978009906) lists the same 30 grams per quarter cup, confirming the figure across two production lines. Hodgson Mill's graham flour extrapolates to the same 120 grams per cup from its serving-size disclosure. Three producers, one figure. King Arthur's 96 grams per cup is 25 percent below this convergence. The rejection here is not a pure density measurement error, unlike the sweet rice flour or rice flour corrections where King Arthur applied a fluid-ounce interpretation to a weight measurement. Instead, King Arthur has treated graham flour as if it were their whole wheat pastry flour, effectively erasing the distinction between two different products. Their 96-gram figure is probably accurate for their own whole wheat pastry flour, which is milled from soft wheat and packs less densely, but a baker following that figure and reaching for a bag of Bob's Red Mill graham flour will under-weigh by a full quarter. For practical baking, use 120 grams per cup for graham flour from any of the major producers that sell it as a distinct product. There is no FDA identity standard for graham flour in the United States, so there is real product variation between brands, but the 120-gram figure holds for the mainstream retail options. Weighing directly from the bag eliminates any variance from grind coarseness or brand-specific milling. ### Hazelnut Flour https://exactcups.com/hazelnut-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: hazelnut meal, ground hazelnuts, filbert flour, hazelnut meal flour, finely ground hazelnuts. King Arthur: 89 g (3.1 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 112 g (4 oz) for fine store-bought hazelnut flour; meal ground at home is lighter; 1 tbsp = 7 g. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 75–112 g. Sources span 75-112 g per cup, a 49% gap, far over the 10% tolerance. USDA SR Legacy weighs a cup of ground hazelnuts at 75 g, King Arthur gives 89 g for hazelnut flour, and Bob's Red Mill 112 g for its finely ground hazelnut flour. Grind fineness decides where a cup lands; no single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts" (FDC 170581): 75 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup ground = 75 g (density 0.317 g/mL), 1 cup chopped = 115 g and 1 cup whole = 135 g. Fat 60.8 g, protein 14.9 g, carbohydrate 16.7 g, water 5.3 g per 100 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 89 g per cup. KA lists "Hazelnut flour" at 1 cup = 3 1/8 oz = 89 g, density 0.376 g/mL. - Bob's Red Mill Flour Weight Chart: 112 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill lists Hazelnut Flour at 1/4 cup = 28 g, 1 cup = 112 g (density 0.473 g/mL), spoon-and-level method. The current label on Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground Hazelnut Flour (Meal), 14-oz bag (Vitacost), prints 2 Tbsp (14 g), the same 112 g per cup; ingredient: hazelnuts. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of hazelnut flour weighs 75 to 112 g (2.6 to 4 oz). USDA weighs a cup of ground hazelnuts at 75 g, King Arthur gives 89 g, and Bob's Red Mill gives 112 g for its finely ground flour. The gap is far over the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. For store-bought fine hazelnut flour, spooned and levelled, 112 g is the figure to use; for hazelnuts ground at home, use about 75 to 90 g. In the US, hazelnut flour and hazelnut meal are the same product: whole hazelnuts ground fine. Bob's Red Mill grinds whole hazelnuts and some brands use blanched ones; none removes the oil. Hazelnuts are about 61% fat, so the flour is closer to a nut butter in waiting than to a grain flour. It is used in gluten-free and low-carbohydrate baking, in tortes, Linzer dough and macarons, and as a richer stand-in for almond flour. USDA SR Legacy "Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts" (FDC 170581) gives 1 cup ground at 75 g, 1 cup chopped at 115 g and 1 cup whole at 135 g. King Arthur gives hazelnut flour at 3 1/8 oz, 89 g. Bob's Red Mill's flour weight chart gives 28 g per quarter cup, 112 g per cup, by spooning and levelling, and its current bag labels 2 tablespoons as 14 g, the same figure. Thrive Market's label, as transcribed on a nutrition site, gives 2 tablespoons as 13 g, about 104 g per cup. Why it varies: fineness. Nuts ground in a food processor or nut grinder give a coarse, fluffy meal of uneven crumbs that stand apart and hold air, which is USDA's 75 g. Commercial hazelnut flour is ground much finer, and fine, oily particles pack closely and cling together, so the cup holds more nut. King Arthur's 89 g sits between the two. It is inside the range and cannot be shown wrong, so it is accepted. The physical check: hazelnut kernels, with their fat, are about as dense as water, a little more. Whole hazelnuts weigh 135 g per cup in USDA's measurement, the nuts filling about half the cup. Coarse meal at 75 g fills under a third, and fine flour at 112 g about 45%, more than coarse meal but still less than whole nuts, which is the expected order. One caution on Bob's Red Mill: its chart gives the same 28 g quarter cup for hazelnut, almond and quinoa flour, and 28 g is one ounce, a common rounded label serving. Its newer label's 14 g per 2 tablespoons and Thrive Market's 13 g point to the same density, so the figure stands for fine flour, but it is a label-sized number. Almond flour on this site is withheld for the same reason: King Arthur gives 96 g and Bob's Red Mill 112 g. Practical guidance: use 112 g per cup for fine store-bought hazelnut flour, 28 g per quarter cup and about 7 g per tablespoon; use 75 to 90 g per cup for meal ground at home. Spoon it in and level without pressing, because the oil lets it compact. When substituting hazelnut flour for almond flour, swap by weight, not by cup, and keep the bag in the freezer, since the fat turns rancid at room temperature. ### Hazelnuts https://exactcups.com/hazelnuts/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: whole hazelnuts, filberts, hazelnut kernels, raw hazelnuts. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, whole kernels loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 135 g (4.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 67.5 g; 1/4 cup = 33.7 g; 1 tbsp = 8.4 g; 1 tsp = 2.8 g (0.5706 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.68 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 135 g per cup. Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts (SR Legacy 12120). Published: 1 cup whole = 135 g. Density 0.5706 g/mL. - King Arthur: 142 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Hazelnuts (whole)', 1 cup = 142 g. Density 0.6003 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central lists Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts (SR Legacy 12120) at 1 cup whole = 135 g, implying a density of 0.5706 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Hazelnuts (whole)' at 1 cup = 142 g, implying 0.6003 g/mL. The gap between them is 5.19%, comfortably inside the 10% milled tolerance for whole and chopped nuts, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 135 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method. Hazelnut kernels are roughly spherical, about 15 to 20 mm in diameter, and pack more efficiently than the crescent shapes of pecan or walnut halves. This is visible in the density figures across this site: pecan halves publish at 99 g per cup (0.4185 g/mL), walnut halves publish as a range of 99 to 128 g per cup because their sources disagree, pistachios publish at 123 g per cup (0.5199 g/mL), and hazelnuts sit higher still at 135 g per cup. Sphere packing has known geometric efficiency, and hazelnut kernels approximate that geometry more closely than the flatter or more irregular kernels of related tree nuts. Chopped hazelnuts are a separate product with a different density and are not yet published on this site. USDA's own portion table for SR Legacy 12120 also lists 1 cup chopped at 115 g, roughly 15 percent lower than the whole-kernel figure. The reduction under chopping is unusual because most nut chopping increases apparent density by filling air gaps, as documented for pecans on this site, but hazelnut chopping produces angular fragments that can bridge and create voids that intact spheres do not. A chopped-hazelnut entry will be added when a second authoritative source (King Arthur does not list chopped or ground hazelnuts) becomes available to clear the two-source rule. Product variants: raw versus dry-roasted hazelnuts differ by approximately 4% in moisture, which slightly increases apparent density after roasting but rarely crosses tolerance. Blanched hazelnuts, with the skin removed, show a very small mass reduction from the removed skin, well inside noise. Filbert is a common alternate name; the two words refer to the same genus (Corylus) and are used interchangeably in USDA nomenclature. In-shell hazelnuts roughly double the total weight because shell mass approaches kernel mass, and cup measurements of in-shell nuts are not useful for baking. Hazelnuts are placed in the milled category alongside other whole and chopped nuts, whole seeds and whole grains. The category rule assigns these to milled because they pack by scoop with air gaps rather than filling by fluid displacement. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the 5.19% observed gap between sources is well inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for hazelnuts or other tree nuts. Codex Alimentarius has a standard covering hazelnut kernels for moisture content, defect tolerances, shell fragment limits and aflatoxin 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. ### Hemp hearts https://exactcups.com/hemp-hearts/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: hemp hearts, shelled hemp seeds, hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed kernels, raw shelled hemp seeds, cannabis sativa shelled seeds. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 160 g (5.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 80 g; 1/4 cup = 40 g; 1 tbsp = 10 g; 1 tsp = 3.3 g (0.6763 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.42 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170148): 160 g per cup. FDC entry 170148 'Seeds, hemp seed, hulled', Standard Release. Direct portion: 3 tablespoons = 30 g, back-calculating to 160 g/cup (density 0.6763 g/mL) using 16 tbsp per US cup. USDA does not list a direct cup portion but the tablespoon figure is unambiguous. Cross-validated against aqua-calc's USDA-derived density of 169 g/metric cup, which converts to 160 g/US cup precisely. - Manitoba Harvest (with multi-brand cross-validation): 160 g per cup. Manitoba Harvest is the global market leader in commercial hemp hearts (Canadian producer since 1998, category-defining brand). Retail nutrition label on both US Natural Hemp Hearts and Canadian Organic Hemp Hearts: 3 tablespoons = 30 g, back-calculating to 160 g/cup and density 0.6763 g/mL — identical to USDA. Kirkland Signature Organic Hemp Hearts (Costco private label) confirms at the same 3 tbsp = 30 g figure. Every major commercial hemp hearts brand publishes the identical 30 g per 3 tablespoons on retail nutrition labels, matching the USDA Standard Release figure precisely and providing the strongest cross-source convergence on this site. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Hemp hearts publish at 160 grams per cup with high confidence because four independent authoritative sources converge precisely on this figure. USDA FoodData Central entry 170148 (Seeds, hemp seed, hulled) publishes 30 grams per 3 tablespoons, which back-calculates to 160 g/cup (density 0.6763 g/mL). Manitoba Harvest, the global market leader in commercial hemp hearts, publishes the identical 30 grams per 3 tablespoons on both its US Natural Hemp Hearts and Canadian Organic Hemp Hearts retail packaging. Kirkland Signature Organic Hemp Hearts (Costco's private label) matches at 30 grams per 3 tablespoons. Aqua-calc's USDA-derived density calculation confirms 160 g/US cup via metric-to-US conversion. This four-source convergence at a single figure is unusual on this site and reflects hemp hearts' remarkable consistency across brands. Hemp hearts (also called shelled hemp seeds or hulled hemp seeds) are the soft inner kernels of the Cannabis sativa seed, revealed after the harder outer hull is removed via mechanical dehulling. Whole hemp seeds (unshelled) have a crunchy nut-like exterior and would be significantly denser per cup because the hull adds mass without proportional volume, similar to the pearled versus whole grain distinction in farro on this site. This entry covers hemp HEARTS specifically — the shelled product marketed by every major North American brand under the hemp hearts trade name. The product is unrelated to psychoactive cannabis: hemp seeds contain no meaningful THC and hemp hearts are legally sold as a food across North America and Europe. Physical mechanism for the 160 g/cup density: hemp hearts are small (approximately 2-4 mm), soft, and irregularly shaped with a high fat content (49 percent by weight, mostly polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 oils, plus 32 percent protein). The soft texture allows them to pack fairly densely, but the oil coating prevents tight interlocking and the irregular shape creates persistent air voids between particles. The net result at 160 g/cup (density 0.6763 g/mL) is heavier than most flours (all-purpose 120 g/cup) but lighter than most intact whole grains (farro pearled 180 g/cup, amaranth grain 193 g/cup) — a density profile characteristic of fatty seed kernels rather than starchy grains or airy powders. Compared to other seeds and small kernels on the site, hemp hearts at 160 g/cup pack lighter than intact whole grains and heavier than most milled flours. The comparison to other seed kernels places hemp hearts in the middle of the seed density spectrum — smaller and softer than pumpkin seed kernels, larger and fatter than chia or flax seeds. USDA does not publish a whole-hemp-seed (unshelled) cup portion; the shelled hemp hearts figure at 160 g/cup is the only cup weight consistently established across sources. Category assignment is milled, matching other seeds, whole grains, and fibrous plant particulates on the site under the physical-packing definition. Confidence is high reflecting the four-source convergence — USDA Standard Release cross-validated by Manitoba Harvest (market leader), Kirkland Signature, and independent density calculation, all agreeing precisely at 30 g per 3 tablespoons. High confidence for a range-publish moat play is rare on this site; hemp hearts earn it because commercial hemp seed processing produces exceptionally consistent product across brands, and USDA's measured figure aligns with every retail label. For baking and cooking accuracy, weigh hemp hearts on a kitchen scale, but the 160 g/cup figure is reliable enough to use for recipe planning without a scale. This entry represents a moat play for the site: hemp hearts is a modern superfood added to the North American market after the King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart was established, and no other cup-to-gram reference cross-validates the USDA figure against multiple commercial brands with the physical explanation of why fatty seed kernels pack at their characteristic density between flours and whole grains. ### Hulled Barley https://exactcups.com/hulled-barley/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: whole grain barley, whole barley, unpearled barley, dehulled barley, barley groats, hull-less barley, hulless barley. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 184 g (6.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 92 g; 1/4 cup = 46 g; 1 tbsp = 11.5 g; 1 tsp = 3.8 g (0.7777 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.23 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Barley, hulled (FDC 170283): 184 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy entry (NDB 20004, FDC 170283) lists 1 cup = 184 g directly as a standard portion, yielding a density of 0.7777 g/mL. Anchor for the whole-grain barley cluster. - Bob's Red Mill Whole Hull-Less Barley: 184 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Whole Hull-Less Barley nutrition label lists 1/4 cup = 46 g, extrapolating to 184 g per US cup — matches USDA exactly. Bob's uses the 'hull-less' variety (naked barley where the hull comes off naturally during threshing) rather than mechanically dehulled traditional barley; both are whole-grain and pack at the same density. Confirmed via Fatsecret and PCC Community Markets bulk-organic label (PLU 3850). - Whole Foods Bulk Organic Barley (Hulled): 184 g per cup. Whole Foods bulk commodity label for Organic Barley (Hulled) lists 1/4 cup = 46 g, extrapolating to 184 g per US cup — third independent convergence on the USDA anchor. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind on hulled): King Arthur does not publish a per-cup weight for hulled barley in their Ingredient Weight Chart. They do list Barley (pearled) at 1 cup = 7 1/2 oz = 213 g, which is 16% denser than hulled barley — the difference reflects removal of the bran layer during pearling (see notes). No KA correction applies to hulled barley. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of hulled barley weighs 184 g** — USDA FoodData Central, Bob's Red Mill, and Whole Foods bulk all converge on this figure exactly. Density 0.7777 g/mL. Contrary to a common intuition, hulled barley is roughly 10-15% *lighter* per cup than pearl barley (200-216 g/cup), because the bran layer that's retained in hulled barley creates surface irregularities that keep kernels from packing as tightly as polished pearl. Hulled barley is the whole grain of *Hordeum vulgare* with only the inedible outer hull mechanically removed. All three bran layers and the germ are retained, making it a true whole grain with the full fibre, mineral, and B-vitamin profile intact. Commercial barley comes in three progressively polished forms that occupy distinct positions in the ExactCups density ladder: **hulled barley** (this entry, 184 g/cup, whole grain, ~1 hour cook time), **pot barley** or Scotch barley (partially polished, bran mostly intact, an intermediate step less common in US markets), and **pearl barley** (fully polished, bran removed, 200-216 g/cup, 30-45 minute cook time). A fourth variant, **hull-less barley** (also spelled hulless), is a botanically different variety of *Hordeum vulgare* whose hull separates naturally during threshing rather than requiring mechanical dehulling. For all cooking and density purposes hull-less barley is functionally identical to traditional hulled barley — Bob's Red Mill markets their whole-grain barley under both labels, and the per-cup weight is the same 184 g. The density convergence across sources is unusually clean. USDA FDC 170283 lists 1 cup = 184 g as a direct standard portion. Bob's Red Mill's Whole Hull-Less Barley nutrition label lists 1/4 cup = 46 g, extrapolating to exactly 184 g/cup — a perfect USDA match. Whole Foods' bulk commodity label for Organic Barley (Hulled) lists the same 46 g per quarter cup. Three independent sources at 184 g/cup with zero spread justify a HIGH confidence single-figure publish, rare for grains where retail variance usually creates a modest range. The counter-intuitive part is why hulled barley is lighter than pearl. Bakers who think about whole grains often assume that retaining the bran adds weight per cup — the bran is dense fibre, and it's on the outside of the kernel. But the pack density of a cup of loose grain is dominated by how efficiently kernels tessellate against each other, not by the bran's own density. Hulled barley's rough, uneven bran-coated surface creates air pockets between kernels; pearl barley's polished-smooth exterior lets kernels nest more tightly. The same phenomenon shows up in brown rice (roughly 190 g/cup) vs white long-grain rice (roughly 190-200 g/cup, with the difference varying by variety and grain length), and in wheat berries (about 195 g/cup whole) vs finely-milled bulgur (denser). Pearl barley's higher per-cup weight reflects tighter packing, not more matter per kernel. King Arthur does not publish a weight for hulled barley in their Ingredient Weight Chart, though they do list Barley (pearled) at 7 1/2 oz = 213 g/cup — consistent with the pearl cluster at 200-216 g/cup, and 16% denser than hulled. That density gap of 29 g/cup is exactly what a recipe calling for "1 cup pearled barley" pays if it silently swaps to hulled: about 4 grams of fibre and 1.5 grams of protein gained per cup, along with a longer cook time and chewier texture. Practical cook recommendation: weigh hulled barley at 184 g per cup, 46 g per quarter cup. Cooking ratio is 1 part barley to 3 parts water for a firm chewy texture (85-90 minutes on the stove), or 1:4 for a softer risotto-adjacent finish. Rinse before cooking to wash off any grain dust from milling. When substituting hulled for pearl barley in a soup or pilaf recipe, use the same volume but add 30-40 minutes to the cook time and expect a firmer, chewier bite; when substituting by weight, use the same weight and expect the same yield ratio since both are dry grain absorbing similar water proportions. ### Instant Coffee https://exactcups.com/instant-coffee/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: instant coffee powder, soluble coffee, coffee powder, instant coffee crystals, freeze-dried coffee, spray-dried coffee. #### Standard, spooned No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 48–96 g. Cup weight varies from 43 g (level teaspoons at 0.9g each) to 96 g (label and rounded-teaspoon convention at 2g each). Instant coffee is unusually light (0.2 g/mL physical density), so scoop technique dominates variance more than brand or drying method. Sources: - USDA reference for instant coffee density: 86 g per cup. USDA lists 1 rounded teaspoon of instant coffee as 1.8g, so a rounded-tsp cup measures 86 g/cup (48 tsp x 1.8g). Widely cited in caffeine and nutrition references. - Nescafe nutrition label: 96 g per cup. Serving size 1 teaspoon (2g), per Nescafe product labels. Multiplied to 48 tsp/cup = 96 g/cup. Reflects the rounded and heaping-tsp measurement most consumers use. - Folgers Instant Coffee nutrition label: 96 g per cup. Serving size 1 teaspoon (2g), consistent with Nescafe. Multiplied to 96 g/cup. - ChefSolver density reference: 48 g per cup. Physical density of instant coffee measured at 0.203 g/mL, giving a level cup at approximately 48 g/cup. Notes that compaction can alter measurement by 30-50% due to the porous granule structure. - Espresso Coffee Guide (industry technical reference): 52 g per cup. Spray-dried instant coffee particles have a documented particle density of about 0.22 g/mL, essentially identical to freeze-dried products at the level-scoop density. Confirms that drying method does not meaningfully affect cup weight. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Instant coffee density ranges from 43 g/cup (level teaspoons) to 96 g/cup (label and rounded-teaspoon convention), driven more by scoop technique than by brand. It's one of the lightest ingredients in a baking kitchen. Companion to espresso powder, but not a 1:1 substitute. Instant coffee is dehydrated brewed coffee, either spray-dried into fine porous particles (older Nescafe, Folgers) or freeze-dried into larger crystals (Nescafe Gold, Taster's Choice, most modern premium instants). Bakers use it to add coffee flavor to chocolate cakes and cookies (enhances chocolate intensity even at low concentrations), tiramisu, coffee buttercream, and coffee ice cream. The typical baking dose is 1 to 2 teaspoons dissolved in a warm liquid before mixing into the batter. Cup weight is unusually variable because instant coffee is the lightest dry ingredient most home bakers encounter. Its physical density sits at roughly 0.2 g/mL (less than a quarter of water, less than half of all-purpose flour), which means the difference between a level and heaping teaspoon is proportionally larger than for denser ingredients. A level teaspoon weighs about 0.9g; a rounded teaspoon (USDA convention) weighs about 1.8g; a jar's nutrition label typically states 2g per teaspoon, reflecting the heaping-teaspoon measurement most people use when scooping. Multiplied to a full cup: level teaspoons give 43 g/cup (48 tsp x 0.9g), rounded teaspoons per USDA give 86 g/cup (48 tsp x 1.8g), and label convention per Nescafe and Folgers gives 96 g/cup (48 tsp x 2g). ChefSolver publishes 0.203 g/mL as the true physical density, matching a level scoop of freeze-dried granules. Spray-dried instant coffee particles have a documented density of about 0.22 g/mL per Espresso Coffee Guide, essentially identical. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list instant coffee (only espresso powder at 112 g/cup), leaving the volume-to-weight conversion largely unstandardized across baking recipes. Substitution equivalence with espresso powder is well-established: King Arthur publishes 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of instant coffee per 1 teaspoon of espresso powder. The math works out by weight solids per volume: espresso powder is a more concentrated brew dehydrated into denser particles, so a smaller volume delivers the same coffee-solids intensity. A recipe calling for 1 tablespoon espresso powder wants 1 and 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee, roughly 2.7g instant against 7g espresso powder. It's still not a 1:1 gram substitution because instant coffee is genuinely less concentrated in coffee solids per gram, so more volume compensates. Freeze-dried versus spray-dried does not change cup weight meaningfully at the level-scoop density (both around 0.2 g/mL). What changes is dissolution behavior: freeze-dried crystals dissolve into hot water more cleanly, spray-dried powder can leave sediment in cold liquids. For batter incorporation, dissolve fully in a small volume of hot water or hot liquid from the recipe before mixing into wet ingredients, to avoid speckled crumb. Practical recommendation: weigh instant coffee for any recipe that names a specific gram amount; a scale reading in 1-gram increments is precise enough. If working from teaspoons, keep scoop technique consistent within a recipe and never mix level and rounded scoops between measurements. For a 1 to 2 teaspoon coffee-flavor dose in cakes or cookies, the level and rounded difference amounts to less than 2g of coffee solids and is unlikely to derail the recipe, but for stronger coffee-forward bakes (mocha frostings, coffee ice cream), weigh to hit the intended intensity. ### Instant Potato Flakes https://exactcups.com/instant-potato-flakes/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: instant potato flakes, dried potato flakes, dehydrated potato flakes, instant mashed potatoes, instant mashed potato flakes, potato flakes. King Arthur: 86 g (3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 54–86 g. Retail producer labels cluster tightly at 54-69 g/cup (Bob's Red Mill 54, USDA-branded Great Value/Betty Crocker 57, Shiloh Farms 57, USDA-branded Dehydrated Potato Flakes 69, Idahoan Original 66); King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart sits at 86 g/cup, about 25-59% above the retail consensus. The gap reflects real product-form variance — standard consumer flakes are large, loose, and aerated, while denser commercial-grade or finer-flake products pack heavier. Both figures describe legitimate products that behave differently on a scoop. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company — Ingredient Weight Chart: 86 g per cup. 1/2 cup = 1 1/2 oz = 43 g, extrapolating to 86 g/cup. KA lists this ingredient as "Dried potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)," acknowledging the synonym. Sits 25% above the highest retail label (Idahoan at 66 g/cup) and 59% above the lowest (Bob's Red Mill at 54); likely represents a denser commercial-grade reference product rather than standard grocery-shelf consumer flakes. - Bob's Red Mill — Potato Flakes (product label): 54 g per cup. Label serving: 1/3 cup dry = 18 g = 70 kcal. Extrapolates to 54 g/cup. Ingredient statement: dehydrated potatoes (single-ingredient, no emulsifiers or preservatives). Dominant natural-foods home-baker brand. UPC 039978043313. - Idahoan Foods — Original Mashed Potatoes (product label): 66 g per cup. Label serving: 1/3 cup dry mix = 22 g = 80 kcal. Extrapolates to 66 g/cup. Ingredient statement: Idaho potatoes with mono/diglycerides (emulsifier) and sodium acid pyrophosphate/sodium bisulfite/citric acid/mixed tocopherols (color preservatives). Dominant US retail brand (Idaho Pacific). - USDA FoodData Central — Betty Crocker / Great Value Potato Flakes Instant Mashed Potatoes (branded, UPC 036800515123, via aqua-calc): 57 g per cup. USDA branded food entry: 60 g/metric cup = 57 g/US cup = 2 oz/US cup. Corresponds to the dominant grocery-store private-label product family (Great Value, Betty Crocker, and equivalents sharing the General Mills manufacturing base). - Shiloh Farms — Potato Flakes (product label): 57 g per cup. Label serving: 1/3 cup = 19 g = 70 kcal. Extrapolates to 57 g/cup. Natural-foods brand distributed via specialty grocers. Matches the USDA branded UPC 036800515123 figure at 57 g/cup within rounding, confirming the retail-consensus figure. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 54-86 g/cup (0.23-0.36 g/mL). Retail producer labels cluster tightly at 54-69 g/cup across Bob's Red Mill, Idahoan, USDA branded entries, and Shiloh Farms; King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 86 g/cup, about 25-59% above the retail consensus. For any recipe using a specific retail brand, trust the product label rather than the KA figure. Instant potato flakes — also sold as dried potato flakes, dehydrated potato flakes, or instant mashed potato flakes depending on the brand — are cooked russet potato dried into loose flake form, typically with mono- and diglycerides as emulsifier and sodium acid pyrophosphate as a color preservative (though single-ingredient versions like Bob's Red Mill omit both). Rehydration in hot water plus milk and butter yields the mashed-potato dish the product is marketed for, but bakers use it differently: added dry to yeast dough at 3-5% of flour weight, it acts as a tenderizer and moisture conditioner, giving the soft crumb characteristic of Amish white bread, potato rolls, sandwich loaves, and pretzel dough. The starch in the flakes gelatinizes during the bake and holds water for longer than wheat starch alone, extending shelf life a day or two. Density data forms two clear clusters. Retail brand labels converge tightly at the lower end: Bob's Red Mill Potato Flakes at 1/3 cup = 18 g (54 g/cup), Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes at 1/3 cup = 22 g (66 g/cup), Shiloh Farms at 1/3 cup = 19 g (57 g/cup). USDA branded entries via aqua-calc for the Great Value / Betty Crocker family (UPC 036800515123) give 60 g/metric cup, or 57 g per US cup. Together these five sources span 54 to 66 g/cup with an average around 58. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart sits significantly higher at 1/2 cup = 1 1/2 oz = 43 g, extrapolating to 86 g/cup — about 25% above the highest retail figure and 59% above the lowest. The physical spread reflects flake size and packing behavior. Standard consumer instant potato flakes are large, loose, aerated flakes designed to rehydrate quickly; they leave substantial air gaps between flakes when scooped. Some commercial food-service and bakery-supply products are pressed into finer granules or smaller flakes that pack denser, and KA's figure likely represents such a denser reference product rather than a typical grocery-shelf pouch. Both numbers describe legitimate products that behave differently on a scale. For bread baking, the practical guidance is: match the density figure to the product in hand. If you use Bob's Red Mill or Idahoan (the two dominant home-baker retail brands), 54-66 g/cup is the honest number, and a recipe calling for "1 cup potato flakes" under-delivers flakes by roughly a third if you scoop against KA's 86-g/cup assumption. If you buy from a commercial bakery-supply source or from the KA online store, weigh a test cup once and calibrate. Where potato flakes function as a dough conditioner at 2-5% of flour weight, the effective difference across brands is small enough to absorb without changing the finished bread noticeably; where they're a bulk starch contributor at 15-20% of the dry ingredients (as in some potato-bread formulas), weight-based measurement becomes essential — a 40% density gap in a cup of flakes propagates into a substantially wetter or drier dough than the recipe intended. Within the broader database, instant potato flakes follow the same retail-vs-KA density pattern already established by sprouted wheat flour, sweet rice flour, and non-diastatic malt powder: multiple producer labels converge on one figure while KA's chart sits well above them. Weighing beats trusting the volume conversion whenever the specific product form matters. ### Jasmine Rice https://exactcups.com/jasmine-rice/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: jasmine rice, thai jasmine rice, white jasmine rice, thai hom mali, hom mali, aromatic thai rice, fragrant thai rice, khao hom mali. King Arthur: 198 g (7 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, dry uncooked, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 180–208 g. Two legitimate product-identity clusters exist across the jasmine rice market. American commercial brands (Mahatma, Dynasty, A Taste of Thai) and their USDA Global Branded Food Products Database counterparts converge at 180 g/cup — aged Thai jasmine milled and packaged for mainstream US retail. Asian-market and specialty imported brands (Three Ladies, generic Thai Hom Mali) with their USDA Branded records converge at 200-208 g/cup — fresher, less-aged product from direct Thai or Vietnamese hom mali production. The 15.6% spread exceeds milled 10% tolerance but reflects real differences in aging, moisture content, and milling standards between the two supply chains rather than measurement error. King Arthur Baking's chart figure of 198 for generic long-grain aligns with the Asian-market cluster; USDA Standard Reference for generic long-grain sits at 185 (between the clusters). There is no single defensible figure — the correct answer depends on which brand of jasmine rice is on the shelf. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy (FDC 169756): 185 g per cup. Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, unenriched: 1 cup = 185 g. Generic long-grain reference that sits between the two jasmine clusters (2.8% above the American commercial cluster, 7.5% below the Asian-market cluster). Jasmine is an aromatic long-grain subtype; USDA does not publish a jasmine-specific record. - Mahatma Jasmine Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup exactly. Thai-origin, aged and packaged for US commercial retail. Matches basmati and other American commercial rice at 180. - Dynasty Jasmine Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup exactly. Product of Thailand, distributed under an American commercial brand. - A Taste of Thai Jasmine Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup uncooked (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup exactly. Confirms American commercial cluster. - USDA Branded (Jasmine Rice): 180 g per cup. UPC 072036764492 (dry). 190 g/metric cup → 180 g/US cup. Additional confirmation of the American commercial cluster. - USDA Branded (White Jasmine Rice): 192 g per cup. UPC 855772001010. 203 g/metric cup → 192 g/US cup. Sits between the two main clusters; possibly a hybrid supply-chain product. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 198 g per cup. "Rice (long grain, dry)": 1/2 cup, 3 1/2 oz, 99 g → 198 g/cup. KA does not publish jasmine specifically; its generic long-grain figure at 198 aligns with the Asian-market cluster and is legitimate for that population. Not a correction: King Arthur's figure supports the published one for a subset of brands. - Three Ladies Jasmine Rice: 200 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (50 g). Converts to 200 g/cup. Vietnamese-origin brand sold in Asian markets; anchor for the higher cluster. - USDA Branded (Long Grain Jasmine White Rice): 200 g per cup. UPC 688267060182. 211 g/metric cup → 200 g/US cup. Confirms Asian-market cluster in USDA Global Branded Food Products Database. - USDA Branded (Jasmine Rice): 200 g per cup. UPC 085968001023. 211 g/metric cup → 200 g/US cup. Additional Asian-market cluster confirmation. - Thai Hom Mali Jasmine Rice (generic): 208 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup (52 g). Converts to 208 g/cup — upper end of Asian-market cluster. - USDA Branded (Jasmine Rice): 140 g per cup. UPC 070787454884. 148 g/metric cup → 140 g/US cup. 22% below the American commercial cluster and 30% below the Asian-market cluster. REJECTED: 140 g/cup is 22% below the lower American commercial cluster and 30% below the Asian-market cluster. Well outside milled tolerance in both directions. Inconsistent with any recognized jasmine rice product identity — likely a serving-convention error, a cooked-rice figure mislabeled as dry, or a distinct product (possibly instant or parboiled) mislabeled generically as jasmine. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/jasmine-rice-140-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Jasmine rice spans a genuine 180-208 gram per cup range dry across major brands, with American commercial brands (Mahatma, Dynasty) at 180 and Asian-market imports (Three Ladies, Thai Hom Mali specialty) at 200-208; the 15.6% spread reflects real supply-chain differences in aging, moisture, and milling rather than measurement error, so check the label on the specific brand. Jasmine rice is an aromatic long-grain variety originating in Thailand (khao hom mali), with 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline as its dominant aroma compound. It cooks fluffy and slightly sticky, with 12-19% amylose content — lower than basmati (20-25%), which produces the softer, moister grain that defines the style. Producer nutrition labels split into two distinct clusters that span a real 180 to 208 gram per cup range, exceeding the 10% tolerance normally applied to milled ingredients. The lower cluster at 180 g/cup includes American commercial brands sold in mainstream US retail: Mahatma, Dynasty, and A Taste of Thai all publish 45 g per 1/4 cup dry, giving exactly 180 g/cup. USDA's Global Branded Food Products Database confirms 180 g/cup across multiple UPCs in this cluster. These brands source Thai jasmine but ship through a US commercial supply chain that typically ages the grain 6-12 months and mills for uniform mainstream distribution — the same supply chain that produces the 180 g/cup basmati cluster documented separately. The upper cluster at 200-208 g/cup includes Asian-market and specialty imported brands: Three Ladies publishes 50 g per 1/4 cup (200 g/cup) and generic Thai Hom Mali labels run 52 g per 1/4 cup (208 g/cup). USDA Global Branded records confirm this cluster across multiple UPCs (688267060182, 085968001023, and 085968001559 all at 200 g/cup). These brands typically source directly from Thai or Vietnamese hom mali producers with less aging and different milling standards optimized for Asian retail rather than US mainstream. USDA Standard Reference for generic raw long-grain white rice (FDC 169756) sits at 185 g/cup — 2.8% above the American cluster and 7.5% below the Asian-market cluster, effectively splitting the difference. King Arthur Baking's chart lists "Rice (long grain, dry)" at 198 g/cup, aligning with the Asian-market cluster. Neither figure is a correction target: 185 reflects a generic long-grain population that includes both jasmine styles and other varieties, and 198 reflects KA's choice to use a specification consistent with older or less-aged product. Physically, the density gap has several contributors. Fresh, less-aged jasmine typical of Asian-market imports has higher moisture content (~13-14%) than aged American commercial jasmine (~11-12%), which contributes 2-3% of the density difference. Grain-length variation between cultivars also matters: shorter, thicker hom mali strains favored in Asian markets for texture pack denser than the slimmer, more heavily-selected grains used in American commercial supply. Milling degree affects surface polish and grain shape, further shifting how the rice packs when scooped. For practical use, treat jasmine as 180 g/cup for American commercial brands (Mahatma, Dynasty, A Taste of Thai) and 200 g/cup for Asian-market brands (Three Ladies, Thai Hom Mali specialty). When precision matters, use the nutrition label on the specific package — that number is correct for that product. Cook jasmine at a 1:1.5 rice-to-water ratio (as producer instructions specify) with an optional rinse to remove surface starch. Cross-brand substitution by cup misses the mark by 10-15 g in either direction, which matters more for nutrition tracking than for cooking texture. ### Kamut Berries https://exactcups.com/kamut-berries/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: khorasan wheat berries, khorasan wheat, kamut wheat berries, kamut kernels, kamut grain, King Tut wheat, pharaoh's wheat, kamut khorasan. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 204 g (7.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 102 g; 1/4 cup = 51 g; 1 tbsp = 12.8 g; 1 tsp = 4.3 g (0.8624 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.11 cups. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Organic Kamut Berries (dominant US retail brand): 204 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Organic Kamut Berries nutrition label lists 1/4 cup = 51 g, extrapolating to 204 g per US cup. Confirmed identical across Bob's Red Mill official product page and multiple retailer listings (ShopRite various locations, iHerb, direct Bob's Red Mill sales). Ingredient: Organic Whole Grain Kamut® Khorasan Wheat, UPC 00039978119414. Bob's is the dominant US retail supplier of kamut berries and serves as the primary density anchor. - Wheat berry variety cluster (comparative anchor): 204 g per cup. Kamut (204 g/cup) sits at the dense end of the whole-grain wheat-berry cluster. Comparative densities: Hard Red Spring Wheat 203 g/cup, Hard Red Winter Wheat 192 g/cup (USDA FDC 168890), Einkorn 185 g/cup, Soft White Wheat 177 g/cup, Spelt 176 g/cup. Kamut and HRS wheat are functionally equivalent in cup-fill density despite kamut's larger kernel size — higher per-kernel protein content compensates for the larger inter-kernel air pockets. - Physical density validation (per-kernel composition): 204 g per cup. Kamut composition: 14.5% protein, 71% carbohydrate (mostly starch), 2% fat, 11% dietary fibre, ~10% water. High protein content and low moisture at maturity produce a per-kernel density comparable to Hard Red Spring wheat despite the visibly larger kernels (approximately 1 cm long vs 0.5-0.7 cm for modern wheat). Kernel volume increases faster than kernel mass with wheat variety, so larger kernels typically pack lighter — kamut is the exception because its protein content offsets the effect. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind on kamut berries): King Arthur does not publish kamut berries in their Ingredient Weight Chart. KA sells kamut flour (which is listed in the ExactCups kamut-flour entry) but does not stock or reference kamut berries. No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of kamut berries weighs 204 g** — Bob's Red Mill's label data (51 g per 1/4 cup) is consistent across every retail confirmation. Density 0.8624 g/mL. Kamut sits at the dense end of the whole-grain wheat-berry cluster, functionally equivalent to Hard Red Spring Wheat at 203 g/cup, despite kernels that are visibly 2-3 times larger than modern wheat. King Arthur does not publish kamut berries in their chart. Kamut® is a trademarked brand name owned by Kamut International Ltd. (Great Falls, Montana), applied to a specific cultivar (QK-77) of ancient khorasan wheat (*Triticum turgidum* ssp. *turanicum*). The Kamut trademark carries strict quality standards — the grain must be certified organic, non-GMO, grown to the QK-77 cultivar specification, and meet minimum protein content of about 12%. This means every product labeled Kamut® is by definition certified organic; generic khorasan wheat (grown outside the Kamut International supply chain) is the same species but sold under other names or as unbranded organic khorasan. The Egyptian pharaoh's-tomb origin story that drives Kamut's marketing — grain kernels supposedly recovered from King Tut's tomb, still viable enough to sprout — is almost certainly apocryphal; the modern QK-77 lineage traces to a 1949 shipment of khorasan wheat from Egypt to Montana wheat farmer Earl Dennis, who preserved and propagated the variety. The density data converges cleanly. Bob's Red Mill Organic Kamut Berries — the dominant US retail brand — lists 1/4 cup = 51 g on its nutrition label, extrapolating to exactly 204 g per US cup. This figure appears identically across the Bob's Red Mill official product page and every downstream retailer listing (ShopRite, iHerb, Wegmans, direct Bob's Red Mill sales). USDA FoodData Central does not maintain a dedicated Kamut entry — kamut is a trademark rather than a USDA commodity — so Bob's serves as the primary density anchor, with the wheat-berry variety cluster (USDA FDC 168889 Hard Red Spring at 203 g/cup, FDC 168890 Hard Red Winter at 192 g/cup) providing comparative validation. The kernel-size versus density paradox is worth naming plainly. Kamut kernels are visibly 2-3 times larger than modern wheat kernels — about 1 cm long versus 0.5-0.7 cm — which would ordinarily produce a *lighter* cup fill because larger kernels create larger air pockets between them. Instead, kamut lands at 204 g/cup, at the dense end of the wheat-berry cluster and slightly heavier than Hard Red Spring Wheat (203 g/cup) and Hard Red Winter (192 g/cup). The explanation is composition: kamut runs 14-15% protein (versus 12-13% for hard red wheats and 8-10% for soft white wheats), and mature kamut kernels hold about 10-11% water. The high per-kernel protein content and low moisture make each individual kernel dense enough to more than offset the geometric penalty of larger inter-kernel voids. In the ExactCups milled category, kamut berries (204 g/cup) sit at the top of the whole-grain wheat cluster and pair naturally with the existing kamut-flour entry (whole-grain kamut milled to flour typically lands at 130-140 g/cup, matching other whole-grain wheat flours). Compared to sibling grains: hulled barley (184 g/cup), pearl barley (200-213 g/cup), and farro/spelt berries (175-185 g/cup) all sit lighter; only Hard Red Spring wheat matches at 203 g/cup. This makes kamut a straightforward volume-to-volume substitute for HRS wheat berries in salads, grain bowls, and pilafs, but a 6% overweight substitute for hulled barley by cup. A gluten note: kamut contains gluten and is not safe for celiacs. However, kamut's gluten protein profile differs from modern hexaploid wheat (kamut is tetraploid, like durum), and anecdotal reports plus limited peer-reviewed research suggest that people with mild wheat sensitivities — not celiac disease — may tolerate kamut better than modern hard red wheat. This should not be interpreted as a green light for anyone with a formal gluten intolerance diagnosis; it is a plausible but under-studied observation, and the FDA does not permit gluten-tolerance claims on kamut products. Practical cook recommendation: weigh kamut berries at 204 g per US cup or 51 g per quarter cup. Cooking method requires more attention than modern wheat: soak overnight (or minimum 4 hours) before cooking to reduce cook time and improve texture; simmer in salted water at 1:3 grain-to-water ratio for 40-60 minutes until chewy and slightly popped. Multi-cooker (pressure) at 45 minutes on high with 1:3 ratio works reliably. Yield is approximately 2.5-3 cups cooked per 1 cup dry. Substitute for wheat berries or hulled barley in soups, salads, and pilafs at equal weight; for kamut flour recipes calling for berries to be milled, one cup of berries mills to approximately 1.5 cups of unsifted flour on a home mill's bread setting. ### Kamut Flour https://exactcups.com/kamut-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: khorasan wheat flour, khorasan flour, KAMUT flour, Kamut Khorasan flour, ancient khorasan flour. King Arthur: 132 g (4.7 oz), inside the published range. #### Whole-grain kamut, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120–160 g. Genuine unresolved commercial variance across current retail labels and published recipes. Current producer Nutrition Facts panels (Bob's Red Mill, Grain Brain) list 40 g per 1/4 cup (160 g/cup), while King Arthur's own kamut recipe uses 132 g/cup and Kamut International's substitution guidance implies ~137 g/cup. An older 2012 Bob's Red Mill label version listed 30 g per 1/4 cup (120 g/cup). No USDA Foundation Foods entry exists for kamut flour to resolve the discrepancy. Publishing the range until an independent method-controlled composition source is available. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Stone Ground Kamut Flour (current label): 160 g per cup. Current Nutrition Facts panel via myfooddata (UPC 039978113412): 40 g per 1/4 cup serving, extrapolating to 160 g/cup. Represents FDA post-2016 serving-size convention. - Grain Brain White Kamut Flour, Organic (current label): 160 g per cup. Current Nutrition Facts panel via myfooddata: 40 g per 1/4 cup serving, extrapolating to 160 g/cup. Second producer converging on the higher figure. - Kamut International substitution guidance: 137 g per cup. Kamut Association's stated substitution ratio: 7/8 cup kamut flour replaces 1 cup wheat flour. At a 120 g/cup modern wheat baseline this implies roughly 137 g/cup for kamut, positioning kamut as moderately denser than modern wheat. - King Arthur Baking (Golden Kamut Bread recipe): 132 g per cup. KA does not stock kamut flour and it does not appear on their ingredient weight chart, but their published Golden Kamut Bread recipe lists 1 1/2 cups (198 g) Kamut flour, implying 132 g/cup as their internal recipe-development conversion. - Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Grain Kamut Flour (2012 archive label): 120 g per cup. Historical Nutrition Facts panel via fatsecret archive (last updated 2012): 30 g per 1/4 cup serving, extrapolating to 120 g/cup. Represents pre-FDA-update serving-size convention; product may have been discontinued between then and the current 40 g/cup labeling. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: Kamut flour (whole-grain khorasan wheat) shows genuine commercial variance from roughly 120 to 160 grams per cup across current producer labels, older label archives, and published recipes. ExactCups publishes a range rather than a single figure because no independent composition source resolves the discrepancy, and the difference between current Nutrition Facts labels (160 g/cup) and King Arthur's own recipe conversion (132 g/cup) is too wide to average away honestly. Kamut is Kamut International's trademarked variety of khorasan wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. turanicum), an ancient tetraploid wheat cultivated commercially since Bob Quinn's Montana farming operation formalized the brand in 1990. Unlike einkorn, which has one dominant US brand and tight producer convergence, kamut flour is produced under license by multiple mills — Food to Live, Grain Place Foods, Grain Brain, and Modern Mountain Baking are all current retail sources — with Bob's Red Mill previously selling their own version that appears to have been discontinued for the flour while retained for the berries. The dispersion of producers means label data varies more than for single-brand ingredients. King Arthur Baking, which does not stock kamut flour on its ingredient weight chart, uses a 132 g/cup conversion in its published Golden Kamut Bread recipe (198 g in 1.5 cups). Kamut International's own substitution guidance — that 7/8 cup of kamut flour replaces 1 cup of wheat flour — implies roughly 137 g/cup at a modern wheat baseline of 120 g/cup. Current producer Nutrition Facts panels (Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Stone Ground Kamut Flour, Grain Brain White Kamut Flour, both listing 40 g per 1/4 cup) sit substantially higher at 160 g/cup. An older 2012 Bob's Red Mill label version listed 30 g per 1/4 cup (120 g/cup); the shift from 30 g to 40 g may reflect FDA-driven updates to Nutrition Facts serving-size accuracy rather than a physical change in the product. The physical reasoning behind kamut's higher density is straightforward: kamut kernels are roughly two to three times the size of modern wheat kernels with a hard, tightly packed endosperm, and stone-milling into whole-grain flour preserves more of that density than modern roller-milling of soft wheats. For comparison, Bob's Red Mill's modern whole wheat flour lists 152 g/cup on their official chart — kamut at 160 g/cup is a modest premium consistent with its heavier grain. But density this high is unusually sensitive to packing method: a lightly spooned cup of kamut flour can measure well below the label figure, while a scooped-and-packed cup can exceed it substantially. The 33% spread across sources here reflects both real physical variance and inconsistency in how producers derive their Nutrition Facts serving-size figures. USDA Foundation Foods has no entry for kamut flour specifically. The only USDA composition data covers the whole grain berry (Wheat, KAMUT khorasan, uncooked and cooked), both from Standard Reference Legacy rather than the newer Foundation Foods program. Without an independent, method-controlled composition study for the flour, no single figure can be established as authoritative. Practical baker recommendation: this is one of the rare cases where the label on your specific bag matters more than any published conversion. If you own Bob's Red Mill kamut flour, use 40 g per quarter cup (160 g per cup) as their current label states. If you're following a King Arthur recipe with cup-based measurements, honor their internal 132 g/cup convention. If you're substituting kamut for modern wheat in an existing recipe, Kamut International's 7/8-cup ratio (roughly 137 g/cup at a 120 g modern wheat baseline) is the closest thing to authoritative producer guidance. Weighing rather than measuring by volume matters more here than for standard flour because both the packing sensitivity and inter-label variance are unusually large. ### Macadamia nuts https://exactcups.com/macadamia-nuts/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole macadamia nuts, macadamia kernels, raw macadamia nuts, macadamias. King Arthur: 149 g (5.3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, whole kernels loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 134–149 g. Two sources disagree by 11.19%, over the 10% milled tolerance. USDA's notation 'whole or halves' suggests a mixed kernel state, since macadamia kernels naturally split at their cleavage axis when shelled, while King Arthur specifies 'whole' only. Half-domes pack denser than intact spheres because their flat cleavage face allows flat-to-flat contact, which likely accounts for the gap. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 134 g per cup. Nuts, macadamia nuts, raw (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup, whole or halves = 134 g. Density 0.5664 g/mL. Confirmed by proportional consistency across 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 cup portions. - King Arthur: 149 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Macadamia nuts (whole)', 1 cup = 149 g. Density 0.6298 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources 11.19% apart, over the 10% milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central publishes Nuts, macadamia nuts, raw (SR Legacy) at 1 cup, whole or halves = 134 g, implying a density of 0.5664 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Macadamia nuts (whole)' at 1 cup = 149 g, implying 0.6298 g/mL. The USDA cup portion is confirmed by proportional consistency across 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 cup entries, all dividing to the same 134 g/cup figure. The likely reason for the disagreement is a difference in what was actually measured. USDA's own notation is 'whole or halves' — macadamia kernels naturally split at their internal cleavage axis when shelled, so a cup of 'whole or halves' contains a mix of intact spheres and split half-domes. Half-domes pack much denser than intact spheres because their flat cleavage face allows flat-to-flat contact, the same effect that puts peanuts at 146 g per cup despite individual kernels being roughly comparable in intrinsic density. If USDA's sample skewed toward whole intact kernels and King Arthur's toward halves and broken pieces, an 11 to 15 percent cup-mass gap is exactly what would appear. Neither source documents its filling method, so this remains a hypothesis rather than a confirmed cause. Macadamia is also unusually variable across cultivars. Hawaiian Beaumont, Australian Own Choice and South African A38 differ measurably in kernel diameter, and the industry does not standardize which cultivars appear in generic 'macadamia nuts' reporting. Fat content is exceptionally high at approximately 76 percent by weight, the highest of any commonly-consumed tree nut, so intrinsic kernel density is elevated relative to nuts like walnuts or pecans that carry more water and starch. Related products: chopped, halved and pre-broken macadamia pieces would each pack denser than whole intact kernels and would earn separate entries when a second authoritative source becomes available. King Arthur does not list chopped or ground macadamia variants. Macadamia flour, sometimes marketed as 'macadamia meal,' is a distinct product with density set by grind fineness rather than kernel geometry, and has no King Arthur reference for comparison. Macadamia butter, like other nut butters, sits in the fat category rather than milled. Macadamia kernels are placed in the milled category alongside other whole and chopped nuts. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than milling: whole kernels pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way that whole grains and seeds do. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 11.19 percent observed gap is a genuine physical disagreement rather than an arithmetic error in either source. No standards body publishes a bulk density for macadamia or other tree nuts. Codex Alimentarius has a standard for macadamia kernels covering moisture content, defect tolerances and grade classification but not physical density. Two authoritative sources with an over-tolerance gap and no method documentation to arbitrate, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until a third independent source or a documented fill method resolves whether both figures reflect real but different kernel-state fills. ### Malted Milk Powder https://exactcups.com/malted-milk-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: malted milk powder, malted milk, malt powder, malt drink mix, malted milk mix, malted drink powder. King Arthur: 140 g (4.9 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 84–184 g. Three product families are all commercially labeled as "malted milk powder" with substantially different densities: retail beverage mixes with added sugar (Nestlé Carnation ~112 g/cup), pure baking-focused formulations without added sugar (King Arthur ~140 g/cup), and concentrated soda-fountain blends with cane sugar as a primary ingredient (CTL Foods ~184 g/cup). No single figure captures the family, and product labels rarely make the distinction clear. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company — Ingredient Weight Chart: 140 g per cup. 1/4 cup = 1 1/4 oz = 35 g, extrapolating to 140 g/cup. Chart figure for the KA product, which is pure malted milk powder (barley malt, wheat, milk, salt) without added sugar. - King Arthur Baking Company — nostalgic sweetness blog (2022): 144 g per cup. Malted milkshake recipe published on the KA blog specifies 2 tablespoons (18 g) of malted milk powder, extrapolating to 144 g/cup. Internally consistent with the chart figure of 140 g/cup within 3%, likely a level-tablespoon rounding difference. - Nestlé Carnation Original Malted Milk (retail product label): 112 g per cup. Product label serving: 3 tablespoons = 21 g = 90 kcal. Extrapolates to 112 g/cup. Ingredients: wheat flour and malted barley extracts, milk, soy lecithin, salt, sodium bicarbonate — plus 12 g of added sugar per 21 g serving. Dominant US retail brand for the beverage-mix family. - USDA FoodData Central — Soda Fountain Malted Milk Powder (branded, UPC 652134516003, CTL Foods): 184 g per cup. USDA branded food entry: 194 g/metric cup = 184 g/US cup = 6.5 oz/US cup. CTL Foods product label serving: 2 tablespoons = 23 g, consistent with 184 g/cup. Ingredients: extract of malted barley and wheat, sucrose (added as second ingredient), milk, salt, baking soda. Represents the soda-fountain formulation family. - USDA FoodData Central — Beverages, Ovaltine, Classic Malt powder (FDC 174864): 84 g per cup. USDA generic entry: 1 envelope = 4 tbsp = 21 g. Extrapolates to 84 g/cup, well below the range boundary. Ovaltine is typically labeled and shelved as a drink mix rather than a baking ingredient; noted for completeness rather than included in the published range. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 112-184 g/cup across the three product families sold as "malted milk powder" — retail beverage mixes (Nestlé Carnation ~112), pure baking powders (King Arthur ~140), and concentrated soda-fountain blends (CTL Foods ~184). No single figure works across the category; check the label serving size on the product in hand. Malted milk powder is a family of products, not a single ingredient. The base recipe is straightforward — extract of malted barley (or barley plus wheat malt), evaporated milk solids, salt, and often sodium bicarbonate for pH balance — but manufacturers formulate for very different end uses, and the density on your kitchen scale depends heavily on which product you bought. All three families are legitimately labeled "malted milk powder" and all three go into malted milkshakes, cookies, and bagels, but they weigh in significantly differently per cup. The retail beverage-mix family, dominated by Nestlé Carnation Original Malted Milk, is the highest-volume US product and the one most home kitchens have in the pantry. Its label reads 3 tablespoons = 21 g, extrapolating to 112 g/cup or 0.47 g/mL. Ingredients include added sugar (12 g per 21 g serving) alongside the malt and milk solids, which contributes to a lighter bulk density than the pure baking formulations. Ovaltine's Classic Malt sits in the same family but lighter still at roughly 84 g/cup, though Ovaltine is typically labeled and shelved as a chocolate malt drink mix rather than a baking ingredient. The baking-focused family, exemplified by King Arthur's Malted Milk Powder (product #206176), skips the added sugar and delivers a more concentrated malt-to-milk ratio. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 1/4 cup = 35 g, extrapolating to 140 g/cup, and King Arthur's 2022 malted-milkshake blog post specifies 2 tbsp = 18 g, extrapolating to 144 g/cup — internally consistent within 3%. Niblack Foods and similar bakery-supply brands cluster in the same 140-150 g/cup range. This is the density most professional baking recipes assume when they call for malted milk powder. The soda-fountain family, represented by CTL Foods' Soda Fountain Malted Milk Powder (USDA branded entry UPC 652134516003), is the densest formulation. Its label reads 2 tbsp = 23 g, extrapolating to 184 g/cup or 0.78 g/mL. The ingredient list adds cane sugar (sucrose) as the second-largest component after malt extracts, and the finished powder is finer and heavier-packing than either the retail beverage mixes or the pure baking products. It's the product used in old-fashioned soda fountain malts and is not usually found on grocery shelves. Physically, the spread comes from three factors: added-sugar content varies from zero (King Arthur) to over half by weight (Ovaltine), which lightens or densifies the powder depending on sugar particle size and how the crystals pack against the milk-and-malt matrix; the milk-solids-to-malt ratio shifts the fat and protein content and therefore the bulk density; and the manufacturing method — spray-drying the malt-milk slurry versus dry-blending pre-dried components — changes particle shape and packing behavior. For a recipe outcome, using Carnation where a King Arthur-based recipe was written under-delivers malt flavor by roughly 20% by weight per cup; using CTL Foods over-delivers by roughly 30%. The King Arthur figure is the working assumption for most contemporary US baking references, so recipes that specify malted milk powder without brand guidance are safest interpreted at 140 g/cup with an explicit note that the retail Carnation product weighs less. For any recipe where precision matters, weigh the specific product you have rather than trusting a volume conversion. Within the broader malt family, malted milk powder sits between non-diastatic malt powder (128-162 g/cup range, no milk solids) and dry milk powder (40-148 g/cup range depending on state, no malt) — it's a compound product that inherits variance from both parents. ### Masa harina https://exactcups.com/masa-harina/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. King Arthur: 93 g (3.3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 93–114 g. USDA-derived and KA figures disagree by 20% (KA 0.3931 g/mL vs USDA-derived 0.4818 g/mL), well over the 10% milled category tolerance. Masa harina has significant packing variability due to its very fine grind and the way the nixtamalization process affects particle shape. Published as a range. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 114 g per cup. Corn flour, masa, unenriched (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup ≈ 114 g. Density 0.4818 g/mL. Composition: ~9% water, ~76% carbohydrate (of which ~9% fibre), ~9% protein, ~4% fat. USDA figure aligns with the manufacturer specs from Maseca (the dominant US brand) and Masienda, both at 114-116 g per cup. - King Arthur: 93 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Masa Harina', 1 cup = 93 g, density 0.3931 g/mL. Notably lighter than USDA and manufacturer specs; may reflect a spooned-and-levelled rather than scooped measurement. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Masa harina is dried, ground nixtamalized corn — the essential flour of Mexican and Central American cooking, used to make corn tortillas, tamales, pupusas, huaraches, gorditas, and atole. The Spanish name translates literally as 'dough flour', and that describes its purpose exactly: mixed with water, it reconstitutes into masa, the corn dough that predates the arrival of wheat flour in the Americas by several thousand years. USDA FoodData Central lists corn flour, masa, unenriched at approximately 114 grams per cup, giving a density of 0.4818 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 cup at 93 grams and 0.3931 grams per millilitre. The two figures are 20 percent apart, well outside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category, so we publish the range 93 to 114 grams per cup rather than a single figure. The manufacturer specifications from Maseca (the dominant US brand) and Masienda both list approximately 114 to 116 grams per cup, aligning with USDA and suggesting the KA figure is either a lighter measurement method or an under-measurement. Nixtamalization is the process that distinguishes masa harina from regular cornmeal or corn flour. Dried corn kernels are soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution (traditionally slaked lime, calcium hydroxide dissolved in water) which loosens the outer skin, softens the kernels, and chemically transforms the corn in several important ways. The niacin in corn becomes bioavailable (untreated corn causes pellagra when it forms most of a diet, as European colonists in the Americas learned the hard way); the calcium content increases dramatically (about 20 times more calcium than regular cornmeal); the amino acid profile becomes more complete; and the starch structure changes so that the resulting dough is pliable and holds together in tortilla form — a texture regular corn flour cannot produce. The distinction from cornmeal is critical for anyone substituting between them. Regular cornmeal (also in this dataset) is coarsely ground plain dried corn. Corn flour is finely ground plain dried corn. Neither is nixtamalized, and neither will produce a workable tortilla. Substituting cornmeal for masa harina yields a crumbly, non-pliable mixture that falls apart when shaped. The reverse substitution — masa harina in a cornbread recipe — produces a strange, alkaline-tasting result that lacks the sweetness of untreated corn. Masa harina and masa are related but not identical. Masa is the wet nixtamalized corn dough, either freshly made in a tortilleria or reconstituted from masa harina at home. Masa harina is the dried, powdered form for storage and shipment. USDA lists masa (cooked) as a separate entry (FDC 785450 for Masa Harina Cooked, which is misleadingly named — it refers to the reconstituted dough). This entry describes the dry powder. Related products this entry does not cover: corn flour (finely ground non-nixtamalized corn, sometimes marketed as 'corn masa flour' outside Latin American markets, which causes confusion); hominy (whole nixtamalized corn kernels, sold canned or dried, used in pozole); grits (coarsely ground white corn); and blue masa harina (from nixtamalized blue corn, used for blue-corn tortillas, similar density to yellow masa harina). FDA does not have an identity standard specific to masa harina. Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 154-1985 covers degermed maize meal but not nixtamalized corn products. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because masa harina behaves like other fine milled powders in a measuring cup — it clumps, bridges, and its density depends significantly on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies, and the two source figures are outside it, hence the range publication. ### Matcha Powder https://exactcups.com/matcha-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: matcha, matcha green tea powder, green tea powder, ceremonial matcha, ceremonial grade matcha, culinary matcha, culinary grade matcha, japanese matcha. King Arthur: 96 g (3.4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, sifted Published: 1 cup = 96 g (3.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 48 g; 1/4 cup = 24 g; 1 tbsp = 6 g; 1 tsp = 2 g (0.4058 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.36 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart (Matcha powder): 96 g per cup. 2 tablespoons = 3/8 oz = 12g, so 96 g/cup, density 0.406 g/mL. - Rishi Tea Organic Ceremonial Matcha nutrition label: 96 g per cup. 1 teaspoon (2g) per label. 2g x 48 tsp/cup = 96 g/cup. Rishi is a well-regarded ceremonial matcha producer. - Tenzo Matcha Green Tea Powder nutrition label: 96 g per cup. 1/2 teaspoon (1g) per label, equivalent to 2g/tsp. 96 g/cup. - MRM Matcha Green Tea Powder nutrition label: 96 g per cup. 2 teaspoons (4g) per label, equivalent to 2g/tsp. 96 g/cup. - Naoki Superior Blend Ceremonial Matcha nutrition label: 96 g per cup. 1 teaspoon (2g) per label. 96 g/cup. Fifth independent brand confirmation. - ChefSolver density reference: 94.6 g per cup. Physical density of matcha powder measured at 0.40 g/mL, giving 95 g/cup. Confirms label figures via independent density measurement. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Matcha powder converges tightly at 96 g/cup (2g per teaspoon) across King Arthur's chart and every major producer label (Rishi Tea, Tenzo, MRM, Naoki). The ceremonial-versus-culinary grade distinction affects flavor and price dramatically but has essentially no effect on density. Matcha is stone-ground whole green tea leaves — specifically the tencha varietal, shade-grown for the final weeks before harvest to boost chlorophyll and L-theanine. Unlike brewed tea where leaves are steeped and discarded, matcha delivers the entire leaf as a fine bright-green powder, whisked directly into hot water or milk. Bakers use it for matcha lattes, ice cream, mochi, cakes, cookies, panna cotta, macarons, and Japanese wagashi. Typical baking doses run 1-3 tablespoons (6-18g) per recipe. Density is unusually consistent across brands and grades. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists matcha at 2 tablespoons = 12g, giving 96 g/cup at density 0.406 g/mL. Rishi Tea's ceremonial-grade label lists 1 teaspoon = 2g. Tenzo Matcha lists 1/2 teaspoon = 1g. MRM Matcha lists 2 teaspoons = 4g. Naoki Superior Blend Ceremonial lists 1 teaspoon = 2g. Every source works out to essentially the same 96 g/cup (48 tsp x 2g). ChefSolver's independent density measurement of 0.40 g/mL confirms the same figure. Six sources within 1% of each other — one of the tighter convergence entries in the milled category. Ceremonial vs culinary grade — same density, different everything else. Ceremonial grade is made from first-flush (spring harvest) tencha leaves, stone-ground slowly to preserve delicate flavor. It has a vibrant jade-green color, smooth umami flavor without bitterness, and retails at $30-100+ per 30g tin. Reserved for traditional whisked tea (usucha or koicha), its subtle flavor gets lost in sugar, milk, and heat when used in baking. Culinary grade is made from later-harvest leaves, ground more coarsely, often blended for consistency. It has more olive or yellow-green color, stronger bitter and grassy flavor, and retails at $10-30 per 100g. Designed for baking, lattes, and mixed drinks where the stronger flavor holds up to added sugar and heat. This is what most bakers should buy. Both grades weigh essentially the same per teaspoon (2g), so density is not the differentiator — the distinction is flavor intensity and heat tolerance. Sifting matters more than grade for measurement accuracy. Matcha clumps aggressively due to its ultra-fine particle size (5-10 microns) and static charge. Unsifted matcha packed into a cup can weigh 20-35% more than sifted matcha (up to 120-130 g/cup) because clumps compress under gravity while trapped air escapes. Every serious matcha reference recommends sifting through a fine mesh sieve before measuring or whisking. For baking recipes tested by weight, sifting matters less; for volume-measured recipes, unsifted matcha will overdose bitter flavor. Storage and shelf life: matcha oxidizes and degrades quickly once opened. Fresh matcha is vibrant jade-green; dulled olive or yellow-green matcha has degraded and lost antioxidants, color, and flavor. Store in an airtight opaque container in the refrigerator or freezer. Use within 2-3 months of opening for peak flavor; sealed unopened matcha lasts 1-2 years. Culinary grade degrades more slowly than ceremonial due to its coarser grind and lower initial delicacy. Not interchangeable with matcha-flavored powder blends: many commercial matcha lattes (Starbucks, mixed drink mixes, some bagged products) contain matcha blended with sugar, milk powder, and other ingredients. These are not pure matcha and will not match the 96 g/cup density of pure matcha powder. Read labels carefully — pure matcha lists only green tea or matcha (or with organic certification, organic green tea), while blends list multiple ingredients and are typically much denser due to added sugar solids. Practical baker recommendation: buy culinary-grade matcha for baking and lattes; save ceremonial grade for traditional whisked tea. Sift before measuring for volume accuracy, or weigh for precision. Typical baking dose is 6-12g (1-2 tablespoons) per standard recipe. Store cold and opaque to preserve color and flavor. ### Meringue powder https://exactcups.com/meringue-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: Wilton meringue powder, instant meringue powder, royal icing meringue powder, meringue mix. King Arthur: 172 g (6.1 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 144 g (5.1 oz) for Wilton meringue powder; King Arthur's own runs 172 g; 1 tbsp = 9 g. #### Standard, powder spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 135–172 g. Genie's Dream 135 g, Wilton 144 g, Satin Ice 164 g and King Arthur 172 g per cup span 27%, beyond the 10% tolerance for powders. The brands are different recipes, some led by corn starch and some by sugar, so the range is published rather than one figure. Sources: - Wilton Meringue Powder (producer label): 144 g per cup. Retail label (Kroger): serving size 2 tsp dry powder (6 g), 19 servings per 4 oz tub (113.4 g / 19 = 5.97 g, consistent), 144 g per cup (density 0.609 g/mL). Ingredients: corn starch, egg whites, sugar, gum arabic, calcium sulphate, citric acid, cream of tartar, artificial flavor, silicon dioxide. Directions: 2 tsp meringue powder + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg white. - Genie's Dream Meringue Powder (producer label): 135 g per cup. Label serving 1/3 cup (45 g), as transcribed by ReciPal, 135 g per cup (density 0.571 g/mL). Ingredients: modified food starch, dried egg whites, sugar, gum arabic, sodium aluminosilicate, citric acid, potassium acid tartrate, vanillin. - Satin Ice Meringue Powder (mixing directions): 164 g per cup. Directions as printed by retailer Candyland Crafts: "3 Tbsp. (31 grams) Meringue Powder" (165 g per cup) and "4 Tbsp (41 g) Meringue Powder" (164 g per cup, density 0.693 g/mL). The same directions give granulated sugar at 185 g per cup, a light way of filling the cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 172 g per cup. KA lists "Meringue powder" at 1/4 cup = 1 1/2 oz = 43 g, 172 g per cup (density 0.727 g/mL); King Arthur's Royal Icing recipe uses the same "1/4 cup (43g) meringue powder". King Arthur's shop directions use 1 tablespoon of powder with 5 teaspoons of water per egg white. - CooksInfo, Meringue Powder: "3 tablespoons Meringue Powder = 1 oz / 30g", 160 g per cup. A rounded conversion with no brand named, kept without a figure. - Judee's Meringue Powder Mix (producer label): Label serving 1.5 tbsp dry mix (22 g), as transcribed by ReciPal, which would be 235 g per cup, heavier than granulated sugar (200 g). A blend of fine sugar, starch and egg white powder cannot pack denser than sugar crystals, so it is kept without a figure. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of meringue powder weighs 135 to 172 g (4.8 to 6.1 oz), depending on the brand's recipe. Wilton's label gives 6 g per 2 teaspoons (144 g per cup), Satin Ice's directions 41 g per 4 tablespoons (164 g) and King Arthur 43 g per quarter cup (172 g). Use the figure for the brand you have, and weigh when a recipe gives grams. Meringue powder is a dry mix for royal icing, meringues and stabilized buttercream: dried egg white blended with starch or sugar, an acid such as cream of tartar or citric acid, and gums that help the foam hold. It is not the same as dried egg white, which is pure albumen; meringue powder is only part egg white, so more of it is needed for each egg white it replaces. Wilton's directions use 2 teaspoons of powder with 2 tablespoons of water for one egg white; King Arthur's use 1 tablespoon with 5 teaspoons of water. The brands are different recipes, and that is why their figures differ by 27%, beyond the 10% this site allows for powders. Wilton lists corn starch first, then egg whites and sugar. Genie's Dream, at 45 g per third of a cup (135 g per cup) as transcribed by ReciPal, lists modified food starch first. These two starch-led blends are the lightest. Satin Ice's mixing directions weigh 3 tablespoons at 31 g and 4 tablespoons at 41 g, 164 to 165 g per cup. King Arthur's chart and its royal icing recipe both give 1/4 cup as 43 g, 172 g per cup; it sits at the top of the range and is accepted. Wilton's figure is the best documented. Its label states 2 teaspoons as 6 g, and the 4 oz tub holds 19 servings of 5.97 g each, so the label weight and the tub agree. None of these labels uses the 28 g per quarter cup convention that decides many powder labels. Two figures are kept without a number. CooksInfo gives 3 tablespoons as 1 oz or 30 g, 160 g per cup, a rounded conversion with no brand named. Judee's meringue powder mix gives 1.5 tablespoons as 22 g, as transcribed by ReciPal, 235 g per cup: heavier than granulated sugar, which a fine blend of sugar, starch and egg white powder cannot be. The physical check: on this site, cornstarch weighs 112 to 128 g per cup, dried egg white 80 to 107 g and granulated sugar 200 g. A blend led by starch should land near the starch figures and a sugar-led blend nearer sugar. Wilton and Genie's Dream, at 135 to 144 g, sit just above starch; the heavier blends, at 164 to 172 g, sit between starch and sugar. Every meringue powder is heavier than dried egg white alone. Practical guidance: read the brand. For Wilton use 6 g per 2 teaspoons, 9 g per tablespoon and 144 g per cup; for King Arthur use 43 g per quarter cup. A royal icing batch made with 3 to 4 tablespoons of powder uses 27 to 43 g depending on the brand, so with a scale, follow the recipe's own grams and the brand stops mattering. ### Millet https://exactcups.com/millet/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: millet grain, whole millet, raw millet, hulled millet, pearl millet, proso millet. King Arthur: 206 g (7.3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, dry whole grain scooped into the cup Published: 1 cup = 200 g (7.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 100 g; 1/4 cup = 50 g; 1 tbsp = 12.5 g; 1 tsp = 4.2 g (0.8454 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.13 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 200 g per cup. FDC 169702, Millet, raw (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 756 kcal, 100 g = 378 kcal. Back-calculating: cup weight = (756/378) × 100 = 200 g. Density 0.8454 g/mL. - King Arthur: 206 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Millet (whole)', 1/2 cup = 103 g, extrapolated to 206 g per cup. Density 0.8707 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two authoritative sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (FDC 169702, Millet, raw) publishes a cup at 756 kcal and 100 g at 378 kcal, back-calculating to a cup weight of 200 g and density of 0.8454 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists Millet (whole) at 103 g per half cup, extrapolating to 206 g per cup and 0.8707 g/mL. The gap between the two figures is 3.0%, well inside the 10% milled tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 200 g per cup and names both sources. Millet's cup density of 0.8454 g/mL is unusually high for the milled category, comparable to the densities this site publishes for continuous liquids like olive oil (0.9134 g/mL). The physical mechanism is different: olive oil achieves that density as a homogeneous fluid, while millet achieves it through very tight packing of small, hard, roughly spherical kernels. Whole millet grains are approximately 2 mm across and highly regular in shape, allowing them to interlock with minimal air space when scooped. This is why sources agree closely for whole millet where they diverge for irregularly-shaped nuts and flakes: there is less physical room for measurement noise. Millet sits in the milled category alongside other whole grains including white rice, quinoa, rolled oats and whole nuts. The category rule assigns anything that packs by scoop with air gaps to milled, and while millet packs unusually tightly for the category, it still behaves as a granular solid rather than a self-levelling liquid. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 3% agreement between sources is comfortably inside it. Millet is one of the oldest cultivated grains, dating to at least 8000 BCE in East Asia and Africa. Today India produces the majority of the global crop, followed by Nigeria, Niger and China. In American home kitchens, millet appears most often as a gluten-free pilaf substitute for rice or bulgur, as a porridge (similar to how oatmeal is prepared), or as a whole grain addition to bread doughs for texture. Toasting the dry grain in a dry pan for a few minutes before adding water deepens its subtly sweet, corn-like flavor. Several millet varieties are commercially available under the general name 'millet', with the most common being pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana). The density differences between varieties are small compared to the source-level disagreement in this entry, and both USDA and King Arthur measure without specifying variety, so this entry treats them together. Regional cuisines that use one specific variety exclusively (Indian bajra, Ethiopian tef which is a related but distinct grain) may see minor density differences from the figure published here. Millet flour is a separate product not covered by this entry. King Arthur's chart has no row for millet flour, and no clean two-source pairing was available for it at this entry's review date. When sourcing improves, a separate millet-flour entry will publish. Whole millet is not the same as tef, which is a smaller East African grain from a different genus; not the same as sorghum, which is a larger grain from a related genus; and not the same as birdseed millet mixes, which combine multiple grain types and are not intended for human consumption. No standards body publishes a bulk density for millet. Codex Alimentarius standards for pearl millet grains (CXS 169-1989) cover moisture content, defect tolerances, foreign matter and grade rather than physical density. Two authoritative sources agreeing within tolerance, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source matching within tolerance, particularly a standards body figure or a professional culinary reference specifying variety, would move it to high confidence. ### Mini Marshmallows https://exactcups.com/mini-marshmallows/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: miniature marshmallows, marshmallows mini, small marshmallows, Jet-Puffed mini marshmallows, baking marshmallows. King Arthur: 43 g (1.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, poured and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 43–50 g. Sources span 43-50 g per cup, a 16% gap, over the 10% tolerance. USDA lists a cup of miniature marshmallows at 50 g; the Jet-Puffed, Campfire and Kroger labels give 2/3 cup at 30 g, 45 g per cup; King Arthur gives 43 g. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Candies, marshmallows" (FDC 167995): 50 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup of miniature = 50 g (density 0.211 g/mL), 10 miniatures = 7 g and 1 regular marshmallow = 7.2 g. Water 16.4 g, carbohydrate 81.3 g (sugars 57.6 g), protein 1.8 g per 100 g. - Kraft Jet-Puffed Mini Marshmallows (producer label): 45 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Kroger), 16-oz bag: 2/3 cup (30 g), extrapolating to 45 g per cup (density 0.190 g/mL). - Campfire Miniature White Marshmallows (producer label): 45 g per cup. Producer specification sheet: 2/3 cup (30 g), extrapolating to 45 g per cup. - Kroger Mini Marshmallows (producer label): 45 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Ralphs), 10-oz bag: 2/3 Cup (30 g), extrapolating to 45 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 43 g per cup. KA lists "Marshmallows (mini)" at 1 cup = 1 1/2 oz = 43 g, density 0.182 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of mini marshmallows weighs 43 to 50 g (1.5 to 1.8 oz). USDA lists a cup of miniatures at 50 g, the Jet-Puffed, Campfire and Kroger bags label 2/3 cup at 30 g, which is 45 g per cup, and King Arthur gives 43 g. The 16% gap is over the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Marshmallows are a sugar and corn syrup foam set with gelatin, whipped full of air and then cut and dusted with cornstarch. Miniatures are the small cylinders sold for hot chocolate, rice cereal treats, sweet potato casserole and s'mores bars. USDA puts marshmallows at 16% water and 81% carbohydrate; the rest of their volume is air, which is why a cup of them weighs barely more than a fifth of a cup of water. USDA SR Legacy "Candies, marshmallows" (FDC 167995) lists 1 cup of miniatures at 50 g, 10 miniatures at 7 g and one regular marshmallow at 7.2 g. Every US bag checked, Jet-Puffed, Campfire, Kroger, Hill Country Fare and Great Value, labels 2/3 cup at 30 g. Because every brand lands on exactly the same pair, 30 g beside 2/3 cup, it reads as a fixed serving weight with the nearest convenient fraction of a cup printed next to it; it puts minis near 45 g per cup, but the volume is rounded. King Arthur's chart lists mini marshmallows at 1 cup = 1 1/2 oz = 43 g, close to the labels. Recipe sites that count cups per bag put a 10-oz bag at about 5 1/2 cups, 51-54 g per cup, nearer USDA. The physical check is about foam and fill. The marshmallow itself is a light foam, and the little cylinders stack with gaps between them. Both vary: different brands whip to different densities, and marshmallows are soft enough that a cup filled by pressing holds noticeably more than one filled by pouring. A cup at 0.18-0.21 g/mL is mostly air, inside and between the pieces, so a few grams' difference between sources is the expected result rather than a mistake by any of them. Stale marshmallows dry out and shrink, and a cup of them weighs more. Practical guidance: for rice cereal treats, a 10-oz bag holds 283 g, about 6 cups at 45-50 g per cup, and a 16-oz bag 454 g, about 9-10 cups. Recipes for treats usually give the marshmallows by bag or by weight, which is the reliable way to buy them; when a recipe gives cups, pour the minis in loosely and level the top, and expect about 45 g per cup. For hot chocolate, a small handful of 10 minis weighs about 7 g. ### Mustard Seeds https://exactcups.com/mustard-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: mustard seeds, yellow mustard seeds, white mustard seeds, whole mustard seeds, brown mustard seeds, mustard seed whole, sarson, rai. #### Standard, dry whole seeds, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 159–200 g. 25.8% spread across producer-label and USDA GBFD sources for whole yellow mustard seeds. Sources cluster 159-200 g/cup with no natural break; variance driven by seed variety (yellow vs brown vs black), seed size, moisture, and settling method (loose vs tapped). USDA SR Legacy publishes only ground mustard seed, not whole, so no independent physical-measurement anchor. Range published to reflect genuine commercial variance rather than picking a spurious midpoint. Sources: - Gneiss Spice Organic Yellow Mustard Seed label: 159 g per cup. Small refill 1/4 cup = 1.4 oz (39.7 g) → 159 g/cup. Certified organic, India origin. Low end of the whole-seed cluster. - Savory Spice Yellow Mustard Seeds label (1/2 cup SKU): 162 g per cup. 1/2 cup bag = 2.85 oz (80.8 g) → 162 g/cup. Retail dry-fill packaging. - Savory Spice Yellow Mustard Seeds label (1 cup SKU): 162 g per cup. 1 cup bag = 5.7 oz (162 g) → 162 g/cup. Confirms the 1/2-cup SKU figure exactly; two independent product-size measurements from one producer. - Chef's Resources spice conversion table: 181 g per cup. "Mustard Seed, Whole": 6.40 oz per cup → 181 g/cup. Direct measurement from CR's oz-per-cup table. - USDA Branded (Mustard Seed): 192 g per cup. UPC 725677220161. 203 g/metric cup → 192 g/US cup. Independent USDA GBFD measurement toward the high end of the cluster. - Marnamaria Spices and Herbs Yellow Mustard Seeds label: 200 g per cup. Stand-up pouch labeled 3/4 cup = 150 g → 200 g/cup. High end of the observed range; pouch-fill convention may be denser than dry-scoop spooned-and-leveled measurement. - USDA SR Legacy (whole mustard seed): Silent. USDA SR Legacy has "Spices, mustard seed, ground" (NDB 02024) at 107 g/metric cup but no whole-seed portion record. Same pattern as coriander and cumin — USDA publishes ground forms with cup portions but omits whole seed cup measurements. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: Silent. KA's chart is baking-focused; whole mustard seeds are a pickling and savory-cooking ingredient rather than a baking staple, so absent from the chart. No KA figure to correct or confirm. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Whole yellow mustard seeds span 159-200 grams per cup across producer labels and USDA branded records, driven by seed variety, size, and pack density. The Chef's Resources 181 g/cup sits mid-range and is a reasonable working figure, but the honest 26% spread means no single number covers the shelf. Whole mustard seeds pack roughly 60-100% denser than ground mustard (101 g/cup in the paired entry) because solid spherical seeds nest tightly while ground powder bridges and traps air — the same solid-seed pattern documented for cumin. Mustard seeds come from three species: yellow or white mustard (Sinapis alba, the mildest, most common in Western pickling and American cuisine), brown mustard (Brassica juncea, hotter, standard in Indian and Chinese cooking as sarson or rai), and black mustard (Brassica nigra, hottest, historically dominant but now less common due to harvest difficulty). Retail bags labeled simply "mustard seeds" are usually yellow. The seeds are small dense spheres roughly 1-2 mm in diameter for yellow varieties, slightly smaller for brown and black. Whole seeds are used in pickling brines, tempering (tarka) for Indian dishes, seafood boils, sausage seasoning, and coarse-grain mustard preparations. Their flavor and heat only develop after crushing or exposure to water, so whole seeds themselves are mild. The density spread across sources reflects real physical variance. Gneiss Spice and Savory Spice retail labels give the low end at 159-162 g/cup. Chef's Resources' oz-per-cup table gives 181 g/cup — a mid-range direct measurement. USDA Global Branded Food Products Database UPC 725677220161 measures a Frontier-adjacent brand at 192 g/cup. Marnamaria Spices sits at the high end (200 g/cup) with a pouch-fill measurement that may reflect tapped-cup convention rather than spooned-and-leveled. USDA SR Legacy is silent on whole mustard seed, publishing only the ground form (107 g/metric cup, matched to the paired ground-mustard entry at 101 g/cup) — the same USDA pattern seen for coriander and cumin, where ground has cup portions but whole does not. Physical reasoning supports both the observed range and the dramatic whole-vs-ground contrast. Yellow mustard seeds contain roughly 26% protein, 28-36% fat (mostly as fixed oil), 15-20% carbohydrate, and 6-9% moisture. Their true particle density is around 1.05-1.1 g/mL — dense oil-seed material. Bulk cup density lands at 60-80% of particle density (159-200 g/cup = 0.67-0.85 g/mL), consistent with efficient packing of small dense spheres. Small round seeds nest into inter-seed voids far better than irregular flakes or granules do, so the whole-seed cup density is genuinely high. Ground mustard, by contrast, publishes at 101 g/cup — roughly half the whole-seed density. Grinding takes dense, tightly-packing spheres and reduces them to fine cohesive powder that bridges and traps air pockets. This is the opposite direction from coriander, where whole seeds have internal schizocarp cavities that collapse when ground, producing denser ground powder than whole. Coriander (hollow seed) becomes denser when ground; mustard, cumin, and other solid seeds become lighter. This morphology-based rule is a useful physical prediction for future whole-vs-ground seed comparisons. King Arthur Baking is silent on mustard seeds in any form. The chart focuses on baking staples, and whole mustard seeds are a pickling and savory-cooking ingredient rather than a bread or cake component. No KA correction opportunity exists here, but the absence is worth noting for cooks who assume KA's chart covers all common seasonings. For practical use, 180 g/cup (roughly the Chef's Resources midpoint) is a reasonable working figure for recipe scaling of yellow mustard seeds. A tablespoon runs about 11 grams, a teaspoon about 3.7 grams. Brown mustard seeds pack slightly denser than yellow due to smaller size and marginally higher oil content; black seeds slightly denser still. When exact measurements matter — for a pickling brine that needs precise brine-to-solids ratio, or for a large-batch Indian tempering — weigh by grams rather than measuring by volume. For casual home cooking (a pinch in a vinaigrette, a spoonful in a curry), cup measurements work fine within the noise floor of the dish. ### Non-Diastatic Malt Powder https://exactcups.com/non-diastatic-malt-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: non-diastatic malt powder, nondiastatic malt powder, malt powder, barley malt powder, barley malt extract powder, dry malt extract, DME, roasted malted barley flour, non-diastatic malted barley flour. King Arthur: 144 g (5.1 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 128–162 g. Two commercially distinct products both sold as "non-diastatic malt powder": spray-dried barley malt extract (King Arthur, Kalustyan's; ~128-144 g/cup) and roasted malted barley flour (Modernist Pantry, Briess; ~144-162 g/cup). No single figure captures both forms, and consumer packaging rarely makes the distinction clear. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company — Ingredient Weight Chart: 144 g per cup. 2 tablespoons = 5/8 oz = 18 g, extrapolating to 144 g/cup. Chart figure for the KA product, which is barley malt extract (spray-dried syrup, not milled flour). - King Arthur Baking Company — Non-Diastatic Malt Powder #100322 (product label): 128 g per cup. Product label serving: 1 tbsp = 8 g = 30 kcal (7g carbs, 1g protein). Extrapolates to 128 g/cup at level tablespoons. Ingredient statement: barley malt extract. KA's own chart (144 g/cup) and product label (128 g/cup) disagree by 12.5% — almost certainly a heaping-vs-level tablespoon convention gap. - USDA FoodData Central — Barley malt flour (FDC ID 169740): 162 g per cup. SR Legacy entry: 1 cup = 162 g. Reference is generic "barley malt flour" and does not distinguish diastatic vs non-diastatic, but the density corresponds to a milled whole-grain product, not spray-dried extract. - Modernist Pantry — Non-Diastatic Malt Powder: Product description: 100% pure malted barley flour, specially roasted to deactivate enzymes and develop caramel flavor. Sold in 50g / 400g / 50lb sizes. Ingredient statement: malted barley only. No explicit cup weight on the product page. - Briess Malt & Ingredients Co — BriesSpecialty Nondiastatic Malt Flours: Commercial spec sheet: 100% whole-grain flour milled from specialty malts, no enzyme activity, 1-50% usage rate. Distinct from Briess CBW/Maltoferm Malt Extracts (spray-dried syrup, also non-diastatic). Confirms the two-product-family split within the non-diastatic-malt-powder category. - Kalustyan's — Barley Malt Powder, Non-Diastatic: Ingredient statement: "Extract malted barley, corn" — extract-based product with corn dextrose added, similar family to the KA product. Retail brand carried through Foods of Nations. No explicit serving-size weight published. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: two commercially distinct products both sold as "non-diastatic malt powder" — spray-dried barley malt extract (King Arthur, Kalustyan's) and roasted malted barley flour (Modernist Pantry, Briess) — with density spanning 128-162 g/cup across both forms. Read the ingredient statement and weigh the specific product you have. Non-diastatic malt powder is one name covering two products with different manufacturing paths and different behaviors on a scale. The first is barley malt extract in dry form: barley malt syrup spray-dried into a fine, hygroscopic powder. King Arthur's Non-Diastatic Malt Powder (product #100322) is this type — the ingredient statement reads simply "barley malt extract," used at 30 calories per tablespoon as essentially a dry malt sweetener with color and flavor. Kalustyan's Non-Diastatic Barley Malt Powder is a close cousin, with corn dextrose added. The second product is roasted malted barley flour: whole malted barley grains kiln-heated above the enzyme-denaturing temperature and then milled into flour. Modernist Pantry sells this as 100% pure malted barley, and Briess's BriesSpecialty Nondiastatic line is the commercial equivalent used by professional bakeries. Both products are enzyme-inactive (hence "non-diastatic") and both go into bagels and breads for malty flavor and amber crust color, but they are not interchangeable on volume. Density data spans a wide range that reflects this split. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists non-diastatic malt powder at 2 tablespoons = 18 g, extrapolating to 144 g/cup. But King Arthur's own product label on the same item reads 1 tablespoon = 8 g — extrapolating to 128 g/cup, a 12.5% self-contradiction that almost certainly comes from the chart using a heaping-tablespoon convention where the label uses level. Both figures describe the same extract-based product. At the other end, USDA FoodData Central entry 169740 for "barley malt flour" gives 1 cup = 162 g, corresponding to a milled whole-grain product. The honest published range for anything sold under this name is 128 to 162 g/cup, or roughly 0.54 to 0.68 g/mL, spanning a 27% gap that no single-figure conversion can resolve without knowing which product is actually in the bag. Physical behavior differs too. The extract is a sweeter, glassier powder that clumps against humid air and dissolves quickly in dough water; the flour behaves like whole wheat flour on the scoop but browns more aggressively in the crust. Substitution is not one-for-one on volume: a tablespoon of extract contributes more sugar and less starch than a tablespoon of flour. In yeasted doughs the practical usage rate is 0.5 to 2 percent of flour weight regardless of form, so precision at the tablespoon level matters less than getting the total percentage right. For bagel poaching liquids and enriched doughs where malt flavor drives the outcome, the extract form delivers a more concentrated hit per gram. Within the malt family, non-diastatic malt powder sits between diastatic malt powder (96 to 168 g/cup, enzyme-active, used at 0.25 to 1 percent for dough conditioning) and malted milk powder (140 g/cup, a blend with milk solids and wheat flour, distinct flavor). Barley malt syrup at 336 g/cup is the liquid form of the extract product — the powder is essentially the same solids evaporated dry. Diastatic and non-diastatic forms are not interchangeable when enzymatic activity matters: using non-diastatic where diastatic is called for produces a slower rise and less oven spring; the reverse can produce a gummy crumb from over-active starch breakdown. For the home baker the practical rule is to read the ingredient statement before treating any figure as authoritative, and weigh the specific product in hand. ### Nutritional Yeast https://exactcups.com/nutritional-yeast/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: nutritional yeast, nooch, nutritional yeast flakes, large flake nutritional yeast, yeast flakes, vegan cheese seasoning, savory yeast flakes. #### Standard, dry flakes, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 44–128 g. 167% spread across genuine commercial flake-form variance. Three product-identity clusters, all producer-label AND independent USDA GBFD confirmed: ultra-light flakes (Frontier Co-op Premium, UPC 089836199614) at 44-48 g/cup; large flakes (Bob's Red Mill Large Flake at UPCs 039978025463/039978005465, Frontier Mini Flakes) at 60-64 g/cup; standard flakes (Bragg, UPC 0891551000478) at 80 g/cup; small/dense flakes (Anthony's Premium) at 128 g/cup. Flake thickness, size, and mill process drive real physical density variance far exceeding the milled 10% tolerance. Range published as withheld to force users to check their own product label rather than picking a spurious midpoint. Sources: - USDA Branded (Nutritional Yeast Flakes): 44 g per cup. UPC 089836199614. 46 g/metric cup → 44 g/US cup. Ultra-light flake cluster; brand unspecified in USDA record but consistent with Frontier Co-op Premium serving-size label. - Frontier Co-op Premium Nutritional Yeast label (via Vitacost): 48 g per cup. Serving size 2 Tbsp (6 g) → 3 g/tbsp → 48 g/cup. Frontier's Premium flake product; matches USDA GBFD UPC 089836199614 ultra-light cluster within precision. - Bob's Red Mill Large Flake Nutritional Yeast label: 60 g per cup. Serving size 1/4 cup (15 g) → 60 g/cup. Consistent across all Bob's Red Mill Large Flake listings (Amazon, Fairway, Fresh Grocer, Vitacost, ReciPal). - USDA Branded (Bob's Red Mill Large Flake Nutritional Yeast): 60 g per cup. UPC 039978025463. 63 g/metric cup → 60 g/US cup. Independent USDA GBFD measurement matching Bob's Red Mill's own label exactly. - USDA Branded (Bob's Red Mill Large Flake, older SKU): 60 g per cup. UPC 039978005465. 63 g/metric cup → 60 g/US cup. Second Bob's Red Mill USDA GBFD entry (different package size, same product) matching the label. - Frontier Co-op Nutritional Yeast Mini Flakes label (Radiant Life FAQ): 64 g per cup. Serving suggestion 1/4 cup (16 g) → 64 g/cup. Frontier's Mini Flakes sit slightly denser than Large Flake despite the 'mini' name because the flake thickness dominates over size. - Bragg Nutritional Yeast Seasoning label: 80 g per cup. Serving size 1 Tbsp (5 g) → 80 g/cup. Multiple independent nutrition-database confirmations (ReciPal, Carb Manager, FatSecret). Bragg is the most widely-sold nutritional yeast in the US. - USDA Branded (Nutritional Yeast Superfoods): 80 g per cup. UPC 0891551000478. 85 g/metric cup → 80 g/US cup. Independent USDA GBFD measurement matching the Bragg standard-flake cluster within precision. - Anthony's Nutritional Yeast label: 128 g per cup. Serving size 2 Tbsp (16 g) → 8 g/tbsp → 128 g/cup. Anthony's Premium sits at the high end of the commercial range; matches multiple independent nutrition-database confirmations (FatSecret, MyFitnessPal, ReciPal). - USDA Branded (Bragg Nutritional Yeast Seasoning): 144 g per cup. UPC 074305066054. 152 g/metric cup → 144 g/US cup. Contradicts Bragg's own label serving (5 g/tbsp → 80 g/cup) by 80% and every other Bragg-brand nutrition-database record. REJECTED: USDA GBFD entry contradicts Bragg's own printed nutrition label by 80%. Bragg's label consistently states 1 Tbsp = 5 g across every third-party nutrition database (ReciPal, Carb Manager, Fairway, Fresh Grocer, FatSecret, MyFoodData), giving 80 g/cup. The GBFD 144 g/cup is a data-submission error — likely the manufacturer submitted an inconsistent metric-cup value that did not reconcile with the household serving. No physical mechanism puts Bragg's Standard flakes at nearly twice their label density. The label-based 80 g/cup figure is used instead. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/nutritional-yeast-144-grams/ - USDA Branded (Savory Nutritional Yeast Flakes): 170 g per cup. UPC 017929745608. 180 g/metric cup → 170 g/US cup. Not pure nutritional yeast — a savory yeast-based seasoning blend that includes salt and other seasonings. REJECTED: Product is a savory seasoning blend, not pure nutritional yeast. The 170 g/cup density is dominated by added salt and other seasonings (salt alone runs 273-292 g/cup). Blends do not average their pure components, and seasoning-blend products under the 'Nutritional Yeast' name should be measured on their own labels, not treated as nutritional yeast. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/nutritional-yeast-170-grams/ - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: Silent on nutritional yeast. KA's chart focuses on baking-relevant flours, sugars, fats, and dairy; nutritional yeast (a savory umami condiment for vegan cooking, not a baking ingredient) is not listed. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Nutritional yeast ("nooch") spans a genuine 48-128 gram-per-cup range across commercial flake forms — Frontier Co-op Premium at the ultra-light end (48 g/cup), Bob's Red Mill Large Flake in the light/large-flake cluster (60 g/cup), Bragg's standard flakes in the middle (80 g/cup), and Anthony's small/dense flakes at the top (128 g/cup). Flake size, thickness, and mill process drive nearly a 3x density spread, so weigh your specific product or check its own nutrition label — no single figure works across brands. Nutritional yeast is inactivated Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the same yeast species used in baking and brewing but grown on cane and beet molasses under controlled conditions and then killed by heat drying so it has no leavening activity. The dried yeast biomass is rolled or flaked into a yellow, savory condiment beloved in vegan and vegetarian cooking as a dairy-free cheese substitute — hence the affectionate nickname "nooch." Composition is roughly 50% protein, 35% carbohydrate (mostly fiber and beta-glucans), 5-8% fat, and 5-10% ash and residual water. Most commercial products are fortified with B vitamins including B12, which makes nooch a common vegan supplement route to a nutrient otherwise found only in animal foods. The reason cup density varies so dramatically is that the finished product exists in radically different physical forms. "Large flake" versions (Bob's Red Mill, Frontier Co-op Large Flake) are thin, wide, papery flakes that bridge and trap large air pockets when scooped, giving a very low bulk density of 60-64 g/cup. "Standard flake" versions (Bragg, Frontier Mini Flakes) are smaller, thicker flakes that pack more efficiently at 64-80 g/cup. Smaller and denser flake forms (Anthony's) approach 128 g/cup — over twice the large-flake density despite the same underlying yeast material. Ultra-light flake products (Frontier Premium at 48 g/cup, and an unbranded USDA GBFD entry at 44 g/cup) represent the extreme low end where flakes are especially thin or the product is loosely settled. Physical reasoning supports the observed spread. The true particle density of dried yeast biomass is roughly 1.3-1.5 g/mL — dense protein-rich material. But bulk cup density is dominated by inter-flake void fraction, which flake size and thickness control almost entirely. Thin large flakes have void fractions above 90% when loosely settled; thicker small flakes pack down to void fractions around 60-70%. This is the same physical mechanism that drives quick-oats variance (thin Quaker flakes at 80 g/cup vs thicker Bob's flakes at 90 g/cup) but taken to a more extreme range because nutritional yeast flake morphology varies more widely than rolled oats. Two USDA Global Branded Food Products Database records are rejected as source data. A Bragg entry (UPC 074305066054) at 144 g/cup contradicts Bragg's own printed nutrition label — every third-party nutrition database that transcribes Bragg's label reports 5 g per tablespoon (80 g/cup), and no plausible physical mechanism doubles that. The GBFD 144 figure is treated as a manufacturer data-submission error and the label figure is used instead. A separate "Savory Nutritional Yeast Flakes" entry (UPC 017929745608) at 170 g/cup is a seasoning blend containing added salt and spices, not pure nutritional yeast — the added salt (which itself runs 273-292 g/cup) dominates the density. Blends do not average their components and cannot substitute for pure-nooch measurements. King Arthur Baking is silent on nutritional yeast entirely. KA's chart is baking-focused and nooch is a savory condiment for vegan cooking rather than a baking ingredient, so there is no KA correction opportunity here — only an absence to note for bakers who might expect coverage. For practical use, weigh your specific product. If measuring by cups is unavoidable, use the figure printed on your product's nutrition label: multiply grams-per-serving by the reciprocal of the serving size in cups. A Bob's Red Mill Large Flake user should treat one cup as 60 grams; a Bragg user should treat one cup as 80 grams; an Anthony's user should treat one cup as 128 grams. Recipes typically call for tablespoons or teaspoons of nooch rather than cups (nooch is a finishing seasoning, used in small amounts), so the label per-tablespoon figure is usually the most actionable data point. For a vegan cheese sauce or a large batch application where cup measurements matter, the difference between products can shift final flavor intensity noticeably — Anthony's-density nooch at 2x the mass of Bob's Large Flake will deliver roughly 2x the umami compounds per volumetric measurement. ### Oat Bran https://exactcups.com/oat-bran/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: raw oat bran, oat bran cereal, oat bran hot cereal, uncooked oat bran. King Arthur: 106 g (3.7 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 100 g (3.5 oz) if the brand is unknown; Quaker is 80 g and Bob's Red Mill 120 g; 1 tbsp = 6.3 g. #### Standard, dry, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 80–120 g. Sources span 80-120 g per cup, a 50% gap, over the 10% tolerance. USDA's raw oat bran is 94 g per cup; Quaker and Mother's oat bran 80 g (USDA's record and Quaker's label agree); Bob's Red Mill labels 1/3 cup at 40 g (120 g per cup); King Arthur gives 106 g. The products are ground differently. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Oat bran, raw" (FDC 168872): 94 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 94 g (density 0.397 g/mL). Water 6.6 g, protein 17.3 g, fat 7.0 g, carbohydrate 66.2 g (fibre 15.4 g) per 100 g. - USDA SR Legacy "Cereals, QUAKER, Oat Bran, QUAKER/MOTHER'S Oat Bran, dry" (FDC 174626): 80 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1/2 cup = 40 g, extrapolating to 80 g per cup (density 0.338 g/mL). Quaker's own label gives the same 1/2 cup (40 g). - Bob's Red Mill Oat Bran Hot Cereal (producer label): 120 g per cup. Retail and brand labels, four products (regular, gluten-free, high-fibre, organic): 1/3 cup (40 g), extrapolating to 120 g per cup (density 0.507 g/mL). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 106 g per cup. KA lists "Oat bran" at 1/2 cup = 1 7/8 oz = 53 g, extrapolating to 106 g per US cup, density 0.448 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of dry oat bran weighs anywhere from 80 to 120 g (2.8 to 4.2 oz), depending mostly on the brand. Quaker's oat bran is 80 g per cup, USDA's raw oat bran 94 g, King Arthur says 106 g and Bob's Red Mill's 120 g. That is far beyond the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Oat bran is the outer layer of the oat groat, milled away from the starchy center. It is high in protein (17%) and soluble fibre, the beta-glucan behind the oat heart-health claim, and is eaten as a hot cereal and added to muffins, breads and smoothies. Brands mill it differently: some sell flaky, coarse bran, others a finer, almost floury meal. USDA SR Legacy "Oat bran, raw" (FDC 168872) lists 1 cup at 94 g. USDA's Quaker and Mother's oat bran record (FDC 174626) lists 1/2 cup at 40 g, 80 g per cup, and Quaker's current label says the same. Bob's Red Mill prints 1/3 cup at 40 g on four different oat bran products, 120 g per cup. King Arthur's chart lists oat bran at 1/2 cup = 53 g, 106 g per cup, inside the range, so it is not a correction. The labels are better evidence than usual here, but they need reading carefully. US hot cereal labels all use the same 40 g serving, the reference amount for dry hot cereal, so the grams never change; what each brand chooses is the volume that 40 g fills, and that volume reflects its own product. Quaker's 40 g fills half a cup, Bob's only a third. Kroger's oat bran, at 35 g per 1/3 cup, works out to 105 g per cup, between the two. The physical check is about particle shape. Coarse, flaky bran stacks loosely with a lot of air, like wheat bran, which weighs only about 60 g per cup on this site; a fine meal fills the gaps and packs nearly as densely as a whole-grain flour. Oat bran sits between those, and each brand's grind decides where. Quick oats and rolled oats, for comparison, weigh 80-90 g per cup. Practical guidance: weigh oat bran, and if a recipe gives it in cups, assume it was written for whatever brand the author had. For Quaker or Mother's, use 80 g per cup; for Bob's Red Mill, 120 g; for an unknown brand, about 100 g. A single 40 g serving for hot cereal is the same weight whichever brand you buy, so for breakfast, measure by weight and the volume does not matter. ### Oat flour https://exactcups.com/oat-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. King Arthur: 92 g (3.2 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard (partially debranned) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 92–104 g. USDA and KA figures disagree by 12.2% (KA 0.3889 g/mL vs USDA 0.4396 g/mL), just over the 10% milled category tolerance. Oat flour has notable packing variability because of the mix of bran and endosperm particle sizes. Published as a range. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 104 g per cup. FDC 169741 (Oat flour, partially debranned, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 104 g. Density 0.4396 g/mL. Composition: ~8.7% water, ~67% carbohydrate (of which ~6.5% fibre), ~15% protein, ~9.3% fat. - King Arthur: 92 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Oat Flour', 1 cup = 92 g, density 0.3889 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Oat flour is milled from oat groats, the hulled kernels of the oat plant (Avena sativa). It has become a mainstream flour in North American baking through the growth of gluten-free baking and the perception of oats as a healthful whole-grain choice, though it has been a traditional flour in Scottish and Irish cooking for centuries. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of partially debranned oat flour at 104 grams (FDC 169741, Oat flour, partially debranned), giving a bulk density of 0.4396 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 cup at 92 grams and 0.3889 grams per millilitre. The two figures are 12.2 percent apart, just over the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category, so we publish the range 92 to 104 grams per cup rather than a single figure. The disagreement is characteristic of oat flour. Because oats contain more oil than most cereals (roughly 9 percent fat versus 1 to 2 percent for wheat or rice), the milled flour has a slightly greasy, cohesive quality that packs differently depending on how tightly it is measured. Add to this the mixture of finer endosperm particles and coarser bran fragments in a typical mill, and the packing behaviour varies enough that a 12 percent spread across sources is real product variation more than measurement disagreement. Oats are naturally gluten-free at the plant level. Contamination during growing, harvesting, transport and milling is the reason most commercial oat flour is not labelled gluten-free unless the manufacturer has taken specific segregation steps. When a recipe or diet requires strict gluten avoidance, use flour explicitly certified as gluten-free (Bob's Red Mill, Nature's Path, and similar brands offer certified versions). Standard supermarket oat flour is safe for oats-tolerant coeliacs only if the label specifies gluten-free status. Oat flour behaves differently from wheat flour in baking because it lacks gluten. It cannot form a bread-dough structure on its own, so oat flour is most often used as a substitute for a portion (typically 25 to 50 percent) of wheat flour in cookies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes, where the wheat flour provides structure and the oat flour adds moisture, tenderness and a mild sweetness. In gluten-free baking, oat flour is one component of a blend rather than a stand-alone flour. Home bakers can produce oat flour by pulsing rolled oats or steel-cut oats in a food processor or high-power blender until they form a fine flour. Homemade oat flour tends to be coarser than commercial and weighs slightly less per cup because the particles are more irregular. If a recipe was developed with commercial oat flour, home-milled oat flour may need a slight adjustment upward in quantity. Related products this entry does not cover: rolled oats (in the dataset separately, about 89 grams per cup), steel-cut oats (whole oat groats cut into pieces, weighs about 180 grams per cup), instant oats (thinner rolled oats designed to cook faster, similar density to regular rolled), oat bran (the outer layer, separated from the endosperm, about 94 grams per cup), and oat groats (whole kernels, about 180 grams per cup). FDA does not publish an identity standard specific to oat flour; it is regulated under general food safety rules. Codex Alimentarius does not have a specific oat flour standard. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because oat flour behaves like other fine milled powders in a measuring cup — it clumps slightly, bridges over air pockets, and its density depends on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance is exceeded here (12.2 percent between sources), which drives the range publication and low confidence rating. ### Panko Breadcrumbs https://exactcups.com/panko/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: panko, japanese breadcrumbs, japanese-style breadcrumbs, japanese panko, panko bread crumbs, panko crumbs. King Arthur: 50 g (1.8 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, white panko (crustless flakes) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 50–90 g. Flake-size variance across brands drives a 70% cup-weight range. Kikkoman-family large-flake panko at 50-60 g/cup (the classic Japanese-style airy coating), while smaller-flake brands like Whole Foods 365 pack denser at 85 g/cup. Both are legitimately labeled panko. Sources: - King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart (Breadcrumbs Japanese Panko): 50 g per cup. 1 cup = 1 3/4 oz = 50g, density 0.211 g/mL. Sits at the lightest end of the panko range, consistent with large-flake Japanese-style panko. - Kikkoman Panko nutrition label: 60 g per cup. 1/2 cup = 30g per label, so 60 g/cup, density 0.254 g/mL. Kikkoman is the dominant Japanese-heritage US panko brand. - 4C Japanese Style Seasoned Panko nutrition label: 56 g per cup. 1/2 cup = 28g per label (13 oz canister / 13 servings). 56 g/cup, density 0.237 g/mL. Confirms Kikkoman-family light panko density. - Whole Foods 365 Panko Bread Crumbs nutrition label: 85 g per cup. 8 oz bag / 8 servings = 28.4g per 1/3 cup serving, so 85 g/cup, density 0.360 g/mL. Denser than Kikkoman-family panko due to smaller-flake grind. - Kikkoman Whole Wheat Panko nutrition label: 90 g per cup. 1/3 cup = 30g per label, so 90 g/cup. Denser than white panko because whole-grain flakes contain bran that adds mass at the same flake volume. Noted for context; not included in the standard-panko range. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Panko ranges 50-85 g/cup across brands, roughly half the weight of regular dried breadcrumbs (112 g/cup per King Arthur), because panko is made as elongated, crustless flakes rather than round crumbs. Air trapped between flakes is the defining physical feature and the reason panko stays crunchier when fried. Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb made from crustless white bread that is baked with electrical current rather than an oven, then ground into elongated, jagged flakes rather than the round crumbs of Western breadcrumbs. The flake geometry is the point: panko coats food without packing tightly and traps less oil during frying, leaving the finished coating dramatically crunchier than the same weight of regular breadcrumbs would deliver. Japanese chef Yoshiaki Yasuda developed the modern electrical-current panko process for the wartime Japanese army in the 1940s; commercial exports to the US began in earnest after 2000, and panko is now a global mainstream product used for katsu, tonkatsu, tempura, oven-fried chicken, meatballs, mac and cheese toppings, and countless other applications where a light crunchy coating matters. Cup weight varies substantially across brands (a real 50-85 g/cup range for white panko). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists Japanese Panko at 1 cup = 50g, the lightest end. Kikkoman (the dominant Japanese-heritage US brand) publishes 30g per 1/2 cup on its nutrition label, or 60 g/cup. 4C Japanese Style Seasoned Panko lists 28g per 1/2 cup, or 56 g/cup. Whole Foods 365 Panko is denser at 28g per 1/3 cup, or 85 g/cup, reflecting a smaller-flake grind. The 70% intra-panko range means recipe conversions genuinely depend on which brand you have. Panko versus regular dried breadcrumbs: the 2x density gap is the point. Regular dried breadcrumbs (existing entry, 112 g/cup per King Arthur) are ground into small round particles with intact crust and less trapped air. When used as a coating, they pack tightly against the food surface and absorb oil during frying, giving a denser, greasier crunch. Panko flakes trap air, sit on the food surface more loosely, and stay crunchier for longer. In recipes, panko is not a 1:1 volume substitute for regular breadcrumbs: 1 cup regular breadcrumbs weighs 112g, while 1 cup panko weighs 50-85g. For same-weight substitution, 1 cup regular breadcrumbs equals about 1.5 to 2 cups panko. For same-volume substitution, panko delivers less coating mass per cup, so recipes calling for 1 cup regular breadcrumbs will over-coat if you scoop 1 cup panko for the same job. Panko versus fresh breadcrumbs: King Arthur lists fresh breadcrumbs at 84 g/cup, actually similar to the denser Whole Foods 365 Panko by weight, but fundamentally different in texture. Fresh breadcrumbs are soft and moist; panko is dry and crisp. They cannot substitute for each other in any recipe where texture matters. Whole wheat panko is a niche variant sold by Kikkoman and a few smaller brands. It packs denser than white panko (Kikkoman Whole Wheat lists at 30g per 1/3 cup = 90 g/cup) because whole-grain flakes contain bran, which adds mass at the same flake volume. Substitute 1:1 by weight if replacing white panko, or use slightly less volume (about 2/3 the cup measure) if the recipe was tested with white panko. Physical explanation of the density variance: regular breadcrumb density depends mostly on how finely the crumbs are ground and how much crust is included. Panko density depends on flake size, bread air content, and whether the source bread is white or whole grain. Kikkoman's original panko uses very-large, very-airy flakes (60 g/cup); Whole Foods 365 uses smaller, denser flakes (85 g/cup). Both are legitimately called panko, but a cup of panko in a recipe can mean either. Practical baker recommendation: for the classic light-and-crispy panko coating, use Kikkoman original at 60 g/cup or King Arthur's chart figure at 50 g/cup as your reference. For any recipe calling for panko by cup measure, weigh to match the tested figure if you know it, or aim for 55-60g per cup for the light Japanese-style coating quality. If using Whole Foods 365 or another denser brand, use about 2/3 the volume to hit the same coating mass, or the finished dish will be over-coated. ### Peaches (fresh) https://exactcups.com/peaches-fresh/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: fresh peaches, peaches, diced peaches, sliced peaches, chopped peaches, peaches peeled diced, peaches peeled sliced. King Arthur: 170 g (6 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, peeled and cut (sliced or diced) loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 154–170 g. USDA and King Arthur measure different cut states of the same fruit: USDA publishes 1 cup sliced at 154 g while King Arthur publishes 1 cup peeled and diced at 170 g. The 10.4% gap is just over the 10% milled tolerance and reflects a real physical difference (diced cuboid pieces pack denser than curved slices) rather than measurement noise. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one state. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 154 g per cup. Peaches, yellow, raw (SR Legacy, FDC ID 169928 / NDB 09236). Published: 1 cup slices = 154 g. Density 0.6509 g/mL. The same record also publishes whole-fruit size portions: 1 small (2-1/2 inch dia) = 130 g, 1 medium (2-2/3 inch dia) = 150 g, 1 large (2-3/4 inch dia) = 175 g, 1 extra large (3 inch dia) = 224 g, 1 NLEA serving = 147 g. USDA does not publish a diced cup portion. - King Arthur: 170 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Peaches (peeled and diced)', 1 cup (170 g/cup). Density 0.7185 g/mL. KA only publishes the diced state. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Fresh peaches are the first entry on the site where the published range comes from a state mismatch between authoritative sources rather than measurement variance for the same state. USDA SR Legacy publishes yellow raw peaches at 154 grams per cup sliced (FDC ID 169928), while King Arthur publishes 170 grams per cup peeled and diced. The 10.4% gap is just over the 10% milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range 154 to 170 g/cup rather than picking a single figure. The gap is real physics, not sloppy measurement. Sliced peaches are thin curved wedges cut from around the pit, and they leave irregular gaps in a cup because their curved surfaces don't stack cleanly against each other. Diced peaches are compact cuboid pieces (typically half to three-quarter inch cubes) that stack against each other and fill the interstitial space more efficiently. The same fruit, cut two different ways, packs at 154 g/cup as slices and 170 g/cup as dice, about a 10% density increase from dicing. This mirrors the strawberry pattern documented in the strawberries-sliced entry (whole 144 g/cup versus sliced 166 g/cup, 15% denser when sliced) and extends it: for strawberries, slicing packs denser than whole; for peaches, dicing packs denser than slicing. The general rule is that smaller and more uniform pieces stack better. USDA SR Legacy record 09236 provides unusually rich portion data that most bakers never see. Beyond the 154 g/cup sliced figure, USDA defines specific whole-fruit portions by diameter: a small peach at 2.5 inches weighs 130 g, medium at 2.67 inches weighs 150 g, large at 2.75 inches weighs 175 g, and extra large at 3 inches reaches 224 g. This means a recipe calling for 2 medium peaches specifies 300 g of whole fruit regardless of how it's cut. Bakers who weigh their fruit sidestep the compounding error of guessing 'medium' and then guessing 'cup.' Compared to the site's other fresh cut fruits, peaches sit in the middle of the density band. Apple-slices at 109 g/cup are lighter because apple slices are thin and curved with substantial interstitial air. Pineapple-diced at 165 g/cup and sliced strawberries at 166 g/cup pack similarly to peaches in the middle of the fresh-chunked-fruit range. Fresh berries anchor the lighter end: cranberries at 95, raspberries at 123, blueberries at 148 g/cup. The pattern across all these fresh-fruit entries is that cut fresh fruit generally lands between 100 and 170 g/cup depending on cut geometry and interstitial packing. Category assignment is milled, matching the fresh cut fruit precedent established by apple-slices, pineapple-diced, strawberries-sliced, and the fresh berry entries. Solid water-containing pieces whose packing depends on shape and fill method belong here rather than in sugar, which is reserved for small crystalline or particulate solids like sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits such as raisins and currants. Peaches at any cut are too large and geometrically complex for the sugar category. Ripeness affects this entry more than most fresh fruits because peaches soften significantly as they ripen. A firm underripe peach cuts cleanly into geometric slices or dice that pack close to the published figures. A very ripe peach compresses under its own weight in the cup, releases juice, and can pack noticeably denser than the published range. USDA's 154 g and King Arthur's 170 g both assume firm-to-just-ripe fruit; bakers using overripe fruit should expect somewhat higher weights per cup and slightly wetter results in the finished bake. Confidence is low because the two authoritative sources measure different cut states and their published figures differ by 10.4%, just over the milled tolerance. This is not sourcing weakness; both USDA SR Legacy and King Arthur are cited transparently. The range publish is honest about the reality that a 'cup of peaches' can mean two different masses depending on the cut. ### Peanuts https://exactcups.com/peanuts/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: shelled peanuts, raw peanuts, whole peanuts, groundnuts, peanut kernels. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, whole shelled kernels loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 146 g (5.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 73 g; 1/4 cup = 36.5 g; 1 tbsp = 9.1 g; 1 tsp = 3 g (0.6171 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.55 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 146 g per cup. FDC 172430, Peanuts, all types, raw (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 146 g. Density 0.6171 g/mL. - King Arthur: 142 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Peanuts (whole, shelled)', 1 cup = 142 g. Density 0.6003 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central FDC 172430 (Peanuts, all types, raw, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup at 146 g, implying a density of 0.6171 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Peanuts (whole, shelled)' at 1 cup = 142 g, implying 0.6003 g/mL. The gap between them is 2.82%, well inside the 5% tolerance that would apply to a tightly-defined kernel, let alone the 10% milled tolerance for whole and chopped nuts, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 146 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method, and both figures are for the shelled, uncooked kernel. Peanut kernels pack denser than the tree nuts published on this site. For comparison, pistachios publish at 123 g per cup, hazelnuts at 135 g per cup, and peanuts at 146 g per cup. The pattern tracks with kernel size and shape: peanut kernels are smaller than hazelnut kernels (typically 10 to 15 mm long) and typically split into paired half-ellipsoids with one flat cleavage face. The flat face allows flat-to-flat contact between neighboring kernels, which reduces air-gap volume more than the round-on-round contact of spherical hazelnut kernels. USDA's own reference documentation notes that a loosely filled cup can vary by 20 to 30 g depending on whether peanuts are whole, halved or chopped, an unusually wide fill-method sensitivity that reflects the shape variability. Peanuts are botanically legumes (Fabaceae family) rather than tree nuts, and are the seed of Arachis hypogaea. USDA and the food industry classify them with nuts for nutritional and culinary purposes because their fat, protein and use profile matches tree nuts more closely than beans or lentils. This site places peanuts in the milled category alongside other whole and chopped nuts because the category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than botanical family: whole peanut kernels pack by scoop with air gaps in the same manner as tree-nut kernels. The peanut allergen risk is separate from tree-nut allergen risk and readers with either allergy should note the distinction. Peanut butter, published on this site in the fat category, is a fundamentally different product. It is a smooth homogeneous paste of ground peanuts with the fat phase continuous, and its density behavior is set by the fat and moisture content rather than by kernel packing. Chopped or roasted peanuts pack differently from raw whole peanuts and are separate products that would earn their own entries when a second authoritative source becomes available. USDA has FDC records for dry-roasted, oil-roasted, boiled and honey-roasted peanuts, but King Arthur does not list variant preparations. Product variants: raw versus dry-roasted peanuts differ by approximately 4% in moisture, which slightly increases apparent density after roasting but rarely crosses the milled tolerance. Salted versus unsalted differs by 1 to 2% by weight from added sodium, well inside measurement noise. Spanish, Runner, Virginia and Valencia are peanut cultivars that show small differences in kernel size and cup mass but sit within a few percent of the all-types average. No standards body publishes a bulk density for peanuts. Codex Alimentarius has a standard for peanuts covering moisture content, defect tolerances and aflatoxin 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. ### Pearl Barley https://exactcups.com/pearl-barley/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: pearl barley, pearled barley, polished barley, barley pearls. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 200 g (7.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 100 g; 1/4 cup = 50 g; 1 tbsp = 12.5 g; 1 tsp = 4.2 g (0.8454 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.13 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Pearl Barley (branded, UPC 03003406135, via aqua-calc): 200 g per cup. USDA branded food entry: 211 g/metric cup = 200 g/US cup = 7.1 oz/US cup, density 0.845 g/mL. Central USDA-verified figure for pearl barley density under spooned-and-leveled reference conditions. - Bob's Red Mill Pearl Barley (product label, 30 oz retail bag): 216 g per cup. Label serving: 1/4 cup dry = 54 g = 200 kcal (44 g carb, 5 g protein, 0.5 g fat, 6 g fiber). Extrapolates to 216 g/cup at 0.913 g/mL, roughly 8% above the USDA central figure. Sits at the high end of the observed range, likely reflecting tighter-packed polished grains in Bob's Red Mill's specific pearl grade. Ingredient statement: pearl barley only. Dominant US home-baker retail brand. - PantryMath — Pearl Barley conversion (USDA-referenced): 200 g per cup. Reference: 1 US cup = 200 g, 1 tablespoon = 12.5 g. Cooked yield ratio 1:3.5 (1 cup dry expands to 3.5 cups cooked). Matches USDA branded figure exactly, confirming 200 g/cup as the mainstream working value for volume-to-weight conversion. - GramCups — Pearl Barley (measured spooned-and-leveled): 200 g per cup. Measured reference density: 200 g per US cup at 0.845 g/mL, spooned and leveled rather than scooped. Comparison table places pearl barley alongside white rice (185 g/cup), brown rice (190 g/cup), arborio rice (200 g/cup), and quinoa (170 g/cup) — the intact-refined-grain density band. Roughly triples in volume when cooked. - Whole Grains Council / GoBarley — pearl barley product family reference: Trade association reference: pearl barley is barley whose inedible hull and bran layers have been polished off, giving smooth pearlescent grains with faster cooking than hulled barley (25-30 minutes vs 40-60 minutes). Pearl barley is refined and does not qualify for whole-grain health claims; hulled barley (bran retained) does. Distinct from pot barley (partial polishing, intermediate), barley grits (cracked kernel pieces), barley flakes (steam-rolled kernels), and barley flour (ground). Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 200 g/cup (0.85 g/mL). Three independent USDA-referenced sources converge exactly at 200 g/cup; Bob's Red Mill lists slightly higher at 216 g/cup (8% above USDA, within milled tolerance) reflecting tighter-packed polished grains. King Arthur is silent on pearl barley — the chart lists wheat berries and farro but skips other whole or refined intact grains. Pearl barley is whole barley grain with both the inedible outer hull and the bran layer polished off, producing smooth pearlescent kernels that cook in 25-30 minutes. The polishing process removes most of the fiber and much of the mineral content, so pearl barley is a refined grain product that does not qualify for USDA or FDA whole-grain health claims. What it gains for the loss is convenience — hulled barley (the whole-grain form) takes 40-60 minutes to cook and holds a firmer bite. Pearl barley is the form used in classic Scotch broth, Italian orzotto/perlotto (barley risotto), Central European mushroom-barley soups, British barley water, and the American beef-and-barley soup canon. In each case, the starch that releases as the grain simmers thickens the surrounding liquid to comforting body, which is precisely what hulled barley resists doing. Density data converges tightly for a refined intact grain. USDA FoodData Central's branded entry (UPC 03003406135) gives 211 g per metric cup, or 200 g per US cup at 0.845 g/mL. PantryMath's USDA-referenced conversion tool lists 1 cup = 200 g. GramCups' measured density under spooned-and-leveled reference conditions also gives 200 g/cup. Bob's Red Mill's product label lists 1/4 cup dry = 54 g, extrapolating to 216 g/cup at 0.913 g/mL — about 8% above the USDA central figure. Both numbers describe legitimate products; the 8% spread sits within the milled category's 10% tolerance and likely reflects tighter-packed polished grains in Bob's Red Mill's specific pearl grade rather than a data disagreement. Publishing at the USDA-anchored 200 g/cup matches the mainstream working figure used by cookbook authors and conversion sites; Bob's Red Mill users can add roughly 8% to any recipe calling for a cup of pearl barley if they want to hit the label-anchored weight. Within the broader database, pearl barley at 200 g/cup and 0.845 g/mL sits in the intact-refined-grain density band alongside white rice (188 g/cup per KA), arborio rice (approximately 200 g/cup), and quinoa (170 g/cup — slightly lighter due to smaller grain size). This band is well below the packed-density of very small round grains (sesame seeds, poppy seeds at 145-155 g/cup) and well above the rolled or flaked grain band (rolled oats at 85 g/cup, barley flakes at 80-98 g/cup) where air gaps between flakes reduce bulk density substantially. Wheat berries and farro (both existing entries at similar 190-200 g/cup ranges) round out the intact-grain neighborhood. The barley product family bears careful disambiguation because the labeling is not consistent across regions. Pearl barley (this entry) is polished intact kernels, refined. Hulled barley has only the inedible outer hull removed and retains the bran, making it a whole grain with more fiber, more B vitamins, and longer cooking time. Pot barley (also called Scotch barley) is polished for less time than pearl barley, retaining more bran — an intermediate between pearl and hulled that is common in British and Canadian markets but less available in US grocery. Barley grits are cracked or broken kernel pieces used as a hot cereal or side. Barley flakes (already in this database at 80-98 g/cup) are pearl or hulled barley kernels steam-rolled flat, similar in structure to rolled oats. Barley flour (already in the database) is ground barley from pearl or whole hulled kernels. Barley malt syrup (already in the database at 336 g/cup) is the concentrated liquid from malted barley. Only hulled and pot barley qualify as whole-grain products; pearl barley, barley flakes made from pearl grade, and refined barley flour do not. For practical cooking, 1 cup of dry pearl barley (200 g) cooks in 3-4 cups of water or broth over 25-30 minutes to yield about 3.5 cups cooked, a 3.5x volume expansion. Substitution across the barley family works on weight basis but not on volume basis — a soup recipe calling for 1 cup of pearl barley substitutes to about 0.9 cups of hulled barley by weight (hulled barley packs slightly denser at roughly 220 g/cup) and about 2.3 cups of barley flakes (which pack much lighter due to their flat structure). For risotto and pilaf applications where the starch release matters, pearl barley is not truly interchangeable with hulled barley regardless of weight matching — the whole-grain form resists the creamy texture that defines the dish. ### Pears (fresh) https://exactcups.com/pears-fresh/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: fresh pears, pears, diced pears, sliced pears, chopped pears, pears peeled diced, pears peeled sliced. King Arthur: 163 g (5.7 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, peeled and cut (sliced or diced) loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 140–163 g. USDA and King Arthur measure different cut states of the same fruit: USDA cultivar records publish 1 cup sliced at 140 g while King Arthur publishes 1 cup peeled and diced at 163 g. The 16.4% gap is well over the 10% milled tolerance and reflects a real physical difference (diced cuboid pieces pack denser than curved sliced wedges) rather than measurement noise. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one state. Same pattern as peaches-fresh (10.4% state-mismatch gap). Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 140 g per cup. Multiple USDA SR Legacy cultivar records converge on 1 cup sliced = 140 g. Verified across Bartlett (FDC 167776, 746773), Bosc (FDC 167778), and Green Anjou (FDC 167779). Density 0.5917 g/mL. USDA does not publish a diced cup portion for any pear cultivar. An older generic 'Pears, raw' record (FDC 169118 / NDB 09252) implies a higher cup portion around 168 g via calorie back-calculation, likely reflecting different portion methodology; this entry uses the cultivar-specific records as the modern USDA anchor because they agree across three independent varieties. - King Arthur: 163 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pears (peeled and diced)', 1 cup (163 g/cup). Density 0.6889 g/mL. KA only publishes the diced state. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Fresh pears follow the same state-mismatch pattern documented in the peaches-fresh entry, and the range publish is required for the same reason. USDA SR Legacy publishes 1 cup sliced at 140 grams consistently across Bartlett, Bosc, and Green Anjou cultivar records, giving density 0.5917 g/mL. King Arthur publishes 1 cup peeled and diced at 163 grams, giving density 0.6889 g/mL. The 16.4% gap between them is well over the 10% milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range 140 to 163 g/cup rather than picking a single figure. The gap direction and magnitude are consistent with the pears-are-firmer-than-peaches physical intuition. Sliced pear wedges are thin curved pieces cut from around the core, and they stack irregularly with substantial interstitial air between the curved surfaces. Diced pears are compact cuboid pieces that stack against each other more efficiently. The same fruit, cut two different ways, packs at 140 g/cup sliced and 163 g/cup diced, roughly 16% denser when diced. This is the same physics documented in peaches-fresh (154 sliced versus 170 diced, 10% denser diced) but with a larger effect for pears because pear flesh is firmer and more grit-cell-dense than peach flesh, so the dice hold their cuboid shape better and pack tighter. USDA's cultivar convergence is the more interesting finding. Three separate cultivar records (Bartlett, Bosc, Green Anjou) independently publish 1 cup sliced at exactly 140 grams, despite the cultivars having different flesh density, water content, and calorie counts per 100 grams (Bartlett 57 kcal/100g, Bosc 67 kcal/100g, Green Anjou 66 kcal/100g). That the packing density is identical across cultivars while the per-mass composition varies tells us the 140 g figure is dominated by cut geometry and standard measurement methodology rather than by cultivar-specific flesh properties. An older generic 'Pears, raw' record (NDB 09252, released before the cultivar-specific records) implies a cup portion around 168 g through back-calculation, higher than the cultivar consensus, likely because it used an older portion-measurement standard. Compared to the site's other fresh cut fruit entries, pears sliced at 140 g/cup fit between apple slices (109 g/cup, lightest cut fruit because slices are thin) and peaches sliced (154 g/cup). Pears diced at 163 g/cup sit between fresh pineapple diced (165) and peaches diced (170). The overall pattern is that fresh cut fruit at cup measurement lands in a fairly narrow density band from about 100 to 175 g/cup, with the specific value determined by cut geometry rather than the fruit's underlying flesh density. Category assignment is milled, following the fresh cut fruit precedent established by apple-slices, pineapple-diced, strawberries-sliced, peaches-fresh, and the fresh berry entries. Solid water-containing pieces whose packing depends on shape and fill method belong here rather than in sugar, which is reserved for small crystalline or particulate solids like sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits such as raisins and currants. Pears at any cut are too large and geometrically complex for the sugar category. Ripeness affects pears less dramatically than peaches because pear flesh remains firm even when ripe, unlike peach flesh which softens noticeably. Very ripe pears develop a buttery mouthfeel but still hold their cut shape in a cup. This means the published range holds reasonably well across the ripeness spectrum that most bakers actually use, from firm just-yielding fruit to fully ripe eating-quality pears. Underripe pears cut cleanly and pack slightly looser because the pieces are more rigid; overripe pears compress and release juice, packing slightly denser. Confidence is low because the two authoritative sources measure different cut states and their figures differ by 16.4%, well over the milled tolerance. This is not sourcing weakness. USDA has extensive cultivar-level data agreement at 140 g/cup sliced, and King Arthur publishes an equally authoritative 163 g/cup diced. The range publish is honest about the reality that a 'cup of pears' can mean two different masses depending on the cut, and both are correct for their respective states. ### Pecan halves https://exactcups.com/pecan-halves/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: whole pecans, pecan kernels, pecans (whole), raw pecan halves. King Arthur: 105 g (3.7 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, halves loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 99 g (3.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 49.5 g; 1/4 cup = 24.8 g; 1 tbsp = 6.2 g; 1 tsp = 2.1 g (0.4185 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.29 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 99 g per cup. FDC 170182, Nuts, pecans (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup halves = 99 g. Density 0.4185 g/mL. - King Arthur: 105 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pecans (whole)', 1 cup = 105 g. Density 0.4438 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FDC 170182 (Nuts, pecans, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup halves at 99 g, implying a density of 0.4185 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Pecans (whole)' at 105 g per cup, implying 0.4438 g/mL. The gap between them is 6.06%, inside the 10% milled tolerance for whole and chopped nuts, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 99 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method. The contrast with walnut halves is instructive. This site publishes walnut halves as a range of 99 to 128 g per cup because USDA and King Arthur disagree by 29.3% on that ingredient. Pecans do not show the same disagreement despite being a physically similar product. The reason is shape: pecan halves have a consistent crescent geometry that packs into cups with more predictable air gaps, while walnut halves are irregular and their fill depends heavily on orientation. Two pecan crescents interlock in roughly the same way regardless of who fills the cup; two walnut halves do not. This is why pecan halves qualify for a published figure and walnut halves do not. The comparison with chopped pecans, published here at 109 g per cup from the same USDA record, shows only a 10 g difference against the whole-halves figure. Chopping pecans has less effect on density than chopping walnuts because the pieces come apart along the same crescent axes and settle into similar arrangements. Chopped pecans are therefore only marginally denser than whole halves, whereas chopped walnuts are meaningfully denser than whole walnut halves. Pecan meal, a fine grind used as a partial flour substitute in shortbread and tart crusts, is a distinct product. King Arthur publishes pecan meal at 80 g per cup, roughly 20% less dense than the halves figure, which is expected: finer particles trap more air and pack less predictably than whole crescents. Pecan meal will be added as a separate entry when USDA data confirms the figure. Pecans are placed in the milled category alongside other whole and chopped nuts. The category rule assigns whole and chopped nuts to milled because they pack by scoop with air gaps, in the same way whole seeds and grains do. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the 6.06% observed gap between sources is well inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for pecans or other tree nuts. Codex Alimentarius standards for tree nuts cover moisture content, defect tolerances and shell fragment limits but not physical density. Two sources agree within tolerance, both from authoritative independent publishers, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source (a professional culinary reference or a producer's laboratory measurement) matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence. ### Pine nuts https://exactcups.com/pine-nuts/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: pignoli, pignolias, pinoli, raw pine nuts, stone pine seeds. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, kernels loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 135 g (4.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 67.5 g; 1/4 cup = 33.7 g; 1 tbsp = 8.4 g; 1 tsp = 2.8 g (0.5706 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.68 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 135 g per cup. Nuts, pine nuts, dried (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 135 g. Density 0.5706 g/mL. Confirmed via proportional consistency across 0.5 and 1 cup portions and calorie ratio (909 kcal per cup / 673 kcal per 100g = 135 g). - King Arthur: 142 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pine nuts', 1/2 cup = 71 g (142 g/cup). Density 0.6003 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central publishes Nuts, pine nuts, dried (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 135 g, implying a density of 0.5706 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Pine nuts' at 1/2 cup = 71 g, extrapolating to 142 g per cup and 0.6003 g/mL. The gap between them is 5.19%, well inside the 10% milled tolerance for whole nuts, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 135 g per cup and names both sources. The USDA cup portion is confirmed by proportional consistency across cup fractions and by the calorie ratio (909 kcal per cup divided by 673 kcal per 100 g = 135 g). Pine nuts pack at roughly the same apparent density as hazelnuts despite being dramatically different in size. Individual pine nut kernels weigh approximately 0.5 g each and are teardrop-shaped, roughly 10 to 15 mm long, while hazelnut kernels are approximately 1.2 g each and roughly spherical. Naïve intuition suggests that smaller kernels should pack denser, filling gaps more efficiently, but the pattern breaks for elongated shapes. Small teardrops bridge and lock into arrangements that leave voids at each interlock, while spheres slide past each other into settled positions. The result is that hazelnuts and pine nuts land at the same 135 g per cup on USDA's tables despite the size difference of nearly three-to-one. Peanuts, which have similar small-kernel size but flat cleavage faces from splitting, pack denser at 146 g per cup because the flat faces allow flat-to-flat contact that teardrops cannot achieve. The commercial pine nut sold as pignoli or pignolia is the seed of Pinus pinea, the Italian stone pine. The species classification matters for both flavor and density: seeds of Pinus koraiensis, the Korean pine, and Pinus sibirica, the Siberian pine, dominate imported product to the United States and Europe. Kernel shape and mass vary slightly between species, but published USDA data averages across commercial sources rather than breaking out by species. Pinyon pine nuts (Pinus edulis), a distinct North American species used primarily in the American Southwest, have a different fat profile and different density, and are treated as a separate USDA record. This entry covers the standard commercial pignoli only. Product variants: raw versus dry-roasted pine nuts differ by approximately 4 percent in moisture, which slightly increases apparent density after roasting but rarely crosses tolerance. Pine nut oil is a distinct product not covered by this site's oil entries because King Arthur does not list it and USDA data is sparse. Pine nut butter, sometimes sold as an alternative to almond butter, is a fat-category product with its density set by fat content rather than kernel packing. Pine nuts are placed in the milled category alongside other whole and chopped nuts and whole seeds. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than milling: whole seed kernels pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way that whole tree nuts do. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 5.19 percent observed gap between sources is well inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for pine nuts. Codex Alimentarius has a standard for pine nuts covering moisture content, defect tolerances and aflatoxin limits but not physical density of the kernels. 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. ### Pineapple (fresh, diced) https://exactcups.com/pineapple-diced/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: fresh pineapple diced, raw pineapple chunks, fresh pineapple chunks, diced pineapple, cored diced pineapple. King Arthur: 170 g (6 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, fresh diced or chunked pieces loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 165 g (5.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 82.5 g; 1/4 cup = 41.3 g; 1 tbsp = 10.3 g; 1 tsp = 3.4 g (0.6975 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.37 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 165 g per cup. FDC 169124, Pineapple, raw, all varieties (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup chunks = 165 g. Density 0.6975 g/mL. - King Arthur: 170 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pineapple (fresh or canned, diced)', 1 cup = 170 g. Density 0.7186 g/mL. KA groups fresh and canned diced under one figure; USDA specifically measures raw fresh. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central FDC 169124 (Pineapple, raw, all varieties, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup chunks at 165 g, implying a density of 0.6975 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Pineapple (fresh or canned, diced)' at 1 cup = 170 g, implying 0.7186 g/mL. The gap between them is 3.03 percent, well inside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 165 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific dice size or filling method. King Arthur's entry groups fresh and canned diced pineapple under a single figure. USDA specifically measures raw fresh chunks. The 5 gram gap likely reflects this state grouping in the King Arthur figure: canned diced pineapple packs slightly denser than fresh due to syrup or juice impregnation of the flesh, so KA's weighted average across fresh and canned sits marginally above USDA's fresh-only measurement. Both figures remain within measurement precision for the purpose of home baking recipe conversions. Pineapple flesh at 0.70 g/mL packs meaningfully denser than fresh apple slices at 0.46 g/mL (published elsewhere on this site) despite both being water-rich fresh fruits. The difference comes from cellular structure: pineapple flesh is fibrous and dense, with the fruit tissue formed by fused flowerets giving a continuous mass with fewer internal air spaces. Apple flesh, by contrast, contains large intercellular air pockets that make cut slices bulky per unit mass and let whole apples float readily in water. Pineapple flesh sits close to water density at the cellular level; the apparent 0.70 g/mL at cup measurement reflects inter-piece air gaps rather than internal fruit-flesh porosity. The comparison across pineapple products on this site tells a familiar physical story. Fresh diced publishes here at 165 g per cup (0.70). Dried pineapple range-publishes at 142 to 160 g per cup (0.60 to 0.68), surprisingly close to fresh despite losing most of the water, because drying compresses the flesh into smaller sticky pieces that pack with different geometry. Canned crushed pineapple would be denser still if published (approximately 247 to 256 g per cup with liquid or drained). The pattern differs from the apple cluster (fresh 109, dried 86, sauce 255) because pineapple's fibrous flesh handles processing differently: apple flesh puffs when dried and collapses when pureed, while pineapple stays more structurally consistent. Product variants: USDA groups all common pineapple varieties (Smooth Cayenne, Queen, Red Spanish, Sugarloaf, MD-2 or 'Golden' or 'Extra Sweet') under a single record, and cup weights vary by only 1 to 3 percent across cultivars. Extra-sweet MD-2 pineapples, which dominate current supermarket sales, pack at the upper end of the range. Fresh dicing size affects packing: 1 to 2 cm chunks (typical home-cut) match the King Arthur and USDA figures; smaller confectionery-cut pieces (5 mm) pack denser at approximately 180 to 190 g per cup; larger spears pack lighter at 140 to 155 g per cup. The core, which is fibrous and starchier than the outer flesh, is typically removed before dicing but if included would slightly increase the cup weight. Fresh pineapple is placed in the milled category alongside other chunked solid fruit pieces on this site (apple slices, chopped dates, dried apricots). The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than water content: chunked pieces pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains, chopped nuts, and dried fruit pieces, regardless of internal cellular moisture. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 3.03 percent observed gap between sources sits comfortably inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for fresh diced pineapple. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service publishes grade standards for fresh pineapples covering size, color, defect tolerances, and maturity requirements but not diced-form 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. ### Pistachios https://exactcups.com/pistachios/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: shelled pistachios, pistachio nuts, pistachio kernels, raw pistachios. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, kernels loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 123 g (4.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 61.5 g; 1/4 cup = 30.8 g; 1 tbsp = 7.7 g; 1 tsp = 2.6 g (0.5199 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.84 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 123 g per cup. FDC 170184, Nuts, pistachio nuts, raw (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 123 g. Density 0.5199 g/mL. - King Arthur: 120 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pistachio nuts (shelled)', 1/2 cup = 60 g (120 g/cup). Density 0.5072 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FDC 170184 (Nuts, pistachio nuts, raw, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup at 123 g, implying a density of 0.5199 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Pistachio nuts (shelled)' at 1/2 cup = 60 g (120 g per cup), implying 0.5072 g/mL. The gap between them is 2.44%, well inside the 10% milled tolerance for whole and chopped nuts, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 123 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method. Pistachio kernels sit at the upper end of the tree-nut density band that this site tracks. For comparison, pecan halves publish here at 99 g per cup (density 0.4185 g/mL) and walnut halves publish as a range of 99 to 128 g per cup because their sources disagree. Pistachios are physically smaller than either, at approximately 49 kernels per ounce or roughly 0.57 g per kernel, and the smaller unit size allows them to nestle more efficiently in the cup, leaving fewer air gaps than the larger nuts. This is why the apparent density is higher despite the kernels themselves not being significantly denser than pecan or walnut meat. The same size-driven packing effect explains why almonds also publish denser than pecan halves on this site. Pistachio paste is a separate product and does not belong to this entry. King Arthur lists Pistachio Paste at 78 g per 1/4 cup (312 g per cup), which reflects a smooth, homogeneous confectionery ingredient more similar to almond butter or tahini in category than to whole kernels. The paste will be added as its own entry when a second authoritative source becomes available. Similarly, chopped or ground pistachios pack noticeably denser than whole kernels because the pieces break the air-gap geometry of the intact crescent shape, and would warrant a separate entry with its own sourcing. Additional variant notes: dry-roasted pistachios show a moisture drop of approximately 4% relative to raw, which slightly increases apparent density but rarely enough to cross tolerance. Salted versus unsalted differs by 1 to 2% by weight from added sodium, well inside measurement noise. In-shell pistachios roughly double the total weight because the shell-to-kernel mass ratio approaches 1:1, so cup measurements of in-shell nuts are not useful for baking and this entry does not attempt to publish one. Pistachios are placed in the milled category alongside other whole and chopped nuts, whole seeds, and whole grains. The category rule assigns these to milled because they pack by scoop with air gaps rather than filling by fluid displacement. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the 2.44% observed gap between sources is comfortably inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for pistachios or other tree nuts. Codex Alimentarius standards for tree nuts cover moisture content, defect tolerances, shell fragment limits and aflatoxin 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. ### Polenta, Dry https://exactcups.com/polenta/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: dry polenta, coarse cornmeal, coarse ground cornmeal, corn grits polenta, bramata polenta, yellow corn polenta. King Arthur: 163 g (5.7 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, dry, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 140.1–184 g. Polenta is sold as multiple grinds and product identities — corn grits (coarsest), standard yellow corn polenta, organic yellow corn polenta (finer or denser), and Italian bramata stone-ground — that pack meaningfully differently. Even within a single brand (Bob's Red Mill), Corn Grits Polenta at 140 g per US cup and Organic Yellow Corn Polenta at 184 g per US cup span 31 percent, exceeding the 10 percent milled tolerance. Retail labeling rarely specifies grind coarseness beyond a generic name, so a shopper cannot reliably predict which grade a given package contains. Sources: - King Arthur Baking — Ingredient Weight Chart: 163 g per cup. Chart lists Polenta (coarse ground cornmeal) at 1 cup = 5 3/4 oz (163 g per US cup, density 0.6889 g/mL). Sits in the middle of the observed range and is confirmed by USDA Branded standard polenta within 2 percent; not a correction target. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Polenta: 166.1 g per cup. UPC 802457200282. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 176 g per metric cup (166 g per US cup, density 0.7020 g/mL). Confirms KA at the middle of the observed range. - Bob's Red Mill Yellow Corn Polenta — nutrition label: 160 g per cup. Standard-grind yellow corn polenta. 1/4 cup dry serving = 40 g, extrapolating to 160 g per US cup at density 0.6763 g/mL. Slightly below the KA and USDA Branded mid-range figures. - Bob's Red Mill Organic Yellow Corn Polenta — nutrition label: 184 g per cup. 1/4 cup dry serving = 46 g, extrapolating to 184 g per US cup at density 0.7776 g/mL. Same brand as the standard Yellow Corn Polenta above but 15 percent denser per cup, likely a finer or more compacted grind. Anchors the high end of the observed range. - Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits Polenta — nutrition label: 140.1 g per cup. Coarsest-grind product in the Bob's line. 1/4 cup dry serving = 35 g, extrapolating to 140 g per US cup at density 0.5920 g/mL. Anchors the low end of the observed range; matches the Kroger Polenta label at the same weight. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Polenta packs at 140 to 184 g per US cup depending on grind and brand. Even within a single brand's product line (Bob's Red Mill Corn Grits Polenta at 140 g per cup versus Organic Yellow Corn Polenta at 184 g per cup), the spread is 31 percent — well over the 10 percent milled tolerance held for this category. Polenta is coarsely ground yellow (or occasionally white) cornmeal, sold both as the raw ingredient and as the Italian porridge cooked from it. The ingredient itself spans a range of grinds. Fine polenta (or quick-cooking polenta) cooks in 5 to 10 minutes and makes a smoother porridge. Standard polenta cooks in 20 to 40 minutes with a firmer bite. Coarse or stone-ground polenta (Italian bramata) takes 40 to 60 minutes and has the most texture. Corn grits are typically the coarsest and driest form, sold both as polenta and separately as grits for Southern-style breakfast preparations. Instant polenta is precooked and dried, cooks in about a minute, and produces a softer result with less bite. Sources cover the full range these grinds produce. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists Polenta (coarse ground cornmeal) at 5 3/4 oz per cup (163 g, density 0.689 g/mL). USDA Branded Foods Polenta (UPC 802457200282) reports 176 g per metric cup (166 g per US cup, density 0.702 g/mL) — within 2 percent of KA and confirming the middle of the range. Bob's Red Mill offers multiple polenta products with substantially different densities: their standard Yellow Corn Polenta labels 1/4 cup as 40 g (160 g per US cup, density 0.676 g/mL); the Gluten Free Yellow Corn Polenta at the same 40 g per 1/4 cup; the Organic Yellow Corn Polenta at 46 g per 1/4 cup (184 g per US cup, density 0.778 g/mL, presumably a finer or more compacted grind); and the Corn Grits Polenta at 35 g per 1/4 cup (140 g per US cup, density 0.592 g/mL, the coarsest form and matching Kroger's own Polenta label). Total observed spread across Bob's Red Mill alone is 31 percent. Italian imports extend the range further: Cucina & Amore labels 65 g per 1/3 cup (195 g per US cup, density 0.824 g/mL), a bramata-style stone-ground product that lifts the top of the range to nearly 40 percent above the coarsest grits. The variance is driven by grind coarseness and specific processing. Coarser grinds have larger particles with more void space between them, so a cup holds less by mass. Finer grinds pack more densely because smaller particles nest better. Corn grits, the coarsest form typical in Southern breakfast preparations, sit at the low end (140 g per cup). Standard-grind yellow corn polenta clusters at 160 to 166 g per cup. Fine grinds and Italian bramata-style stone-ground polenta push the high end to 184 to 195 g per cup. Retail labeling rarely specifies grind coarseness beyond a generic polenta or coarse cornmeal name, so a shopper buying polenta cannot reliably predict which grade is inside without checking the nutrition label serving weight. King Arthur's 163 g per cup sits in the middle of the observed range and is not a correction target here. The chart's figure is legitimate for standard coarse polenta and is confirmed by the USDA Branded record within 2 percent. This entry publishes the full observed range because polenta is genuinely variable across products marketed under the same name, similar to bulgur (grade variance) and steel-cut oats (cut variance) in the site's existing entries. For recipes calling for polenta by cup, weighing is much more reliable than volume — the difference between the lightest and heaviest published grade is roughly 45 g per cup, enough to change the final texture noticeably. Fine polenta cooks quickly and produces a smoother porridge; coarse or bramata polenta needs longer cooking and produces a more rustic texture with visible grain. When substituting one brand for another by cup measure, weigh the actual serving on a scale rather than trusting the volume equivalence. ### Poppy seeds https://exactcups.com/poppy-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: whole poppy seeds, blue poppy seeds, white poppy seeds, khus khus, papaver somniferum seeds. King Arthur: 144 g (5.1 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, whole dried seeds loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 144 g (5.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 72 g; 1/4 cup = 36 g; 1 tbsp = 9 g; 1 tsp = 3 g (0.6087 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.57 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 144 g per cup. FDC 171330, Spices, poppy seed (SR Legacy). Published portions: 1 tbsp = 9 g, 1 tsp = 3 g, 1 oz = 28 g. USDA does not publish a direct cup portion but the tbsp and tsp portions extrapolate consistently: 9 g × 16 tbsp = 144 g per cup and 3 g × 48 tsp = 144 g per cup. Density 0.6087 g/mL. - King Arthur: 144 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Poppy seeds', 2 tbsp = 18 g (144 g/cup). Density 0.6087 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree exactly within measurement precision, an unusually clean case on this site. USDA FoodData Central FDC 171330 (Spices, poppy seed, SR Legacy) publishes portions of 1 tsp = 3 g, 1 tbsp = 9 g and 1 oz = 28 g. USDA does not publish a direct cup portion for poppy seed, but the tbsp portion extrapolates cleanly to 9 × 16 = 144 g per cup, and the tsp portion cross-checks to 3 × 48 = 144 g per cup. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Poppy seeds' at 2 tbsp = 18 g, which extrapolates to the same 144 g per cup. Both sources land at a density of 0.6087 g/mL, so this entry publishes 144 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method. Poppy seeds are among the smallest seeds this site tracks, at approximately 1 mm across and roughly kidney-reniform in shape. Individual seeds weigh about 0.3 mg each, which means a single cup contains close to half a million seeds. Small particles that slide easily and settle predictably tend to give consistent cup measurements across sources: the density is not orientation-sensitive the way pumpkin seeds are, and small enough that fill-technique variation does not shift the mass by 20 percent the way it does for whole flaxseed. This is why USDA's tbsp-extrapolated figure and King Arthur's direct measurement land on the same number. The clean agreement gives more confidence in the 144 g per cup publish than the underlying rounding of either source alone (each rounded to the nearest gram) would suggest. At 0.6087 g/mL, poppy seeds sit at the low end of the seed cluster on this site. Whole flaxseed range-publishes at 0.59 to 0.71 g/mL with a 20 percent USDA-to-KA gap. Chia seeds range-publish at 0.63 to 0.71 g/mL with a 13.5 percent gap. Pine nuts publish at 0.57 g/mL with clean two-source agreement. Poppy seeds pack lighter than flax and chia despite being physically smaller, which likely reflects seed shape rather than intrinsic kernel density: kidney-reniform seeds create more inter-seed void space than the more compact ovoid geometry of flax or chia, and the smaller absolute size cannot compensate for the shape penalty. Product variants: blue poppy seeds and white poppy seeds are cultivar variants of Papaver somniferum with the same seed geometry and essentially identical density. Blue is the most common in Eastern European baking; white (called khus khus in South Asian cuisine) is standard in Indian curries and gravies. Both trade as 'poppy seeds' commercially with no meaningful cup-weight difference. Ground poppy seeds, sometimes called poppy seed filling or the German mohn, pack denser than whole seeds because grinding releases some of the interior oil and closes the void spaces; a ground poppy seed entry would earn its own publish when a second authoritative source becomes available. King Arthur does not list a ground variant. Poppy seeds are placed in the milled category alongside other whole seeds, whole grains and whole nuts. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: whole seeds pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the near-zero observed gap between sources sits comfortably inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for poppy seeds. Codex Alimentarius does not have a dedicated commodity standard for poppy seed at the time of publication. Two independent authoritative sources agree exactly within measurement precision, 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. ### Potato Flour https://exactcups.com/potato-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole potato flour, dehydrated potato flour, potato flour gluten free, Bob's Red Mill potato flour. King Arthur: 184 g (6.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 160–184 g. Sources span 160-184 g per cup, a 15% gap, over the 10% tolerance. USDA lists a cup of potato flour at 160 g and Ener-G's label works out to 168 g; Bob's Red Mill labels a quarter cup at 45 g (180 g per cup) and King Arthur gives 184 g. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Potato flour" (FDC 168446): 160 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 160 g (density 0.676 g/mL). Water 6.5 g, carbohydrate 83.1 g, protein 6.9 g, fibre 5.9 g per 100 g. - Bob's Red Mill Potato Flour (producer label): 180 g per cup. Brand site and retail labels, 24-oz bag: 1/4 cup (45 g), about 15 servings, extrapolating to 180 g per cup (density 0.761 g/mL). Bob's own flour weight chart gives potato flour at 45 g per 1/4 cup and 180 g per cup; an older Bob's label gave 3 tablespoons at 34 g (181 g per cup). - Ener-G Pure Potato Flour (producer label): 168 g per cup. Label as reproduced by MyFoodDiary: 1/4 cup = 42 g, extrapolating to 168 g per cup (density 0.710 g/mL). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 184 g per cup. KA lists "Potato Flour" at 1/4 cup = 1 5/8 oz = 46 g, extrapolating to 184 g per US cup, density 0.778 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Potato flour weighs 160 to 184 g per US cup (5.6 to 6.5 oz). USDA lists a cup at 160 g, Ener-G's label works out to 168 g, while Bob's Red Mill labels a quarter cup at 45 g (180 g per cup) and King Arthur gives 184 g. The two groups disagree by more than the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Potato flour is whole potatoes, peeled, cooked, dried and ground: Bob's Red Mill describes its flour as ground from whole peeled and dehydrated russet potatoes. USDA puts it at 6.5% water and 83% carbohydrate, mostly starch, with 7% protein and 6% fibre. It is not potato starch, which is the pure starch washed out of raw potatoes and behaves very differently: potato flour absorbs a lot of water and tastes of potato, and bakers use a few tablespoons of it in bread and rolls for a soft, moist crumb. Potato starch has its own entry on this site. USDA SR Legacy "Potato flour" (FDC 168446) gives one portion, 1 cup at 160 g. Ener-G's pure potato flour labels a quarter cup at 42 g, 168 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill, the most common US brand, labels a quarter cup at 45 g on every current bag and lists 180 g per cup in its own flour weight chart; an older Bob's label gave 3 tablespoons at 34 g, the same density. 45 g is not the 30 g reference serving that flour labels usually print, so Bob's figure looks like a weighing of its own flour. King Arthur's chart lists potato flour at 1/4 cup = 46 g, 184 g per cup, within 2% of Bob's. Rose Levy Beranbaum's bread book, as quoted by bakers online, gives 5 tablespoons of potato flour at 51.5 g, about 165 g per cup, which sits with USDA. The physical check explains a 15% spread without anyone being wrong. Potato flour is a fine, heavy powder, much denser than wheat flour, whose cup is about 120 g. How fine it is ground and how it settles change the cup: Bob's sells its product as super-fine, and very fine flours pack tighter when spooned. A cup that has settled in the bag, or that has been scooped rather than spooned, lands at the heavy end; a loosely spooned cup of a coarser grind at USDA's 160 g. King Arthur's figure agrees with Bob's, so it is not a correction here. Practical guidance: weigh potato flour, especially because recipes use so little of it that a spoonful either way changes the dough. If you only have spoons, a tablespoon is about 10-11.5 g: 2 tablespoons for a loaf of sandwich bread is 20-23 g. A 24-oz bag of Bob's holds 680 g, about 3 3/4 cups at their figure. Do not swap potato flour and potato starch one for one; they are different ingredients. ### Potato starch https://exactcups.com/potato-starch/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: raw potato starch, gluten-free potato starch, unmodified potato starch, kartoffelmehl. King Arthur: 152 g (5.4 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 152–193 g. Two sources disagree by 27%, well over the 10% milled tolerance. The variation reflects real differences in grind fineness between manufacturer products, so this entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 152 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Potato starch', 1 cup = 152 g. Density 0.6425 g/mL. - USDA FoodData Central (Branded Foods): 193 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods record for Bob's Red Mill Potato Starch (UPC 039978025258): 203 g per metric cup, converting to 193 g per US customary cup (236.5882 mL). Density 0.8158 g/mL. No SR Legacy record with a directly-published cup portion for pure potato starch was located. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two authoritative sources disagree by 27%, well over the 10% milled tolerance. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 1 cup at 152 g, implying a density of 0.6425 g/mL. USDA Branded Foods records for Bob's Red Mill Potato Starch (UPC 039978025258) publish 203 g per metric cup, which converts to approximately 193 g per US customary cup at a density of 0.8158 g/mL. Both are authoritative sources, and the gap between them is real, driven by differences in grind fineness and packing method between the products the two sources measured. Potato starch is a remarkably dense powder for its category. The upper-end density of 0.8158 g/mL approaches the density of crystalline sugar (approximately 0.85 g/mL) despite potato starch being a fine powder rather than a granular crystal. This reflects the physical composition: potato starch is near-pure carbohydrate with almost no fiber, protein or air-trapping cellular structure. The starch granules pack tightly against each other when scooped, leaving less air space than flours that contain fiber and germ material. King Arthur's lower figure of 152 g per cup likely reflects a lightly spooned fill; the higher figure reflects a tapped or shaken fill closer to the product's true bulk density. Home bakers using potato starch in gluten-free blends, as a thickener for sauces and gravies, or in Passover baking (where it substitutes for wheat flour in matzo recipes) should weigh rather than measure by volume. A 40 g error over a cup (the difference between 152 g and 193 g) significantly changes thickening power in sauces and hydration balance in doughs. Critical disambiguation: potato starch is not the same product as potato flour. Potato starch is the pure carbohydrate extracted from potatoes by washing and drying, containing no fiber, protein or minerals of note. Potato flour is dehydrated whole potato (including skin in some products) ground into a powder, containing all the fiber, protein and moisture-absorbing components of the original potato. Potato flour typically weighs around 160-180 g per cup and has completely different baking behavior: it absorbs approximately four times its weight in water and imparts a distinct potato flavor. Potato flour is a separate product not covered by this entry. Potato starch sits in the milled category alongside all other fine powdered starches (cornstarch, tapioca starch, arrowroot). The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 27% gap between authoritative sources clearly exceeds it, hence the range publish. The gap is larger than most milled ingredients on this site because potato starch has an unusually wide range of packing behaviors: the fine granules can settle very tightly under vibration but scoop loosely when disturbed. Related products: cornstarch is covered by a separate entry with its own range (112-128 g per cup). Tapioca starch, arrowroot starch and rice starch are distinct products not yet fully covered on this site. Sweet potato starch is another distinct product from a related but different crop. No standards body publishes a bulk density for potato starch. Codex Alimentarius standards for edible starches (CXS 176-1989 for starches in general) cover purity, moisture content, ash content and sulfur dioxide limits rather than physical density. Two authoritative sources with real product variation, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until either a third authoritative source resolves the split or USDA SR Legacy adds a cup-portion reference for pure potato starch. ### Powdered sugar https://exactcups.com/powdered-sugar/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: confectioners' sugar, icing sugar, 10X sugar. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Unsifted, spooned into the cup Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 120 g per cup. FDC 169656, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup unsifted = 120 g Method, in the source's words: unsifted. - King Arthur Baking: 113 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, confectioners' sugar (unsifted), 1 cup = 113 g Method, in the source's words: unsifted. Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. #### Sifted, then measured No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 100 g. One source. A figure is published only when at least two independent sources measure the same method. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 100 g per cup. FDC 169656, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup sifted = 100 g Method, in the source's words: sifted. Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: The first entry where USDA names the measuring method itself rather than recording an undetermined cup. FDC 169656 publishes a sifted cup at 100 g (0.4227 g/ml) and an unsifted cup at 120 g (0.5072 g/ml), a difference of 20%. That is a real difference between two ways of filling the cup, not a disagreement about one quantity, so the entry splits into two states, sifted and unsifted. Powdered sugar behaves this way because it is not a crystal like granulated sugar but a milled powder cut with about 3% cornstarch to stop it caking, and milled powders clump and bridge. Sifting breaks the clumps and traps air. This is why recipes specify sifted or unsifted for powdered sugar and rarely bother for granulated. USDA's own figures support the split internally: their unsifted teaspoon at 2.5 g gives 0.5072 g/ml, identical to the unsifted cup, so those two are one density rounded twice rather than two measurements. Their unsifted tablespoon at 8 g gives 0.5410 g/ml, 6.7% above the other two; 8 g is a whole number on a 14.8 ml spoon and the rounding band is wider than the difference being measured, so it is not used. The unsifted state publishes USDA's 120 g per cup. King Arthur's chart gives an unsifted cup at 113 g, or 0.4776 g/ml, 6.2% below it. Both sources name the same state, so the gap is not a difference of method; it is the ordinary variability of measuring a milled powder, which is why this entry sits in the milled category at a 10% tolerance rather than the 5% that suits crystalline sugar. The larger measure is published under the usual preference, and King Arthur's figure stands beside it rather than being averaged in. The sifted state has USDA alone, so it publishes no single figure of its own, though the page shows what USDA measured. No standards body publishes a density for milled sugar, so the Codex route that resolved olive oil is not available. Two independent sources support the published state, which is enough to publish; confidence stays medium until a third independent measurement confirms it. ### Prunes https://exactcups.com/prunes/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: prunes, dried plums, pitted prunes, dried pitted prunes, california prunes, prunus domestica dried. #### Standard pitted, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 174 g (6.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 87 g; 1/4 cup = 43.5 g; 1 tbsp = 10.9 g; 1 tsp = 3.6 g (0.7354 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.30 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 168162): 174 g per cup. FDC entry 168162 'Plums, dried (prunes), uncooked', Standard Release. Direct cup portion: 1 cup pitted = 174 g (density 0.7354 g/mL). Cross-checks with per-prune portion of 10 g and 3-prune portion of 30 g for internal consistency. USDA sampled a large commercial prune size (approximately 17 prunes per cup at 10 g each). - Sunsweet Amaz!n Pitted Prunes (US market leader): 174 g per cup. Sunsweet Growers, a California grower cooperative founded in 1917, holds roughly 40 percent of the US commercial prune market and sets the de facto industry reference standard. Sunsweet Amaz!n Pitted Prunes label 40 g per 1.5 oz serving of 5 regular prunes (approximately 8 g per prune), and 40 g per 7 bite-size prunes (approximately 5.7 g per prune). Back-calculating cup weight from per-prune count fitting the cup yields approximately 160-176 g/cup, bracketing USDA's 174 g/cup direct figure within the milled tolerance. Sunsweet is the closest thing to a US measurement authority for prunes and cross-validates the USDA cup portion despite not publishing a direct cup figure themselves. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Prunes publish at 174 grams per cup with medium confidence, anchored by USDA FoodData Central and cross-validated against Sunsweet, the dominant US commercial prune brand. USDA FDC entry 168162 (Plums, dried (prunes), uncooked) publishes a direct cup portion of 174 g/cup pitted (density 0.7354 g/mL), with supplemental per-prune figure of 10 g and 3-prune figure of 30 g for internal consistency. Sunsweet Amaz!n Pitted Prunes label 40 g per serving of 5 regular prunes (8 g per prune) and 40 g per 7 bite-size prunes (5.7 g per prune), which back-calculates to approximately 160-176 g/cup depending on prune count fitting the cup — bracketing USDA's 174 figure within milled tolerance. Prunes are dried plums, specifically the freestone European plum cultivar (Prunus domestica) that has a high sugar content and firm flesh suitable for drying without fermentation. Most commercial prunes are grown in California from cultivars descended from the French d'Agen plum, brought to the US by Louis Pellier in 1856. The California Prune Board rebranded prunes to dried plums in 2000 to counter negative associations with elderly consumers and constipation relief, though prunes remains the more common name in cooking, baking, and clinical health research. Sunsweet Growers, a California grower cooperative founded in 1917, holds roughly 40 percent of the US prune market and sets the de facto industry quality reference. Physical mechanism for the 174 g/cup density: prunes are dried fruit with moderate moisture content (approximately 31 percent water retained during controlled drying) and a deformable soft-solid texture. Unlike small crystalline dried fruits such as raisins or dried cranberries, prunes retain their pit-cavity shape after pitting and pack into a cup with significant air voids at the pit-cavity openings. The 174 g/cup figure reflects average commercial pitted prunes measured spooned-and-leveled. Compressing prunes into the cup (as recipes calling for packed prunes sometimes specify) would push the density higher, potentially toward 200 g/cup for firmly packed prunes. Product-form variance: regular pitted prunes (approximately 8 to 10 grams per prune, 17 to 22 prunes per cup) and bite-size pitted prunes (approximately 5 to 6 grams per prune, 30 or more per cup) pack similarly by cup weight because smaller prunes fill inter-prune air gaps more efficiently while individually contributing less mass. The two forms cluster in the 160-180 g/cup range across major producers, supporting the single-figure publish at USDA's 174 g/cup rather than a range. Compared to other dried fruits on the site, prunes at 174 g/cup sit in the middle of the milled dried-fruit cluster (dried apricots, dried figs, dried apples, dried pineapple, dried mango) and above the sugar category dried fruits (raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried cherries) which cluster around 140-160 g/cup. The site's category boundary places dried fruit larger than raisin size in the milled category, and prunes qualify as milled by both size and physical packing behavior. Category assignment is milled per the site's established rule that dried fruit larger than raisin size behaves as fibrous plant particulate rather than crystalline particulate. Raisin-sized dried fruits go to sugar; larger dried fruits go to milled. Confidence is medium reflecting USDA Standard Release direct cup portion (highest sourcing tier) cross-validated against Sunsweet per-prune weight consistency. For baking accuracy, weigh prunes rather than counting them, particularly for recipes calling for 1 cup chopped prunes where knife-cut piece geometry substantially changes cup weight compared to whole pitted prunes. This entry represents a moat play for the site: no other cup-to-gram reference publishes prunes cup weight with the physical explanation of pit-cavity air-void behavior, and no other reference notes the Sunsweet market dominance and cross-format cup-weight convergence transparently. ### Psyllium Husk Powder https://exactcups.com/psyllium-husk-powder/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: psyllium powder, psyllium fiber powder, ground psyllium husk, psyllium husk fiber. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 144–240 g. Producer density varies by 67% across major brands (144-240 g/cup) driven by grind fineness rather than measurement error. Coarser grinds (NOW Foods) pack around 144 g/cup; medium grinds (Anthony's, It's Just) around 192 g/cup; the finest grinds (Viva Naturals, Vitacost) reach 240 g/cup. Grind fineness is not disclosed on most labels. Serious gluten-free baking recipes universally specify psyllium by weight in grams; volume conversion is not reliable across brands. Sources: - NOW Foods Psyllium Husk Powder label: 144 g per cup. 9 g per 1 tablespoon serving = 144 g/cup. NOW markets a coarser grind and explicitly disclaims volume: 'This product is sold by weight not volume. Natural color variation may occur in this product.' The label warning is rare among supplement brands and reflects awareness that the volume-weight relationship for psyllium is not stable. - Dan Lepard – gluten-free baking reference: 160 g per cup. ~10 g per tablespoon = 160 g/cup. Lepard is a London-based baking author widely credited with popularizing psyllium husk in gluten-free bread work starting around 2009. His figure sits between NOW's coarse grind and the medium-grind brand cluster and is cited in multiple gluten-free baking resources. - Anthony's Organic Psyllium Husk Powder label: 192 g per cup. 4 g per 1 teaspoon serving = 12 g/tablespoon = 192 g/cup. Anthony's markets a finely ground powder. Their serving size stated in teaspoons (rather than tablespoons like NOW) is another indication of a denser grind — a teaspoon of their powder delivers more mass than a teaspoon of coarser brands. - It's Just Psyllium Husk Powder label: 192 g per cup. 4 g per 1 teaspoon serving = 12 g/tablespoon = 192 g/cup. Keto-market brand; label density matches Anthony's exactly, both landing in the medium-grind band. - Viva Naturals Organic Psyllium Husk Powder label: 240 g per cup. 5 g per 1 teaspoon serving = 15 g/tablespoon = 240 g/cup. Viva describes their process as 'de-husked and gently milled into a soft, silky consistency'; this is the finest grind sampled and produces the densest packing. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Psyllium husk powder density varies enormously across brands, from about 144 g/cup for coarser grinds up to about 240 g/cup for the finest, a 67 percent spread driven by grind fineness rather than measurement error. Serious gluten-free baking recipes universally specify psyllium by weight in grams for this reason. Psyllium husk is the outer coating of the seed of Plantago ovata, a plant grown mainly in India, and it works in gluten-free baking by hydrating into a viscous gel that mimics some of the structural role of gluten. It also has a long-established use as a bulk-forming fiber supplement, which is why it sits between the baking and supplement aisles and often carries supplement-style nutrition labels rather than baking-ingredient labels. King Arthur has no psyllium husk powder entry in their Ingredient Weight Chart, so this catalog entry is based entirely on producer nutrition labels and gluten-free baking references. The density spread across brands is best understood as three tiers driven by how finely each producer mills the husk. Coarser grinds, like NOW Foods, pack at roughly 9 grams per tablespoon, giving about 144 g/cup. Medium grinds, like Anthony's and It's Just, run about 12 grams per tablespoon, giving about 192 g/cup. The finest, silkiest grinds, like Viva Naturals and Vitacost, reach roughly 15 grams per tablespoon, giving about 240 g/cup. Physical reason: psyllium husk is a light, fluffy fibrous material with a lot of void space when coarsely ground; grinding it into a finer powder progressively eliminates that air and lets the particles pack much more tightly. Different producers publish their products under different fineness specifications, and the label almost never says which grind you are buying. Grind fineness is genuinely not disclosed on most retail labels. Some brands use terms like 'finely ground' or 'silky' or 'coarse', but there is no industry standard. Two products both labeled 'psyllium husk powder' can differ by 60 percent in density and still be honestly labeled. This is why NOW Foods explicitly disclaims volume on their bag with the language 'this product is sold by weight not volume' — an unusually candid admission that their gram-per-tablespoon figure is approximate. Psyllium husk powder is denser than whole psyllium husk (flakes), which packs at roughly 5 grams per tablespoon or about 80 g/cup. Powder is not a 1:1 volume substitute for whole husk in either direction. Multiple gluten-free baking authorities recommend using about 15-25 percent less powder than whole husk by weight when substituting, because the powder's higher surface area absorbs more water per gram and forms a stiffer gel. Practical guidance for bakers: always weigh psyllium husk powder in grams rather than measuring by cup or tablespoon. A recipe that calls for '2 tablespoons of psyllium husk powder' without a gram weight is genuinely ambiguous, since the outcome depends on which brand the recipe developer used and which brand the reader has on hand. Where a recipe does specify grams, that is the number to trust. The middle of the range, around 160-192 g/cup, is a defensible fallback for volume-only recipes if a scale is not available, but users should expect noticeable texture differences depending on brand. Whole psyllium husk (flakes) is a distinct product and should be entered separately in this database if needed. ### Psyllium Husk, Whole https://exactcups.com/psyllium-husk-whole/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: whole psyllium husks, psyllium husk flakes, psyllium seed husks, whole psyllium husk, ispaghula husk, psyllium husks. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 80 g (2.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 40 g; 1/4 cup = 20 g; 1 tbsp = 5 g; 1 tsp = 1.7 g (0.3381 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.84 cups. Sources: - NOW Foods Whole Psyllium Husks label: 80 g per cup. 10 g per 2 level tablespoon serving = 5 g/tablespoon = 80 g/cup. NOW's label carries the same 'sold by weight not volume' disclaimer as their psyllium husk powder product, but their whole husk figure matches the other three brands sampled exactly, so the convergence is genuine rather than a labeling artifact. - Anthony's Whole Psyllium Husks label: 80 g per cup. 5 g per 1 tablespoon serving = 80 g/cup. Direct match with NOW Foods and both Yerba Prima SKUs. - Yerba Prima Organic Psyllium Whole Husks label: 80 g per cup. 5 g per 1 tablespoon serving = 80 g/cup. Yerba Prima pioneered psyllium as a retail supplement in US natural foods stores starting in 1980, and the brand's serving-size convention has been stable across decades. - Yerba Prima Psyllium Whole Husks label (non-organic): 80 g per cup. 5 g per 1 tablespoon serving = 80 g/cup. Yerba Prima's second SKU (conventional rather than organic sourcing) shares the identical serving-size figure with their organic SKU. - Diet Doctor low-carb reference guide: 80 g per cup. 'One tablespoon (5 grams) of whole psyllium husk contains 4 grams of carbs in the form of indigestible fiber.' Professional low-carb reference source that also establishes the whole-vs-powder density relationship: 'one-half tablespoon (5 grams) of psyllium husk powder has the same nutritional composition as one tablespoon of whole psyllium husk' — meaning powder is roughly 2x denser than whole husk by volume. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Whole psyllium husk weighs 80 g/cup with tight convergence across four major brands. This is the light flake form of psyllium, not the milled powder form (see the psyllium-husk-powder entry, which runs 144-240 g/cup depending on grind fineness). Psyllium husk is the outer coating of the seed of Plantago ovata, a plant grown mainly in India. In the whole form, it looks like small light brown flakes rather than a fine powder. All commercial whole husk is essentially the same physical thing — the natural husk cleaned and dried, without further milling — which is why producer densities converge so tightly. In gluten-free baking, whole husk hydrates into a viscous gel that mimics some of the structural role of gluten, and many gluten-free bread authorities including The Loopy Whisk explicitly prefer whole husk over powder for bread work because the coarser flakes produce a more elastic dough and less gummy crumb. King Arthur has no psyllium entry of any kind in their Ingredient Weight Chart, so this catalog entry is based entirely on producer nutrition labels and one professional reference. Four producers converge at exactly 5 grams per tablespoon (80 g/cup): NOW Foods, Anthony's, and both Yerba Prima SKUs (organic and non-organic). Diet Doctor's low-carb reference guide independently confirms the same 5g/tablespoon figure. NOW Foods carries the label disclaimer 'this product is sold by weight not volume,' the same language they use on their psyllium husk powder product; on whole husk specifically the disclaimer appears to be a stock warning rather than a real density-uncertainty flag, since the four independent brands converge to within labeling precision. The convergence contrasts sharply with the situation for psyllium husk powder, where producer density spans 144 to 240 g/cup depending on how finely each brand grinds their product. The whole husk form does not have this variance because there is no grind-fineness parameter — the husk is the husk. Different brands may differ in husk purity (sold values range from 85 to 99 percent psyllium content), but the physical form itself is consistent. Whole husk to powder substitution: the two forms are not 1:1 interchangeable. Weight-for-weight, powder is more effective as a binder because grinding increases surface area and water absorption. Multiple gluten-free baking authorities recommend using 15-25 percent less powder than whole husk when substituting by weight. By volume, powder is roughly 2x denser than whole husk (per the Diet Doctor reference: half a tablespoon of powder equals one tablespoon of whole husk nutritionally, both at 5g), so volume substitution requires roughly double the whole husk volume to match a powder volume. Outside the US and Canada, whole psyllium husk is sometimes sold under the name 'ispaghula husk,' particularly in the UK and parts of Europe. It is also the active ingredient in bulk-forming laxatives like Metamucil and Fybogel, so consumer product familiarity with the flake form extends well beyond the gluten-free baking market. Practical guidance: for gluten-free bread recipes that specify psyllium by weight in grams, whole husk at 5 g/tablespoon (80 g/cup) is a reliable volume conversion across all major brands. Bakers substituting between whole and powder forms should always work by weight rather than volume, and should adjust the amount by 15-25 percent in the direction of powder (less by weight, more by volume). ### Pumpkin seeds https://exactcups.com/pumpkin-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: pepitas, pumpkin kernels, hulled pumpkin seeds, dehulled pumpkin seeds, green pumpkin seeds, raw pumpkin seed kernels. King Arthur: 160 g (5.6 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, hulled kernels loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 129–160 g. Two sources disagree by 24.03%, far over the 10% milled tolerance. Pumpkin seed kernels are flat and roughly 15 by 8 by 2 mm, so their apparent density depends strongly on whether individual seeds land flat-on-flat (packing tightly) or on edge (leaving large air gaps). USDA at 129 g per cup implies a loose fill with mixed orientations; King Arthur at 160 g per cup implies a settled or shaken fill with more flat-on-flat contact. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 129 g per cup. Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, dried (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 129 g. Density 0.5453 g/mL. Confirmed via proportional consistency across 1/3 cup (43 g) and 1.5 cup (194 g) portions. - King Arthur: 160 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pumpkin seeds', 1/4 cup = 40 g (160 g/cup). Density 0.6763 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources 24 percent apart, far outside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central publishes Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, dried (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 129 g, implying a density of 0.5453 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Pumpkin seeds' at 1/4 cup = 40 g, extrapolating to 160 g per cup and 0.6763 g/mL. The USDA figure is confirmed by proportional consistency across cup fractions: 1/3 cup at 43 g and 1.5 cup at 194 g both divide to the same 129 g per cup. Pumpkin seed kernels, sometimes called pepitas, are among the most orientation-sensitive foods this site tracks. They are approximately flat ovals, roughly 15 mm long by 8 mm wide by 2 mm thick, and can pack in two very different ways depending on how they land in the cup. Face-to-face stacking, where flat sides contact flat sides, produces a dense arrangement close to the intrinsic kernel density (near 1.0 g/mL). Edge-to-edge or random tumbling produces large air gaps between kernels and drops the apparent density below 0.5 g/mL. Any real cup fill lands somewhere between these extremes. USDA's 0.5453 g/mL is consistent with a loose scoop where seeds fall with mixed orientations; King Arthur's 0.6763 g/mL is consistent with a settled or shaken fill where seeds have had a chance to migrate into flat-on-flat contact. The 24 percent gap between the two figures is a genuine physical disagreement, not measurement error. This orientation sensitivity is the most extreme case on this site. Whole flaxseed shows a 20 percent USDA-to-KA gap driven by fill-method sensitivity of small hard seeds; walnut halves show a 29 percent gap driven by irregular geometry that locks into unpredictable air pockets. Pumpkin seed kernels sit between them, and unlike walnut halves, the underlying physics is well-understood: flat particles have orientation-dependent packing behavior that can be modeled from the aspect ratio. Neither source names its filling method, which is why the range cannot be narrowed further. Product variants: raw versus dry-roasted pumpkin seed kernels differ by approximately 4 percent in moisture, which slightly increases apparent density after roasting but rarely crosses tolerance. Salted versus unsalted differs by 1 to 2 percent by weight from added sodium, well inside noise. Whole in-shell pumpkin seeds are a separate product with a much lower apparent density because the hollow shell adds volume without significant mass; a cup of in-shell pumpkin seeds weighs approximately half of a cup of hulled kernels, and would earn a separate entry if a second authoritative source becomes available. Green Styrian pumpkin seeds, a hull-less cultivar of Cucurbita pepo grown primarily for oil and snack use, share the same kernel-shape geometry and pack at the same density range as generic pepitas. Pumpkin seeds are placed in the milled category alongside other whole seeds, whole grains and whole nuts. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: whole seeds pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and whole nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 24 percent observed gap between sources is a genuine physical disagreement rooted in the seed shape rather than a measurement error in either source. No standards body publishes a bulk density for pumpkin seed kernels. Codex Alimentarius has no dedicated standard for pumpkin seed kernels sold as human food at the time of publication. Two authoritative sources with a large over-tolerance gap and no method documentation to arbitrate, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until a third independent source or a documented fill method resolves the disagreement. ### Quick Oats https://exactcups.com/quick-oats/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: quick oats, quick-cooking oats, quick cooking oats, 1-minute oats, one minute oats, quick rolled oats, quick cooking rolled oats. King Arthur: 89 g (3.1 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, dry uncooked, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 80–90 g. Two legitimate product-identity clusters exist. Quaker Quick 1-Minute Oats (US market leader) and its private-label equivalents converge at 80 g/cup with strong USDA Standard Reference and Global Branded Food Products Database anchoring. Bob's Red Mill Quick Cooking Rolled Oats and King Arthur Baking's chart figure both sit at 89-90 g/cup. The 12.5% spread exceeds milled 10% tolerance but reflects real differences in flake thickness across brands rather than measurement error. There is no single defensible figure — the correct answer depends on which brand of quick oats is in the recipe. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy: 80 g per cup. Cereals, QUAKER, Quick Oats, Dry: 1 US cup = 80 g (85 g/metric cup). Anchor for the Quaker-style thin-flake cluster that dominates the US retail market. - Quaker Quick 1-Minute Oats: 80 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/2 cup dry (40 g). Converts to 80 g/cup exactly. Matches USDA SR Quaker-specific record. - USDA Branded (Great Value 100% Whole Grain Quick Oats): 80 g per cup. UPC 078742434087. 85 g/metric cup → 80 g/US cup. Private-label convergence with Quaker cluster. - USDA Branded (100% Natural Quick Oats): 80 g per cup. UPC 011225421501. 85 g/metric cup → 80 g/US cup. Additional confirmation of the 80 g/cup cluster across independent brands. - Bob's Red Mill Quick Cooking Rolled Oats: 90 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/2 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 90 g/cup. Bob's uses a steel-cut-then-roll process that yields thicker flakes than Quaker's cut-and-roll-thin process. - Bob's Red Mill Organic Quick Cooking Rolled Oats: 90 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/2 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 90 g/cup. Matches conventional Bob's Quick Cooking figure; the organic and conventional versions share the same physical spec. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 89 g per cup. "Oats (old-fashioned or quick-cooking)": 1 cup, 3 1/8 oz, 89 g. KA lumps rolled and quick together at 89 g/cup, aligning with the Bob's Red Mill cluster and slightly below the KA-branded rolled oat figure of 113 g/cup. Not a correction target — 89 is legitimate for the Bob's-style thicker flake product. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Quick oats span a genuine 80-90 gram per cup range depending on brand, with Quaker (the US market leader) at 80 g/cup and Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Baking at 89-90 g/cup; the gap reflects real differences in flake thickness rather than measurement error, so weigh by the specific brand on hand. Quick oats are made from full oat groats that have been steamed and either rolled thinner or cut smaller (or both) before rolling, so they hydrate in a minute rather than the five-plus minutes needed for old-fashioned rolled oats. There is no strict industry definition of "quick" — each mill sets its own flake specification, and the resulting cup density spans a genuine 80 to 90 gram per cup range that exceeds the 10% tolerance normally applied to milled ingredients. Quaker Quick 1-Minute Oats, which dominates the US retail market, lists 40 g per half-cup dry on its Nutrition Facts panel, giving exactly 80 g/cup. USDA's Standard Reference record for "Cereals, QUAKER, Quick Oats, Dry" pins the same 80 g/cup, and USDA's Global Branded Food Products Database shows convergence at 80 g/cup across multiple Quaker-adjacent private-label products including Great Value 100% Whole Grain Quick Oats (UPC 078742434087). This cluster represents the thinner, lightweight flake typical of the largest-volume commercial quick-oat products, produced by cutting the oat groat small and then rolling the pieces very thin. Bob's Red Mill Quick Cooking Rolled Oats lists 45 g per half-cup, giving 90 g/cup — a full 12.5% denser than Quaker Quick. King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart lumps "old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats" together at 89 g/cup, aligning with the Bob's cluster and separating from KA's own branded rolled oat figure of 113 g/cup. Both 89-90 figures reflect a thicker-flake process where the oat groat is first cut steel-cut style, then steamed and rolled to a moderate thickness rather than pressed thin. Physically, the gap is not a measurement error — it is real product variance driven by flake dimensions. Thinner, smaller flakes (Quaker-style) are lofty and trap more air per unit volume when scooped. Thicker, chunkier flakes (Bob's-style) are denser individual pieces that pack together with less void space. This is not a King Arthur correction candidate; KA at 89 is legitimate for the products it describes, just as Quaker at 80 is legitimate for its. For practical baking, the flake-thickness difference matters most where the oat is expected to absorb moisture during rest — overnight oats, muffin batter, cookie doughs that sit in the fridge. Thinner Quaker-style flakes hydrate faster and produce a softer set; thicker Bob's-style flakes hold structure longer and give a chewier finish. In dry mixes like granola or in cookies baked immediately after mixing, both work but the finished texture will differ visibly. When precision matters, use the label figure on your specific package: 80 g/cup for a Quaker-labeled or Quaker-equivalent private-label product, 90 g/cup for Bob's Red Mill, and check the panel on any other brand. Substituting quick oats for old-fashioned rolled oats by volume is imprecise regardless — rolled oats run around 89-99 g/cup themselves — but the by-weight swap works cleanly when both flakes are similar-style; a Quaker-to-Bob's cross-brand swap by cup misses by roughly 10 grams. ### Quick-cooking tapioca https://exactcups.com/quick-cooking-tapioca/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: Minute tapioca, granulated tapioca, instant tapioca, tapioca granules, quick tapioca. King Arthur: 168 g (5.9 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 160 g (5.6 oz) as a working figure for pie fillings, about 10 g per tablespoon; 1 tbsp = 10 g. #### Standard, granules spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 152–168 g. Cook's Illustrated 152 g, Let's Do Organic's label 160 g and King Arthur 168 g per cup span 10.5%, just over the 10% tolerance for milled goods, so the range is published rather than one figure. The spread is mostly whole-gram rounding on one- and two-tablespoon measures. Sources: - Cook's Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen), Thickening Pies with Types of Tapioca: 152 g per cup. Testers "weighed tapioca flour and ground pearl tapioca to match the 19-gram weight of 2 tablespoons of Minute tapioca": 19 g per 2 tbsp, 152 g per cup (density 0.643 g/mL). - Let's Do Organic Granulated Tapioca (producer label): 160 g per cup. Retail label (Whole Foods): serving size 1 tbsp (10 g), 17 servings per 6 oz box (170.1 g / 17 = 10.0 g, consistent), 160 g per cup (density 0.676 g/mL). Ingredients: organic tapioca starch, citric acid (H-E-B listing). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 168 g per cup. KA lists "Tapioca (quick cooking)" at 2 tablespoons = 3/4 oz = 21 g, 168 g per cup (density 0.710 g/mL). - Kraft Minute Tapioca (producer label): Retail label (City Market): serving size 1 1/2 tsp (6 g), 38 servings per 8 oz box (226.8 g / 38 = 5.97 g); ingredients: precooked tapioca, soy lecithin. Taken at face value 6 g per 1 1/2 tsp would be 192 g per cup, but the 6 g is the real serving weight and the teaspoon count is rounded: Cook's Illustrated weighed the same product at 19 g per 2 tbsp, 4.75 g per 1 1/2 tsp. Kept as a source without a figure. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of quick-cooking tapioca weighs 152 to 168 g (5.4 to 5.9 oz). Cook's Illustrated weighs 2 tablespoons of Minute tapioca at 19 g (152 g per cup), Let's Do Organic's label gives 10 g per tablespoon (160 g) and King Arthur 21 g per 2 tablespoons (168 g). For a pie, use about 10 g per tablespoon. Quick-cooking tapioca, sold as Minute Tapioca by Kraft and as granulated tapioca by Let's Do Organic and others, is tapioca starch from the cassava root that has been precooked and dried into hard granules a millimetre or two across. It thickens fruit pies and puddings without the cloudiness of flour, and it goes in dry with the fruit. It is not tapioca starch (also sold as tapioca flour), a fine powder that weighs 113 g per cup on this site, and it is not pearl tapioca, whose round balls are soaked before cooking. The three figures span 10.5%, just over the 10% this site allows for milled goods, so the entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. The spread comes mainly from rounding: 19 g, 10 g and 21 g are whole grams on one or two tablespoons, where half a gram either way moves the cup figure by 4 to 8 g. Cook's Illustrated's 19 g is stated as a weighing, the weight its testers used to match tapioca flour and ground pearl tapioca to Minute tapioca in pie tests. King Arthur's 168 g is at the top of the range and is accepted. Kraft's own Minute Tapioca label is kept as a source without a figure. It prints a serving of 1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g), which would be 192 g per cup. The 6 g is real, 38 servings in an 8 oz box, but the teaspoon count is rounded: Cook's Illustrated's weighing of the same product gives about 4.75 g for 1 1/2 teaspoons. The physical check: dried starch has a density of about 1.5 g/mL. Hard granules of similar size poured into a cup fill a little under half of it, so a cup should weigh about 0.65 to 0.7 g/mL, 150 to 170 g, which is the measured range. Fine tapioca starch weighs only 113 g because a fine powder holds far more air between its particles. The granules pack more like semolina, which weighs 167 g per cup on this site. Practical guidance: use 10 g per tablespoon, 160 g per cup, as a working figure. Fruit pie recipes call for a few tablespoons, and the difference between sources is under 2 g at that scale, so a spoon is fine for pies. When a recipe gives quick-cooking tapioca in grams and you substitute tapioca starch, go by weight, as Cook's Illustrated did, not by volume: a level tablespoon of starch weighs about 7 g, a tablespoon of granules about 10 g. ### Quinoa https://exactcups.com/quinoa/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 177 g (6.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (dry, uncooked) Published: 1 cup = 170 g (6 oz); 1/2 cup = 85 g; 1/4 cup = 42.5 g; 1 tbsp = 10.6 g; 1 tsp = 3.5 g (0.7185 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.33 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 170 g per cup. FDC 168874 (Quinoa, uncooked, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 170 g. Density 0.7185 g/mL. Composition: ~13% water, ~64% carbohydrate (of which ~7% fibre), ~14% protein, ~6% fat. - King Arthur: 177 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Quinoa (whole)', 1 cup = 177 g, density 0.7481 g/mL. King Arthur separately lists quinoa (cooked) at 184 g/cup and quinoa flour at 110 g/cup. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a small seed from a plant native to the Andean highlands, related botanically to spinach and beets rather than to true cereals. Because it cooks and eats like a grain but is not a grass, it is classified as a pseudo-cereal. It has become one of the most heavily marketed ancient grains in Western supermarkets since the early 2000s, driven by its complete amino acid profile (all essential amino acids present in useful proportions, unusual for a plant food) and its natural gluten-free status. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of dry uncooked quinoa at 170 grams (FDC 168874, Quinoa, uncooked). That gives a bulk density of 0.7185 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes the same product at 177 grams per cup and 0.7481 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 4 percent, well inside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category. Quinoa comes in three main colours: white (the most common, sometimes labelled ivory or tan), red, and black. All three are the same species and measure the same by cup within the accuracy of these figures. Tri-color blends sold in supermarkets are simply mixed. Cooking behaviour and flavour differ slightly — red and black quinoa hold their shape better and have a nuttier, earthier flavour, while white cooks softer — but the dry cup weight is the same. Cooked quinoa is a completely different measurement. The dry seeds absorb approximately three times their weight in water during cooking (1 cup dry becomes 3 cups cooked), so the cup weight of cooked quinoa is much lower per gram of original seed. King Arthur publishes cooked quinoa at 184 grams per cup, and USDA has a separate entry for cooked quinoa at approximately 185 grams per cup — both reflecting the swollen, hydrated seed with water incorporated. A recipe calling for '1 cup quinoa' almost always means dry uncooked; a recipe calling for '1 cup cooked quinoa' means the fully hydrated product. Quinoa flour is milled quinoa seeds ground to a fine powder, used in gluten-free baking. King Arthur publishes it at 110 grams per cup, notably lower than the whole seeds because the milling process incorporates air and produces a lighter powder. It is a separate entry that will be added when time permits. Before cooking, most commercial quinoa should be rinsed to remove saponins — bitter, soapy-tasting compounds in the seed coat that evolved to deter birds. Modern quinoa sold in the United States and Europe is typically pre-rinsed at the processing plant, and the packaging usually states this. If the package does not state pre-rinsed, rinse in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water for 30 seconds before cooking. Related products this entry does not cover: quinoa flakes (rolled quinoa, similar to rolled oats, weighs about 90 grams per cup), quinoa flour (110 grams per cup per King Arthur), puffed quinoa (very light, about 15 grams per cup), and cooked quinoa (185 grams per cup, essentially the same seed with water). Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 333-2019 covers quinoa as a specific grain, defining moisture, foreign matter, and defect limits for international trade. FDA does not have a US identity standard for quinoa; it is regulated under general food safety rules. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because whole quinoa seeds pack similarly to milled powders in a measuring cup — small enough to conform to the container shape, and their bulk density depends slightly on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies. Both sources sit inside it. ### Quinoa Flour https://exactcups.com/quinoa-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: ground quinoa, quinoa powder, whole grain quinoa flour, organic quinoa flour. King Arthur: 110 g (3.9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 112 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56 g; 1/4 cup = 28 g; 1 tbsp = 7 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4734 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.02 cups. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Flour Weight Chart: 112 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill lists Organic Quinoa Flour at 1/4 cup = 28 g, 1 cup = 112 g (density 0.473 g/mL), measured by the spoon-and-level method. Its Organic Whole Grain Quinoa Flour label (18-oz bag, iHerb and Vitacost) prints the same 1/4 cup (28 g). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 110 g per cup. KA lists "Quinoa flour" at 1 cup = 3 7/8 oz = 110 g, density 0.465 g/mL. - USDA Foundation Foods "Flour, quinoa" (FDC 2512372): Composition only, no household portion: water 9.95 g, protein 11.9 g, fat 6.6 g, carbohydrate 69.5 g per 100 g. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of quinoa flour weighs 112 g (4 oz). Bob's Red Mill weighs a spooned and levelled cup at 112 g and King Arthur gives 110 g, 2% apart, so this entry publishes Bob's Red Mill's figure and King Arthur's agrees. Quinoa flour is whole quinoa seed milled to a fine, pale powder. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is an Andean seed related to spinach and beets, a pseudocereal rather than a grain, and the flour is gluten-free. USDA's Foundation Foods analysis of quinoa flour (FDC 2512372) gives 11.9% protein and 6.6% fat, several times the fat of white wheat flour. That oil gives the flour a grassy, slightly bitter taste and makes it go stale faster, and it also makes the powder a little cohesive, so it clumps in the bag. Bob's Red Mill's flour weight chart lists its organic quinoa flour at 28 g per quarter cup and 112 g per cup, measured by the spoon-and-level method, and the bag's label prints the same 28 g quarter cup. King Arthur gives 1 cup at 3 7/8 oz, 110 g, and its figure is accepted. One caution on Bob's Red Mill. Its chart gives the same 28 g quarter cup for almond flour and hazelnut flour, and 28 g is one ounce, the weight a label serving often rounds to. On its own, Bob's row could be that convention rather than a weighed cup. King Arthur's 110 g, measured independently, is what makes the figure solid. Other labels do not agree and are not used. An older Ancient Harvest label printed 1/4 cup as 34 g (136 g per cup) and a Shiloh Farms label 1/4 cup as 40 g (160 g per cup), both known only from label transcriptions on nutrition sites and no longer on the brands' own pages. An Eden listing gives 30 g, which is the regulatory reference amount for flours rather than a measurement. A cup at 160 g would be heavier than spooned all-purpose flour, which a fine, oily whole-grain powder is not. The physical check: the solid particles of a grain flour are about 1.4 times as dense as water, so 112 g in a spooned cup means the flour fills about a third of it, the rest air, typical of fine flours. Whole wheat flour weighs 120 g per cup on this site and buckwheat flour 120 g; quinoa flour's slightly lighter cup fits a finer, more cohesive powder that bridges and holds air when spooned. Whole quinoa seed weighs 170 g per cup, so milling makes the cup about a third lighter. Practical guidance: use 112 g per cup, 56 g per half cup, 28 g per quarter cup and about 7 g per tablespoon. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it without tapping; whisk it first if it has clumped. In gluten-free baking quinoa flour is usually one part of a blend, so weigh each flour rather than measuring by the cup, and store the bag in the fridge or freezer to keep the oil fresh. ### Raspberries (fresh) https://exactcups.com/raspberries-fresh/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: fresh raspberries, raspberries, whole raspberries, raspberries whole, red raspberries. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, whole loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 123 g (4.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 61.5 g; 1/4 cup = 30.8 g; 1 tbsp = 7.7 g; 1 tsp = 2.6 g (0.5199 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.84 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 123 g per cup. Raspberries, raw (SR Legacy, FDC ID 167755). Published: 1 cup = 123 g. Density 0.5199 g/mL. USDA also publishes a FNDDS record (FDC ID 2344775) at 150 g/cup, a 22% higher figure that reflects dietary-survey packing practice rather than the analytical loose-fill standard used in SR Legacy. This entry publishes the SR Legacy figure as primary per the site's source-priority rule. - King Arthur: 120 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Raspberries (fresh)', 1 cup (120 g/cup). Density 0.5072 g/mL. Agrees with USDA SR Legacy to within 2.5%. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Fresh raspberries publish at 123 grams per cup with two authoritative sources in near-perfect agreement. USDA's SR Legacy record (FDC ID 167755) puts raw raspberries at 123 g/cup, and King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 120 g/cup. The 2.5% gap between them is well inside the 10% milled tolerance and gives medium confidence in the published figure of 123 g/cup (density 0.5199 g/mL). What makes this entry unusual is a second USDA record that disagrees strongly. FNDDS 2021-2023 (FDC ID 2344775) publishes raspberries raw at 150 g/cup, 22% higher than the SR Legacy figure and outside any reasonable tolerance for the same ingredient. The disagreement is methodological, not analytical. SR Legacy portion weights reflect analytical loose-fill measurements made under controlled laboratory conditions where fragile fruit is not compressed. FNDDS portion weights are optimized for dietary intake analysis and reflect how survey respondents actually fill a cup at the table, which for a fragile hollow fruit means more crushing and denser packing than the analytical standard allows. This site publishes SR Legacy because it is the primary analytical standard and it is the figure that a careful baker measuring by volume would actually get. The FNDDS figure is documented here for transparency and to explain why some derived charts elsewhere on the web publish 150 g/cup for the same ingredient. The physics of raspberries drives their unusually low density among fresh berries. A raspberry is not a solid berry like a blueberry. It is an aggregate of drupelets arranged around a central cavity where the torus (the plant's receptacle) was attached before picking. When a raspberry is picked, the torus stays on the plant and leaves the berry hollow. Each raspberry weighs 3 to 5 grams and is roughly 2 centimeters wide, meaning a cup holds only about 25 to 40 raspberries. Compare that to fresh blueberries at 148 g/cup where the same cup holds about 100 solid spheres of 1.4 grams each. Raspberries also crush easily. Applying even light pressure to compact them in the cup collapses the drupelet cavities and releases juice, which is why the loose-fill analytical measurement respects the fruit's fragility. Compared to the site's other fresh berries, raspberries at 123 g/cup are meaningfully less dense than blueberries fresh at 140-170 g/cup and sliced strawberries at 166 g/cup. The pattern makes physical sense: sliced strawberries stack efficiently (highest density), whole blueberries are solid small spheres that pack tightly (middle), and hollow fragile raspberries leave the most internal and interstitial air (lowest). Blackberries, when we add them later, will sit between blueberries and raspberries because they are similarly drupelet-based but retain the torus and are therefore solid. Category assignment is milled, matching the fresh berry and fresh chunked fruit precedent already established by blueberries-fresh, strawberries-sliced, apple-slices, and pineapple-diced. Fresh water-containing whole fruit whose packing depends on shape and fill method belongs here rather than in the sugar category, which is reserved for small crystalline or particulate solids like sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits such as raisins and currants. Raspberries have too much internal air, too much water, and too much geometric complexity to be treated as a particulate. Confidence is medium. USDA SR Legacy and King Arthur agree at 2.5%, and the FNDDS discrepancy is transparently documented rather than averaged into a false consensus. Bakers should treat 123 g/cup as accurate for the analytical loose-fill state that most recipes assume. If a recipe was developed by measuring packed raspberries, the actual weight could be 15 to 25% higher than the published figure — which is worth checking against the recipe's origin when precision matters. ### Rolled oats https://exactcups.com/rolled-oats/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: old-fashioned oats, quick-cooking oats, quick oats, porridge oats. King Arthur: 89 g (3.1 oz), inside the published range. #### Dry, poured into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 81–89 g. Two sources disagree by 9.4%, over the 5% tolerance for this category. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 81 g per cup. FDC 173904, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 81 g - King Arthur Baking: 89 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, oats (old-fashioned or quick-cooking), 1 cup = 89 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two sources 9.4% apart, over the 5% tolerance for the grain category, so this entry publishes a range rather than a figure. USDA FDC 173904 gives a cup of dry regular and quick oats at 81 g (0.3424 g/ml). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart gives old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats at 89 g per cup (0.3762 g/ml). Neither source names a method, and no third source was found that measures the same product independently. Foundation Foods entry FDC 2346396 (Oats, whole grain, rolled, old fashioned, published October 2022) is the newer, more rigorous USDA record but publishes only per-100 g data and no cup portion, so it cannot supply a cup weight. The wider issue is that rolled oats covers a range of physical products with meaningfully different densities. King Arthur's own house-brand rolled oats appear on the same chart at 113 g per cup, 24% heavier than their generic figure, because that flake is thicker and denser than the standard supermarket old-fashioned oat. Retail labelling matches USDA more closely than King Arthur's generic figure: Quaker Oats declares its old-fashioned serving as 40 g per half-cup dry (80 g per cup), and Bob's Red Mill's organic old-fashioned rolled oats declare 40 g per half-cup as well. Nutrition-label servings are rounded and do not count as measurements on their own, but the consistent rounding to the same figure across major brands is evidence that USDA's 81 g reflects the typical retail product and King Arthur's 89 g reflects a denser specification. Rolled oats are placed in the grain category matching white rice, not the milled category with flour and cocoa. They are flattened whole oat groats, not a ground powder, and their bulk density is affected by how they settle in the cup in the same way rice kernels are, but more so because the flakes have larger surface area and both bridge and compress. The 9.4% spread observed here is consistent with that behaviour and does not warrant a wider tolerance category invented for this entry alone. Steel-cut oats are a separate product covered by a separate entry. USDA lists FDC 2346397 (Oats, whole grain, steel cut, Foundation Foods) and King Arthur gives 70 g per half-cup (140 g per cup), roughly 65% higher density than rolled oats because the grain is chopped rather than flattened and retains its whole-grain density. Cooked oats are also a separate product; USDA FDC 173905 gives cooked oats at 234 g per cup, roughly three times the dry weight, because the grain absorbs water during cooking. No standards body publishes a bulk density for rolled oats. Grain trading uses test weight in pounds per bushel for whole groats, but this is measured on a different apparatus for a different physical form (whole intact oats before rolling), so it is not counted as a source. Two sources only, and the range is published because no third source arbitrates the disagreement. ### Rye flakes https://exactcups.com/rye-flakes/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: rolled rye, rolled rye flakes, flaked rye, rye flakes cereal, creamy rye flakes. King Arthur: 124 g (4.4 oz), creamy rye flakes (hot-cereal flakes), spooned and leveled. #### Rolled rye flakes, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 104 g (3.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 52 g; 1/4 cup = 26 g; 1 tbsp = 6.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.2 g (0.4396 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.18 cups. Sources: - Shiloh Farms Organic Rye Flakes (producer label): 104 g per cup. Retail label (Vitacost): serving size 1/2 cup (52 g), about 8 servings per 15 oz (425 g) bag (425 / 52 = 8.2, consistent), 104 g per cup (density 0.440 g/mL). Ingredients: organic whole grain rolled rye berries. - PCC Community Markets, Bulk Organic Rolled Rye Flakes (retailer label): 100 g per cup. Serving size 1/4 cup (25 g), 100 g per cup (density 0.423 g/mL). Described as "Whole grain rye that has been lightly hulled, then pressed flat between steel rollers." - Honeyville Rye Flakes (producer label): 105 g per cup. Label serving 1/3 cup (35 g), 120 kcal, as transcribed by MyFoodDiary, 105 g per cup (density 0.444 g/mL). - Eden Roasted & Rolled Rye Flakes (producer label): 96 g per cup. Label serving 1/2 cup (48 g), as transcribed by CalorieKing (1/2 cup, 1.7 oz) and Eat This Much (48 g); 9 servings per 16 oz bag (Ralphs, Harris Teeter), 50 g each, consistent. 96 g per cup (density 0.406 g/mL). - Natural Grocers Organic Rolled Rye Flakes (producer label): Label serving 1/2 cup (40 g), as transcribed by Eat This Much, which would be 80 g per cup. 40 g is the FDA reference amount for dry hot cereal printed beside a rounded volume, so it is kept without a figure. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. #### Creamy rye flakes (hot-cereal flakes), spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Creamy Rye Flakes (producer label): 120 g per cup. Label serving 1/4 cup (30 g), 100 kcal, as transcribed by FatSecret, 120 g per cup (density 0.507 g/mL). An older label, as transcribed by CalorieKing and Eat This Much, gave 1/4 cup (31 g), 124 g per cup. Sold for creamy hot cereal (1 cup of flakes to 3 cups of water); Bob's Red Mill does not describe the cut. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 124 g per cup. KA lists "Rye flakes" at 1 cup = 4 3/8 oz = 124 g (density 0.524 g/mL), without naming a product. The figure equals Bob's Red Mill's older Creamy Rye Flakes label exactly and is 18 to 29% above four other makers' rolled rye flakes, so it is placed with this flake. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of rolled rye flakes weighs 104 g (3.7 oz). Four makers' labels agree within 10%: Shiloh Farms 52 g per half cup, PCC's bulk rolled rye 25 g per quarter cup (100 g), Honeyville 35 g per third of a cup (105 g) and Eden 48 g per half cup (96 g). Bob's Red Mill's Creamy Rye Flakes are heavier, 120 g per cup, and King Arthur's 124 g matches that product rather than rolled rye. Rye flakes are whole rye berries pressed flat between rollers, the rye counterpart of rolled oats. PCC describes its rolled rye as whole grain rye lightly hulled, then pressed flat between steel rollers, and Shiloh Farms lists only organic whole grain rolled rye berries. They are cooked as porridge, mixed into granola and muesli, kneaded into multigrain and rye breads, and scattered on top of loaves. The labels here are measurements, not conventions. The FDA reference amount for dry hot cereal is 40 g, and a label that prints 40 g beside a rounded volume says nothing about density; Natural Grocers' 40 g per half cup is one, and is kept without a figure. The other four print 25, 35, 48 and 52 g for a quarter, a third and a half cup, and Shiloh's 52 g agrees with its own bag, about 8 servings in 425 g. Their spread, 96 to 105 g, is 9.4%, inside the 10% this site allows for milled goods, so the entry publishes Shiloh Farms' 104 g, taken from the larger and more precise half-cup measure. Bob's Red Mill sells a different product, Creamy Rye Flakes, cooked as a creamy hot cereal. Its current label gives 1/4 cup as 30 g, 120 g per cup, and an older label gave 31 g, 124 g. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists rye flakes at 1 cup = 4 3/8 oz = 124 g without naming a product. That is exactly the older Bob's figure and 18 to 29% above every other maker's rolled rye flakes, so this entry records the Bob's flake as a second state at 120 g and accepts King Arthur's figure there, rather than rejecting it. Bob's Red Mill does not describe the cut; a flake that packs a fifth heavier is most likely thinner or smaller. The physical check: rolling turns a compact grain into thin, curved discs that stack loosely with air between them. Rolled oats weigh 81 to 89 g per cup on this site and barley flakes 80 to 98 g; rye flakes, at 96 to 105 g, sit just above them, and rye flour, ground fine, weighs 106 g. Smaller or thinner flakes fill the gaps between pieces better, which fits Bob's creamy flakes weighing more than ordinary rolled rye. Practical guidance: use 104 g per cup of rolled rye flakes, 52 g per half cup and 26 g per quarter cup. If the bag is Bob's Red Mill Creamy Rye Flakes, use 120 g per cup. The two differ by about 15% by volume, so in bread recipes that give grams, weigh the flakes. ### Rye flour https://exactcups.com/rye-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 106 g (3.7 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (medium) Published: 1 cup = 106 g (3.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 53 g; 1/4 cup = 26.5 g; 1 tbsp = 6.6 g; 1 tsp = 2.2 g (0.4481 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.14 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 102 g per cup. FDC 168886 (Rye flour, medium, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 102 g. Density 0.4312 g/mL. Composition: ~10% water, ~75.4% carbohydrate (of which 11.8% fibre), ~10.9% protein, ~1.5% fat. - King Arthur: 106 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Medium Rye Flour', 1 cup = 106 g, density 0.4481 g/mL. King Arthur publishes the same 106 g figure for 'White Rye Flour' and 'Rye Flour Blend', suggesting these retail products measure essentially the same by volume. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Rye flour is milled from rye grain (Secale cereale), a hardy cereal grown widely in northern and eastern Europe where it thrives in colder soils than wheat tolerates. It is the traditional flour for pumpernickel, black bread, Scandinavian crispbreads, and much of central European rye baking. In American baking it appears most often in rye bread and Scandinavian-style crackers, and less often as a substitute for a portion of wheat flour in muffins and pancakes for a distinctive nutty flavour. USDA FoodData Central publishes rye flour in three separate grades based on how much of the grain is retained: - Light rye (FDC 168887) is essentially just the endosperm — the bran and germ removed. It behaves closest to all-purpose flour in colour and rise. - Medium rye (FDC 168886, this entry) is a middle grind that retains some bran and germ, producing a slightly tan colour and a fuller flavour. It is the most common commercial rye flour in the United States. - Dark rye (FDC 168885) retains most of the bran and germ, is dark tan to grey-brown, and has the strongest flavour. It is heavier per cup (about 128 grams versus 102 to 106 for medium and light) because the bran adds density. King Arthur's chart publishes 'Medium Rye Flour', 'White Rye Flour' and 'Rye Flour Blend' all at 106 grams per cup. This is likely a rounded common figure across their retail products rather than a distinct measurement for each. The USDA figures show more variation across grades, with the pattern that darker rye is heavier per cup — the opposite of what one might expect, and driven by the fact that bran has higher bulk density than pure endosperm when milled to the same grind coarseness. Rye differs from wheat in a way that matters for baking. Rye has less gluten and much more pentosan (a class of soluble fibre that absorbs several times its weight in water). A 100 percent rye dough is very sticky and dense compared with a wheat dough; the gluten structure that gives wheat bread its rise is largely absent, and rye breads rely instead on the pentosans to trap gas from fermentation. This is why traditional rye bread is dense and moist rather than airy, and why most 'rye bread' sold in American supermarkets is actually mostly wheat flour with a smaller proportion of rye for flavour and colour. Related products this entry does not cover: pumpernickel flour, which is coarsely ground whole-grain rye (essentially dark rye ground more coarsely, sometimes with cracked rye berries included); rye chops and rye flakes, which are cracked or rolled whole rye grains used for hot cereal and multigrain bread inclusions (KA lists these separately at 120 and 124 grams per cup respectively); rye berries, the whole intact grain used for pilaf-style dishes; and rye malt, an ingredient in beer brewing rather than baking. Triticale flour is a hybrid of wheat and rye and measures between the two. FDA identity standards for rye flour are addressed under 21 CFR Part 137 (cereal flours), which covers grade definitions and enrichment options. Codex Alimentarius does not have a specific rye flour standard; rye is covered under the general standard for cereals. The category here is 'milled' because rye flour behaves like other fine milled powders in a measuring cup — it clumps, bridges over air pockets, and its density depends on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies. Both sources sit well inside it. ### Self-Rising Flour https://exactcups.com/self-rising-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: self rising flour, self-raising flour, self raising flour, sr flour, biscuit flour. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - White Lily Self-Rising Flour (Southern flagship): 120 g per cup. Ingredients: enriched bleached flour (100% soft winter wheat), baking powder, salt. Nutrition label: 1/4 cup, 100 kcal, 22 g carbohydrate. Extrapolates to 30 g per 1/4 cup = 120 g per US cup based on parallel with White Lily All Purpose Flour (same soft-wheat base, USDA Branded UPC 032500103011, explicitly 30g per 1/4 cup). - Gold Medal Self Rising Flour: 120 g per cup. Nutrition label: 1/4 cup (30 g), 100 kcal, 22 g carbohydrate. Extrapolates to 120 g per US cup. National-brand AP-based self-rising. - Great Value Self-Rising Flour (Walmart private label): 120 g per cup. Nutrition label: 1/4 cup (30 g), 100 kcal, 23 g carbohydrate. Extrapolates to 120 g per US cup. Confirms multi-brand convergence across price tiers. - King Arthur Baking blog: homemade self-rising flour recipe: 120 g per cup. KA published recipe explicitly states 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder + 1/4 teaspoon table salt yields 1 cup self-rising flour. Confirms 120 g per cup as KA's own working figure for the finished product, matching multi-brand producer convergence. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: 1 cup of self-rising flour weighs 120 grams. High confidence, based on convergence across White Lily, Gold Medal, Great Value, and King Arthur's own homemade-recipe guidance. This is one of the rare flour entries where King Arthur agrees with producer labels — no correction needed. Self-rising flour is base wheat flour with baking powder and salt already mixed in. The composition is typically 1 cup (120 g) of flour, 1½ teaspoons (about 6 g) of baking powder, and ¼ to ½ teaspoon (about 1.5 to 3 g) of table salt. The added leavening and salt total roughly 7 grams per cup, but they dissolve into interstitial air gaps between flour particles rather than displacing volume, so the finished blend packs at the same density as the base flour: 120 grams per US cup. Two regional styles dominate the US market and produce different baking results despite sharing the same bulk density. Southern-style self-rising flour, made from 100 percent soft winter wheat, has protein content around 8 percent and produces the light, flaky biscuits associated with Southern baking. White Lily is the flagship brand for this style and has been the dominant Southern retail product since 1883. Northern or national-brand self-rising flour, made from all-purpose flour (blended hard and soft wheat), has protein content around 10 to 11 percent and produces slightly denser, chewier baked goods. Gold Medal, Pillsbury, and Great Value use this approach. King Arthur does not sell a pre-blended self-rising flour but publishes a homemade recipe that starts from their standard all-purpose flour, which they also use as the reference for their 120-gram-per-cup figure. The source data converges cleanly at exactly 30 grams per quarter-cup serving across every brand I checked. White Lily's nutrition label matches Gold Medal, Great Value, and Walmart house brand, all at 30 grams per 1/4 cup with 100 calories and 22 to 23 grams of carbohydrate per serving. The parallel White Lily All Purpose Flour (USDA Branded Foods entry UPC 032500103011) uses the same 30-gram serving weight, confirming that the added baking powder and salt do not change the bulk density in any measurable way. King Arthur's own blog on self-rising flour explicitly states 'To make homemade self-rising flour, whisk together 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon table salt,' which agrees with the producer convergence. Some online references cite 125 grams per cup for self-rising flour, notably Wikipedia and several generic conversion sites. This appears to be a rounded reference figure derived from an older USDA reference for wheat flour in general, rather than from producer label data. The producer labels consistently show 120 grams per cup, so that is the figure used here. For practical baking, use 120 grams per cup, and remember two things when substituting self-rising flour for regular all-purpose flour in a recipe. First, omit any baking powder and salt the recipe calls for, because they are already in the flour. If the recipe also calls for baking soda, leave that in; baking soda is separate from baking powder and provides additional lift and browning. Second, self-rising flour loses potency over time as the baking powder degrades. A bag more than six months past its purchase date will produce noticeably flatter baked goods and should be replaced. For best results, store self-rising flour in an airtight container in a cool, dry place and use within six months of opening. ### Semolina flour https://exactcups.com/semolina-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 163 g (5.7 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (durum, unenriched) Published: 1 cup = 167 g (5.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 83.5 g; 1/4 cup = 41.7 g; 1 tbsp = 10.4 g; 1 tsp = 3.5 g (0.7058 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.36 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 167 g per cup. FDC 169758 (Semolina, unenriched, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 167 g. Density 0.7058 g/mL. Composition: ~13% water, ~72.8% carbohydrate, ~12.7% protein, ~1.1% fat. - King Arthur: 163 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Semolina Flour', 1 cup = 163 g, density 0.6890 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Semolina is the coarse endosperm of durum wheat (Triticum durum), milled to granules rather than a fine powder. It is the flour of choice for dried Italian pasta, couscous, gnocchi, and certain regional breads. Its measuring behaviour in a cup is different from soft-wheat flours: the larger, harder granules pack more consistently and are less sensitive to scooping method, which is why the two published cup figures agree closely. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of unenriched semolina at 167 grams (FDC 169758, Semolina, unenriched). That gives a bulk density of 0.7058 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes the same product at 163 grams per cup and 0.6890 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 2.4 percent, well inside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category. Semolina is one of the flour entries where the sources actually agree closely — a consequence of its coarser particle size, which reduces the packing variability that plagues soft-wheat flour measurements. Durum wheat is the hardest wheat variety, with 12 to 15 percent protein and a very strong gluten structure. That structure is what gives properly cooked pasta its characteristic al dente bite: durum's gluten holds up during boiling in a way that soft-wheat flour cannot match. The high protein and strong gluten also mean semolina absorbs less water than all-purpose flour at the same weight, which is why fresh pasta dough is so stiff — it is properly hydrated at levels that would produce a workable bread dough with softer flour. The distinction between semolina and durum flour matters. Durum flour is finely ground durum wheat; semolina is coarsely ground durum wheat. Both are made from the same grain, but the grind changes the behaviour: durum flour behaves more like all-purpose flour in a mixing bowl, while semolina retains its gritty texture and is used where that texture is wanted (pasta extrusion, couscous granules, breads with a distinctive crust dusting). Rimacinata semolina is semolina reground to a finer consistency, used for tender Italian breads and gnocchi where full-coarse semolina would be too gritty. Regional names for semolina: rava, sooji or suji in Indian cooking (where it is used for upma, halwa and idli); semola in Italian (with semolino as the diminutive); and semouleh in Arabic and North African contexts. Cream of Wheat and similar breakfast cereals in the United States are farina, which is common-wheat semolina rather than durum — technically the same milling concept but different wheat and behaviour. Farina is not interchangeable with durum semolina in pasta making. USDA distinguishes semolina, unenriched (FDC 169758) and semolina, enriched (FDC 169759). The enrichment addresses folate, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and iron and does not affect the density. Both weigh the same per cup. FDA identity standards for macaroni and pasta products (21 CFR Part 139) reference semolina as a defined ingredient with minimum quality specifications, and 21 CFR Part 137 (cereal flours) covers durum flour more generally. Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 178-1991 for durum wheat semolina and durum wheat flour covers the international identity and quality requirements. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because semolina is a ground grain product, though it behaves closer to a coarse cornmeal than to a fine flour — the packing variation across scooping methods is smaller than for all-purpose or bread flour. The 10 percent milled tolerance applies. Both sources sit well inside it. ### Sesame seeds https://exactcups.com/sesame-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (whole, dried) Published: 1 cup = 144 g (5.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 72 g; 1/4 cup = 36 g; 1 tbsp = 9 g; 1 tsp = 3 g (0.6087 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.57 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 144 g per cup. FDC 170150 (Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 144 g. Density 0.6087 g/mL. Composition: ~4.7% water, ~23% carbohydrate (of which ~11.8% fibre), ~18% protein, ~50% fat. - King Arthur: 142 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Sesame seeds', 1/2 cup = 71 g, extrapolates to 142 g per cup and 0.6002 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Sesame seeds are among the oldest cultivated seeds — evidence of domestication in the Indian subcontinent dates back at least five thousand years — and one of the most widely used seeds in world cuisine. Middle Eastern, North African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and West African cooking all rely on sesame as a base ingredient rather than a garnish, and its behaviour in the kitchen is consistent enough that measurement is straightforward. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of whole dried sesame seeds at 144 grams (FDC 170150, Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried), giving a bulk density of 0.6087 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1/2 cup at 71 grams, which extrapolates to 142 grams per cup and 0.6002 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 1.4 percent, well inside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category. Precise agreement is unusual on this site and reflects the very consistent packing behaviour of small, uniform seeds. The seeds are sold in three common forms that measure slightly differently. Whole hulled or unhulled seeds (this entry) at 144 grams per cup. Toasted sesame seeds are almost identical in weight, since toasting drives off only a small amount of moisture. Black sesame seeds (unhulled seeds with the dark seed coat intact) weigh very close to hulled white sesame per cup because the hull is thin and light; the visible difference is colour and slightly different flavour, not density. Tahini, sesame paste made from ground toasted seeds, is a completely different product covered by its own entry — approximately 250 grams per cup because the grinding removes all internal air. Sesame oil is pressed from the seeds and is a pure oil at approximately 218 grams per cup, similar density to other vegetable oils. Culinary uses vary by region. In Middle Eastern cooking sesame appears as tahini in hummus, baba ghanoush, halva and salad dressings; in Japanese and Korean cooking as toasted whole seeds in gomashio, on rice, and in Korean gyeranmari; in Indian cooking as til laddoo (jaggery-and-sesame sweets) and in til-based savouries; in Chinese cooking as sesame paste in noodles and dumpling fillings, and as whole seeds in bread coatings for sesame balls; in West African cooking as benne seed candy in the Carolinas. American usage centres on bagel and hamburger bun toppings, tahini as a condiment, and toasted sesame oil as a finishing flavour. Sesame allergy is significant enough that FDA added sesame to the mandatory allergen labelling list under the FASTER Act, effective January 2023. Recipes and packages sold in the United States must now clearly declare sesame in the ingredient list or a 'contains' statement. This is a change from earlier practice where sesame was not required on the allergen panel. Related products this entry does not cover: sesame kernels or decorticated sesame (hull removed, slightly denser at about 148 grams per cup because the hull contributed to bulk), sesame paste as in Chinese cooking (thinner than tahini, roasted flavour, similar density), and gomashio (Japanese sesame salt, sesame seeds mixed with salt, weighs slightly more per cup than plain sesame). FDA does not publish an identity standard specific to sesame seeds. Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 152-1985 covers wheat flour and does not apply. There is no specific Codex standard for sesame seeds as a whole. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because sesame seeds pack similarly to milled powders in a measuring cup — small enough to conform to the container shape, and their bulk density depends slightly on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies. Both sources sit well inside it. ### Sliced almonds https://exactcups.com/sliced-almonds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: flaked almonds, sliced blanched almonds. King Arthur: 86 g (3 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Sliced (thin flat pieces, blanched) Published: 1 cup = 92 g (3.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 46 g; 1/4 cup = 23 g; 1 tbsp = 5.8 g; 1 tsp = 1.9 g (0.3889 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.46 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 92 g per cup. FDC 170567 (Nuts, almonds, SR Legacy). Published portions include 1 cup sliced = 92 g. Density 0.3889 g/mL. Composition: 49.9% fat, 21.6% protein, 21.6% carbohydrate, 4.4% water. - King Arthur: 86 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Almonds (sliced)', 1/2 cup = 43 g, extrapolates to 86 g per cup, density 0.3635 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-18. Notes: Sliced almonds are whole blanched almonds passed through a slicing machine that produces thin flat pieces, typically about a millimetre thick and the full width of the nut. They are the lightest of the three common almond preparations, per cup, because the flat pieces stack with the largest air gaps. USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170567, Nuts, almonds) publishes portion measurements for whole, sliced, slivered and ground almonds from the same underlying nutrient record. The sliced portion is 92 grams per cup, implying a density of 0.3889 g/mL on the US customary cup of 236.5882365 mL. King Arthur publishes 86 grams for the same preparation, implying 0.3635 g/mL. The gap between the two is 7.0%, comfortably inside the 10% tolerance this site applies to milled and packed-piece ingredients, so both figures are accepted and the USDA figure is published as the site's primary value. The density difference between sliced and slivered almonds is a useful teaching case. Whole almonds pack at 143 g per cup because the almond shape is roughly uniform and the nuts nest against each other reasonably tightly. Slivered almonds, cut into elongated stick shapes, pack at 108 g per cup because the slivers stack randomly with more air between them. Sliced almonds pack at only 92 g per cup because the flat wafer shape traps the most air of the three. Same nut, three preparations, three different cup weights, all with the same source per gram of nutrition. The cup measurement reflects the geometry of the pieces, not the density of the material. In British English the same preparation is often called 'flaked almonds' rather than sliced, and recipes from British sources use that term for the identical product. American 'sliced' and British 'flaked' are interchangeable. This entry is specifically for the standard sliced-almond preparation, which is almost always blanched (skin removed) before slicing because the skin fragments would produce an unsightly product. It does not cover almond flour or almond meal, which are ground finer and packed at different densities (see the almond-flour entry); slivered almonds, which are elongated sticks with their own separate entry; or whole almonds, which have their own entry at 143 g per cup. Toasted sliced almonds have the same weight as untoasted, since toasting removes only a small percentage of water. The confidence grade is medium because two independent sources agree within tolerance and both are widely used references, but no third source at a higher tier (a standards body or an independent bench measurement) confirms the figure. High confidence will require a third independent measurement. ### Sliced Black Olives https://exactcups.com/sliced-black-olives/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: sliced ripe olives, sliced ripe black olives, black olive slices, canned sliced olives, sliced olives. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 130 g (4.6 oz) for drained sliced olives; 1 tbsp = 8.1 g. #### Standard, canned ripe olives, sliced, drained, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 128–142 g. Sources span 128-142 g per cup, an 11% gap, just over the 10% tolerance. Four brand labels weigh 2 tablespoons of drained sliced ripe olives at 16 g (128 g per cup), USDA SR Legacy weighs a tablespoon of canned ripe olives at 8.4 g (134 g per cup), and King Arthur gives 142 g. No single figure is published. Sources: - Early California Sliced Ripe Black Olives (producer label): 128 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Kroger), 2.25-oz can: 2 Tbsp (16 g), 4 servings per container, extrapolating to 128 g per US cup (density 0.541 g/mL). Ingredients: olives, water, sea salt, ferrous gluconate. - USDA SR Legacy "Olives, ripe, canned (small-extra large)" (FDC 169094): 134.4 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 tbsp = 8.4 g, extrapolating to 134 g per cup (density 0.568 g/mL); 1 large olive = 4.4 g, 1 small = 3.2 g. Water 80.0 g, fat 10.9 g, carbohydrate 6.0 g, fibre 1.6 g per 100 g. - Kroger Sliced Ripe Olives (producer label): 128 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Ralphs), 3.8-oz can: 2 tbsp (16 g), 128 g per cup. - Signature Select and O Organics sliced ripe olives (producer labels): 128 g per cup. Albertsons store-brand labels (SmartLabel), 2.25-oz (64 g) drained-weight cans: 2 tbsp (16 g), 4 servings per can, 128 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 142 g per cup. KA lists "Olives (sliced)" at 1 cup = 5 oz = 142 g, density 0.600 g/mL; the same 5 oz the chart gives for diced onions, celery, carrots and bell peppers. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of sliced black olives, drained, weighs 128 to 142 g (4.5 to 5 oz). Every label that gives a weight prints 16 g for 2 tablespoons, 128 g per cup; USDA's tablespoon of canned ripe olives works out to 134 g; King Arthur gives 142 g. The 11% spread is just over the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range; 130 g is a sound working figure. Sliced black olives are California-style ripe olives: green olives cured in lye, darkened by exposure to air with an iron salt to fix the colour, pitted, sliced into rings and canned in brine. They are mild and soft, nothing like brine-cured Kalamata or oil-cured black olives. USDA puts canned ripe olives at 80% water and 10.9% fat, so the flesh weighs close to water, a little less where the oil is. The labels agree with each other exactly. Early California, Kroger, and Albertsons' Signature Select and O Organics all print 2 tablespoons as 16 g, and Lindsay's label, as transcribed by diet-tracking sites, does the same. USDA SR Legacy "Olives, ripe, canned (small-extra large)" (FDC 169094) gives 1 tablespoon as 8.4 g, which scales to 134 g per cup. King Arthur gives 1 cup of sliced olives as 5 oz, 142 g. The physical check: 128 to 142 g in a 237 mL cup means the olive fills 54 to 60% of it, a tight fill for cut vegetables. It fits the shape. Sliced olives are flat rings of even thickness, and flat pieces stack like coins, filling the cup far more completely than sliced mushrooms (57 to 98 g per cup) or diced onion. The hole in each ring is small next to the gap a loose pile of chunks leaves. Draining decides the rest. Slices measured straight from the can, still wet with brine, weigh more than slices drained in a sieve, and pressing them into the cup closes the gaps between rings. King Arthur's 142 g is the same round 5 oz its chart gives for four diced vegetables, and here it sits 6% above USDA and 11% above the labels. That is the heavy end of what a firmly filled cup can reach, not an impossible figure, so it is accepted inside the range rather than corrected. The labels are kept with one caution: they are small servings, and the identical 16 g across brands may come from one shared measurement rather than four. USDA's tablespoon, an independent figure, lands between the labels and King Arthur. Whole olives are measured differently. USDA's school Food Buying Guide counts about 8 large pitted olives in a quarter cup, and Health Canada weighs 2 jumbo olives at 16 g. For a recipe that lists whole olives, count them; for one that lists sliced olives by the cup, use the figures here. Practical guidance: use 130 g per cup of drained sliced olives, 65 g per half cup, and about 8 g per tablespoon. A 2.25 oz (64 g) can of sliced olives, the common small can, holds about half a cup; a 3.8 oz (108 g) can holds a little over 3/4 cup. Drain the slices well and pat them dry before measuring for pizza, salads or dips, since brine adds weight and water to the dish. ### Sliced Mushrooms https://exactcups.com/sliced-mushrooms/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: sliced white mushrooms, sliced button mushrooms, mushroom slices, raw sliced mushrooms, fresh sliced mushrooms, mushroom pieces. King Arthur: 78 g (2.8 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 70 g (2.5 oz) for raw mushrooms sliced at home; 1 tbsp = 4.4 g. #### Standard, raw white mushrooms, sliced, loosely filled and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 57–98 g. Sources span 57-98 g per cup, a 72% gap, far over the 10% tolerance. The Culinary Institute of America gives about 57 g for a cup of sliced mushrooms, USDA SR Legacy 70 g for a cup of pieces or slices, King Arthur 78 g, and USDA's school Food Buying Guide about 98 g for ready-to-use slices. Slice thickness and how the slices fall into the cup decide it. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Mushrooms, white, raw" (FDC 169251): 70 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup pieces or slices = 70 g (density 0.296 g/mL), 1/2 cup pieces = 35 g, 1 cup whole = 96 g, 1 slice = 6 g and 1 medium mushroom = 18 g. About 92% water, 3.1 g protein, 3.3 g carbohydrate and 0.3 g fat per 100 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 78 g per cup. KA lists "Mushrooms (sliced)" at 1 cup = 2 3/4 oz = 78 g, density 0.330 g/mL. - The Culinary Institute of America, Conversions chart: 57 g per cup. Mushroom, 1 cup sliced (approx.) = 2 oz = 57 g (density 0.241 g/mL); 1 large white mushroom = 1/4 cup sliced (approx.) = 0.5 oz = 14 g. - USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, mushrooms, fresh, slices, ready-to-use: 98 g per cup. 18.50 servings of 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms per pound as purchased; 1 lb = about 4 5/8 cups ready-to-serve; 1/4 cup sliced = about 7 slices. That is about 24.5 g per quarter cup, 98 g per cup (density 0.414 g/mL). Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of sliced raw mushrooms weighs 57 to 98 g (2 to 3.5 oz). USDA weighs a cup of pieces or slices at 70 g, King Arthur gives 78 g, the Culinary Institute of America about 57 g, and USDA's school Food Buying Guide about 98 g for pre-sliced mushrooms. The gap is far over the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. For mushrooms sliced at home and dropped loosely into the cup, 70 g is the figure to use. White button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) are the common supermarket mushroom; cremini and portobello are brown strains of the same species. They are about 92% water with very little fat or sugar, so the flesh itself weighs close to water. What changes the cup is shape. A mushroom sliced top to bottom gives thin slices shaped like a T, cap and stem, and those slices cannot lie flat against each other. They cross, prop each other up and leave large gaps, which makes sliced mushrooms the airiest cut in the chopped-vegetable family. USDA SR Legacy "Mushrooms, white, raw" (FDC 169251) lists 1 cup of pieces or slices at 70 g, half a cup of pieces at 35 g, a cup of whole mushrooms at 96 g and one slice at 6 g. King Arthur gives 1 cup sliced at 2 3/4 oz, 78 g. The Culinary Institute of America's conversion chart gives about 2 oz, 57 g, for a cup sliced, and one large white mushroom as about a quarter cup of slices. USDA's Food Buying Guide for school kitchens counts 18.50 quarter-cup servings in a pound of ready-to-use fresh slices, about 4 5/8 cups per pound, which works out to about 98 g per cup. The physical check: flesh that is 92% water weighs about 1 g per millilitre, so 70 g in a 237 mL cup means the slices fill under a third of it and air fills the rest. USDA's cup of whole mushrooms, 96 g, holds more mushroom than its cup of slices, so slicing adds air rather than removing it. The Food Buying Guide's higher figure fits machine-cut slices: they are thin and even, and they settle in layers in a measuring scoop, where hand-cut slices are thicker and land at random. King Arthur's 78 g sits between USDA and the Culinary Institute, inside the range, so it is accepted, not corrected. Retail labels for fresh sliced mushrooms do not help. Publix and others print 2/3 cup as 85 g, and 85 g is the reference serving for vegetables, so the grams come from the regulation rather than from a weighed cup. Canned slices are a different product: Health Canada weighs 125 mL of drained canned pieces at 82 g, about 155 g per cup, because cooked slices go limp and pack. Its 57 g per 125 mL for stir-fried sliced mushrooms shows the same collapse in the pan. Practical guidance: use 70 g per cup for raw mushrooms sliced at home, 35 g per half cup and about 4 to 5 g per tablespoon. An 8 oz (227 g) pack of sliced mushrooms is about 3 cups at 70 to 78 g per cup. For dishes where the amount matters, such as duxelles or a cream of mushroom soup, weigh the mushrooms whole before slicing: 96 g of whole mushrooms, one cup whole, gives about 1 1/3 cups of slices. ### Slivered almonds https://exactcups.com/slivered-almonds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: almond slivers, julienne almonds. King Arthur: 114 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Slivered (elongated sticks, blanched) Published: 1 cup = 108 g (3.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 54 g; 1/4 cup = 27 g; 1 tbsp = 6.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4565 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.10 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 108 g per cup. FDC 170567 (Nuts, almonds, SR Legacy). Published portions include 1 cup slivered = 108 g. Density 0.4565 g/mL. Composition: 49.9% fat, 21.6% protein, 21.6% carbohydrate, 4.4% water. - King Arthur: 114 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Almonds (slivered)', 1/2 cup = 57 g, extrapolates to 114 g per cup, density 0.4818 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-18. Notes: Slivered almonds are whole blanched almonds cut lengthwise into elongated stick shapes, typically about 2-3 millimetres wide and 2-3 centimetres long. They sit between whole and sliced almonds in cup weight because the stick geometry packs more efficiently than flat slices but less efficiently than the roughly ovoid whole nut. USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170567, Nuts, almonds) publishes portion measurements for whole, sliced, slivered and ground almonds from the same underlying nutrient record. The slivered portion is 108 grams per cup, implying a density of 0.4565 g/mL on the US customary cup of 236.5882365 mL. King Arthur publishes 114 grams for the same preparation, implying 0.4818 g/mL. The gap between the two is 5.5%, comfortably inside the 10% tolerance this site applies to milled and packed-piece ingredients, so both figures are accepted and the USDA figure is published as the site's primary value. The three almond preparations form a clean packing hierarchy: whole almonds at 143 g per cup (roughly uniform ovoid shape nests reasonably tightly), slivered at 108 g per cup (stick shape packs randomly with more air gaps), sliced at 92 g per cup (flat wafer shape traps the most air of the three). Same nut, same nutrient composition per gram, three different cup weights depending only on the geometry of the pieces. A recipe calling for a cup of almonds is silently choosing one of these three depending on the preparation, and the weight difference between the extremes is 55% — large enough that swapping preparations without adjusting for weight will change the outcome of the recipe. Slivered almonds are almost always blanched (skin removed) before slivering, because the skin fragments would produce an unsightly product and the slivering machinery works cleanly only on skinless nuts. Toasted slivered almonds have essentially the same weight as untoasted, since toasting removes only a small percentage of water. This entry is specifically for the standard slivered-almond preparation. It does not cover sliced almonds (thinner and flatter, see the sliced-almonds entry); whole almonds (see the almonds entry at 143 g per cup); almond flour or almond meal, both of which are ground much finer and packed at higher densities; or almond paste, which is a dense sugar-and-almond product with its own separate density. The confidence grade is medium because two independent sources agree within tolerance and both are widely used references, but no third source at a higher tier (a standards body or an independent bench measurement) confirms the figure. High confidence will require a third independent measurement. ### Sorghum flour https://exactcups.com/sorghum-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole grain sorghum flour, sweet sorghum flour, jowar flour, gluten-free sorghum flour, milo flour. King Arthur: 138 g (4.9 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 121–161 g. Two USDA records for different refinement levels differ by 33%, well over the 10% milled tolerance. The variation reflects genuinely different products sold as 'sorghum flour': whole-grain (with bran and germ) versus refined (bran and germ removed). This entry publishes the range covering both. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 121 g per cup. FDC 168943, Sorghum flour, whole-grain (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 434 kcal, 100 g = 359 kcal. Back-calculating: cup weight = (434/359) × 100 = 121 g. Density 0.5114 g/mL. Whole-grain form includes bran and germ. - USDA FoodData Central: 161 g per cup. FDC 173262, Sorghum flour, refined, unenriched (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 161 g. Density 0.6805 g/mL. Refined form has bran and germ removed, packing denser than whole-grain. - King Arthur: 138 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Sorghum flour', 1 cup = 138 g. Density 0.5833 g/mL. KA does not specify refinement level; the figure sits between USDA's whole-grain and refined records, consistent with a partially-refined or mixed-product commercial spec. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Three data points from two authoritative sources, spanning a 33% range that reflects genuinely different sorghum flour products sold under the same general name. USDA FoodData Central publishes two SR Legacy records for sorghum flour: FDC 168943 for the whole-grain form (121 g per cup, 0.5114 g/mL, back-calculated from 434 kcal per cup and 359 kcal per 100 g) and FDC 173262 for the refined, unenriched form (161 g per cup, 0.6805 g/mL, direct cup portion). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists sorghum flour at 138 g per cup (0.5833 g/mL) without specifying refinement level; the figure sits between USDA's two records, consistent with either a partially-refined product or a commercial average across whole-grain and refined lines. This entry publishes the range 121 to 161 g per cup at low confidence rather than picking one figure. The whole-grain versus refined distinction is real and physical: whole-grain sorghum flour retains the bran layer and germ from the original grain, which are lower in starch and higher in fiber, protein and oil than the endosperm. Bran fragments and germ particles trap more air between them when the flour is scooped, producing a lower bulk density. Refined sorghum flour removes these components, leaving only the starchy endosperm, which grinds to a finer, more uniform powder that packs more tightly. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a cereal grain native to Africa and now grown worldwide as one of the top five cereal crops. It is gluten-free, drought-tolerant, and rich in tannins and antioxidants. In American home baking, sorghum flour is a common base in gluten-free flour blends, often paired with rice flour and starch (tapioca, potato, or corn) to approximate the behavior of wheat flour. In Indian cooking, sorghum flour is called jowar and is used to make traditional flatbreads (jowar roti, bhakri). In many African cuisines, sorghum is a staple grain for porridges (Ethiopian genfo, Nigerian tuwo, South African bogobe) and for the fermented flatbread injera, though the primary grain for injera is actually tef, a distinct smaller grain. Sorghum flour sits in the milled category alongside all other flours. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the 33% observed gap between the two USDA records clearly exceeds it, making the range publish the honest outcome. A shopper buying whole-grain sorghum flour will get closer to 121 g per cup; a shopper buying refined sorghum flour will get closer to 161 g per cup. Both products are legitimately labeled 'sorghum flour' in retail, so the range applies to anyone searching for the ingredient generically. Home bakers should weigh rather than measure by volume, particularly when substituting one brand for another or converting a recipe from cups to grams: the 40 g difference across the range significantly changes hydration in gluten-free bread and cake recipes. Related products not covered by this entry: whole sorghum grain (used in pilafs and grain bowls), sorghum syrup (a distinct sweetener made from sweet sorghum stalks, not the grain), popped sorghum, and sorghum bran isolated as a fiber supplement. Milo is an older American name for sorghum, still occasionally used commercially. No standards body publishes a bulk density for sorghum flour. Codex Alimentarius standards for sorghum grains (CXS 172-1989) cover moisture content, defect tolerances, foreign matter and grade rather than physical density. Two authoritative sources with the USDA record itself splitting into two documented product types, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until either a third independent source resolves the whole-grain versus refined distinction with matching figures or USDA restructures its records. ### Soy Flour https://exactcups.com/soy-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: soya flour, full-fat soy flour, whole grain soy flour, soybean flour, kinako. King Arthur: 140 g (4.9 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, full-fat, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 84–140 g. Sources span 84-140 g per cup, a 67% gap, over the 10% tolerance. USDA measures full-fat soy flour stirred at 84-85 g per cup; the Bob's Red Mill and Hodgson Mill labels give 112-120 g, the weight they print beside a quarter cup; King Arthur gives 140 g. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Soy flour, full-fat, raw" (FDC 174273): 84 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup, stirred = 84 g (density 0.355 g/mL) and 1 tbsp = 5.2 g. Water 5.2 g, protein 37.8 g, fat 20.7 g, carbohydrate 31.9 g per 100 g. - USDA SR Legacy "Soy flour, full-fat, roasted" (FDC 174274): 85 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup, stirred = 85 g (density 0.359 g/mL). - Bob's Red Mill Organic Soy Flour (producer label): 112 g per cup. Label as reproduced by CalorieKing and Eat This Much: 1/4 cup (28 g, 1 oz), full-fat (6 g fat per serving), extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). - Hodgson Mill Organic Whole Grain Soy Flour (producer label): 120 g per cup. Label as reproduced by Eat This Much: 1/4 cup (30 g), extrapolating to 120 g per cup (density 0.507 g/mL). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 140 g per cup. KA lists "Soy flour" at 1/4 cup = 1 1/4 oz = 35 g, extrapolating to 140 g per US cup, density 0.592 g/mL. KA does not say full-fat or defatted. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Soy flour weighs anywhere from 84 to 140 g per US cup (3 to 4.9 oz) depending on whose figure you take. USDA measures stirred full-fat soy flour at 84 g, the Bob's Red Mill and Hodgson Mill bags print 28-30 g per quarter cup (112-120 g), and King Arthur lists 140 g. The sources disagree by far more than the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Soy flour is ground from soybeans. The flour sold for home baking, Bob's Red Mill and Hodgson Mill's organic whole grain, is full-fat: USDA puts it at 38% protein, 21% fat and 32% carbohydrate, with only 5% water. Defatted soy flour, the industrial ingredient left after the oil is pressed out, is a different product at 51% protein and 1% fat. Bakers use soy flour to add protein and moisture to bread and gluten-free mixes and as an egg replacer; roasted soy flour is sold as kinako for Japanese sweets. USDA SR Legacy records full-fat raw soy flour (FDC 174273) at 84 g per cup stirred and 5.2 g per tablespoon, and full-fat roasted (FDC 174274) at 85 g stirred. Defatted soy flour (FDC 174275) weighs more, 105 g per cup, because without the oil the particles are denser and pack tighter. "Stirred" means the flour is loosened before it is spooned into the cup, which is how a careful baker measures. The labels sit much higher. Bob's Red Mill prints a quarter cup at 28 g, one ounce, and Hodgson Mill at 30 g. The US reference serving for flours is a weight, and labels tend to print that weight next to the nearest household measure, so a label quarter cup is not a measured quarter cup. King Arthur's 35 g per quarter cup, 140 g per cup, is the heaviest figure of all and says neither full-fat nor defatted. Physically, full-fat soy flour is an unusual powder. It is fine and slightly oily, so it clumps, and its 21% fat makes the particles lighter than wheat flour's. USDA's stirred cup, 0.355 g/mL, is much lighter than a cup of all-purpose flour at about 0.5 g/mL, while King Arthur's 0.59 g/mL would make it heavier than any wheat flour on this site. Packing the cup, scooping straight from the bag or letting the flour settle in storage can each add a third to the weight, so the range here is mostly a range of methods. Practical guidance: weigh soy flour. Recipes that give it in grams have usually been tested; recipes that give cups rarely say how they filled them. If you only have cups, spoon the flour in loosely and level it for about 85-90 g, the USDA end of the range; a scooped cup will land nearer the labels' 112-120 g. When replacing part of the wheat flour in bread, swap by weight, typically no more than 10-15% of the flour, because soy has no gluten. ### Spelt Berries https://exactcups.com/spelt-berries/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: whole spelt, whole grain spelt, spelt kernels, spelt grain, spelt wheat berries, dinkel, dehulled spelt. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 184 g (6.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 92 g; 1/4 cup = 46 g; 1 tbsp = 11.5 g; 1 tsp = 3.8 g (0.7777 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.23 cups. Sources: - Vitaspelt Spelt Berries (PCC Community Markets bulk): 184 g per cup. Vitaspelt spelt berries nutrition label (as sold in PCC Community Markets bulk aisle, two separate PLU listings) lists 1/4 cup = 46 g, extrapolating to 184 g per US cup. Independent producer confirmation of the density anchor. - Bob's Red Mill Spelt Berries Dry (via CalorieKing): 182 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Organic Spelt Berries nutrition data (verified via CalorieKing database) lists 1/4 cup (1.6 oz) = 45.4 g, extrapolating to approximately 182 g per US cup. Essentially identical to Vitaspelt within measurement rounding — validates the 184 g/cup anchor. - Country Life wheat berry variety guide (comparative anchor): 176 g per cup. Country Life reference chart for wheat berry variety densities publishes spelt berries at approximately 176 g/cup as a general kitchen estimate, roughly 4-5% lighter than the direct-label producer figures. Comparative wheat berry cluster: Hard Red Winter 192 g/cup (USDA FDC 168890), Hard Red Spring 203 g/cup, Einkorn 185 g/cup, Soft White 177 g/cup. Spelt sits at the light end alongside einkorn. - Physical density cross-validation (hulled-barley identical density): 184 g per cup. Spelt berries at 184 g/cup match hulled barley at 184 g/cup exactly (ExactCups hulled-barley entry). Both are bran-retained whole grains with similar carbohydrate and protein composition, and the shared density reflects consistent packing behavior for whole-grain kernels with rough bran exteriors that create similar inter-kernel air pockets. Same phenomenon as the hulled-vs-pearl barley density gap (bran retention keeps density lower than polished equivalents). - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind on spelt berries): King Arthur does not publish spelt berries in their Ingredient Weight Chart. KA sells spelt flour (which is listed in the ExactCups spelt-flour entry) but does not stock or reference whole spelt berries. No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of spelt berries weighs 184 g** — Vitaspelt and Bob's Red Mill nutrition labels both list 45-46 g per 1/4 cup, extrapolating to 182-184 g/cup. Density 0.7777 g/mL, identical to hulled barley by physical coincidence of bran-retention packing. Spelt sits at the light end of the whole-grain wheat-berry cluster. King Arthur does not publish spelt berries in their chart. Spelt berries are the whole grain of *Triticum spelta*, an ancient hulled wheat species that predates modern hexaploid bread wheat by several thousand years. Domesticated in the Near East around 7000-9000 BC, spelt spread across Europe with early Neolithic agriculture and became the dominant wheat of Central and Northern Europe through the Middle Ages. Modern wheat (*Triticum aestivum*) largely displaced spelt in commercial agriculture during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries because modern wheat threshes free of its hull and yields more grain per acre, while spelt requires an extra dehulling step. Germany preserved spelt cultivation continuously (where it is called *Dinkel*), and organic and heritage-grain movements revived American and Italian spelt production from the 1980s onward. Spelt is genetically distinct from modern wheat — hexaploid like modern wheat but with different subgenome composition — and it retains complex flavor and higher soluble-fibre content than modern hard wheats. The density data converges cleanly. Vitaspelt spelt berries (sold in PCC Community Markets bulk aisles, verified across two separate PLU listings) list 1/4 cup = 46 g on their nutrition label, extrapolating to exactly 184 g per US cup. Bob's Red Mill Organic Spelt Berries (verified via CalorieKing's database of Bob's product data) list 1/4 cup (1.6 oz) = 45.4 g, extrapolating to 182 g per US cup. The two direct-label producer figures agree within 1% — well within measurement precision. Country Life's general wheat berry variety reference publishes spelt at 176 g/cup as a broader kitchen estimate, roughly 4-5% lighter than the direct-label anchors; this likely reflects a different sampling of American spelt varieties or older grain that has lost some moisture. A striking physical coincidence: spelt berries at 184 g/cup match hulled barley at 184 g/cup exactly. Both are bran-retained whole grains with similar carbohydrate-dominated composition (roughly 70% carb, 12-15% protein, 2% fat), and the shared density reflects consistent packing behavior for whole-grain kernels with rough bran exteriors that create similar inter-kernel air pockets. The same physics that made hulled barley 10-15% lighter than polished pearl barley makes spelt berries 4-5% lighter than kamut or hard red spring wheat (both at 203-204 g/cup) — kamut's higher protein content and denser per-kernel mass compensates for larger kernels, while spelt's slightly lower protein and more angular kernel shape produces looser packing. In the ExactCups milled category, spelt berries (184 g/cup) sit at the light end of the whole-grain wheat cluster: einkorn 185, spelt 184, soft white wheat 177 → hard red winter 192 → hard red spring 203 → kamut 204. The identical density to hulled barley (184 g/cup) makes them a straightforward volume-to-volume substitute in soups, salads, and pilafs where texture matters less than weight-based nutrition. Compared to the polished-grain cluster (pearl barley 200-213 g/cup, semi-polished pot barley), spelt runs 8-15% lighter for the same reason all bran-retained whole grains do: bran surface irregularities keep kernels from nesting tightly. A gluten note: spelt contains gluten and is not safe for celiacs. However, spelt's gluten protein profile differs from modern wheat — the *Aegilops* subgenome contribution produces different glutenin/gliadin ratios — and anecdotal reports plus limited peer-reviewed research (notably Italian studies on ancient wheat varieties) suggest that people with mild wheat sensitivities may tolerate spelt better than modern hard red wheat. This should not be interpreted as a green light for anyone with a formal gluten intolerance diagnosis; it is a plausible but under-studied observation, and the FDA does not permit gluten-tolerance claims on spelt products. Practical cook recommendation: weigh spelt berries at 184 g per US cup or 46 g per quarter cup. Cooking method is similar to hulled barley: soak 4+ hours or overnight to reduce cook time; simmer at 1:3 grain-to-water ratio for 60-90 minutes until chewy and slightly popped. Multi-cooker at 30-35 minutes on high pressure with 1:2.5 ratio works reliably. Yield is approximately 2.5-3 cups cooked per 1 cup dry. Spelt berries substitute directly for wheat berries or hulled barley in soups, salads, and pilafs at equal weight; for a spelt flour recipe calling for berries to be home-milled, one cup of berries mills to approximately 1.5 cups of whole-grain spelt flour. ### Spelt flour https://exactcups.com/spelt-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole grain spelt flour, white spelt flour, sprouted spelt flour, ancient wheat flour, dinkel flour. King Arthur: 99 g (3.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 99–140 g. Two sources disagree by 41%, well over the 10% milled tolerance. The variation reflects real differences in grind fineness between manufacturer products, so this entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 99 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Spelt Flour', 1 cup = 99 g. Density 0.4185 g/mL. Represents the finer, fluffier end of the commercial spelt flour spectrum. - USDA FoodData Central (Branded Foods): 140 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods records for spelt flour show consistent brand variation at the heavier end: Bob's Red Mill Spelt Flour publishes 30 g per 1/4 cup serving (extrapolating to 120 g per cup, 0.5072 g/mL), Arrowhead Mills Organic Spelt Flour publishes 35 g per 1/4 cup (140 g per cup, 0.5919 g/mL), and One Degree Organic Sprouted Spelt Flour publishes 30 g per serving (approximately 120 g per cup). No SR Legacy record with a cup portion for spelt flour is available. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two authoritative sources disagree by 41%, well over the 10% milled tolerance. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 1 cup at 99 g, implying a density of 0.4185 g/mL. USDA Branded Foods records for common commercial spelt flour brands cluster consistently higher: Bob's Red Mill Spelt Flour at 120 g per cup (30 g per 1/4 cup serving), Arrowhead Mills Organic Spelt Flour at 140 g per cup (35 g per 1/4 cup), and One Degree Organic Sprouted Spelt Flour at approximately 120 g per cup. Multiple brands agree with each other but disagree with King Arthur's measurement, and the range they cover is what this entry publishes. USDA SR Legacy has no dedicated cup-portion record for spelt flour. This is another coverage gap in SR Legacy for an ancient grain flour with growing but still limited commercial presence in North America. USDA Branded Foods fills the gap through manufacturer-submitted label data, and the fact that three independent brands cluster at 120-140 g per cup suggests that King Arthur's 99 g figure represents an unusually fine grind rather than an industry average. Important celiac disambiguation: spelt is not gluten-free. Despite frequent appearances in ancient-grain and 'gentle wheat' marketing, spelt (Triticum spelta) is a close relative of modern common wheat (Triticum aestivum) and contains gluten proteins that trigger celiac disease. Some people with mild wheat sensitivity report better tolerance of spelt than modern wheat, and researchers have documented differences in the specific gluten proteins present, but for anyone with diagnosed celiac disease spelt is not a safe substitute. The other ancient grains this site now covers (buckwheat, sorghum, teff, amaranth, millet) are all genuinely gluten-free; spelt is not. Spelt has been cultivated in Europe since at least 5000 BCE and was a staple wheat in medieval Northern Europe before being displaced by higher-yielding modern wheat varieties. It survived commercially in a few regions, particularly Germany (where it is called Dinkel), Switzerland (UrDinkel), Italy (farro grande) and parts of Belgium. American home baking has adopted spelt as a substitute or partial replacement for wheat flour, valued for its slightly sweet, nutty flavor and softer gluten development that produces more tender baked goods than bread flour. White spelt flour (bran removed) is slightly denser than whole-grain spelt flour, but the difference is smaller than the range published here. Sprouted spelt flour (from spelt grain that has been germinated before milling) has different nutritional properties (higher available lysine, lower phytic acid) but similar bulk density to unsprouted spelt flour. Both are covered by this entry's range. Spelt flour sits in the milled category alongside all other flours. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 41% gap between authoritative sources far exceeds it, making the range publish essential. Home bakers substituting spelt for wheat flour in a recipe should weigh both flours rather than substituting cup for cup: at 99 g per cup versus wheat flour at 120-140 g per cup, a cup-for-cup substitution can substantially under-flour the recipe if the shopper's spelt is at the lighter end. Related products: whole spelt grain (spelt berries) is a distinct product used in pilafs and grain bowls. Spelt bran, spelt germ and spelt flakes are further intermediate products. Farro is a related term used in Italy but does not correspond exclusively to spelt; farro piccolo is einkorn, farro medio is emmer, and farro grande is spelt. These are three distinct ancient wheat species. No standards body publishes a bulk density for spelt flour. Codex Alimentarius has no dedicated spelt standard; the closest coverage is under general wheat standards. Two authoritative sources with real product variation, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until either a third independent source resolves the split or USDA SR Legacy adds a cup-portion reference for spelt flour. ### Sprouted Wheat Flour https://exactcups.com/sprouted-wheat-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: sprouted whole wheat flour, sprouted whole wheat, sprouted wheat, sprouted red wheat flour, sprouted white wheat flour. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/sprouted-wheat-flour-113-grams/. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company – Sprouted Wheat Flour nutrition label (USDA Branded): 120 g per cup. 30 g per 1/4 cup serving = 120 g/cup. From KA's own FDA-regulated nutrition facts panel on their 100% Whole Grain Sprouted Wheat Flour (product now discontinued, but label data preserved in USDA Branded Foods database and via Prospre nutrition analysis). This value contradicts KA's own Ingredient Weight Chart entry for the same product. - One Degree Organic Foods – Organic Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour label: 120 g per cup. 30 g per 1/4 cup serving = 120 g/cup. From One Degree's product nutrition facts panel; One Degree is the dominant retail sprouted wheat flour brand in North America. - To Your Health Sprouted Flour Co. – Sprouted Red Wheat Flour label (USDA Branded): 120 g per cup. 30 g per 1/4 cup serving = 120 g/cup. Small-batch stone-milled sprouted flour from a woman-owned Alabama operation; their Sprouted White Wheat and Sprouted Red Wheat SKUs share the same serving weight. - King Arthur Baking Company – Ingredient Weight Chart: 113 g per cup. 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g/cup. Rejected: this is the fluid-oz density pattern (KA appears to derive their chart figure by treating '4 oz' as the primary weight anchor rather than measuring). Contradicts KA's own nutrition label on the same product, which reads 30 g per 1/4 cup = 120 g/cup. Producer convergence across One Degree, To Your Health, and KA's own regulated label sits firmly at 120 g/cup. REJECTED: Fluid-oz density pattern (chart treats '4 oz' as the primary weight, undershooting actual density). Contradicted by KA's own FDA-regulated nutrition label on the identical product, which reports 30 g per 1/4 cup = 120 g/cup, matching the three-source producer convergence. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/sprouted-wheat-flour-113-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Sprouted wheat flour weighs 120 g/cup spooned and leveled, correcting the King Arthur ingredient weight chart figure of 113 g/cup. Sprouted wheat flour is made by soaking whole wheat berries until they germinate, then dehydrating and milling the sprouted grain. The sprouting process activates enzymes that partially break down the grain's starches and reduce phytic acid, which many bakers find produces a milder, sweeter flour that some people with wheat sensitivities tolerate better than conventional whole wheat. The resulting flour is always whole grain in retail form — there is no sifted or all-purpose sprouted wheat flour on the market. Producers use either hard red wheat berries (Arrowhead Mills, To Your Health's red wheat SKU) or hard white wheat berries (King Arthur's discontinued product, One Degree, To Your Health's white wheat SKU); the sprouting process affects density more than the wheat variety does. The correction against KA is unusually well-supported because KA contradicts itself. Their Ingredient Weight Chart lists Sprouted Wheat Flour at 4 oz per cup (113 g), but the FDA-regulated nutrition facts panel on their own 100% Whole Grain Sprouted Wheat Flour bag stated 30 g per 1/4 cup — which works out to 120 g/cup. The 113-g figure follows the same pattern seen this project session with sweet rice flour and hazelnut spread: KA appears to anchor certain chart entries on a nominal ounce value and convert to grams via unit substitution rather than measuring density directly. The 4-oz callout on their sprouted wheat flour packaging ("1 cup of Sprouted Wheat Flour equal to 113 g (4 oz)") reinforces this — the chart and the packaging callout march together at 113 g, but the actual regulated nutrition label tells the truer story at 120 g. King Arthur discontinued the product entirely, but the chart entry remains and continues to influence recipes online. Producer convergence at 120 g/cup is tight. One Degree Organic Foods, To Your Health Sprouted Flour Co., and King Arthur's own nutrition label all report 30 g per 1/4 cup serving, giving 120 g/cup across three independent brands with different wheat varieties and different milling operations. This matches the physical density expected for a lightly-spooned whole-grain flour milled from sprouted grain: 0.507 g/mL, on the low end of the whole wheat range because the sprouting process makes the endosperm more brittle and reduces particle packing efficiency slightly. One notable outlier: Arrowhead Mills labels their Organic Sprouted Wheat Flour at 39 g per 1/4 cup, giving 156 g/cup — 30 percent above the three-source convergence. This is best understood as brand-wide methodology variance rather than a signal about the ingredient itself. Arrowhead's regular whole wheat flour is labeled at 35 g per 1/4 cup (140 g/cup), also above the ~120 g/cup norm for that product. The Arrowhead figures are consistent with a dip-and-sweep methodology applied across their line rather than the spoon-and-level convention that FDA labeling assumes. Bakers using Arrowhead flour specifically should either measure by weight or expect their cup measurements to weigh roughly 30 percent more than most recipe developers assume. Bob's Red Mill is often listed as a sprouted wheat flour brand (Amazon's category filter includes them) but does not actually sell sprouted wheat flour as a distinct SKU. Their sprouted wheat recipes on the BRM site call for home-sprouted wheat berries used alongside their regular stone-ground whole wheat flour. Practical guidance: for the dominant retail brands (One Degree, To Your Health, and legacy KA), weigh at 120 g/cup or substitute 1:1 by volume for whole wheat flour in existing recipes. For Arrowhead, weighing is strongly preferred over volume measurement. ### Steel-Cut Oats https://exactcups.com/steel-cut-oats/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: steel cut oats, steel-cut oats, Irish oats, pinhead oats, Irish steel cut oats, coarse cut oats. #### Standard, dry whole-grain steel-cut oat groats (McCann's / Great Value / Quaker cutting profile, 2-3 pieces per groat) Published: 1 cup = 160 g (5.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 80 g; 1/4 cup = 40 g; 1 tbsp = 10 g; 1 tsp = 3.3 g (0.6763 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.42 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 2346397): 160 g per cup. Oats, whole grain, steel cut. FNNDS record. 1/4 cup dry = 40 g; 100 g = 381 kcal, 12.5 g protein, 69.8 g carb, 5.8 g fat, 12 g fiber. 1/4 cup × 4 = 160 g per US cup. Anchor value. - McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal: 160 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1/4 cup dry (40 g) = 150 kcal. UPC 0072463000224. Ingredients: whole grain oats. McCann's cuts each oat groat into only 2-3 large pieces (per their own product description), producing a coarser cut than Bob's Red Mill. 160 g/cup matches USDA exactly. - Great Value Steel Cut Oats (Walmart): 160 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1/4 cup dry (40 g) = 150 kcal, 27 g carb, 5 g protein, 4 g fiber. Mass-market store brand matching USDA and McCann's at 160 g/cup. - Heartland Steel Cut Oats: 160 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1/4 cup dry (40 g) = 190 kcal. Third convergent brand at 40 g per 1/4 cup. Calorie figure runs high on this label but the serving mass matches USDA and McCann's. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: One cup of dry steel-cut oats weighs about 160 grams (0.676 g/mL). USDA FoodData Central FNNDS record 2346397 lists 1/4 cup dry = 40 grams. McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal, Great Value Steel Cut Oats, Heartland Steel Cut Oats, and every other mass-market producer label matches at 40 grams per 1/4 cup — full convergence with USDA. Two notable outliers exist and are worth understanding: Bob's Red Mill lists 45 grams per 1/4 cup (181 g/cup) because they cut finer than the standard 2-3-pieces-per-groat profile, and King Arthur Baking's chart lists 140 g/cup from their spooned-and-leveled measurement method. Steel-cut oats (also known as Irish oats or pinhead oats) are whole oat groats chopped by a sharp-bladed machine into coarse pieces before any steaming, so they retain the intact bran layer and the original cell-wall structure of the oat. This is what distinguishes them from rolled oats (steamed then flattened between rollers) and quick oats (rolled thinner and cut into smaller flakes). The intact groat structure gives steel-cut oats a lower glycemic index (about 42-55 versus 55-69 for rolled and up to 75 for instant), a chewier finished texture, and a longer cook time (20-30 minutes on the stovetop versus 5 minutes for rolled). Brand cut variance is the main density driver worth knowing about. McCann's describes their traditional steel-cut oats as groats cut into only 2-3 pieces, which produces the coarsest common cut on the US market and lands at 160 g/cup. Great Value, Heartland, and most store brands match this cut profile. Bob's Red Mill uses a steel burr mill that cuts finer, producing more but smaller pieces per groat — the finer cut packs denser into a measuring cup and reads 181 g/cup on their own label, about 13% heavier than the standard-cut convergence. This is not a measurement error and it is not the classic King Arthur fluid-ounce error either; it is genuine physical product variance. Bakers who switch brands mid-recipe should weigh, especially between McCann's-profile and Bob's-profile products. King Arthur Baking's Ingredient Weight Chart lists steel cut oats at 1/2 cup = 2.5 oz = 70 g, reading out to 140 g per cup. This is about 14% below the USDA anchor. KA's chart methodology instructs bakers to 'spoon dry ingredients gently into the cup and sweep off any excess,' which for a dense granular product can leave more air in the cup than scooping directly from the package. The KA figure is internally consistent with their measurement method but does not match what most bakers do in practice (scoop the measuring cup directly into the oat container). For weight-based cooking or baking, the USDA + producer label figure of 160 g/cup is the more practical anchor. Cooking ratios are consistent across brands regardless of density: 1 part dry steel-cut oats to 3-4 parts water, cooked at a simmer for 20-30 minutes, yields about 3 cups of cooked oatmeal per 1 cup of dry oats. Quick-cooking steel-cut oats (Bob's Red Mill and McCann's both make these) are the same product par-steamed to shorten cook time to 5-8 minutes — they weigh the same per cup dry as the traditional version from the same brand. Rolled oats and steel-cut oats are not one-to-one substitutes: rolled oats absorb water faster and produce a softer, creamier finish, while steel-cut hold their chewy structure through longer cooking. For baking applications (granola bars, oat cookies), rolled oats or quick oats are almost always the right choice; steel-cut are too coarse and cook too slowly to soften properly during typical bake times. ### Strawberries (fresh, sliced) https://exactcups.com/strawberries-sliced/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: strawberries, fresh strawberries, sliced strawberries, strawberry slices, fresh sliced strawberries. King Arthur: 167 g (5.9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, fresh berries sliced and loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 166 g (5.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 83 g; 1/4 cup = 41.5 g; 1 tbsp = 10.4 g; 1 tsp = 3.5 g (0.7016 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.37 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 166 g per cup. Strawberries, raw (SR Legacy, FDC ID 09316). Published: 1 cup sliced = 166 g. Density 0.7016 g/mL. The same record also lists 1 cup whole = 144 g (density 0.6087 g/mL), demonstrating the ~15% packing difference between sliced and whole states of the same berry. - King Arthur: 167 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Strawberries (fresh sliced)', 1 cup (167 g/cup). Density 0.7058 g/mL. KA only lists the sliced state. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Sliced fresh strawberries are one of the closest source-agreement entries on the site. USDA's SR Legacy record (FDC ID 09316) publishes 166 grams per cup sliced, while King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 167 grams for the same state. The 0.6% gap is well inside the 10% milled tolerance and even inside the tighter 5% tolerance used for sugars. This entry publishes the USDA figure of 166 g/cup (density 0.7016 g/mL) as primary and cites KA at 167 g/cup as the confirming second source. The more interesting physical story lives in the same USDA record. One cup of whole strawberries is 144 g (density 0.6087 g/mL), while one cup sliced from the same berries is 166 g (density 0.7016 g/mL). That is a 15% density increase from the same fruit just by slicing. Whole strawberries are large irregular cone-shaped fruits, roughly 3 to 4 centimeters at the base and tapering to a point, and they leave big air gaps in a cup regardless of how you arrange them. Slicing them into 5 to 8 millimeter discs creates flat pieces that stack against each other and fill the gaps that whole berries would leave. The berry mass per unit of cup volume rises accordingly. King Arthur only publishes the sliced state, which is the state most recipes actually call for. USDA's parallel whole, sliced, halves, and pureed portions expose that a 'cup of strawberries' can mean four different masses depending on the cut, which is useful context bakers rarely get from a conversion chart. Compared to the site's other fresh fruit entries, sliced strawberries at 166 g/cup sit almost exactly on top of fresh pineapple diced at 165 g/cup. Both are fibrous water-containing chunks whose density is controlled by geometry rather than the fruit's own density. Apple slices are much lighter at 109 g/cup because apple slices are thin and curved, leaving more interstitial air than strawberry discs do. Fresh blueberries range from 140 to 170 g/cup because whole small round fruit packs even more variably than cut chunks. The takeaway is that once fresh fruit gets cut into thick pieces, the packing density lands in a fairly narrow band around 150-170 g/cup regardless of the underlying fruit. Cultivar and variety affect sliced strawberries less than they affect whole ones because slicing normalizes the packing behavior. California strawberries are typically larger and firmer than Florida strawberries, but once both are sliced into similar discs, the loose-fill density converges. The stronger sensitivity is to slice thickness. Very thin slices pack denser because more surface contact means fewer gaps. Thick slices pack looser and behave more like whole berries. USDA's 166 g figure implies a standard 5 to 8 millimeter slice, which matches typical recipe practice with a paring knife. Category is milled, following the fresh chunked fruit precedent already established by apple-slices and pineapple-diced. Fresh water-containing solid pieces whose density is sensitive to fill method belong here rather than in sugar (which is reserved for small crystalline or particulate solids like sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits). Sliced strawberries are much larger than the raisin-sized dried fruits in sugar and their behavior is dominated by geometry and water content rather than crystal packing. Confidence is medium. Two authoritative sources (USDA and King Arthur) agree to within a gram on the same sliced state, and USDA provides the underlying nutritional record with multiple parallel cup portions that explain the physical mechanism transparently. The whole-versus-sliced 15% gap documented in the same USDA record is worth reading before assuming a recipe's 'cup of strawberries' means the sliced state you have on your board. ### Sunflower seeds https://exactcups.com/sunflower-seeds/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 140 g (4.9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (hulled kernels, dried) Published: 1 cup = 140 g (4.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 70 g; 1/4 cup = 35 g; 1 tbsp = 8.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.9 g (0.5918 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.62 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 140 g per cup. FDC 170562 (Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dried, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 140 g. Density 0.5918 g/mL. Composition: ~4.7% water, ~20% carbohydrate (of which ~8.6% fibre), ~21% protein, ~51% fat. - King Arthur: 140 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Sunflower seeds', 1/4 cup = 35 g, extrapolates to 140 g per cup and 0.5918 g/mL. Matches USDA exactly. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Sunflower seeds in baking and cooking almost always mean the hulled kernels — the pale grey-green flat kernels removed from the black-and-white striped shell. Whole in-shell seeds are a snack food eaten differently and measured by weight rather than volume. This entry describes the hulled kernels. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of dried sunflower seed kernels at 140 grams (FDC 170562, Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dried), giving a bulk density of 0.5918 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1/4 cup at 35 grams, which extrapolates to exactly 140 grams per cup. The two sources agree precisely, well inside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category. Precise agreement across two independent sources is unusual on this site and reflects the consistent packing behaviour of these flat, relatively uniform kernels. Sunflower seeds are among the most nutrient-dense seeds in common use, with roughly 51 percent fat (mostly polyunsaturated), 21 percent protein, and unusually high levels of vitamin E (over 200 percent of the FDA daily value per 100 grams), magnesium, and thiamine. In baking they add crunch, mild sweetness and moisture retention to breads, granola, cookies, and seed-topped loaves; ground into sunflower seed butter, they behave similarly to peanut or almond butter in cookies and spreads and are used as an allergen substitute in nut-free settings. The seeds are sold in three common commercial forms that measure slightly differently. Raw dried kernels (this entry) at 140 grams per cup. Dry-roasted kernels are essentially the same weight because roasting only drives off a small amount of moisture. Oil-roasted kernels are slightly denser (about 145 grams per cup) because the oil coating adds weight and reduces the air space between kernels. When a recipe specifies sunflower seeds without further detail, raw or dry-roasted is the assumption; oil-roasted are typically labelled as such. Whole in-shell sunflower seeds are a different measurement problem. The shells occupy roughly two-thirds of the volume but only about 15 percent of the edible weight. USDA's entry for whole in-shell sunflower seeds with hulls gives approximately 46 grams of edible kernel per cup — very different from the hulled kernel figure. Recipes almost never call for measuring in-shell seeds by cup; this variant is included only for completeness. Related products this entry does not cover: sunflower seed butter (also called sunbutter, weighs about 250 grams per cup similarly to peanut butter), sunflower seed flour (finely ground kernels, weighs about 96 grams per cup, used in gluten-free and nut-free baking), and sunflower sprouts (germinated seeds eaten as a green, measured very differently). FDA does not have an identity standard specific to sunflower seeds. Codex Alimentarius does not have a specific sunflower seed standard. Neither publishes a bulk density. The category here is 'milled' because sunflower seed kernels pack similarly to milled powders in a measuring cup — small enough to conform to the container, and their bulk density depends slightly on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies, and both sources sit exactly on the same figure. ### Sweet Rice https://exactcups.com/sweet-rice/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: glutinous rice, sticky rice, mochigome, mochi rice, sweet white rice, sanpatong sweet rice, thai sticky rice, japanese sweet rice, gao nep. #### Standard, uncooked kernels, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 180 g (6.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 90 g; 1/4 cup = 45 g; 1 tbsp = 11.2 g; 1 tsp = 3.7 g (0.7608 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.26 cups. Sources: - Koda Farms Sweet Rice (nutrition label): 180 g per cup. Serving size: 1/4 cup uncooked (45 g), 170 kcal. Extrapolates to 180 g per US cup. Koda Farms is the dominant US producer of Japanese-style sweet rice and also produces the Blue Star Mochiko sweet rice flour anchor used elsewhere in this database. - Nishiki Medium Grain Rice (cross-reference for Japanese short-grain packing): 180 g per cup. Serving size: 1/4 cup (45 g), 160 kcal. Regular Japanese-style medium grain rice, not glutinous, but confirms the 180 g/cup packing density for Japanese short-grain rice varieties. Sweet rice grains are similar in shape and size to Nishiki medium grain. - Mogami Sweet Rice (nutrition label): 168 g per cup. Serving size: 1/4 cup uncooked (42 g), 150 kcal. Extrapolates to 168 g per US cup. Slightly lower density than Koda Farms, likely reflecting a longer-grain or less-polished variety. - Butterfly Brand Supreme Glutinous Sweet Rice (Kroger/Fred Meyer private label): 168 g per cup. Ingredients: glutinous white rice. Nutrition label: 1/4 cup uncooked, 160 kcal, 38 g carbohydrate. Extrapolates to approximately 168 g per US cup based on carb content. Thai-style sanpatong variety. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: 1 cup of uncooked sweet rice (also called glutinous rice, sticky rice, or mochigome) weighs about 180 grams. Medium confidence, based on Koda Farms and Nishiki medium-grain convergence. Thai long-grain sticky rice varieties pack slightly less densely at around 168 grams per cup, a 7 percent difference that reflects real grain-shape variance across producers. Sweet rice is milled from glutinous short-grain or long-grain rice, a distinct variety of rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa) grown for its sticky, glue-like texture when cooked. Both common names are misleading. It is not sweet in the sugar sense; the 'sweet' descriptor is a translation artifact from Japanese and East Asian usage. And 'glutinous' refers to the sticky texture the cooked starch produces, not to gluten protein: sweet rice is naturally gluten-free. In Japan it is called mochigome, in Vietnam gao nep, in Thailand khao niao. The retail market in the US labels it as 'sweet rice' (typically Japanese-style short-grain from Koda Farms, Nishiki, Mogami), 'glutinous rice' (generic term used across many Asian brands), or 'sticky rice' (Thai and Southeast Asian long-grain style from Three Ladies, Butterfly Brand, Sanpatong-region producers). The defining characteristic is the starch composition. Regular rice contains roughly 80 percent amylopectin and 20 percent amylose; glutinous rice is nearly 100 percent amylopectin, with almost no amylose. Amylose is the linear starch molecule that produces firm, separate cooked grains; amylopectin is the branched form that produces stickiness. This is why cooked sweet rice forms into a chewy paste (the base for mochi, ohagi, and Thai mango sticky rice) rather than staying as separate grains like long-grain white rice. When milled into flour, this same rice becomes sweet rice flour (see the separate sweet-rice-flour entry, which packs at 160 grams per cup). The source data splits into two clusters by grain shape. Japanese short-grain sweet rice (Koda Farms and comparable brands) packs at 180 grams per US cup, matching the density of regular Japanese medium-grain rice like Nishiki. Rounder grains pack more tightly with fewer air gaps between kernels. Thai long-grain sanpatong sticky rice (Butterfly Brand, Mogami, Three Ladies) packs at about 168 grams per cup, roughly 7 percent lower, because elongated kernels leave more interstitial air. This variance is real product difference, not measurement noise, but it sits inside the 10 percent tolerance for milled-category ingredients and does not require publishing a range. The single figure of 180 grams per cup is anchored on Koda Farms as the dominant US retail brand for Japanese-style sweet rice, with the caveat that Thai long-grain buyers should expect closer to 168 grams per cup for their specific product. King Arthur has no ingredient chart entry for sweet or glutinous rice. Their chart focuses on Western baking ingredients, and specialty Asian rices are outside its scope. This is not a King Arthur correction; it is a category KA simply does not publish. For practical cooking, weigh sweet rice from the bag rather than measuring by volume, especially for mochi, ohagi, or Thai sticky rice recipes where the rice-to-water ratio determines final texture. The 12-gram spread between Japanese short-grain (180 g/cup) and Thai long-grain (168 g/cup) is enough to shift the finished texture, particularly in traditional preparations that soak the rice before steaming. Sweet rice absorbs less water during cooking than regular rice because its high amylopectin content limits gel network formation, so recipes typically call for a lower water ratio (about 1:1 to 1:1.2 rice to water for steaming, versus 1:1.5 to 1:2 for regular medium-grain rice). ### Sweet Rice Flour https://exactcups.com/sweet-rice-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: mochiko, glutinous rice flour, sweet white rice flour, sticky rice flour, mochi flour, mochigome flour. King Arthur: 120 g (4.2 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/sweet-rice-flour-120-grams/. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 160 g (5.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 80 g; 1/4 cup = 40 g; 1 tbsp = 10 g; 1 tsp = 3.3 g (0.6763 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.42 cups. Sources: - Koda Farms Blue Star Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour (nutrition label): 160 g per cup. Serving size: 3 tablespoons (30 g), 110 kcal. Extrapolates to 160 g per US cup at 16 tbsp/cup. Koda Farms is the dominant US brand for this product; Mochiko is their trademark name for the same ingredient. - Koda Farms Blue Star Mochiko via USDA Branded (UPC 074823000219) via aqua-calc: 159.9 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods entry explicitly states 169 g per metric cup, converted to 160 g per US cup (5.6 oz per US cup). Confirms nutrition-label extrapolation. - Bob's Red Mill Sweet White Rice Flour (nutrition label): 160 g per cup. Serving size: 1/4 cup (40 g), 150 kcal. Extrapolates to 160 g per US cup. Product description confirms milled from short-grain glutinous ('sticky') rice, same base ingredient as Mochiko. - King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart: 120 g per cup. Glutinous rice flour listed at 1 cup = 4 1/4 oz = 120 g. 33% below three-producer convergence at 160 g/cup. REJECTED: King Arthur's 120 g/cup figure is 33% below the multi-source producer convergence at 160 g/cup (Koda Farms, Bob's Red Mill, USDA Branded Foods). Same fluid-ounce-based measurement error pattern as their regular rice flour entry, which was similarly corrected from 142 g/cup to 160 g/cup. KA appears to have assumed sweet rice flour packs like AP flour (both listed at 4 1/4 oz per cup), but sweet rice flour is milled finer and its nearly-pure amylopectin starch composition produces denser packing. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/sweet-rice-flour-120-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: 1 cup of sweet rice flour weighs 160 grams. High confidence, based on triple convergence between Koda Farms (Mochiko), Bob's Red Mill, and USDA's Branded Foods database. King Arthur's 120 grams per cup figure is rejected — it is 33 percent below the producer convergence and reflects the same fluid-ounce measurement error corrected in the regular rice flour entry. Sweet rice flour is milled from glutinous short-grain rice, a distinct variety of rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa) grown for its sticky texture. It goes by many names, all referring to the same product: mochiko (Koda Farms's trademark and the dominant US brand name), glutinous rice flour, sweet white rice flour, mochi flour, and sticky rice flour. Both common names are misleading. It is not sweet in the sugar sense; the 'sweet' descriptor is a translation artifact. And 'glutinous' refers to the sticky, glue-like texture the cooked starch produces, not to gluten protein — sweet rice flour is naturally gluten-free. The defining characteristic is the starch composition. Regular rice contains roughly 80 percent amylopectin and 20 percent amylose; glutinous rice is nearly 100 percent amylopectin, with almost no amylose. Amylose is the linear starch molecule that produces firm, separate cooked grains; amylopectin is the branched form that produces stickiness. This is why mochi holds together as a chewy paste rather than falling apart like cooked long-grain rice. In gluten-free baking, sweet rice flour is prized as a binder and moisture retainer, and it is a common component of gluten-free flour blends alongside regular rice flour, sorghum flour, and starches. It also thickens sauces and gravies without breaking on reheating. The source data converges tightly. Koda Farms lists Mochiko at 30 grams per 3-tablespoon serving on the nutrition panel, which extrapolates to 160 grams per US cup. USDA's Branded Foods database entry for the same product (UPC 074823000219) explicitly reports 160 grams per US cup and 169 grams per metric cup. Bob's Red Mill Sweet White Rice Flour, made from the same base ingredient, lists 40 grams per quarter-cup serving on their label, extrapolating to the same 160 grams per cup. Three independent producers and one USDA database entry all agree. King Arthur's ingredient chart lists glutinous rice flour at 120 grams per cup — the same figure they use for all-purpose wheat flour. That is a 33 percent shortfall against the producer convergence, and it repeats the pattern already documented in the regular rice flour entry, where King Arthur's 142 grams per cup was corrected to the producer figure of 160 grams per cup. The most plausible explanation is that King Arthur's chart treats every 4 1/4 ounce entry as if the ounces are fluid ounces (which would give 120 grams), rather than weighing the actual product. Sweet rice flour is milled finer than AP wheat flour and its amylopectin-dominant starch packs more densely, so the true weight per cup is substantially higher. For practical baking, weigh sweet rice flour at 160 grams per cup. A recipe calling for one cup of glutinous rice flour or mochiko wants 160 grams, not the 120 grams that a King Arthur-based conversion would suggest. The gap is enough to noticeably affect mochi texture, gluten-free bread structure, and sauce thickening ratios. This flour is not interchangeable by volume with regular white rice flour in traditional Asian recipes — behavior in the mouth and on the tongue differs sharply — but by weight the two flours are close enough that some gluten-free blend recipes use them interchangeably. ### Tapioca starch https://exactcups.com/tapioca-starch/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: tapioca flour, cassava starch, tapioca powder, tapioca starch or flour, gluten-free tapioca starch. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, fine powder loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 113 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56.5 g; 1/4 cup = 28.2 g; 1 tbsp = 7.1 g; 1 tsp = 2.4 g (0.4776 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.01 cups. Sources: - King Arthur: 113 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Tapioca starch or flour', 1 cup (113 g/cup). Density 0.4776 g/mL. KA treats tapioca starch and tapioca flour as the same product (they are indeed synonyms for the same fine cassava-root starch powder). - Bob's Red Mill (producer package data): 120 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Flour, labeled serving size 4 teaspoons = 10 g. That works out to 1 tsp = 2.5 g, and since 1 US cup = 48 teaspoons, 1 cup = 120 g. Density 0.5072 g/mL. This 120 g/cup figure aligns with a broader producer consensus: Expandex Modified Tapioca Starch (1/4 cup = 30 g), bulk-bin generic tapioca powder (1/4 cup = 30 g), and finely ground tapioca flour products (1/4 cup = 30 g) all publish 120 g/cup. USDA SR Legacy record 169717 covers only tapioca pearls (rolled dry spheres) at 152 g/cup, a completely different product state that packs much denser than the powder form and does not provide a comparable measurement for tapioca starch or flour. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Tapioca starch publishes at 113 grams per cup based on King Arthur's authoritative baking figure, with a producer consensus at 120 g/cup providing a second data point 6.2% higher, well within the 10% milled tolerance. Bob's Red Mill labels tapioca flour at 4 teaspoons = 10 grams, which extrapolates to 120 g/cup, and multiple other producers (Expandex Modified Tapioca Starch, bulk-bin tapioca powder, finely-ground tapioca flour) publish 1/4 cup = 30 g, also landing at 120 g/cup. The 6.2% gap between KA's 113 and the producer cluster's 120 likely reflects differences in fill method, with KA measuring a lightly-packed cup and commercial serving-size labels reflecting typical spoon-scoop packing that lands slightly denser. Tapioca starch and tapioca flour are two names for the exact same product: fine white powder made from the starch of the cassava root (Manihot esculenta, also called yuca or manioc). King Arthur explicitly treats the two names as synonyms on their Ingredient Weight Chart, and this entry does the same. This is different from wheat starch versus wheat flour, where the two are distinct products. In tapioca, the starch fraction is essentially the entire product because cassava root contains almost no protein, fat, or fiber to separate out. The 'flour' name persists mostly from gluten-free baking terminology and from Southeast Asian cooking, where tapioca flour has been a pantry staple for generations, while the 'starch' name predominates in commercial food manufacturing. USDA does not publish cup portion data for tapioca starch or flour. The one USDA record for tapioca (SR Legacy 169717, 'Tapioca, pearl, dry') covers the rolled dry pearl form used in tapioca pudding and boba tea, which is a completely different product state. Pearls are made by moistening tapioca starch and rolling or extruding it into small spheres, then drying the spheres. The finished pearls are dense and pack at 152 g/cup, roughly 35% heavier than the loose starch powder form. This entry documents the powder state only, and bakers looking for the pearl weight should consult USDA directly. Compared to other starches and gluten-free flours on the site, tapioca starch at 113-120 g/cup sits in the middle of the density band. Cornstarch is similar (KA publishes 120 g/cup, same producer-consensus figure and same fine-powder physics). Potato starch is denser (roughly 160 g/cup because the starch granules are larger and pack more tightly). Almond flour is much denser at 96 g/cup for the blanched version because it contains fat and protein rather than being pure carbohydrate. All-purpose wheat flour at 120 g/cup is close to tapioca in density because both are fine powders with similar granule size distributions, though they differ dramatically in baking behavior. Category assignment is milled, matching all other flours and starches on the site. Tapioca starch is a fine dry powder that packs as a milled particulate, not as small crystalline solids like sugars or salts. The sugar category is reserved for granulated sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits. Confidence is medium. King Arthur provides one authoritative figure, and multiple independent producer sources cluster at 120 g/cup, giving cross-validation across brands and packaging conventions. The main source of remaining variance is fill method: a scooped cup packs slightly denser than a spooned-and-leveled cup, and different bakers measure differently. Bakers using recipes that specify a particular brand should trust that recipe's implicit weight; when in doubt, weigh the starch rather than trusting cup measurements. ### Teff flour https://exactcups.com/teff-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole grain teff flour, brown teff flour, ivory teff flour, white teff flour, gluten-free teff flour. King Arthur: 135 g (4.8 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, spooned into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 135–163.5 g. Two sources disagree by 21.5%, over the 10% milled tolerance. The variation reflects real differences in grind fineness between manufacturer products, so this entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 135 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Teff flour', 1 cup = 135 g. Density 0.5706 g/mL. - USDA FoodData Central (Branded Foods): 163.5 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods record for Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Teff Flour (UPC 039978005397): 173 g per metric cup, converting to approximately 164 g per US customary cup. Density 0.6910 g/mL. No SR Legacy record with a cup portion for teff flour was located; the ingredient's smaller commercial footprint in North America compared to wheat, rice, corn or sorghum has left it outside SR Legacy coverage. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two authoritative sources disagree by 21.5%, over the 10% milled tolerance. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 1 cup at 135 g, implying a density of 0.5706 g/mL. USDA Branded Foods records for Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Teff Flour (UPC 039978005397) publish 173 g per metric cup, which converts to approximately 164 g per US customary cup at a density of 0.6910 g/mL. Both are authoritative sources, and the gap between them reflects real differences in grind fineness between the products the two sources measured. USDA SR Legacy has no dedicated cup-portion record for teff flour. This is a coverage gap rather than an absence of data: teff is a well-documented grain in the underlying nutritional literature, but its commercial footprint in North America is much smaller than wheat, rice, corn, sorghum or even millet, and SR Legacy has not yet been extended to a standalone teff flour entry. USDA Branded Foods fills the gap through manufacturer-submitted label data, currently dominated by Bob's Red Mill as the primary retail distributor in the US market. The Bob's Red Mill figure sits at the heavy end of the range; King Arthur's lighter figure likely reflects a finer or fluffier reference sample. Teff is the seed of Eragrostis tef, an annual grass native to the Ethiopian highlands and central to Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisines. It is the smallest cultivated grain in the world: approximately 100 teff seeds equal the mass of a single wheat kernel. Because of the seed size, teff cannot practically be dehulled and is milled with its bran and germ intact, making teff flour always a whole-grain product. This distinguishes it from wheat, rice, sorghum and most other grains where refined (bran-removed) versions dominate retail. The Bob's Red Mill product and the King Arthur reference are both whole-grain by default; the density difference is grind fineness, not refinement level. Teff comes in two commercial varieties. Brown or red teff (the more traditional Ethiopian type) has higher polyphenol content and a stronger, earthier flavor. White or ivory teff has a milder flavor and is common in commercial injera production because it produces a lighter-coloured bread. The two varieties have similar bulk density; the KA and USDA Branded figures do not distinguish variety. The primary use of teff flour is injera, the sourdough flatbread that is the staple starch of Ethiopian and Eritrean meals. Injera is naturally gluten-free (though wheat is sometimes blended in outside Ethiopia). Home bakers outside those cuisines increasingly use teff flour as a partial substitute for wheat flour in pancakes, muffins and quick breads, typically at 25 to 50 percent of the total flour weight, for its distinctive flavor and mineral content. Teff is notably high in iron (approximately 37% of the daily value per 100 g) and calcium, both unusual for a grain. Teff flour sits in the milled category alongside all other flours. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 21.5% gap between authoritative sources exceeds it, hence the range publish. Home bakers using teff flour should weigh rather than measure by volume: a 29 g error across the range meaningfully changes hydration in injera, pancake batter and gluten-free bread doughs. Related products not covered by this entry: whole teff grain (uncooked, for porridge and grain bowls), teff flour blends (commercial gluten-free mixes combining teff with rice flour and starches), and injera itself as a finished bread. Teff is often mentioned alongside sorghum because both are gluten-free ancient grains and both feature in Ethiopian cuisine, but they are from different genera (Eragrostis versus Sorghum) and are distinct products. No standards body publishes a bulk density for teff flour. Codex Alimentarius has no dedicated standard for teff (the closest coverage is under general cereal grain standards). Two authoritative sources with real product variation, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until either a third independent source resolves the split or USDA SR Legacy adds a cup-portion reference for teff flour. ### Unsweetened Coconut Flakes https://exactcups.com/coconut-flakes/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: coconut chips, large coconut flakes, coconut flakes unsweetened, dried coconut flakes, unsweetened coconut chips. King Arthur: 60 g (2.1 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, large flakes, untoasted, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 60 g (2.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 30 g; 1/4 cup = 15 g; 1 tbsp = 3.7 g; 1 tsp = 1.2 g (0.2536 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 3.78 cups. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flakes, unsweetened (producer label): 60 g per cup. Brand site, 10-oz bag: 1/4 cup (15 g), about 19 servings, extrapolating to 60 g per US cup (density 0.254 g/mL). Bob's 12-oz Unsweetened Flaked Coconut labels the same 1/4 cup (15 g). - Thrive Market Organic Coconut Flakes (producer label): 60 g per cup. Label as reproduced by FatSecret: 1/2 cup (30 g), extrapolating to 60 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 60 g per cup. KA lists "Coconut (unsweetened, large flakes)" at 1 cup = 2 1/8 oz = 60 g, density 0.254 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Unsweetened coconut flakes weigh 60 g per US cup (2.1 oz), a density of 0.254 g/mL. Bob's Red Mill labels a quarter cup at 15 g, Thrive Market half a cup at 30 g, and King Arthur lists large unsweetened flakes at 60 g per cup: three independent sources on exactly the same figure. Coconut flakes, also sold as coconut chips, are broad, thin slices of dried coconut meat, much larger than shreds, used for toppings, granola, trail mix and toasted garnishes. Unsweetened flakes are just dried coconut: USDA puts dried unsweetened coconut at 3% water and 64.5% fat. Toasted flakes and sweetened chips such as Dang are separate products. Bob's Red Mill sells two flake products, its 10-oz Coconut Flakes and a 12-oz Unsweetened Flaked Coconut, and both label a quarter cup at 15 g. Thrive Market's organic flakes label half a cup at 30 g. King Arthur's chart lists "Coconut (unsweetened, large flakes)" at 1 cup = 2 1/8 oz = 60 g. For this product King Arthur agrees exactly with the brands, and its figure stands. The US reference serving for coconut is 15 g, and these labels state how much volume that weight fills, which is why their quarter and half cups land so consistently. Not every product sold as flaked coconut is the same cut. Kroger's unsweetened flaked coconut labels 2 tablespoons at 10 g, 80 g per cup, and its bag says it holds about 2 cups in 5 oz, about 71 g per cup, which points to a smaller flake. A few labels print 15 g beside 2 tablespoons, 120 g per cup, which would make large flakes heavier than finely desiccated coconut, something broad flakes cannot be; those look like the 15 g reference serving written next to a rough spoon count and are not used here. Toasted chips such as Dang label 3/4 cup at 30 g, 40 g per cup, because toasting curls them and they stack even more loosely. The physical check is about shape. Dried coconut meat itself is roughly as dense as water. Broad flat flakes lie across each other at all angles and leave large gaps, so a cup at 0.254 g/mL is only about a quarter coconut. Medium shreds, at 80 g per cup, and fine desiccated coconut, at 85 g, fill the gaps better and weigh more. Pressing flakes into a cup breaks them, which also adds weight. Practical guidance: 1 cup is 60 g, 1/2 cup 30 g and 1/4 cup 15 g. A 10-oz bag holds 284 g, nearly 5 cups; a 7-oz bag 198 g, about 3 1/3 cups. Spoon flakes into the cup without pressing. For toasting, spread 1 cup (60 g) on a sheet pan; flakes lose a little moisture and weight as they brown. For recipes built on coconut weight, such as granola clusters, weigh rather than measure. The coconut products comparison page shows flakes beside shredded, desiccated and sweetened coconut and the other coconut products. ### Unsweetened Shredded Coconut https://exactcups.com/coconut-unsweetened-shredded/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: shredded coconut unsweetened, unsweetened coconut shreds, medium shred coconut, dried shredded coconut, coconut shreds. King Arthur: 53 g (1.9 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/coconut-unsweetened-shredded-53-grams/. #### Standard, medium shred, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 80 g (2.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 40 g; 1/4 cup = 20 g; 1 tbsp = 5 g; 1 tsp = 1.7 g (0.3381 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.84 cups. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (producer label): 80 g per cup. Brand site, 12-oz bag: 3 Tbsp (15 g), about 23 servings, extrapolating to 80 g per US cup (density 0.338 g/mL). - Anthony's Organic Shredded Coconut, Unsweetened (producer label): 80 g per cup. Label as reproduced by ReciPal: 3 tablespoons (15 g), extrapolating to 80 g per cup. - Terrasoul Organic Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (producer label): 80 g per cup. Label as reproduced by ReciPal: 3 tbsp (15 g), extrapolating to 80 g per cup. - NOW Foods Organic Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, medium shred (producer label): 80 g per cup. Brand site: 3 tbsp (15 g), about 19 servings, extrapolating to 80 g per cup. - America's Test Kitchen, Triple Coconut Macaroons: 75.7 g per cup. Recipe ingredient line: 3 cups unsweetened shredded desiccated coconut (about 8 ounces/227 grams), which is 75.7 g per cup (density 0.320 g/mL). - USDA SR Legacy "Nuts, coconut meat, dried (desiccated), not sweetened" (FDC 170170): Weight portion only (1 oz = 28.35 g), no cup figure. Water 3.0 g, fat 64.5 g, fibre 16.3 g per 100 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 53 g per cup. KA lists "Coconut (unsweetened, shredded)" at 1 cup = 1 7/8 oz = 53 g, density 0.224 g/mL. REJECTED: Every unsweetened shredded coconut on sale that gives a volume, Bob's Red Mill, Anthony's, Terrasoul and NOW, labels 3 tablespoons at 15 g, 80 g per cup, and America's Test Kitchen weighed 3 cups at 227 g, 76 g per cup. 53 g is a third lighter than all of them. King Arthur's own chart puts these shreds lighter than its large flakes (60 g), which broad flat flakes, stacking with more air than shreds, would not allow for the product sold as shredded coconut. For the shreds people buy, 53 g undercounts by about a third. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/coconut-unsweetened-shredded-53-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Unsweetened shredded coconut weighs 80 g per US cup (2.8 oz), a density of 0.338 g/mL. Bob's Red Mill, Anthony's, Terrasoul and NOW all label 3 tablespoons at 15 g, and America's Test Kitchen weighed 3 cups at 227 g, 76 g per cup. King Arthur's 53 g is a third lighter than every one of them and is rejected. Unsweetened shredded coconut is dried coconut meat cut into short strands, with no sugar added. USDA puts dried unsweetened coconut at 3% water, 64.5% fat and 16% fibre. Brands sell several cuts: fine shred, often called desiccated, medium shred, the usual "shredded coconut", and large flakes or chips. It goes into granola, macaroons, curries, energy bites and low-sugar baking. The labels are the main evidence, and they are better than most label figures. The US reference serving for coconut is a weight, 15 g, but each brand has to say how much volume that weight fills, and four brands of medium shred independently say 3 tablespoons, 80 g per cup. NOW calls its product medium shred outright. America's Test Kitchen's macaroon recipe calls for 3 cups weighing about 8 ounces, which is 76 g per cup, within 6% of the labels. USDA's record for dried unsweetened coconut gives only an ounce, no cup. Cut matters a little. Let's Do Organic's fine shred labels 2 1/2 tablespoons at 15 g, 96 g per cup, and the unsweetened desiccated coconut entry on this site, the finest cut, sits at 85 g. Large flakes are lighter at 60 g, because broad flat pieces stack with more air. Sweetened shredded coconut weighs 93 g in USDA's measurement, the sugar coating adding weight and filling gaps between strands. King Arthur's chart lists unsweetened shredded coconut at 1 cup = 1 7/8 oz = 53 g. That is lighter than its own large flakes at 60 g, which only a long, loose thread of coconut could be, and a third lighter than the medium shreds sold as shredded coconut. Whatever King Arthur weighed, it is not what a baker gets from a bag labelled shredded coconut, so the figure is recorded as a rejected source with its own correction page. The physical check is simple: dried coconut meat is roughly as dense as water once its fat and fibre are averaged, close to 1 g/mL, and a cup of shreds at 0.338 g/mL is about one third coconut and two thirds air. Finer cuts fill the gaps better and weigh more; flakes leave more air. Practical guidance: 1 cup is 80 g, 1/2 cup 40 g, 1/4 cup 20 g and 1 tablespoon 5 g. A 12-oz bag holds 340 g, about 4 1/4 cups; an 8-oz bag 227 g, about 2 3/4 cups. Shredded coconut is springy and packs down if pressed, so spoon it in loosely and level it, or weigh it for macaroons, where the coconut is the structure. The coconut products comparison page shows unsweetened shreds beside desiccated, sweetened and flaked coconut and the other coconut products. ### Vital wheat gluten https://exactcups.com/vital-wheat-gluten/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: wheat gluten, pure wheat gluten, wheat protein isolate, seitan flour. King Arthur: 144 g (5.1 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, scooped into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 120.2–144 g. Two sources disagree by 20%, over the 10% milled tolerance. The variation reflects real differences in grind fineness between manufacturer products rather than a measurement error, so this entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - King Arthur: 144 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Vital Wheat Gluten', 2 tablespoons = 18 g, extrapolated to 144 g per cup. Density 0.6086 g/mL. - USDA FoodData Central (Branded Foods): 120.2 g per cup. USDA Branded Foods records for vital wheat gluten show brand variation from approximately 120 g/US cup (Bob's Red Mill, UPC 039978043221, 127 g per metric cup converted) to approximately 144 g/US cup (UPC 074333371205, 152 g per metric cup converted). SR Legacy record FDC 168147 exists but publishes per-100g nutritional data only, no cup portion. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two sources publish figures for a cup of vital wheat gluten and they differ by 20%. This entry publishes the range they cover rather than a single figure, at low confidence, because the variation reflects real differences between manufacturer products rather than a measurement error. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart publishes 2 tablespoons at 18 g, extrapolating to 144 g per cup (0.6086 g/mL) using the 16 tablespoons per cup relation. USDA Branded Foods records for vital wheat gluten from different manufacturers show a range from approximately 120 g per cup (Bob's Red Mill, UPC 039978043221, 127 g per metric cup converted to US customary) to approximately 144 g per cup (UPC 074333371205, 152 g per metric cup converted). The heavier USDA Branded figure agrees with King Arthur exactly; the lighter Bob's Red Mill figure is 17% below both. USDA SR Legacy record FDC 168147 (Vital wheat gluten) exists as a reference but publishes only per-100g nutritional data, with no cup portion attached. This is a common pattern for concentrated protein ingredients in SR Legacy: the reference is measured by weight in the lab, and volume portions are added only for foods consumers typically measure by volume. USDA Branded Foods fills the cup-portion gap through manufacturer-submitted label data, which is why brand differences appear at the cup level even though the underlying nutritional data is consistent per gram. The physical reason for the brand variation is grind fineness and resulting packing density. Vital wheat gluten is produced by washing wheat flour to remove starch, then drying and grinding the concentrated gluten protein. Different manufacturers use different final grinds. Finer grinds trap more air when scooped, producing lower bulk density; a fluffier product weighs less per cup even though the underlying protein material is chemically identical. This is the same physical mechanism that causes all-purpose flour to publish as a range across dip-and-sweep and spoon-and-sweep methods, but here the variable is the manufacturer's grind specification rather than the user's filling technique. Vital wheat gluten sits in the milled category alongside flours and cocoa powder. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the 20% gap between the low and high figures clearly exceeds it, hence the range publish. Home bakers who add vital wheat gluten to bread doughs, typically 1 to 2 tablespoons per cup of flour to boost protein and improve rise in whole wheat or specialty breads, should weigh rather than measure by volume: a 17% error in the gluten quantity meaningfully changes dough hydration and gluten development. Not to be confused with high-gluten flour, a separate product covered by King Arthur at 120 g per cup. High-gluten flour is wheat flour with elevated gluten content (approximately 13-14% protein), used for chewy breads and bagels. Vital wheat gluten is 75-80% protein by mass, an order of magnitude more concentrated than any wheat flour, and used as an additive rather than a base flour. The two are not interchangeable. No standards body publishes a bulk density for vital wheat gluten. Codex Alimentarius covers wheat and wheat protein composition but not physical density. Two authoritative sources with real brand variation, so this entry is held at low confidence and range published until either a third authoritative source resolves the split or SR Legacy adds cup-portion data for FDC 168147. ### Walnut halves https://exactcups.com/walnut-halves/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole walnuts, walnut kernels, english walnut halves, walnuts (halves). King Arthur: 128 g (4.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, halves loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 99–128 g. Two sources disagree by 29.3%, far over the 10% milled tolerance. Whole walnut halves have no reproducible cup-fill method: rigid pieces lock into large air pockets that shift dramatically with dumping, shaking or hand-packing. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 99 g per cup. FDC 170187, Nuts, walnuts, english (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup halves = 99 g. Density 0.4185 g/mL. - King Arthur: 128 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Walnuts (whole)', 1/2 cup = 64 g, extrapolated to 128 g per cup. Density 0.5411 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. Notes: Two sources 29.3% apart, far outside the 10% milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FDC 170187 (Nuts, walnuts, english, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup halves at 99 g, implying a density of 0.4185 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Walnuts (whole)' at 64 g per half cup, extrapolating to 128 g per cup and 0.5411 g/mL. Neither source names a specific filling method, and the physical reason for the disagreement is straightforward: whole walnut halves are rigid, irregular pieces that lock into arrangements with large air pockets. There is no equivalent to the spoon-and-sweep versus dip-and-sweep distinction that resolves flour measurement, because a half walnut cannot be sifted or spooned in the same reproducible way. Dumping halves loosely into a cup, tapping to settle, or hand-packing to fit more can shift the effective density by well over 20%. USDA's figure is consistent with a loose fill; King Arthur's is consistent with a shaken or lightly-packed fill. The comparison with chopped walnuts is counterintuitive but instructive. This site publishes chopped walnuts at 117 g per cup, denser than the 99 g USDA figure for halves and slightly less dense than the 128 g King Arthur figure for halves. Chopping breaks the rigid geometry: small pieces fill the gaps that large halves cannot, and the resulting fill is more reproducible because the pieces self-level. This is why chopped nut weights are more consistent across sources than whole-nut weights, and why serious recipes calling for a specific weight of walnuts specify the physical form. Walnut halves sit in the milled category despite not being milled at all. The site's category rule assigns whole and chopped nuts to milled because they pack by scoop with air gaps, in the same way that whole seeds and grains do. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the 29.3% gap between sources is a genuine physical disagreement rather than an arithmetic error in either source. Related products: chopped walnuts are covered by a separate entry at 117 g per cup. Ground walnut meal, weighing approximately 80 g per cup by third-party sourcing, is not yet published here because no second independent source has been located; it will be added when the sourcing satisfies the two-source rule. Black walnuts (Juglans nigra) are a distinct species from English walnuts (Juglans regia) covered here, with different oil content, denser kernels, and no direct King Arthur reference for comparison. No standards body publishes a bulk density for tree nuts. Codex Alimentarius standards for walnut kernels (CXS 175-1985) cover grade, moisture content and defect tolerances but not physical density. Two sources only, with a large disagreement, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until a third independent source can arbitrate the gap or establish that both figures reflect real but different filling methods. ### Wheat berries https://exactcups.com/wheat-berries/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: hard red wheat berries, hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, whole wheat kernels, wheat groats, raw wheat berries. King Arthur: 184 g (6.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, whole hard red kernels loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 192 g (6.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 96 g; 1/4 cup = 48 g; 1 tbsp = 12 g; 1 tsp = 4 g (0.8115 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.18 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 192 g per cup. Wheat, hard red winter (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 192 g. Density 0.8115 g/mL. The parallel SR Legacy record for hard red spring publishes the same 192 g/cup, so the figure applies to both major hard red wheat classes. - King Arthur: 184 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Wheat berries (red)', 1 cup = 184 g. Density 0.7778 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central publishes Wheat, hard red winter (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 192 g, implying a density of 0.8115 g/mL. The parallel SR Legacy record for hard red spring wheat publishes the same 192 g per cup, so the figure applies to both major hard red classes. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Wheat berries (red)' at 1 cup = 184 g, implying 0.7778 g/mL. The gap between them is 4.35%, well inside the 10% milled tolerance for whole grains, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 192 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method. At 0.8115 g/mL, wheat berries sit at the top of the density band this site tracks, denser than any nut, seed or milled flour published here. Individual wheat kernels are small (5 to 8 mm long, 2 to 4 mm wide), hard, and oblong, and slide readily against each other to fill gaps. Small hard oblong particles are well-behaved in cup measurements: they self-level, settle predictably, and are not orientation-sensitive the way flat pumpkin seed kernels are. The 4.35 percent gap between USDA and King Arthur is inside what would be expected from measurement rounding and normal fill variation, without any physical mechanism required to explain it. The whole-versus-ground pattern documented elsewhere on this site holds for wheat as well. Whole wheat flour publishes here at a lower density than wheat berries because milling breaks the intact kernel geometry into fine particles that bridge and trap air. The same pattern was documented for flaxseed on this site (whole seed at 140 to 168 g per cup versus meal at 100 to 112) and for hazelnuts (whole kernels at 135 g per cup versus chopped at 115). Wheat berries are the unprocessed form, so their density reflects the natural packing of the intact grain and comes out higher than any ground product derived from them. Wheat classification: USDA defines multiple wheat classes based on hardness (hard, soft, durum), color (red, white, amber) and planting season (spring, winter). Hard red winter and hard red spring are the two dominant baking varieties, and both publish at essentially identical density in USDA data — the 192 g per cup figure holds across both classes. King Arthur's chart specifies 'red' without distinguishing spring versus winter, which is appropriate given USDA shows no meaningful density difference between them. Soft red winter wheat, used for cookies and crackers, publishes at approximately 168 g per cup per USDA (lower density because soft wheat kernels are slightly larger and more porous). Durum wheat berries, used for pasta production, publish at approximately 192 g per cup similar to hard red varieties. Product variants: raw wheat berries sold for cooking and milling are always hulled (the inedible outer husk is removed during threshing), so there is no cup-portion distinction between hulled and unhulled at retail. Sprouted wheat berries retain roughly the same dry weight and cup volume as unsprouted, though the sprouting process alters starch composition. Cracked wheat, wheat groats, and bulgur are separate products with different cup weights and would earn their own entries when a second authoritative source becomes available. Wheat berries are placed in the milled category alongside other whole grains, whole seeds and whole nuts. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: whole grains pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole seeds and nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 4.35 percent observed gap between sources is comfortably inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for wheat berries. Codex Alimentarius has standards for wheat and durum wheat covering moisture content, defect tolerances, foreign matter limits and mycotoxin controls but not physical density of the whole grain. 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. ### Wheat bran https://exactcups.com/wheat-bran/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: unprocessed wheat bran, miller's bran, crude wheat bran, raw wheat bran, Bob's Red Mill wheat bran. King Arthur: 64 g (2.3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, flakes loose in the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 58–64 g. Two sources disagree by 10.36%, just over the 10% milled tolerance. USDA publishes 58 g per cup for Wheat bran, crude; King Arthur publishes 64 g per cup. Wheat bran is thin sheet-like flake product (approximately 2 to 5 mm across, under 1 mm thick) that stacks irregularly with large air gaps between flakes. Even slight compression, tapping or shaking can shift the cup mass by 10 to 15 percent, so the gap likely reflects real fill-method sensitivity rather than measurement error. This entry publishes the range rather than picking one figure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 58 g per cup. Wheat bran, crude (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 58 g. Density 0.2451 g/mL. Cup portion confirmed by multiple independent USDA-data mirrors. - King Arthur: 64 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Wheat bran', 1/2 cup = 32 g (64 g/cup). Density 0.2705 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources 10.36 percent apart, just outside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central publishes Wheat bran, crude (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 58 g, implying a density of 0.2451 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Wheat bran' at 1/2 cup = 32 g, extrapolating to 64 g per cup and 0.2705 g/mL. The USDA figure is confirmed by multiple independent USDA-data mirrors. At this range, wheat bran is the lightest food this site tracks. Dried apple dice publish at 86 g per cup (density 0.36 g/mL); wheat bran at 58 to 64 g per cup (density 0.24 to 0.27) is meaningfully lighter still. The physical reason is straightforward: wheat bran consists of thin sheet-like flakes, the outer layer of the wheat kernel stripped off during milling, typically 2 to 5 mm across and under 1 mm thick. These flakes stack irregularly with substantial air gaps between them, more like uncrushed breakfast cereal flakes than like flour granules. A cup of wheat bran contains a large fraction of air by volume even when scooped loosely. The gap between USDA and King Arthur is close to the site's milled tolerance boundary because wheat bran is unusually sensitive to fill method. Sheet-like flakes can pack flat-on-flat (dense) or edge-on/random (loose), similar to the orientation sensitivity documented for pumpkin seeds on this site but more extreme because bran flakes are lighter and more compressible. Slight tapping, shaking, or hand-packing can shift the cup mass by 10 to 15 percent. USDA's 58 g per cup is consistent with a loose scoop; King Arthur's 64 g per cup is consistent with a lightly-settled fill. Neither source documents its method. Wheat bran contrasts sharply with wheat germ, published elsewhere on this site at 115 g per cup (density 0.49). Both are separated from the wheat kernel during milling, but germ is a granular embryo tissue that packs like coarse flour, while bran is a flake product that packs like a light cereal. The two products are often confused in home baking but have very different weights per cup and different nutritional profiles: germ is fat and protein rich; bran is nearly all insoluble fiber. Product variants: crude (unprocessed) wheat bran is the raw milling byproduct, sold under brands like Bob's Red Mill. Miller's bran is another common name for the same product. Toasted wheat bran undergoes light heat treatment for stability and flavor and packs at slightly higher density due to moisture loss, but the difference stays within measurement precision. Wheat bran breakfast cereals (All-Bran, Kellogg's Bran Buds, Post Bran Flakes) are distinct fortified products with added sugar, malt, and other ingredients; they pack differently and are covered by separate cereal entries when added. Oat bran, rice bran, and corn bran are botanically distinct products with different densities and would earn their own entries. Wheat bran is placed in the milled category alongside other granular and flake grain products. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: flakes and coarse particles pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as flours and whole grains, even at very low apparent densities. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 10.36 percent observed gap exceeds it by a small margin. No standards body publishes a bulk density for wheat bran. Codex Alimentarius does not have a dedicated commodity standard for wheat bran at the time of publication. Two authoritative sources with a just-over-tolerance gap and no method documentation to arbitrate, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until a third independent source or a documented fill method resolves the disagreement. ### Wheat germ https://exactcups.com/wheat-germ/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: toasted wheat germ, raw wheat germ, crude wheat germ, Kretschmer wheat germ, Bob's Red Mill wheat germ. King Arthur: 112 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, granular wheat germ loose in the cup Published: 1 cup = 115 g (4.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 57.5 g; 1/4 cup = 28.8 g; 1 tbsp = 7.2 g; 1 tsp = 2.4 g (0.4861 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.97 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 115 g per cup. Wheat germ, crude (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 115 g. Density 0.4861 g/mL. USDA also publishes a separate 'Cereals ready-to-eat, wheat germ, toasted, plain' record with slightly different per-100g nutrition (moisture loss during toasting increases per-100g calorie density), but no distinct cup portion; both raw and toasted wheat germ pack at similar cup weights. - King Arthur: 112 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Wheat germ', 1/4 cup = 28 g (112 g/cup). Density 0.4734 g/mL. State unspecified. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FoodData Central publishes Wheat germ, crude (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 115 g, implying a density of 0.4861 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Wheat germ' at 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g per cup and 0.4734 g/mL. The gap between them is 2.68 percent, well inside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 115 g per cup and names both sources. Neither source names a specific filling method. Wheat germ is the embryo portion of the wheat kernel, separated from the bran and endosperm during milling. It makes up approximately 2.5 percent of the whole grain by weight, and is high in vitamin E, folate, thiamine, magnesium, zinc, and healthy fats. Because of the fat content (approximately 10 percent by weight), wheat germ is prone to rancidity once separated from the kernel, which is why commercial products are almost always packed in oxygen-barrier packaging or refrigerated. USDA has two distinct records: 'Wheat germ, crude' (raw wheat germ, 360 kcal per 100 g) and 'Cereals ready-to-eat, wheat germ, toasted, plain' (toasted, 382 kcal per 100 g). The calorie difference reflects moisture loss during toasting rather than any actual composition change. Toasted wheat germ packs at slightly higher density due to that moisture loss, but the difference is small enough to fall within measurement precision. At 0.4861 g/mL, wheat germ packs lighter than most whole-grain products on this site. Whole wheat flour publishes at approximately 0.5 g/mL and all-purpose flour at 0.53 g/mL. Wheat berries publish at 0.81 g/mL because whole intact grains pack tightly. Wheat germ sits between the fine flours and the intact grain because it is a coarse granular product: individual germ pieces are approximately 1 to 3 mm and roughly flat-oval, packing loosely enough to leave air gaps but densely enough that fine flour still trumps it. Flax meal on this site range-publishes at 100 to 112 g per cup (density 0.42 to 0.47), quite close to wheat germ, because both are similarly-sized granular products derived from seed or grain embryos. Commercial wheat germ is dominated in the US market by Kretschmer (owned by Quaker Oats) and Bob's Red Mill. Kretschmer's product is toasted; Bob's Red Mill offers both raw and toasted variants. Both products fall within the 112 to 115 g per cup range documented by KA and USDA respectively. Third-party brand product labels sometimes report slightly different serving sizes (typically 2 tablespoons at 14 grams, extrapolating to 112 g per cup), which converges on the KA figure. Product variants: raw versus toasted wheat germ differ by approximately 5 percent in moisture content, which slightly increases the toasted product's density but keeps both within category tolerance. Wheat germ oil, extracted separately as a high-vitamin-E vegetable oil, is a distinct product not covered by this entry. Defatted wheat germ (used in some protein-supplement applications) has a different composition and would earn its own entry if a second authoritative source becomes available. Fermented wheat germ extract (marketed under names like Avemar) is a specialty dietary supplement with different physical properties and no baking application. Wheat germ is placed in the milled category alongside other granular grain-derived products. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: coarse granular products pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as flours and whole seeds. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the 2.68 percent observed gap between sources sits comfortably inside it. No standards body publishes a bulk density for wheat germ. Codex Alimentarius does not have a dedicated commodity standard for wheat germ at the time of publication. 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. ### White rice https://exactcups.com/white-rice/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: long-grain rice, uncooked rice, raw rice. King Arthur: 198 g (7 oz), inside the published range. #### Uncooked, poured into the cup No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 185–198 g. Two sources disagree by 7.0%, over the 5% tolerance for this category. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 185 g per cup. FDC 168877, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 185 g - King Arthur Baking: 198 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, rice (long grain, dry), 1/2 cup = 3 1/2 oz (99 g) Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: Two sources, both measuring uncooked long-grain white rice, 7.0% apart. USDA FDC 168877 gives a cup at 185 g, or 0.7819 g/ml, and publishes the same figure for the unenriched record at FDC 169756, so enrichment does not affect the weight. King Arthur's chart gives half a cup at 99 g, or 0.8368 g/ml. Neither source names a method, so the gap cannot be split by method, and neither can be preferred without a third source. The range is published instead of a figure. Rice sits awkwardly between the categories this dataset uses. It is not a liquid, where any two measurements should agree closely, and it is not a milled powder like flour, where clumping makes wide disagreement expected. It is whole hard grains, which pour freely like crystalline sugar but are large enough relative to a cup that how they settle matters: grains bridge against each other and against the wall of the cup, and tapping or pouring from a height changes what fits. That suggests a tolerance wider than the 5% that suits liquids, but no measured evidence was found for how much wider, and setting a category tolerance to make a particular entry publish would be choosing the answer first. Rice is therefore held at the default tolerance and publishes a range until either a third source settles the figure or someone measures how much settling actually changes. Cooked rice is a separate product rather than a state of this one. USDA gives cooked parboiled long-grain at 158 g per cup (FDC 169708), but the grains have absorbed water and roughly tripled in volume, so the two figures describe different substances in the way that butter and whipped butter do. Brown rice is likewise not covered here; King Arthur lists it cooked only. No standards body publishes a bulk density for rice. Grain trading uses test weight, measured in pounds per bushel, which is a different quantity measured by a different apparatus, so it is not counted as a source. ### White Rice Flour https://exactcups.com/rice-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: rice flour, white rice flour, stone ground white rice flour, organic white rice flour, gluten-free rice flour. King Arthur: 142 g (5 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/rice-flour-142-grams/. #### White rice flour, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 160 g (5.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 80 g; 1/4 cup = 40 g; 1 tbsp = 10 g; 1 tsp = 3.3 g (0.6763 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.42 cups. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Flour Weight Chart: 160 g per cup. Official chart lists White Rice Flour, Organic White Rice Flour, and Sweet White Rice Flour all at 160 g/cup, extrapolating to 0.6763 g/mL. The chart's own narrative explicitly calls out Sweet White Rice Flour as a super-fine grind that packs more per cup — an inversion of the wheat-flour pattern where fine cake flour is lighter than AP. - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 039978003164: 159.9 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground White Rice Flour at 169 g per metric cup, converting to approximately 160 g per US cup. Independent USDA-database entry confirming the producer chart figure. - USDA Branded Foods (via aqua-calc) — UPC 039978006080: 159.9 g per cup. Bob's Red Mill Sweet White Rice Flour at 169 g per metric cup, matching the standard white rice flour figure exactly. Second independent USDA-database entry. - USDA composition (White Rice Flour, NBD 20061): 158 g per cup. USDA composition reference lists white rice flour at 578 calories per cup and 366 calories per 100 g, implying approximately 158 g per cup. Within 1 percent of the branded and chart figures. - King Arthur Baking (Ingredient Weight Chart): 142 g per cup. Lists rice flour (white) at 1 cup = 5 oz = 142 g, implying density 0.6002 g/mL. REJECTED: Eleven percent below the four-way convergence of Bob's Red Mill's own chart, two USDA Branded Foods entries for Bob's products, and USDA composition data — all landing at approximately 160 g/cup. Also fails internal consistency: KA lists brown rice flour at 128 g/cup, only 10 percent below their white figure of 142, but producer and USDA data show brown rice flour typically 15-25 percent below white due to the bran-heavy particles packing less efficiently. KA's white figure is compressed toward brown in a way inconsistent with the physical difference between endosperm-only and bran-and-germ-inclusive rice flours. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/rice-flour-142-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: White rice flour weighs 160 grams per cup (0.6763 g/mL) based on Bob's Red Mill's official flour weight chart, three convergent USDA Branded Foods entries for Bob's rice flour products, and USDA composition data within 1 percent. King Arthur's chart value of 142 g/cup is rejected as inconsistent with the four-way producer and USDA convergence — an unusually clean correction with no ambiguity. White rice flour is milled from white rice — long, medium, or short grain — with the bran and germ removed, leaving the endosperm-only starch. It is the workhorse flour of gluten-free baking, Asian noodle production, and sauce thickening, produced primarily by Bob's Red Mill in the US retail market, with Arrowhead Mills, King Arthur's own gluten-free line, and a handful of smaller millers providing secondary options. This entry represents the standard spooned-and-leveled measurement for white rice flour; brown rice flour (which includes the bran and germ) is covered in a separate entry, and sweet rice flour or mochiko (from glutinous short-grain rice) is compositionally similar enough at the density level that it is often used interchangeably in bulk conversion — Bob's Red Mill lists both at exactly 160 g/cup. Bob's Red Mill's official flour weight chart lists White Rice Flour, Organic White Rice Flour, and Sweet White Rice Flour all at 160 grams per cup. USDA Branded Foods carries independent entries for Bob's Stone Ground White Rice Flour (UPC 039978003164) and Sweet White Rice Flour (UPC 039978006080), both at 169 grams per metric cup — converting to exactly 160 grams per US cup. USDA's composition reference for white rice flour (NBD 20061) implies approximately 158 grams per cup from its calorie-per-cup ratio, within one percent of the branded and chart figures. This is convergence across a producer chart, three producer-derived USDA entries, and a USDA composition value. King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart lists rice flour (white) at 142 grams per cup — 11 percent below the producer-and-USDA convergence at 160. As with the demerara correction, KA's figure fails an internal consistency check against related products: brown rice flour, which physically packs less densely than white due to larger bran-containing particles, is listed by KA at 128 g/cup, only 10 percent lighter than their white figure. But USDA and Bob's Red Mill data show brown rice flour typically at 128-152 g/cup and white at 160 — a wider gap of roughly 15-25 percent that reflects the actual physical difference between bran-laden and endosperm-only rice flours. The KA rice flour figure is best read as an anomalous chart entry. The physical reasoning behind white rice flour's high density is worth noting. Bob's Red Mill's chart itself observes that super-fine grinds pack more per cup, explicitly using Sweet White Rice Flour as their example. This is opposite to wheat flour, where cake flour (fine) is lighter than AP flour. Rice starch granules are denser and more spherical than wheat starch granules, so they nestle into a spooned cup with fewer air gaps. Rice flour at 160 g/cup is among the heaviest common flours by volume, exceeded only by starches (cornstarch at 128, potato starch at 152) and certain bran-heavy products (whole cornmeal at 138). Wheat AP flour at 120 g/cup is a full 25 percent lighter per cup than white rice flour, which matters in any recipe substituting one for the other by volume. Practical baker recommendation: use 160 g/cup for white rice flour. Weigh rather than measure by cup — the density is high enough that even small volume errors translate to meaningful mass differences. If a recipe was developed against KA's 142 g/cup and you weigh out 160 g for a cup call, you will be adding 13 percent more flour than the recipe expected. In gluten-free applications where rice flour provides most of the structure, that difference matters. ### Whole Grain Einkorn Flour https://exactcups.com/whole-grain-einkorn-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: einkorn whole wheat flour, whole einkorn flour, einkorn whole grain flour, einkorn wholemeal flour, triticum monococcum whole grain flour. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 96 g (3.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 48 g; 1/4 cup = 24 g; 1 tbsp = 6 g; 1 tsp = 2 g (0.4058 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.36 cups. Sources: - Jovial 100% Organic Einkorn Whole Wheat Flour (USDA Branded, UPC 815421014204): 96 g per cup. Ingredients: organic whole wheat einkorn flour. Nutrition label: 1/3 cup (32 g), 100 kcal. Extrapolates to 96 g per US cup. Jovial is the dominant US retail brand for einkorn products and effectively defines the US market for this ingredient. - Jovial cookbook 'Einkorn: Recipes for Nature's Original Wheat' (author: Carla Bartolucci): 96 g per cup. Published Whole Grain Wheat Thins recipe specifies '2 cups (192 g) whole grain einkorn flour', extrapolating to exactly 96 g per US cup. Matches the USDA Branded label figure exactly; confirms internal consistency across Jovial's product and their own recipe development. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: TL;DR: 1 cup of whole grain einkorn flour weighs 96 grams. High confidence, based on convergence between Jovial's USDA Branded nutrition label and their own published cookbook recipe. This is 20 percent lighter than the all-purpose einkorn flour form (120 grams per cup) because the intact bran creates air gaps between particles. Einkorn (Triticum monococcum) is the most ancient cultivated wheat species, domesticated in the Fertile Crescent roughly 10,000 years ago. It is botanically distinct from the modern bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) that dominates global flour production. Einkorn is diploid, carrying two sets of chromosomes; modern wheat is hexaploid, carrying six. The two species produce different gluten structures, and einkorn's simpler protein composition is often reported as easier to digest for people who feel poorly after modern wheat, though this is not the same as being safe for celiac disease. Einkorn contains gluten and is not gluten-free. Whole grain einkorn flour retains the entire kernel: bran, germ, and endosperm are all milled together with nothing sifted out. This distinguishes it from all-purpose einkorn flour, which is sifted to remove most of the bran (analogous to the way modern white flour is sifted from whole wheat). The whole grain form is denser in fiber and micronutrients, produces heartier baked goods with a stronger nutty flavor, and packs less densely per cup because the bran particles are larger and irregular, creating air gaps that reduce bulk density. Jovial ships their product labeled 'Einkorn Whole Wheat Flour' even though calling einkorn 'wheat' in the modern sense is slightly imprecise; the label uses the term familiar to consumers, but this database uses 'whole grain' as the more botanically accurate descriptor. The source data converges cleanly at 96 grams per cup. Jovial's USDA Branded Foods entry (UPC 815421014204) lists 32 grams per one-third-cup serving on the nutrition panel, extrapolating to 96 grams per US cup. Jovial's own cookbook, 'Einkorn: Recipes for Nature's Original Wheat' by Carla Bartolucci, specifies '2 cups (192 g) whole grain einkorn flour' in a published recipe for Whole Grain Wheat Thins, which extrapolates to exactly 96 grams per cup. Two independent Jovial data points agree to the gram. This is unusually clean for a specialty flour, and it reflects Jovial's dominance of the US einkorn market: they are effectively the reference brand for this ingredient in North America. One data point was rejected. Purcell Mountain Farms lists their organic einkorn flour nutrition panel as '1/2 cup (96g),' which would extrapolate to 192 grams per US cup. That figure is physically implausible; it would exceed the packed density of granulated white sugar, and no whole grain flour observed anywhere approaches it. The most likely explanation is a label error where '1/2 cup' should read '1 cup,' which would give 96 grams per cup and match Jovial exactly. Not included as an accepted source. Compare to the all-purpose einkorn flour entry at 120 grams per cup: the 20 percent gap between AP and whole grain is real and reflects the packing physics. AP einkorn is mostly endosperm ground fine, which packs tightly; whole grain einkorn contains larger bran fragments that displace endosperm and add interstitial air. This is the opposite pattern from the sweet rice flour and regular rice flour case, where finer milling produced denser packing, because there the finer particles filled voids rather than creating them. King Arthur has no entry for einkorn flour in any form; their chart focuses on modern wheat products. For practical baking, weigh whole grain einkorn flour at 96 grams per cup and reduce recipe liquid by 15 to 20 percent when substituting for modern whole wheat flour, per Jovial's own guidance. Einkorn dough absorbs water more slowly than modern wheat and can behave sticky if the recipe is not adjusted. Store whole grain einkorn flour in the freezer to prevent the germ oils from going rancid, which happens faster than with sifted flours. ### Whole wheat flour https://exactcups.com/whole-wheat-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: wholemeal flour, whole grain wheat flour, atta flour (approximately), wholewheat flour. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Method not specified Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 120 g per cup. FDC 168893, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 120 g - King Arthur Baking: 113 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Whole Wheat Flour (Premium 100%), 1 cup = 113 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Sources agree within 6.0%, inside the 10% tolerance for the milled category. USDA FDC 168893 gives a cup at 120 g (0.5072 g/ml). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists their Premium 100% Whole Wheat Flour at 113 g per cup, or 0.4776 g/ml. Both figures are for hard red wheat whole wheat flour milled from the whole kernel, retaining bran, germ and endosperm in their natural proportions as required by FDA identity standards (21 CFR 137.200). The 6% source disagreement is within the range that measuring method reasonably accounts for on a milled powder. Whole wheat flour behaves differently in a cup than all-purpose flour does. The bran fragments and germ particles are physically larger than the milled endosperm, so they bridge against each other and against the cup wall, and a scooped cup captures more air pockets than a spooned or sifted one. This is why USDA's undetermined-cup figure sits higher than King Arthur's spooned chart figure; USDA likely reflects dip-and-sweep, King Arthur's Recipe Success Guide states their measuring technique for dry ingredients is spoon-and-sweep, and the 6% gap is consistent with the difference the flour entry documents between the two methods on white flour. Whole wheat flour is distinct from several related products with different densities. Whole wheat pastry flour and graham flour are milled from soft wheat rather than hard wheat, and King Arthur lists both together at 96 g per cup on the same chart. Soft wheat produces a finer, lighter flour with lower protein content, better suited to tender baked goods like biscuits and pie crust than to bread. Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour matches this figure. White whole wheat flour, milled from hard white spring wheat rather than hard red winter wheat, has similar density to standard whole wheat flour at about 113 to 120 g per cup; the difference is in flavor and color rather than weight. Atta flour, the whole wheat flour used in Indian roti, chapati and paratha, is milled from hard durum wheat and typically has finer particle size and slightly higher density than American whole wheat flour. Stone-ground whole wheat flour and roller-milled whole wheat flour weigh similarly per cup despite different particle size distributions, because the total weight of solids per cup depends more on packing efficiency than on grind method. Fresh-milled home-ground flour retains more moisture and can weigh 5 to 10 percent more per cup than commercially milled shelf-stable flour. No standards body publishes a bulk density for whole wheat flour. FDA identity standards specify composition and moisture (maximum 15 percent) but not physical density, and Codex Alimentarius CXS 152-1985 for wheat flour and CXS 199-1995 for durum wheat semolina and durum wheat flour cover the refined products rather than whole grain. The Codex route that resolved olive oil is not available for milled flours. Two sources agreeing within category tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's larger measure and is held at medium confidence until an independent third is found. ### Whole wheat pastry flour https://exactcups.com/whole-wheat-pastry-flour/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: whole wheat pastry flour, whole-wheat pastry flour, whole grain pastry flour, soft whole wheat flour, graham flour. King Arthur: 96 g (3.4 oz), inside the published range. Working figure: 1 cup = 96 g (3.4 oz) if you spoon the flour into the cup and level it; 1 tbsp = 6 g. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 96–120 g. King Arthur publishes 96 g/cup and commercial retail labels uniformly publish 30 g per 1/4 cup (back-calculating to 120 g/cup) for the same nominal product. The 25% gap exceeds the 10% milled tolerance. The unanimous 30 g/quarter cup figure across Bob's Red Mill, Whole Foods 365, Hodgson Mill, Jovial, and Arrowhead Mills is not independent measurement but the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) labeling convention for flour, applied as a default rather than a measured density. This entry publishes the range 96-120 g/cup to represent the honest span between careful spoon-and-level measurement (KA) and the practical dip-and-sweep cup weight that recipes developed against commercial brands tend to produce. Sources: - King Arthur: 96 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Whole Wheat Pastry Flour / Graham Flour', 1 cup (3 3/8 oz, 96 g). Density 0.4058 g/mL. Represents careful spoon-and-level measurement of whole wheat pastry flour from soft wheat. KA groups this ingredient with Graham flour at the same cup weight despite the two being milled differently (pastry flour has uniformly fine milling; Graham flour has coarsely-ground bran with finely-ground endosperm). Confirmed directly by KA customer service in a documented baker inquiry (Kitchen Stewardship, 2021) where a home baker questioned the low figure. - Commercial retail labels (Bob's Red Mill, Whole Foods 365, Hodgson Mill, Jovial, Arrowhead Mills): 120 g per cup. All five major producers publish the same 1/4 cup = 30 g nutrition label serving, back-calculating to 120 g/cup and density 0.5072 g/mL. This unanimity reflects the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) for flour, which sets 30 g as the standard 1/4 cup serving size for labeling purposes, rather than five independent measured densities. Represents the practical cup weight that recipes developed by commercial brands using dip-and-sweep measurement tend to produce, but should be understood as a labeling artifact rather than a physical measurement. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Whole wheat pastry flour publishes as a range 96 to 120 grams per cup because the two measurement standards in circulation disagree by 25%, well over the 10% milled tolerance, and the disagreement reflects both real product variance and a documented labeling convention rather than one source being wrong. King Arthur publishes 96 g/cup for whole wheat pastry flour (grouped with Graham flour at the same weight in their Ingredient Weight Chart), representing careful spoon-and-level measurement. Commercial retail nutrition labels — Bob's Red Mill, Whole Foods 365, Hodgson Mill, Jovial, and Arrowhead Mills — all uniformly publish 30 grams per 1/4 cup, which back-calculates to 120 g/cup. This unanimous label figure looks like independent measurements but is actually a shared labeling convention: the FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) for flour is 30 grams per 1/4 cup serving, and manufacturers commonly default to this figure rather than measuring their specific product density. The 24-gram spread between KA's 96 and the label 120 therefore represents the honest span between a carefully measured spoon-level cup weight and the practical dip-and-sweep cup weight that recipes developed against commercial brands tend to produce. Understanding why whole wheat pastry flour packs surprisingly lightly requires knowing something about its milling. Pastry flour is made from soft wheat, which has smaller and less compact starch granules than the hard wheat used for regular whole wheat flour or bread flour. Soft wheat starch granules pack less densely at rest. Whole wheat pastry flour also contains bran from the same soft wheat, and pastry-milled bran fragments are finer and fluffier than the coarser bran in regular whole wheat flour. Combined, the soft-wheat endosperm and fluffy bran give whole wheat pastry flour the counterintuitive property of packing lighter than white pastry flour: KA lists white pastry flour at 106 g/cup, ten grams heavier per cup than whole wheat pastry at 96, because white pastry flour has denser endosperm without the airy bran filler. USDA FoodData Central entry 168944 (Wheat flour, whole-grain, soft wheat) is the compositional reference for this ingredient but provides no cup portion, only 100-gram, 28-gram (1 oz), and 60-gram (200-calorie serving) sizes. This is typical for USDA whole-grain flour entries, where cup portions are frequently absent for less-common milling types, which is why the site relies on King Arthur for the primary volumetric anchor and cross-validates against the commercial label pattern. Compared to other flours on the site, whole wheat pastry flour at 96-120 g/cup sits below regular whole wheat flour (113 g/cup, hard wheat with denser starch granules), below all-purpose flour (120 g/cup), and below white pastry flour (106 g/cup) at KA's measurement. Graham flour, which KA groups at the same 96 g/cup weight, is technically a distinct milling with coarsely-ground bran and finely-ground endosperm; the two products happen to converge on cup weight but are not interchangeable for texture in finished baked goods. Category assignment is milled, matching all other flours on the site. Whole wheat pastry flour is a fibrous plant particulate with heterogeneous particle sizes (fine soft-wheat starch granules plus coarser bran flakes), which is the defining physical behavior of the milled category. Confidence is low because the 25% gap between KA and commercial labels exceeds tolerance. For baking accuracy, weigh whole wheat pastry flour rather than measuring by volume. If a recipe was developed by a commercial brand or blogger using dip-and-sweep, use 115-120 g/cup. If a recipe was developed by King Arthur or another spoon-and-level source, use 96 g/cup. Recipe-to-recipe consistency matters more than any single correct figure. This entry represents a moat play for the site: no other cup-to-gram reference explains that the uniform 120 g/cup commercial label figure is an FDA RACC labeling convention rather than a measured density, and no other reference explains why whole wheat pastry flour paradoxically packs lighter than white pastry flour despite containing bran. ### Wild Rice https://exactcups.com/wild-rice/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: wild rice, raw wild rice, uncooked wild rice, minnesota wild rice, cultivated wild rice, zizania palustris, zizania aquatica, north american wild rice. #### Standard, dry uncooked, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 160–180 g. Two legitimate methodology-driven figures span a real 12.5% gap. USDA Standard Reference for raw wild rice (FDC 169726) lists 160 g/cup based on laboratory loose-fill measurement, and this figure fits the physical prediction from wild rice's extreme grain aspect ratio (12-20mm long × 2-3mm cross-section) and very low moisture (~8%). Producer nutrition labels from Whole Foods 365, Gourmet House, and Gibbs all converge at 180 g/cup, but the convergence reflects the shared FDA Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) of 45 g per serving for "Grains, dry, uncooked" (21 CFR 101.12), not independent physical measurement. Both figures are correct for their conventions; the honest answer depends on whether the recipe used USDA-derived or FDA-RACC-derived source data. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy (FDC 169726): 160 g per cup. Wild rice, raw: 1 US cup = 160 g (169 g/metric cup). Direct USDA nutrient laboratory measurement using loose-fill leveled methodology. Composition: 8% water, 15% protein, 76% carbohydrate, 1% fat — the low moisture and high aspect ratio produce the low cup density. - Whole Foods 365 Wild Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup. Uses the FDA RACC-derived 45 g/serving for uncooked grains rather than independent measurement of quarter-cup weight. - Gourmet House Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup. Explicitly labeled "Minnesota Cultivated" — the modern paddy-grown Zizania palustris that constitutes ~95% of US retail wild rice. - Gibbs Wild Rice: 180 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1/4 cup dry (45 g). Converts to 180 g/cup. Confirms producer-label FDA-RACC convergence across independent brands. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: Silent on wild rice specifically. KA's chart lists no rice variety in dry form other than "Rice (long grain, dry) 1/2 cup, 3 1/2 oz, 99 g" (198 g/cup, for generic long-grain). No direct KA figure to correct or confirm. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Wild rice runs 160 grams per cup by USDA physical measurement but 180 grams per cup on producer nutrition labels; the 12.5% gap reflects a genuine methodology split between USDA's laboratory loose-fill anchor and the FDA reference-amount convention brands use for whole-grain serving sizes, not measurement error. Wild rice is not a true rice but the seed of the aquatic grass Zizania palustris (northern wild rice, native to the Great Lakes region) or Zizania aquatica. The seeds are long, dark, and needle-shaped — grain lengths of 12-20 mm with cross-sections of only 2-3 mm, an extreme aspect ratio that produces more inter-grain void space than any other rice-family grain. Modern commercial wild rice is nearly all paddy-cultivated in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California, though a small share is still hand-harvested from natural lake stands. USDA Standard Reference for raw wild rice (FDC 169726) lists 160 grams per US cup, a direct physical measurement from long-standing USDA nutrient laboratory methodology using loose-fill leveled cup measurement. The figure fits the physical prediction: extreme grain-length-to-diameter ratio produces high void fraction when the grains stack randomly in a cup, and wild rice has very low moisture (~8% by mass, lower than any other rice) which further reduces mass per volume. Both effects push the density down. Producer nutrition labels converge tightly at 180 grams per US cup — 45 grams per 1/4 cup dry serving. Whole Foods 365, Gourmet House, and Gibbs all publish exactly 45 g per 1/4 cup. This apparent convergence, however, is not independent measurement. The FDA-defined Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC) for "Grains, dry, uncooked" per 21 CFR 101.12 is 45 grams, and brands universally list this RACC-derived figure paired with the "1/4 cup" household equivalent even when the physical measurement of one quarter cup might weigh somewhat less. When several brands publish identical serving weights of 45 g / (1/4 cup), the shared number often reflects the shared regulatory convention rather than independent physical measurements arriving at the same result. The 12.5% gap between USDA's 160 and the producer 180 is best understood as a methodology gap. USDA measures loose-fill leveled cup weight in laboratory conditions. Producer labels report FDA-RACC-derived serving weight, which may correspond to a slightly tapped or packed cup fill. Both are legitimate; neither is wrong. The variance is similar to what the cumin seeds entry documented: whole elongated seeds pack differently by settling method, producing a 13.5% range across measurements of the same seed depending on how the cup was filled. King Arthur Baking does not publish wild rice specifically. Its chart lists no rice variety in dry form other than a generic long-grain entry (99 g per 1/2 cup, or 198 g/cup), and wild rice is absent. There is no direct KA figure to correct or confirm; the closest KA generic long-grain figure would substantially overstate wild rice density if extrapolated. For practical use, the working figures are: 160 g/cup if the recipe or reference used USDA data, and 180 g/cup if the recipe used producer-label data. When weighing precisely, use the actual carton figure from the specific brand on hand — the 45 g / (1/4 cup) label value is exactly what the recipe author or nutrition tracker probably used. When measuring by cup only, expect the cup to weigh somewhere between 160 and 180 grams depending on how firmly it was filled. Cooking wild rice takes 45-50 minutes at a 1:2.5 rice-to-water ratio (much longer than white rice, comparable to brown rice), and it expands to roughly 3× its dry volume when cooked. This dramatic expansion is why wild rice appears in blended products like Lundberg's Wild Blend, which contains only 4-6% actual wild rice mixed with brown and red rice — the blend cooks in the shorter brown-rice time while the small proportion of wild rice adds visual contrast and chewy texture. When a recipe calls for a wild rice blend rather than pure wild rice, the density is dominated by the majority-brown-rice component (~180-185 g/cup) and the wild rice minority contributes little to overall cup weight. ### Xanthan Gum https://exactcups.com/xanthan-gum/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: xanthan, E415. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 76.8–144 g. Producer density varies by 87% across major brands (77-144 g/cup). Bob's Red Mill and Anthony's converge exactly at 144 g/cup; NOW Foods' current label reads 4.8 g/tablespoon (77 g/cup) and explicitly disclaims volume with the language 'this product is sold by weight not volume.' Xanthan gum is a very fine polysaccharide powder that measures inconsistently by volume regardless of brand — heaping vs. level measurements alone can differ by 2-3x. Recipes should specify by weight in grams; volume conversion is not reliable. Sources: - Bob's Red Mill Xanthan Gum label: 144 g per cup. 9 g per 1 tablespoon serving = 144 g/cup. BRM is the dominant retail xanthan gum brand for the home baking market. Their label serving matches Anthony's exactly. - Anthony's Xanthan Gum label: 144 g per cup. 9 g per 1 tablespoon serving = 144 g/cup. Direct convergence with Bob's Red Mill's label. Anthony's is a keto-market brand and their serving weight matches BRM exactly. - Cuisine 2012 / Wikipedia physical chemistry reference: 120 g per cup. 'A teaspoon of xanthan gum weighs about 2.5 grams and brings one cup (250 mL) of water to a 1% concentration.' This gives 7.5 g/tablespoon = 120 g/cup, sitting between the NOW label and the BRM/Anthony's cluster. Standard reference cited in molecular gastronomy contexts. - NOW Foods Xanthan Gum label (Now Real Food): 76.8 g per cup. 0.8 g per 1/2 teaspoon serving = 4.8 g/tablespoon = 77 g/cup. NOW explicitly disclaims volume with the label statement 'this product is sold by weight not volume' — a candid admission from a major supplement brand that their volume-weight relationship for xanthan is not stable. This figure is roughly half the BRM/Anthony's cluster, likely reflecting a finer particle size or different measurement methodology (loosely spooned rather than lightly packed). Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Xanthan gum density varies enormously across brands, from about 77 g/cup on NOW Foods' label up to 144 g/cup on Bob's Red Mill and Anthony's labels, an 87 percent spread. NOW's label carries an unusually direct disclaimer — 'this product is sold by weight not volume' — reflecting the fact that this very fine polysaccharide powder measures inconsistently by volume regardless of brand or care taken. Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide produced by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris, then drying and milling the resulting gel to a fine powder. It was approved as a food additive in 1968 and carries the E number E415 in Europe. In the kitchen, it works as a thickener, emulsifier, and gluten mimic in gluten-free baking. A tiny amount goes a long way — a 1 percent concentration by weight in liquid produces a substantial viscosity increase, and typical gluten-free baking usage is roughly 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan per cup of gluten-free flour. King Arthur has no xanthan gum entry in their Ingredient Weight Chart at all, so this catalog entry is based entirely on producer nutrition labels and one physical chemistry reference cited in molecular gastronomy sources. The density spread across the four sources sampled forms three tiers. Bob's Red Mill and Anthony's converge exactly at 9 grams per tablespoon (144 g/cup), and since BRM dominates retail this pair likely represents what most home bakers actually encounter on the shelf. The molecular gastronomy reference sits at 2.5 grams per teaspoon (120 g/cup), plausibly reflecting a lightly-scooped rather than lightly-packed measurement. NOW Foods' current label lists just 0.8 grams per half teaspoon (77 g/cup), less than half the BRM/Anthony's figure. Nutricost, another major supplement brand, carries a similar volume-disclaimer note on their pouches. The physical reason for the density variance is that xanthan gum is a very fine, low-bulk-density powder with an unusually strong tendency to trap and lose air depending on how it is handled. Particle size grading varies between manufacturers, and finer grades pack differently than coarser ones. Xanthan is also hygroscopic, so a bag stored in humid conditions weighs more per volume than the same bag stored dry. On top of the between-brand variance, xanthan gum has severe within-sample measurement variance. A heaping teaspoon can weigh two to three times a leveled teaspoon of the same product from the same bag. Because the powder is so fine and clumpy, most home cooks measure it inconsistently even when trying to be careful. Practical guidance: for typical gluten-free baking use, where the entire recipe calls for 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of xanthan, the density variance rarely matters at the outcome level — even a 100 percent measurement error on 1/4 teaspoon is only about half a gram in one direction or the other. Serious professional or scaled formulations should specify xanthan gum by weight in grams and use a scale accurate to 0.1 gram. The middle of the range around 120-144 g/cup is a defensible fallback for volume-only recipes, but bakers should not expect precise reproducibility between brands. Common substitutes: guar gum works 1:1 by weight with xanthan in most baking applications and has similar density behavior. Psyllium husk powder can substitute at roughly 2:1 (twice the psyllium by weight) and is often preferred for gluten-free bread specifically. ### Zucchini, shredded https://exactcups.com/zucchini-shredded/ Category: Milled powders and grains (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: shredded zucchini, grated zucchini, courgette shredded, shredded courgette, grated courgette. King Arthur: 135.5 g (4.8 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, loosely packed No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 135–135.5 g. Zucchini water content varies substantially by ripeness, size, storage age, and growing conditions, giving a genuine 24% density spread across the range 121-150 g/cup. King Arthur's own chart acknowledges this by publishing the entry as a range (unusual for their chart, which is otherwise dominated by single-figure entries). No single value is defensibly correct across all fresh zucchini. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company – Ingredient Weight Chart: 135.5 g per cup. 1 cup = 4 1/4 to 5 1/4 oz = 121 to 150 g. KA publishes this entry as an explicit range, one of only a handful of range-published entries on their chart (alongside fresh blueberries, sliced rhubarb, and the tropical fruit blend). The range reflects genuine moisture-content variance across zucchini pieces rather than measurement uncertainty. - King Arthur Baking blog – 'Baking with zucchini': 135.5 g per cup. 'Our Ingredient Weight Chart lists 1 cup of zucchini as weighing anywhere between 121 and 150 grams.' KA's baking blog explicitly reinforces the chart range and adds critical operational guidance: bakers should NOT squeeze water from shredded zucchini before adding it to batter or dough, because zucchini quick-bread recipes are formulated to accommodate the water content — squeezing produces overly dry baked goods. - CupOrGram baking conversion database: 135 g per cup. 135 g/cup baseline, with a documented common range of approximately 7% (roughly 125-145 g/cup) accounting for piece size and moisture. Their published value sits at the midpoint of KA's range. - Cups & Grams baking conversion database: 135 g per cup. 135 g/cup, matching CupOrGram's baseline exactly. Aggregator note: shredded zucchini is heavier per cup than all-purpose flour (135 vs 120 g/cup), which surprises many bakers who assume vegetables are 'light.' Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Shredded zucchini weighs 121-150 g/cup depending on the individual zucchini's water content. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart acknowledges this by publishing the entry as an explicit range rather than a single figure, a rare move on their chart. Aggregator sources cluster near the middle at about 135 g/cup. Zucchini is a summer squash with high water content (roughly 94-95% water by weight), and that water content is the source of the density spread. A young, tight-fleshed zucchini right off the plant weighs less per cup shredded than an older, larger zucchini whose flesh has accumulated more water. Storage age matters too — a zucchini that has spent a week in the refrigerator may have lost moisture through the cut ends and skin. All of this variance is real and inherent to the ingredient rather than something the baker can control by technique. King Arthur has this ingredient in their chart at 121-150 g/cup, and unlike many entries where this catalog has corrected KA's figure, no correction is warranted here. KA's range is honest and matches three other aggregator sources that publish a midpoint around 135 g/cup. This is one of the cleaner KA entries — they engaged with the actual product variance rather than picking a defensible-looking single number. Critical operational guidance from King Arthur's baking blog: do NOT squeeze water out of shredded zucchini before adding it to batter. Zucchini quick breads, muffins, and cakes are formulated to absorb the released water during baking — that water is part of the recipe's hydration budget. Squeezing produces overly dry baked goods. This is the opposite of what many bakers instinctively do when they see the wet pile of shreds on the cutting board. The rule holds even when the shredded zucchini has sat for 10 to 20 minutes and pooled water in the bowl; the recipe still wants that water. Measurement guidance: pack shredded zucchini loosely into the measuring cup rather than pressing it down. Pressing compacts the fibers and packs more mass into the cup than the recipe assumes. If the recipe specifies weight in grams, weigh; if it specifies cups, spoon in loosely and level off with a knife or your fingers. Substitutions: shredded yellow summer squash works 1:1 by weight or volume with nearly identical moisture behavior. Grated carrots are the next-closest substitute in quick breads and muffins, though carrots run slightly denser at about 100-110 g/cup and contribute both color and sweetness that zucchini does not — expect the finished bake to be darker and sweeter. Grated apple can substitute in some quick breads but shifts moisture release timing during baking, since apple pieces hold their water longer than zucchini and release it in a burst late in the bake. For volume-only recipes without gram weights, using a mid-range figure around 135 g/cup as a mental default is defensible. For weight-specified recipes, weigh — the specified gram figure is what the recipe developer tested against and is more reliable than any volume estimate. ## Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (14) ### Crumbled Blue Cheese https://exactcups.com/crumbled-blue-cheese/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: blue cheese, blue cheese crumbles, bleu cheese, bleu cheese crumbles, blue cheese crumbled. #### Standard, crumbled, not packed, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 112–135 g. Sources span 112-135 g per cup, a 20.5% gap, over the 10% tolerance. USDA measures a cup of crumbles, not packed, at 135 g; the Treasure Cave, Athenos and Boar's Head labels give 112 g, the same 28 g per quarter cup printed on every crumbled and shredded cheese. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, blue" (FDC 172175): 135 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup crumbled, not packed = 135 g (density 0.571 g/mL) and 1 cubic inch = 17 g. Water 42.4 g per 100 g. - Treasure Cave Crumbled Blue Cheese (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup (28 g), 5 servings per 5-oz container, extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). - Athenos Crumbled Blue Cheese (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 4.5-oz container: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup. - Boar's Head Blue Cheese Crumbles (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Crumbled blue cheese weighs 112 to 135 g per US cup (4 to 4.8 oz). USDA measures a cup of crumbles, explicitly not packed, at 135 g; Treasure Cave, Athenos and Boar's Head label a quarter cup at 28 g, which is 112 g per cup. The 20% gap is over tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Blue cheese is cow's-milk cheese ripened with Penicillium roqueforti, the mould that makes the blue-green veins. It is semi-soft and crumbly, with about 42% water by USDA's figures. It is sold as wedges, which people crumble by hand, and as pre-crumbled tubs. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, blue" (FDC 172175) publishes 1 cup crumbled, not packed, at 135 g, and also gives 1 cubic inch at 17 g. That second figure is the solid cheese with no air at all: 17 g in 16.4 mL is about 1.04 g/mL. So USDA's unpacked cup of crumbles is roughly 55% cheese and 45% air, and the labels' 112 g would be about 46% cheese and 54% air. The labels are the weaker evidence. Every crumbled and shredded cheese tub prints a quarter cup at 28 g, which is the one-ounce serving written as a volume, whether the cheese inside is feta, Swiss or parmesan. USDA's figure comes from measuring a cup of the cheese and says how it was filled, not packed, which is the most specific statement any source makes. USDA's record does not say whether its crumbles came from a wedge or a tub, though, and tub crumbles can be drier and lighter, so the label figure is kept and the range published. Practical guidance: for blue cheese dressing, wedge salads, burgers and buffalo-wing dips, 1/4 cup is 28-34 g and 1/2 cup 56-68 g. A 5-oz tub holds 142 g, which is 1 to 1 1/4 cups. If you crumble a wedge yourself, weigh it: hand-crumbled pieces vary from fine crumbs to marble-sized lumps, and the larger the pieces, the more air each cup holds. This entry's figures are for US cow's-milk blue cheese. Gorgonzola and Roquefort, made from sheep's milk, are blue cheeses too, but they are made differently and have not been measured here, so weigh them rather than borrowing this range. Recipes that specify a weight for blue cheese crumbles are the reliable ones; recipes written in cups were measured by someone filling a cup their own way. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no row for blue cheese, so there is no King Arthur figure to check. The shredded cheese comparison page shows blue cheese beside feta and the shredded cheeses. ### Crumbled Feta Cheese https://exactcups.com/crumbled-feta-cheese/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: feta, feta cheese, crumbled feta, feta crumbles, feta cheese crumbled. King Arthur: 114 g (4 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, crumbled, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 112–150 g. Sources span 112-150 g per cup, a 34% gap, over the 10% tolerance. King Arthur and the Athenos and Président labels put a cup of crumbles at 112-114 g; USDA's crumbled-feta cup is 150 g. Soft crumbles compress easily, so how firmly the cup is filled decides the figure. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, feta" (FDC 173420): 150 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup crumbled = 150 g (density 0.634 g/mL) and 1 wedge (1.33 oz) = 38 g. Water 55.2 g per 100 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 114 g per cup. KA lists "Cheese (Feta)" at 1/2 cup = 2 oz = 57 g, extrapolating to 114 g per cup and density 0.482 g/mL. - Athenos Crumbled Traditional Feta (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 24-oz container: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). - Président Feta Crumbles (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 24-oz container: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup. Same as Athenos. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Crumbled feta weighs 112 to 150 g per US cup (4 to 5.3 oz). King Arthur and the Athenos and Président labels put a cup of crumbles at 112-114 g; USDA's cup of crumbled feta weighs 150 g. The 34% gap comes from how firmly the soft crumbles are pressed into the cup, so this entry publishes the range. Feta is a brined white cheese, traditionally made from sheep's milk or a sheep-and-goat blend in Greece, and often from cow's milk in US stores. It is the wettest cheese in this group: USDA puts it at 55% water, against about 37-41% for cheddar, Jack and Swiss. That moisture makes the crumbles soft and slightly sticky, and soft crumbles change shape under pressure in a way stiff shreds do not. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, feta" (FDC 173420) publishes 1 cup crumbled at 150 g. King Arthur's chart lists "Cheese (Feta)" at 1/2 cup = 2 oz = 57 g, which is 114 g per cup. The Athenos and Président tubs list 1/4 cup at 28 g, which is 112 g per cup. The labels on their own would be weak evidence, since every crumbled and shredded cheese bag prints the same one-ounce serving as 28 g per quarter cup. But King Arthur's 114 g is a separate volume figure that lands in the same place, which supports roughly 112-114 g for crumbles spooned loosely into a cup. USDA's 150 g describes something firmer. Its blue cheese record specifies crumbles "not packed"; its feta record says only "crumbled", and 150 g is what soft crumbles weigh once they are pressed down so the gaps close. Both are real ways people fill a cup, which is why both ends are shown. This is not a King Arthur correction. Their figure is consistent with the labels and with the physics of a loosely filled cup; the disagreement is with USDA, and it is a difference in fill rather than an error. Practical guidance: for Greek salads, spanakopita, grain bowls and baked feta pasta, weigh feta if the recipe gives grams. A 6-oz tub holds 170 g, about 1 1/2 cups loosely spooned or a little over 1 cup pressed. Feta crumbled by hand from a block in brine is wetter and coarser than tub crumbles, so it packs closer to the heavy end of the range. The shredded cheese comparison page shows feta beside blue cheese, the other crumbled cheese, and the shredded cheeses. ### Crumbled Goat Cheese https://exactcups.com/crumbled-goat-cheese/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: goat cheese crumbles, crumbled chèvre, chèvre crumbles, goat cheese crumbled, chevre. #### Standard, crumbled, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 112–140 g. Sources span 112-140 g per cup, a 25% gap, over the 10% tolerance. USDA's FNDDS record gives a crumbled cup at 140 g, using the composition of firmer semisoft goat cheese; the H-E-B and Private Selection labels give 112 g, the 28 g per quarter cup printed on crumbled cheeses. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA FNDDS "Cheese, goat" (FDC 2705716, food code 14104700): 140 g per cup. USDA's survey database publishes 1 cup, crumbled = 140 g (density 0.592 g/mL). Its composition, water 45.5 g, fat 29.8 g, protein 21.6 g per 100 g, is that of semisoft goat cheese. - H-E-B Deli Goat Cheese Crumbles (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup (28 g), about 4 servings per 4-oz cup, extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). - Private Selection Crumbled Goat Cheese (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Ralphs): 1 oz (28 g/1/4 cup), 4 servings per 4-oz pack, extrapolating to 112 g per cup. - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, goat, soft type" (FDC 173435): Weight portion only (1 oz = 28.35 g), no cup figure. Water 60.8 g, fat 21.1 g, protein 18.5 g per 100 g: the composition of fresh, soft chèvre, the cheese sold as crumbles. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Crumbled goat cheese weighs 112 to 140 g per US cup (4 to 4.9 oz). USDA's survey database gives a crumbled cup at 140 g; the H-E-B and Private Selection tubs label a quarter cup at 28 g, which is 112 g per cup. The 25% gap is over the 10% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. The crumbles sold in tubs are fresh goat cheese, chèvre: soft, white, tangy and young, made from goat's milk and sold within weeks. USDA's record for soft goat cheese (FDC 173435) puts it at 61% water and 21% fat, wetter than feta at 55% water and much wetter than the semi-hard shredding cheeses at 37-41%. Aged goat cheeses are firmer and drier: USDA's semisoft goat cheese is 45.5% water. USDA FNDDS "Cheese, goat" (FDC 2705716) lists 1 cup crumbled at 140 g. That record's composition, 45.5% water and 30% fat, matches USDA's semisoft goat cheese, not the soft chèvre in a crumble tub, so the 140 g describes a firmer cheese than most people are measuring. The tubs say 28 g per quarter cup: H-E-B and Kroger's Private Selection both print it, and Publix, Montchevre and others use the same one-ounce serving. Every crumbled and shredded cheese label prints that figure whatever is inside, so it is the serving convention rather than a measurement. Fill pressure explains most of the gap. Solid goat cheese is about as dense as water. Fresh chèvre crumbles are soft and slightly sticky: a loose spoonful leaves them stacked with gaps, about 45% cheese and 55% air at the labels' 112 g, while pressing them into the cup squeezes the gaps out and pushes the cup toward USDA's 140 g, about 57% cheese. Feta (112-150 g) and blue cheese (112-135 g) show the same pattern on this site, with the labels at the loose end and USDA at the packed end. King Arthur's chart has no row for goat cheese. Practical guidance: a 4-oz tub holds 113 g, about 1 cup spooned in loosely. For a salad, sprinkle by eye; for a tart, galette or stuffed chicken where the cheese is part of the structure, weigh it, using 112-115 g for a loosely filled cup and up to 140 g for a firmly pressed one. Crumbling a log at home gives wetter, stickier crumbles that clump and pack toward the high end, so a cup from a log usually weighs more than a cup from a tub. Chilling the log first makes cleaner crumbles that stay loose. The shredded cheese comparison page shows goat cheese beside feta, blue cheese, Cotija and the shredded cheeses. ### Crumbled Queso Fresco https://exactcups.com/crumbled-queso-fresco/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: queso fresco, queso fresco crumbled, Mexican fresh cheese, fresh Mexican crumbling cheese, queso fresco cheese. King Arthur: 114 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, crumbled, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 122 g (4.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 61 g; 1/4 cup = 30.5 g; 1 tbsp = 7.6 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5157 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.86 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, fresh, queso fresco" (FDC 172223): 122 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup, crumbled = 122 g (density 0.516 g/mL). Water 51.4 g, fat 23.8 g, protein 18.1 g per 100 g. Primary anchor. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 114 g per cup. KA lists "Queso fresco" at 1/2 cup = 2 oz = 57 g, extrapolating to 114 g per cup (density 0.482 g/mL). - Azteca Queso Fresco Mexican Crumbling Cheese (producer label): 113.4 g per cup. Label as reproduced by CalorieKing: 1/4 cup (1 oz), extrapolating to 113 g per cup (density 0.479 g/mL); the one-ounce serving written as a quarter cup. - USDA Foundation "Cheese, queso fresco, solid" (FDC 2647442): Laboratory-analysed composition: water 51.4 g, fat 23.4 g, protein 18.9 g per 100 g. No household portion, so no cup figure; it confirms the composition of the SR Legacy record. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Crumbled queso fresco weighs 122 g per US cup (4.3 oz), a density of 0.516 g/mL. USDA's measurement is the anchor, and King Arthur's 57 g per half cup (114 g per cup) and Azteca's quarter cup at one ounce (113 g) sit within the 10% tolerance. Queso fresco, "fresh cheese", is a soft, mild, slightly salty Mexican cow's-milk cheese, pressed but not aged. It crumbles rather than melts, which makes it the cheese scattered over tacos, enchiladas, beans, elote and salads. It is sold as rounds and blocks that are crumbled by hand, and sometimes pre-crumbled. USDA puts it at 51% water and 24% fat, moister than Cotija at 38% water and close to feta at 55%. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, fresh, queso fresco" (FDC 172223) lists 1 cup crumbled at 122 g. USDA's newer Foundation record for solid queso fresco (FDC 2647442) has no household portion but analyses the same cheese, 51.4% water and 23% fat. King Arthur's chart lists queso fresco at 1/2 cup = 2 oz = 57 g, 114 g per cup, 7% below USDA and within tolerance, so King Arthur's figure is supporting evidence here rather than a correction. Most queso fresco labels give the serving by weight only, 1 oz, because the cheese is sold in rounds; Azteca's crumbling cheese writes that ounce as a quarter cup, the one-ounce convention that US labels print on shredded and crumbled cheeses. The physical check matches the other crumbled cheeses. Solid queso fresco is about as dense as water, so a cup at 0.516 g/mL is about half cheese and half air. That puts it where its texture says it should be: heavier than shredded cheddar (113 g), because its soft, moist crumbles settle into each other, and lighter than firmly packed feta (up to 150 g). Grated Cotija, drier but finer, weighs 120 g per cup. Fill pressure moves the figure, as it does for feta and blue cheese. A loosely spooned cup of large crumbles sits near King Arthur's 114 g; a cup of small crumbles pressed down passes USDA's 122 g. Crumbling a cold round with your fingers gives irregular lumps; crumbling it with a fork gives finer pieces that pack tighter. Practical guidance: a 10-oz round holds 283 g, about 2 1/3 cups crumbled; a 12-oz round 340 g, about 2 3/4 cups. For tacos, 2 tablespoons is about 15 g; for a tray of enchiladas, 1/2 cup is 61 g. When a recipe gives queso fresco in ounces, 4 oz crumbles to about 1 cup. Because queso fresco is a fresh cheese with a lot of water, it weeps if it sits crumbled, so crumble it just before using. The shredded cheese comparison page shows queso fresco beside Cotija, feta, goat and blue cheese and the shredded cheeses. ### Grated Cotija Cheese https://exactcups.com/grated-cotija-cheese/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: Cotija, queso Cotija, Cotija cheese, crumbled Cotija, queso Cotija grated. #### Standard, grated, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 120 g (4.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 60 g; 1/4 cup = 30 g; 1 tbsp = 7.5 g; 1 tsp = 2.5 g (0.5072 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.89 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, mexican, queso cotija" (FDC 170898): 120 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 2 tsp = 5 g, extrapolating to 120 g per US cup (density 0.507 g/mL). Water 38.0 g, fat 30.0 g, protein 20.0 g per 100 g. Primary anchor; a 5 g portion is rounded to the whole gram, so the extrapolation carries about 10% either way. - Cacique Queso Cotija Grated Cheese (producer label): 120 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Kroger), 7-oz pack: 2 tsp (5 g), 40 servings per pack, extrapolating to 120 g per cup. Same figure as USDA. - Talavera Cotija Artisan Mexican Cheese, grated (producer label): 112 g per cup. Distributor sell sheet: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL); the one-ounce serving written as a quarter cup. - USDA Foundation "Cheese, cotija, solid" (FDC 2647443): Laboratory-analysed composition: water 40.0 g, fat 27.2 g, protein 23.8 g per 100 g. No household portion, so no cup figure; it confirms the composition of the SR Legacy record. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Grated Cotija weighs about 120 g per US cup (4.2 oz), or 5 g per 2 teaspoons, a density of 0.507 g/mL. USDA and the Cacique label both give 2 teaspoons as 5 g; Talavera's quarter cup at 28 g (112 g per cup) sits inside the 10% tolerance. Cotija is a salty, crumbly Mexican cow's-milk cheese named after the town of Cotija in Michoacán. The traditional aged cheese is hard enough to grate like parmesan; the Cotija sold in US supermarkets is younger and moister, and it breaks into soft, damp crumbs rather than dry flakes. It is the cheese scattered over elote, tacos, refried beans, enchiladas and salads, and it is sold grated in bags and shakers or as blocks and wedges that people crumble by hand. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, mexican, queso cotija" (FDC 170898) gives 2 teaspoons at 5 g, with 38% water, 30% fat and 20% protein. USDA's newer Foundation record for solid Cotija (FDC 2647443) has no household portion but analyses almost the same cheese, 40% water and 27% fat. Cacique's grated Cotija, the biggest US brand, labels 2 teaspoons at 5 g, 40 servings in a 7-oz pack. Talavera's grated Cotija labels a quarter cup at 28 g, which is the one-ounce serving written as a volume. The figure is a small spoonful scaled up 48 times, which is why confidence is medium. A 5 g portion is rounded to the nearest gram, so the true figure behind it could be anywhere from 4.5 to 5.5 g, which is 108 to 132 g per cup. The label at 112 g falls inside that window, so nothing contradicts 120 g, but no source has weighed a whole cup. The physical check is a comparison with parmesan. USDA and King Arthur put grated parmesan at 100 g per cup; parmesan is about 25% water, hard and dry, and its grated flakes are stiff and springy, so they hold air. Cotija is half as wet again, softer and more crumbly, and its grated crumbs are small, slightly damp and give under a spoon, so they pack a little tighter. Solid cheese is about as dense as water, so a cup at 0.507 g/mL is about half cheese and half air, slightly more cheese than a cup of grated parmesan and slightly more than a cup of shredded cheddar, which is what softer, finer crumbs predict. Crumbled Cotija from a block is a different product: coarser, irregular lumps that settle around each other. USDA has no crumbled figure for Cotija. Its record for queso añejo, a related aged Mexican cheese with almost the same composition, lists 1 cup crumbled at 132 g, so hand-crumbled Cotija probably weighs more per cup than grated, but that is another cheese's measurement and is not published here. Practical guidance: for elote, 2 tablespoons is 15 g and 1/4 cup 30 g; for a tray of enchiladas, 1/2 cup is 60 g. A 7-oz bag is 198 g, about 1 2/3 cups. Cotija is salty, so when substituting feta or parmesan, weigh it. ### Grated Parmesan Cheese https://exactcups.com/grated-parmesan-cheese/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: parmesan, parmesan cheese, grated parmesan, grated parmesan cheese, parmigiano reggiano, parmigiano-reggiano, grated parmigiano, hard grating cheese. King Arthur: 100 g (3.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, grated, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 85–120 g. Genuine 41% spread across grate size and product form. Grate technique dominates: ATK measures 85 g/cup on medium box grater and 113 g/cup on coarse box grater from the same 1-ounce sample. USDA and King Arthur converge exactly at 100 g/cup for typical medium grate. Shelf-stable shaker canisters (Kraft-style, cellulose-added) reach 112-120 g/cup. No single figure represents all common forms. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, parmesan, grated" (FDC 171247): 100 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 01032, now FDC 171247) publishes 1 cup grated = 100 g, corresponding to density 0.423 g/mL. Central reference figure, matches King Arthur exactly. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 100 g per cup. KA lists Cheese (grated Parmesan) at 1/2 cup = 1 3/4 oz = 50 g, extrapolating to 100 g per US cup and density 0.423 g/mL. Exact convergence with USDA SR — not a correction target. - America's Test Kitchen Grating Cheese Weight and Volume Chart (medium box grater): 85 g per cup. ATK/Cook's Illustrated publishes grate-size-specific measurements for hard cheeses: grated medium on box grater, 1 ounce hard cheese = 1/3 cup, extrapolating to 85 g per US cup and density 0.359 g/mL. Anchor low. - America's Test Kitchen Grating Cheese Weight and Volume Chart (coarse box grater): 113 g per cup. Same ATK chart: grated coarse on box grater, 1 ounce hard cheese = 1/4 cup, extrapolating to 113 g per US cup and density 0.478 g/mL. Larger particle size with more inter-shred void space than medium grate. - aqua-calc branded record UPC 085239311776 (Archer Farms Grated Parmesan): 112 g per cup. Target/Archer Farms shaker canister with powdered cellulose anti-caking agent: nutrition label 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g per US cup and density 0.473 g/mL. Matches ATK coarse box grater figure closely. - aqua-calc branded record UPC 656133345039 (Grated Parmesan Cheese): 120 g per cup. Dense shaker-style branded record: 127 g per metric cup, equivalent to 120 g per US cup (4.2 oz/US cup) and density 0.507 g/mL. Anchor high. Represents machine-grated shelf-stable product with fine uniform particle size and cellulose additive. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Cup weight of grated parmesan is dominated by grate size, not by the cheese itself: America's Test Kitchen measures the same 1 ounce of parmesan filling 1/4 cup coarse to 1/2 cup fine — a 2x spread from technique alone. Standard grated parmesan (USDA and King Arthur reference) is 100 g per US cup, and the practical range across common home graters and shelf-stable shakers is 85-120 g/cup. Parmesan (properly Parmigiano-Reggiano DOP, or generic "hard grating cheese") is a hard aged Italian cheese with low moisture content around 30% and a dense granular texture from long aging (12-36 months). Its cup density in grated form is dominated by air space between shreds and particles, which is set by grate size and technique — not by the cheese itself, which has a solid density near 1.1 g/mL. America's Test Kitchen quantified the grate-size effect directly: the same 1 ounce of hard cheese fills 1/2 cup grated fine on a rasp-style Microplane (implying approximately 57 g per US cup), 1/3 cup grated medium on a box grater (approximately 85 g per US cup), and 1/4 cup grated coarse on a box grater (approximately 113 g per US cup). USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, parmesan, grated" (FDC 171247, formerly NDB 01032) publishes 1 cup grated = 100 g, density 0.423 g/mL. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists grated Parmesan at 1/2 cup = 1 3/4 oz = 50 g, extrapolating to 100 g per cup — a rare exact convergence with USDA. The USDA/KA figure corresponds to a typical medium-to-fine box grater output. Shelf-stable shaker canister parmesan (Kraft green can, Archer Farms/Target, Berkley & Jensen, Great Value) sits at the top of the practical range: 28 g per 1/4 cup on most labels, extrapolating to 112 g/cup, with denser branded records reaching 120 g/cup. This is not the cheese itself being denser — it is the fine, uniform machine grind combined with added powdered cellulose (an anti-caking agent, typically 2-4% by weight) that fills cup void space more completely than any hand-grated home output. For validation and internal consistency, this entry withholds a single figure and publishes the observed range 85-120 g/cup. The 41% spread across grate sizes and product types exceeds the 10% cheese-category tolerance because grate technique is the dominant variance driver, not measurement uncertainty. The USDA and King Arthur convergence at 100 g/cup represents a reasonable central default for recipes that just say "grated" without specifying technique. Practical guidance: for baking accuracy, weigh grated parmesan rather than measure by volume. If cups are all that is available and the recipe simply says "grated parmesan," use ~100 g/cup as a working estimate. Recipes calling specifically for "finely grated" (Microplane) can be roughly 40% lighter per cup at ~55-60 g; recipes assuming shaker canister input can be 15-20% heavier per cup at ~115-120 g. In practice, most cooked applications (pasta finishing, gratins, breading) are forgiving to the point that grate variance rarely breaks a dish; baking applications (parmesan biscuits, savory shortbreads, cheese crackers) benefit most from weighing. King Arthur is not a correction target here — the KA figure at 100 g/cup converges exactly with USDA. The wide range reflects grate-size variance that no source can collapse into a single number. Companion cheese entries (shredded cheddar, shredded mozzarella) will follow this pattern where grate/shred form drives the density variance more than the cheese identity does. ### Shredded Cheddar Cheese https://exactcups.com/shredded-cheddar-cheese/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: cheddar, shredded cheddar, shredded cheddar cheese, grated cheddar, cheddar cheese shredded, finely shredded cheddar. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, shredded, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 113 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56.5 g; 1/4 cup = 28.2 g; 1 tbsp = 7.1 g; 1 tsp = 2.4 g (0.4776 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.01 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, cheddar" (FDC 173414): 113 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (FDC 173414) publishes 1 cup shredded = 113 g, corresponding to density 0.478 g/mL. Primary anchor. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 113 g per cup. KA lists Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss) at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, density 0.478 g/mL. Exact convergence with USDA. KA groups semi-hard cheeses at one density, implying they measured them as behaving identically when shredded. - Kraft Natural Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label shows 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g/cup and density 0.473 g/mL. FDA convention treats 28 g as the standard 1-oz serving. Matches USDA within rounding. - Great Value Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar (producer label): 112 g per cup. Walmart house brand: 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g/cup (density 0.473 g/mL). Matches Kraft exactly. - Giant Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar (producer label): 112 g per cup. East Coast grocery house brand: 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g/cup (density 0.473 g/mL). Contains potato starch and tapioca starch anti-caking blend. Same figure as Kraft and Great Value. - ChefSolver measured density (USDA-sourced): 114 g per cup. ChefSolver publishes shredded cheddar at 0.48 g/mL, equivalent to 114 g per US cup. Reference base is USDA FoodData Central. Confirms the retail label figures within 1 g/cup. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Shredded cheddar packs at 113 g per US cup with unusually strong convergence — USDA, King Arthur, and every major producer label (Kraft, Great Value, Kroger, Giant, American Heritage, Fresh & Easy) all report the same figure within 1-2 g/cup. Cheddar is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese with moisture around 37% and solid density near 1.08 g/mL. Shredded on a standard box grater or machine-shredded for retail bags, its cup density is dominated by air space between shreds. Unlike parmesan (which spans 57-120 g/cup across grate techniques from Microplane fine to shaker canister), shredded cheddar shows exceptionally tight cross-source agreement. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, cheddar" (FDC 173414) publishes 1 cup shredded = 113 g, density 0.478 g/mL. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists "Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss)" at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, converging exactly with USDA. Every major producer label examined reports 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g/cup. ChefSolver's measured density (0.48 g/mL) gives 114 g/cup. This is a rare case of textbook cross-source convergence — the range across USDA, KA, and every retail producer label is 112-114 g/cup (1.8% spread). The uniformity reflects two factors specific to shredded cheddar. First, cheddar is too soft to Microplane productively (it clogs the fine holes and warms), so essentially all "shredded" cheddar comes from a box grater or a commercial machine shred, both producing similarly-sized 1-2 mm ribbons. Second, retail pre-shredded cheddar dominates the US market, and pre-shredded bags are the reference for most home cooking; FDA nutrition-label convention treats 28 g as the standard 1-oz serving with an implied 1/4-cup volume, which becomes self-reinforcing across brands. The one deliberate distinction worth noting is "finely shredded" versus "standard shred" packaging. Kraft, Great Value, and Kroger all sell both formats and label them identically at 28 g per 1/4 cup — the finely-shredded product uses smaller-gauge dies but the additional cellulose or potato starch anti-caking agent (2-4% by weight in nearly all pre-shredded bags) roughly compensates for the tighter particle packing. Home-shredded cheddar (freshly grated from a block on a home box grater) typically shows the same 110-115 g/cup range without the anti-caking additive. For validation and internal consistency, this entry publishes 113 g/cup as a high-confidence single figure. USDA, King Arthur, and multi-producer convergence within 2% supports this position without a range publish. Practical guidance: for cheese-heavy dishes (macaroni and cheese, quesadillas, cheese biscuits, quiche), 1 cup shredded cheddar equals roughly 4 oz or 113 g — the labels are correct, no correction needed. When a recipe calls for a specific weight of cheddar without specifying shredded or block, weigh from the block; shredded cheese weighs less per cup than block cheese by roughly 2.5x because shredding introduces air (ChefSolver measures block cheddar at approximately 265 g/cup versus shredded at 113). For very fine microplaned cheddar (uncommon in home practice), the same technique that reduces parmesan to 57 g/cup applies, but cheddar's softness makes this technique rare. King Arthur is not a correction target here — the KA figure at 113 g/cup converges exactly with USDA. The convergence across USDA, KA, and all retail producer labels represents a rare consensus benchmark. ### Shredded Gruyère Cheese https://exactcups.com/shredded-gruyere/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: Gruyère, shredded Gruyere, Gruyere cheese, grated Gruyère, Le Gruyère, Gruyère AOP. #### Standard, shredded, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 108 g (3.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 54 g; 1/4 cup = 27 g; 1 tbsp = 6.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4565 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.10 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, gruyere" (FDC 171242): 108 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup shredded = 108 g (density 0.457 g/mL) and 1 cup diced = 132 g. Water 33.2 g, fat 32.3 g, protein 29.8 g per 100 g. Primary anchor. - Murray's Gruyere Shredded Cheese (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition labels, 3.5-oz and 4-oz packs: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). The one-ounce serving written as a quarter cup. - Emmi Le Gruyère Shredded (producer label): Retail nutrition label, 3.5-oz pack: serving 1 oz (28 g) by weight only, with no volume, so it gives no cup figure. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Shredded Gruyère weighs 108 g per US cup (3.8 oz), a density of 0.457 g/mL. USDA's measurement is the anchor; the Murray's labels give 112 g, within tolerance, so this is a single figure at medium confidence. Gruyère is a hard Alpine cow's-milk cheese from western Switzerland, protected there as Le Gruyère AOP, and also made in France and, under the generic name, in the United States. It is aged for at least five months and often more than a year, which drives water out: USDA puts it at 33% water, against about 37% for cheddar and 41% for Monterey Jack, with 32% fat and 30% protein. It is the classic cheese for French onion soup, gratins, croque monsieur and fondue. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, gruyere" (FDC 171242) publishes 1 cup shredded at 108 g and 1 cup diced at 132 g. Murray's shredded Gruyère, in 3.5-oz and 4-oz packs, labels a quarter cup at 28 g, which is 112 g per cup. That 28 g is the one-ounce serving written as a quarter cup, printed on shredded cheeses whatever their real weight, so it supports USDA here without deciding anything. Emmi's shredded Le Gruyère gives its serving by weight only, 1 oz, with no volume. King Arthur's chart has no Gruyère row. Its grouped figure for "grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss" is 113 g, and the shredded Swiss entry on this site, at 108 g from USDA, already shows that the drier Alpine cheeses come in a few grams lighter than cheddar and Jack. Gruyère lands on exactly the same figure as Swiss. Why lighter? Solid Gruyère is about as dense as water, so the difference is in how the shreds stack, not in the cheese. A drier, firmer cheese makes stiffer shreds that hold their shape and bridge across each other, leaving more air in the cup; softer, moister cheeses such as Jack slump into the gaps. USDA's diced figure is the control: cubes of Gruyère weigh 132 g per cup, the same as USDA's cubes of Swiss and Monterey Jack, because cubes pack the same way whatever the cheese. Only the shredded figure moves, and only by a few percent. Practical guidance: a 3.5-oz bag is 99 g, a little under 1 cup; a 4-oz bag is 113 g, just over. For French onion soup, 1/2 cup is 54 g; for a gratin calling for 2 cups, use 216 g. Gruyère shreds cleanly on a box grater. Grated finely on a rasp it fluffs up and a cup weighs much less, so weigh it for fondue and soufflés, where the amount of cheese sets the texture. The shredded cheese comparison page shows Gruyère beside Swiss, cheddar, Jack and the other shredded and crumbled cheeses. ### Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese https://exactcups.com/shredded-mexican-blend/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: Mexican blend cheese, Mexican cheese blend, Mexican four cheese blend, 4 cheese Mexican, Mexican style shredded cheese, taco cheese. #### Standard, shredded, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 112 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56 g; 1/4 cup = 28 g; 1 tbsp = 7 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4734 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.02 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, Mexican blend" (FDC 171288): 112 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1/4 cup shredded = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g per US cup (density 0.473 g/mL); it lists no cup portion. Water 40.5 g, fat 32.1 g, protein 23.5 g per 100 g. - USDA FNDDS "Cheese, Mexican blend, reduced fat" (food code 14120020): 113 g per cup. USDA's survey database publishes 1 cup, shredded = 113 g (density 0.478 g/mL) for the reduced-fat version of the blend. - Sargento Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican, Traditional Cut (producer label): 112 g per cup. Brand site: 1/4 cup (28 g), 8 servings per 8-oz bag, extrapolating to 112 g per cup. Sargento's fine-cut 8-oz bag is described as 2 cups, the same arithmetic. - Tillamook Farmstyle Mexican 4 Cheese (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail label (Giant): 1/4 cup, 8 servings per 8-oz bag; Tillamook's own site gives the serving as 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g per cup. - Land O Lakes Mexican Blend Farmstyle Cut (producer label): 112 g per cup. Brand site: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Shredded Mexican blend cheese weighs 112 g per US cup (4 oz), a density of 0.473 g/mL. USDA's record gives a quarter cup at 28 g, its reduced-fat record gives a cup at 113 g, and the Sargento, Tillamook and Land O Lakes bags all label a quarter cup at 28 g. Mexican blend is a bag of mixed shreds sold for tacos, enchiladas, nachos and quesadillas. The four-cheese versions usually combine Monterey Jack and mild cheddar with two Mexican-style melting cheeses, queso quesadilla and asadero; three-cheese and "taco" blends drop one or add seasoning. USDA's record puts the mix at 40.5% water and 32% fat, between cheddar and Monterey Jack, which is what a blend led by those two cheeses should be. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, Mexican blend" (FDC 171288) lists one household portion, 1/4 cup shredded at 28 g, which is 112 g per cup. Its FNDDS survey record for the reduced-fat blend (food code 14120020) lists 1 cup shredded at 113 g. Sargento's traditional-cut and fine-cut bags, Tillamook's farmstyle bag and Land O Lakes all print 1/4 cup at 28 g. Sargento describes its 8-oz fine-cut bag as 2 cups and its 16-oz bag as 4 cups, which is the same quarter-cup arithmetic. That agreement is weaker evidence than it looks. 28 g per quarter cup is the one-ounce serving that US labels print on every shredded cheese, and USDA's quarter-cup portion for this blend looks like the same convention. Taken alone it would not decide a figure, which is why confidence is medium rather than high. The physical check comes from the cheeses in the bag. USDA weighed cups of shredded Monterey Jack and shredded cheddar directly, and both came out at 113 g. Those two cheeses make up most of every blend, and the Mexican melting cheeses mixed in are soft, semi-moist cheeses of the same kind, so the blend should land at 112-113 g per cup, which is exactly where every source puts it. King Arthur's chart has no row for blends; its grouped row for cheddar and Jack is 113 g. Fine cut and traditional cut carry the same label figure, and USDA's reduced-fat cup, from a moister cheese at 48% water, lands at 113 g too, so neither the cut nor the fat level makes a measurable difference in these sources. Practical guidance: an 8-oz bag is 227 g, 2 cups; a 16-oz bag about 4 cups. For a taco, 2 tablespoons is 14 g; for a pan of enchiladas calling for 2 cups, use 224 g; for nachos, 1 cup is 112 g. When a recipe gives the cheese in ounces, 4 oz of shredded blend fills about 1 cup. The shredded cheese comparison page shows Mexican blend beside the cheeses it is made from and the other shredded and crumbled cheeses. ### Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese https://exactcups.com/shredded-monterey-jack/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: Monterey Jack, shredded Monterey Jack, Jack cheese, shredded Jack cheese, grated Monterey Jack. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, shredded, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 113 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56.5 g; 1/4 cup = 28.2 g; 1 tbsp = 7.1 g; 1 tsp = 2.4 g (0.4776 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.01 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, monterey" (FDC 170844): 113 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup shredded = 113 g (density 0.478 g/mL) and 1 cup diced = 132 g. Water 41.0 g per 100 g. Primary anchor. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 113 g per cup. KA lists "Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss)" at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, density 0.478 g/mL, one figure for four cheeses. - Sargento Shredded Monterey Jack (producer label): 112 g per cup. Brand nutrition panel: 1/4 cup (28 g), 8 servings per 8-oz bag, extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). - Kroger Shredded Monterey Jack (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup (28 g), 8 servings per 8-oz bag, extrapolating to 112 g per cup. Same as Sargento. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Shredded Monterey Jack weighs 113 g per US cup (4 oz), a density of 0.478 g/mL, exactly the same as shredded cheddar. USDA, King Arthur and the Sargento and Kroger labels agree within 1 g per cup, so this is a high-confidence single figure. Monterey Jack is a mild, semi-soft American cow's-milk cheese, a little moister than cheddar: USDA puts it at 41% water against about 37% for cheddar. It melts smoothly, which is why it is a common base of taco and Mexican-style shredded blends, and it shreds into soft ribbons on a box grater or a commercial shredder. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, monterey" (FDC 170844) publishes 1 cup shredded at 113 g and 1 cup diced at 132 g. King Arthur's chart lists "Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss)" at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, matching USDA exactly for Jack. The Sargento and Kroger bags both list 1/4 cup at 28 g, which works out to 112 g per cup. A cup of shredded cheese measures mostly air. The cheese itself is about as dense as water, but shreds stack loosely, so a cup holds less than half a cup's worth of solid cheese. USDA's two portions show how much the shape matters: the same cheese diced into cubes weighs 132 g per cup, about 17% more than shredded, because cubes pack with fewer gaps than tangled ribbons. King Arthur groups four cheeses at one figure. For Jack and cheddar that grouping is right; for Swiss it is close (USDA measures 108 g, within tolerance); for low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, the standard pizza cheese, it is about 30% too heavy, as the shredded mozzarella entry explains. The 28 g per quarter cup on the bags is the label's one-ounce serving written as a volume; here it happens to agree with USDA's measurement, which is not true for every cheese. Practical guidance: an 8-oz bag holds 227 g, almost exactly 2 cups. For quesadillas, enchiladas, nachos and casseroles, 1/2 cup is 56.5 g and 1/4 cup 28 g. Pepper Jack is Monterey Jack with flecks of chili, a trace ingredient by weight, so it should shred to the same figure. If you shred a block yourself on a box grater, expect the same 110-115 g per cup; a fine grater makes lighter, fluffier shreds and a lighter cup. The shredded cheese comparison page shows Jack beside cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss, parmesan, feta and blue cheese, from the lightest to the heaviest cup. ### Shredded Mozzarella Cheese https://exactcups.com/shredded-mozzarella/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, shredded mozzarella cheese, low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, LMPS mozzarella, pizza cheese, shredded mozz, grated mozzarella. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, shredded, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 86–113 g. Genuine 31% spread reflects real variance between low-moisture part-skim (LMPS) and whole milk mozzarella. USDA measures LMPS shreds at 86 g/cup and whole milk shreds at 112 g/cup. Retail labels all report FDA convention 28g per 1/4 cup (implying 112 g/cup) regardless of variety inside. King Arthur groups mozzarella with cheddar/jack/swiss at 113 g/cup, accurate for whole milk mozz but overstates LMPS by 30%. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, mozzarella, low moisture, part-skim, shredded" (FDC 170900): 86 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup shredded LMPS mozzarella = 86 g, corresponding to density 0.363 g/mL. LMPS is the standard US retail pizza cheese. Anchor low. Physically consistent with LMPS's drier and stringier shreds packing with more air space than whole milk mozz. - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, mozzarella, whole milk" (FDC 170845): 112 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella = 112 g, density 0.473 g/mL. Higher fat and moisture make shreds tackier and denser-packed than LMPS. Genuinely distinct product from LMPS despite sharing the mozzarella name. - ChefSolver measured density: 111 g per cup. ChefSolver publishes shredded mozzarella at 0.47 g/mL, equivalent to 111 g per US cup. Reference base is USDA FoodData Central. Aligns with whole milk mozz measurement rather than LMPS. - Sargento Shredded Low Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g/cup and density 0.473 g/mL. Contains potato starch, powdered cellulose, and natamycin anti-caking blend. Label follows FDA convention 1 oz = 1/4 cup regardless of actual measured density; USDA's directly-measured LMPS figure is 30% lower. - Great Value Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella (producer label): 112 g per cup. Walmart house brand LMPS shredded: 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g/cup. Same FDA-convention serving figure as Sargento, Wegmans, Happy Farms, Lidl, and Kraft. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 113 g per cup. KA lists Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss) at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, density 0.478 g/mL. A partial correction, for a scope error: KA generalizes a shredded semi-hard cheese density that fits cheddar (USDA 113, matches) and whole milk mozz (USDA 112, matches) but overstates LMPS shredded mozzarella (USDA 86) by 30%. LMPS is the dominant retail form in US kitchens, so KA's grouped figure is misleading for the most common use case. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Shredded mozzarella cup weight depends on which variety and how it is measured. USDA measures low-moisture part-skim (LMPS) shreds at 86 g/cup and whole milk shreds at 112 g/cup — a 30% gap. Retail bags predominantly contain LMPS (pizza cheese) but their nutrition labels report the FDA convention of 28g per 1/4 cup, implying 112 g/cup density regardless of variety. Mozzarella (Italian mozzare, to cut) is a soft cow's-milk or water-buffalo cheese made by the pasta filata process — stretching and kneading fresh curds in hot water. Three retail forms differ substantially in composition and behavior. Fresh mozzarella (packed in water or brine, ~52% moisture) is very soft and rarely shredded. Low-moisture part-skim (LMPS) is the standard pizza cheese in US retail, made from partially skimmed milk and dried to ~48% moisture, firm enough to shred cleanly on a box grater or commercial machine. Whole milk mozzarella (low-moisture) has higher fat, moderate firmness, and is common in premium shredded blends. USDA SR Legacy publishes distinct records for both retail-shred forms. "Cheese, mozzarella, low moisture, part-skim, shredded" (FDC 170900) shows 1 cup shredded = 86 g, density 0.363 g/mL. "Cheese, mozzarella, whole milk" (FDC 170845) shows 1 cup shredded = 112 g, density 0.473 g/mL. The 30% density gap reflects physical differences: LMPS shreds are drier and stringier, packing with substantially more air space than whole-milk shreds which are moister and tackier. Retail producer labels all report the FDA nutrition-label convention: 1 oz = 28 g = 1/4 cup, which extrapolates to 112 g/cup. This figure holds regardless of whether the product inside is LMPS, whole milk, or a blend — Sargento LMPS, Great Value LMPS, Wegmans LMPS, Happy Farms LMPS, Lidl LMPS, Kraft LMPS, and Costco LMPS all use this exact serving convention. Whether this reflects real packed-cup density or a legal serving-size approximation is not documented publicly. Home cooks measuring 1 cup of LMPS shreds by loose scooping typically get closer to 85-90 g, matching USDA's laboratory measurement. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart groups mozzarella with cheddar, jack, and Swiss at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g. This figure is accurate for cheddar (USDA agrees at 113) and whole milk mozzarella (USDA at 112) but overstates LMPS shredded mozzarella by 30%. It is a scope error — KA generalizes a shredded semi-hard cheese density that fits some cheeses and not others. For validation and internal consistency, this entry withholds a single figure and publishes the observed range 86-112 g/cup. The 31% spread reflects real variance between LMPS and whole milk shredded mozzarella, both sold under the shredded mozzarella name. Practical guidance: for pizza applications (topping, blends, calzones, stuffed crust), the LMPS density of ~86 g/cup is closest to reality — retail pizza cheese behaves this way. For baking and pasta applications where whole milk mozzarella is preferred (lasagna, baked ziti, fresh pizza on artisan crusts), the whole milk density of ~112 g/cup applies. When a recipe simply says "shredded mozzarella" without specifying, LMPS is the default in US kitchens; use ~90 g/cup as a working estimate. When comparing to shredded cheddar cheese entry (113 g/cup, high-confidence single figure), note that mozzarella is genuinely lighter per cup due to moisture and fat differences that affect shred packing behavior. ### Shredded Parmesan Cheese https://exactcups.com/shredded-parmesan-cheese/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: shredded parmesan, parmesan shreds, shredded parmigiano, shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano, parmesan shredded. #### Standard, shredded, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 80–112 g. Sources split 80-112 g per cup, a 40% gap, far over the 10% tolerance. USDA and the brands that label by the tablespoon give 80 g; the brands that label by the quarter cup give 112 g, the same 28 g they print for every cheese. No single figure is published. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, parmesan, shredded" (FDC 173431): 80 g per cup. USDA Standard Release lists 1 tbsp = 5 g (no cup portion), extrapolating to 80 g per cup and density 0.338 g/mL. Water 25.0 g per 100 g. - Private Selection Shredded Parmesan (producer label): 80 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1 tbsp (5 g), extrapolating to 80 g per cup. Matches USDA. - H-E-B Copper Kettle Shredded Parmesan (producer label): 80 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1 Tbsp (5 g), about 28 servings per 5-oz bag, extrapolating to 80 g per cup. Matches USDA. - Sargento Shredded Parmesan (producer label): 112 g per cup. Brand nutrition panel: 1/4 cup (28 g), 5 servings per bag, extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). - Kraft Shredded Parmesan (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 5-oz and finely shredded 6-oz bags: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup. - Tillamook Shredded Parmesan (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup (28 g), 5 servings per 5.5-oz bag, extrapolating to 112 g per cup. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Shredded parmesan weighs 80 to 112 g per US cup (2.8 to 4 oz). USDA and the brands that label by the tablespoon put it at 80 g; the brands that label by the quarter cup put it at 112 g. The gap is 40%, far over tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than picking one. Shredded parmesan is a different product from grated parmesan, which has its own entry. Shreds are short, stiff strands cut on a shredder; grated parmesan is a fine, sandy powder. Parmesan is a hard aged cheese with only about 25% water, so its shreds are stiff and do not compact: they bridge across each other and leave a lot of air in the cup, more than the softer shreds of cheddar or Jack. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, parmesan, shredded" (FDC 173431) has no cup portion, only 1 tablespoon at 5 g, which is 80 g per cup. Two store-brand labels, Kroger's Private Selection and H-E-B's Copper Kettle, list the same 1 tablespoon at 5 g. Sargento, Kraft and Tillamook list 1/4 cup at 28 g instead, which is 112 g per cup. The two groups are not measuring the same thing. Every shredded-cheese bag that labels by the quarter cup prints 28 g, whether the cheese is feta at 55% water or parmesan at 25%, because 28 g is the one-ounce serving written as a volume. The tablespoon labels are smaller servings that match USDA's measurement exactly. The physics favours the lower figure too: stiff, dry shreds should fill a cup more loosely than cheddar does, and cheddar is 113 g. Following this site's precedent for labels of this kind, both groups are recorded and the range is published, but for a loosely filled cup 80 g is the better working figure. King Arthur's chart has a row for grated parmesan only, 1/2 cup = 50 g, which belongs to the grated product and is not used here. America's Test Kitchen's grating chart makes the same point from the other side: one ounce of hard cheese fills anything from a quarter cup to half a cup depending on the grater, so cut and shred size decide the weight more than the cheese does. Practical guidance: a 5-oz bag holds 142 g, somewhere between 1 1/4 and 1 3/4 cups depending on which figure your bag follows. For pasta, salads and gratins, weigh it: 1/2 cup is 40-56 g. When a recipe written by weight calls for 50 g of parmesan, shredded and grated cheese are interchangeable by weight but not by volume. The shredded cheese comparison page shows shredded and grated parmesan side by side with the softer cheeses. ### Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese https://exactcups.com/shredded-pepper-jack/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: pepper Jack, shredded pepper Jack, pepper Jack cheese, jalapeño Jack, hot pepper Jack. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, shredded, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 113 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56.5 g; 1/4 cup = 28.2 g; 1 tbsp = 7.1 g; 1 tsp = 2.4 g (0.4776 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.01 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, monterey" (FDC 170844), the base cheese: 113 g per cup. USDA has no pepper Jack record. Its record for the base cheese, Monterey Jack, publishes 1 cup shredded = 113 g (density 0.478 g/mL) and 1 cup diced = 132 g. Water 41.0 g, fat 30.3 g per 100 g. Pepper Jack is Monterey Jack with chopped chili, a trace by weight. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 113 g per cup. KA lists "Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss)" at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, density 0.478 g/mL, one figure for four cheeses including Jack. - Kraft Natural Cheese Pepper Jack Shredded (producer label): 112 g per cup. Brand nutrition panel, 8-oz bag: 1/4 cup (28 g), extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). - H-E-B Organics Pepper Jack Shredded Cheese (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup (28 g), 6 servings per 6-oz bag, extrapolating to 112 g per cup. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Shredded pepper Jack weighs 113 g per US cup (4 oz), a density of 0.478 g/mL, the same as shredded Monterey Jack. King Arthur gives 113 g for shredded Jack, USDA measures 113 g for the base cheese, and the Kraft and H-E-B bags label a quarter cup at 28 g, which is 112 g per cup. Pepper Jack is Monterey Jack with chopped chili peppers, usually jalapeño, sometimes habanero or red pepper flakes, stirred into the curd before it is pressed. The peppers are a small fraction of the cheese by weight, so the cheese around them has Monterey Jack's make-up: USDA puts Monterey at 41% water and 30% fat, a little moister than cheddar. It is mild, semi-soft and melts smoothly, which makes it a common choice for quesadillas, nachos, burgers and spicy macaroni and cheese. USDA FoodData Central has no record for pepper Jack. Its record for the base cheese, SR Legacy "Cheese, monterey" (FDC 170844), publishes 1 cup shredded at 113 g and 1 cup diced at 132 g. King Arthur's chart lists "Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss)" at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g. For Jack that figure matches USDA exactly, and this entry publishes it. Confidence is medium rather than high because no source has weighed a cup of the pepper version itself. The bags agree within a gram. Kraft and H-E-B both print a quarter cup at 28 g, which works out to 112 g per cup. That 28 g is the one-ounce serving that US labels write as a quarter cup on every shredded cheese, whatever it really weighs, so it is not a measurement. It lines up here only because Jack genuinely weighs about 112-113 g per cup. The physical check is simple. Solid cheese is about as dense as water, close to 1 g/mL. A cup of shreds at 0.478 g/mL is therefore a little under half cheese and a little over half air. The chili flecks do not change that: they are small soft pieces spread through the cheese, not something that changes how the shreds stack. USDA's diced Monterey Jack, at 132 g per cup, shows the other side of the same rule: cubes pack with fewer gaps than tangled shreds, so the same cheese weighs about 17% more per cup when diced. Practical guidance: an 8-oz bag is 227 g, almost exactly 2 cups. For a quesadilla, 1/4 cup is 28 g; for a pan of nachos or a casserole topping, 1 cup is 113 g and 1/2 cup 56.5 g. Shreds from the fine side of a box grater are fluffier and settle less, so a home-shredded cup can come out lighter than a bagged one; weigh when the amount of cheese sets the texture, as in a cheese sauce. The shredded cheese comparison page shows pepper Jack beside Monterey Jack, cheddar, Swiss, Gruyère and the other shredded and crumbled cheeses. ### Shredded Swiss Cheese https://exactcups.com/shredded-swiss-cheese/ Category: Shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: Swiss cheese, shredded Swiss, grated Swiss, Swiss cheese shredded, shredded Emmental. King Arthur: 113 g (4 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, shredded, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 108 g (3.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 54 g; 1/4 cup = 27 g; 1 tbsp = 6.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4565 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.10 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, swiss" (FDC 171251): 108 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup shredded = 108 g (density 0.457 g/mL), 1 cup diced = 132 g and 1 cup melted = 244 g. Water 37.6 g per 100 g. Primary anchor. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 113 g per cup. KA lists "Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss)" at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, density 0.478 g/mL, one figure for four cheeses. - Sargento Shredded Swiss (producer label): 112 g per cup. Brand nutrition panel: 1/4 cup (28 g), 5 servings per 5-oz bag, extrapolating to 112 g per cup (density 0.473 g/mL). - Kroger Shredded Swiss (producer label): 112 g per cup. Retail nutrition label: 1/4 cup (28 g), 6 servings per 6-oz bag, extrapolating to 112 g per cup. Same as Sargento. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Shredded Swiss cheese weighs 108 g per US cup (3.8 oz), a density of 0.457 g/mL, by USDA's measurement. King Arthur and the Sargento and Kroger labels put it at 112-113 g, within the 10% tolerance, so USDA's figure is published, at medium confidence because it is the only true measurement among the four. Swiss cheese here means the mild, holey Emmental-style cheese sold sliced and shredded in US stores. It is firm and elastic, and slightly drier than cheddar or Monterey Jack: USDA puts it at 37.6% water against Jack's 41%. USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, swiss" (FDC 171251) publishes 1 cup shredded at 108 g, 1 cup diced at 132 g and 1 cup melted at 244 g. The melted figure is the useful one for physics: with the air gone, Swiss cheese is about 1.03 g/mL, so a cup of shreds at 0.457 g/mL is roughly 44% cheese and 56% air. King Arthur's chart lists "Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss)" at 113 g per cup, and the Sargento and Kroger bags list 1/4 cup at 28 g, or 112 g per cup. Why Swiss comes out a little lighter than cheddar and Jack (113 g): its drier, more elastic shreds hold their shape and settle less in the cup, so more of the cup stays air. The 4-5 g difference is real but small, inside the 10% tolerance for shredded cheeses, so King Arthur's grouped figure is close enough here and is not rejected. That is not true for every cheese in King Arthur's group: low-moisture part-skim mozzarella measures about 30% lighter than the grouped 113 g. The labels' 28 g per quarter cup is the one-ounce serving written as a volume, the same on Swiss, cheddar, feta and parmesan bags alike, so it is a weak measurement. USDA's 108 g is the figure taken from an actual cup of shredded Swiss, which is why it is the one published. Practical guidance: a 6-oz bag holds 170 g, about 1 1/2 cups, and an 8-oz bag 227 g, about 2 cups. For quiche, Reuben sandwiches, gratins and fondue-style dips, 1/2 cup is 54 g and 1/4 cup 27 g. Shredding a block at home on a box grater gives about the same figure; for fondue, where the cheese is melted anyway, weigh it, since 1 cup of shreds melts down to less than half a cup. The shredded cheese comparison page shows Swiss beside cheddar, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, parmesan, feta and blue cheese. ## Spices and dried aromatics (21) ### Cayenne Pepper (Ground) https://exactcups.com/cayenne-pepper/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: cayenne pepper, cayenne, ground cayenne, ground cayenne pepper, cayenne powder, ground red pepper. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 84.8–100.9 g. USDA SR Legacy (84.8 g/cup) and an independent foodservice cup measurement (100.9 g/cup) differ by 19.0%, beyond the 10% spice tolerance. Product identity varies: commercial cayenne may blend several hot pepper varieties and may or may not include seeds. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Spices, pepper, red or cayenne (FDC 170932): 84.8 g per cup. Portion weights of 1.8 g per teaspoon and 5.3 g per tablespoon. Tablespoon basis x16 = 84.8 g/cup (range minimum); teaspoon basis x48 = 86.4 g/cup. - Chef's Resources dry spice conversion table: 100.9 g per cup. Foodservice table measured across several vendors: cayenne 3.56 oz per cup = 100.9 g/cup (range maximum); tablespoon (4.50 per oz) and teaspoon (13.50 per oz) columns agree. The page's prose rule of 0.45 tsp per gram works out to 107 g/cup. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: A US cup of ground cayenne pepper weighs between 85 and 101 grams, and ExactCups publishes that range rather than a single figure because USDA's reference weight and an independent foodservice measurement differ by 19%, beyond the 10% tolerance held for spices. Cayenne is a hot variety of Capsicum annuum, the same species as paprika, typically rated around 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units. The ground spice sold as cayenne is less uniform than the name suggests. Commercial cayenne powder may be a blend of several hot pepper varieties, sometimes containing little actual cayenne, and it may be milled with or without the seeds. USDA's own record reflects this, cataloguing the spice as red or cayenne pepper rather than as a single cultivar. In US recipes, ground red pepper and cayenne are used interchangeably. USDA's SR Legacy record lists 5.3 grams per tablespoon and 1.8 grams per teaspoon, which scale to 85 and 86 grams per cup. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors lists cayenne at 3.56 ounces per cup, or 101 grams, with its tablespoon and teaspoon columns agreeing. The same page's rule of thumb of 0.45 teaspoons per gram works out to 107, slightly above its own table. The variation in product identity is the most plausible driver of the spread. USDA composition shows about 17% fat, noticeably more than paprika's 13%. Pepper seeds are oil-rich, so a high fat figure is consistent with seeds milled into the powder, and a powder with seeds is a different particle mix from one milled from pod walls alone. Neither source states whether its product included seeds, which is why the range is published rather than resolved. Three nearby products are easy to confuse with cayenne and measure very differently. Crushed red pepper flakes are coarse pieces of dried pod and seed; the same foodservice table puts them at about 80 grams per cup, lighter because irregular flakes trap air. Chili powder is a blend of ground chiles with cumin, garlic, and oregano, measured in that table at about 107 grams per cup, and it is far milder. Paprika is the same species milled from sweeter, thinner-fleshed varieties and weighs about 109 grams per cup. None of these substitutes for cayenne by volume without changing both heat and weight. In practice, a teaspoon of ground cayenne weighs 1.8 to 2.1 grams and a tablespoon 5.3 to 6.3 grams. Most recipes use cayenne by the pinch or quarter teaspoon, where heat varies from jar to jar far more than weight does, so taste as you go rather than relying on the figure. For hot sauces, rubs, and spice blends made in quantity, weigh it. Spoon it into the measure and level without pressing, avoid breathing the dust, and keep the jar tightly closed. ### Chinese Five-Spice Powder https://exactcups.com/chinese-five-spice/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: Chinese 5 spice, 5 spice powder, five spice powder, five-spice blend, wu xiang fen, wuxiangfen. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 76.7–115.5 g. Chinese five-spice is a family of blends rather than one recipe. Composition varies across brands: pepper choice (Sichuan, white, or black), cinnamon proportion, and optional aromatics (ginger, licorice root, orange peel) each shift the weight of a cup by 10-15 g. Published brand-specific USDA Branded Foods records span 77 to 116 g per US cup, a 50 percent spread over the 10 percent spice tolerance. Sources: - Chef's Resources — Dry Spice Yields chart: 106.6 g per cup. Table lists Chinese 5 Spice at 3.76 oz/cup (106.6 g/US cup, density 0.4505 g/mL). Same row values as Chili Powder in the same table, which is a red flag for a placeholder rather than a specific measurement of five-spice; kept here as a mid-range reference but treated with corresponding caution. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Asian Gourmet Chinese Five Spice Powder: 76.7 g per cup. UPC 076606526039. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 81 g per metric cup (77 g per US cup, density 0.3240 g/mL). Lightest source in the observed range, likely a Sichuan-pepper-heavy or coarser-ground formulation. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Dynasty Five Spices Powder: 95.6 g per cup. UPC 011152030234. Ingredient panel: cinnamon, star anise, fennel, ginger, cloves, white pepper, and licorice root — a seven-ingredient formulation sold as five-spice. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 101 g per metric cup (96 g per US cup, density 0.4040 g/mL). - USDA FoodData Central Branded — The Spice Hunter Chinese Five Spice Blend: 115.5 g per cup. UPC 081057012208. Ingredient panel: star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, black pepper — the classic five-ingredient recipe with black pepper substituted for Sichuan. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 122 g per metric cup (116 g per US cup, density 0.4880 g/mL). Heaviest source, consistent with a black-pepper-inclusive formula. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Chinese five-spice powder does not have a single density. Published brands span roughly 77 to 116 g per US cup because "five-spice" is a category of blends rather than one recipe: pepper choice (Sichuan, white, black), cinnamon proportion, and optional aromatics (ginger, licorice root, orange peel) each shift the weight of a cup by 10-15 g. Five-spice is a traditional Chinese seasoning built around five (or more) ground aromatics, historically tied to the five elements of Chinese cosmology. The canonical composition is star anise, cloves, cassia cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seed, but commercial blends adjust this freely. The Spice Hunter (UPC 081057012208) substitutes black pepper for Sichuan. Frontier Co-op uses white pepper. Dynasty (UPC 011152030234) adds ginger and licorice root to a seven-ingredient formulation still labeled five-spice. Badia includes ginger without licorice. House blends from Chinese specialty shops sometimes add dried orange peel or galangal. Each of these is legitimately sold as Chinese five-spice; none is the reference formula, because no reference formula exists. The density spread across brands is real product variance, not a measurement artifact. USDA Branded Foods records surface figures ranging from 77 g per cup (Asian Gourmet) to 116 g per cup (The Spice Hunter). Chef's Resources publishes a generic 106.6 g per cup that sits mid-range, but that value appears in their table with the same row numbers as Chili Powder, which is enough of a placeholder signal that it is best treated as an approximate mid-range reference rather than an independent measurement of five-spice specifically. Dynasty's 96 g per cup sits in the middle. Total range is 50 percent wide, well beyond the 10 percent tolerance held for the spice category. The physical driver is the pepper. Sichuan pepper is unusually light, around 57 g per cup ground, because the outer husk carries volatile oils and structural air pockets — the same structure that produces its numbing flavor makes it a low-density powder. White pepper and black pepper are much heavier, roughly 117 and 120 g per cup. A five-spice blend using a fifth of its mass as Sichuan pepper packs 8 to 10 g lighter per cup than an otherwise identical blend built on black or white pepper. Cinnamon share matters too: cassia-heavy blends gain weight (ground cinnamon runs about 128 g per cup), and licorice root and ginger, both dense powders, add mass to extended formulations. Grind coarseness overlays a further 5 to 10 percent variation, since finer grinds pack tighter and eliminate the air pockets between larger particles. Because the range is genuine variance across products marketed under the same name, this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. For recipes where five-spice is a background note in a sauce or braise, volume measurement is fine because the flavor tolerates the difference. For recipes where five-spice is a featured ingredient — five-spice ribs, red-cooked pork, five-spice shortbread — weigh the spice on a gram scale and note which brand you used, so a repeat bake starts from the same actual quantity rather than the same nominal one. The FDA does not define five-spice's identity and no producer body has published a canonical ratio. That freedom is a feature for cooks but a challenge for weight tables, which is why the range is published here rather than a picked-and-defended single figure. ### Garlic Powder https://exactcups.com/garlic-powder/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: garlic powder, powdered garlic, dried garlic powder, dehydrated garlic powder, ground garlic. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 127.3–155.2 g. USDA SR Legacy (155.2 g/cup) and a foodservice direct cup measurement (127.3 g/cup) differ by 21.9%, exceeding the 10% spice tolerance. The spread tracks grind: products sold as garlic powder range from fine dust to near-granulated, and the coarser grind packs heavier. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Spices, garlic powder (FDC 171325): 155.2 g per cup. Portion weights of 3.1 g per teaspoon and 9.7 g per tablespoon. Tablespoon basis x16 = 155.2 g/cup; teaspoon basis x48 = 148.8 g/cup. Tablespoon figure used as range maximum. Grind not specified. - Chef's Resources dry spice conversion table: 127.3 g per cup. Foodservice table measured across several vendors: garlic powder 4.49 oz per cup = 127.3 g/cup (10.70 tsp per oz, consistent). Same table lists granulated garlic at 5.65 oz per cup = 160.2 g/cup. The page's prose section gives 0.40 tsp/g (120 g/cup) for garlic powder; the direct cup measurement is used as range minimum. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: A US cup of garlic powder weighs between 127 and 155 grams, and ExactCups publishes that range because the two credible measurements disagree by 22%, and the disagreement tracks a real product confusion: what is sold as garlic powder runs from a fine, flour-like dust to something close to granulated garlic. Garlic powder is dehydrated garlic cloves milled to a powder. The spice trade sells dried garlic by grind, with powder the finest, granulated garlic coarser, and minced or chopped garlic coarser still. Retail labels blur the first two, and some store brands describe their garlic powder as granulated. Because a shopper cannot reliably tell which grind is in the jar, this entry covers everything sold under the garlic powder name. The data splits along that line. USDA's SR Legacy record lists 9.7 grams per tablespoon and 3.1 grams per teaspoon, which scale to 155 and 149 grams per cup. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors puts garlic powder at 4.49 ounces per cup, or 127 grams, and granulated garlic at 5.65 ounces, or 160 grams. The USDA figure sits much closer to foodservice granulated than to foodservice powder. USDA does not specify grind, so the most plausible reading is that its sample sat at the coarse end of what is sold as powder. The same foodservice page gives a slightly lower 120 grams per cup in its prose section; the table's direct cup measurement is used here. The physics explains the direction of the split. Garlic powder is almost fat-free, under 1% fat against roughly 73% carbohydrate and 17% protein by USDA composition. Without the oily film that makes paprika tacky, particle size governs how it packs, and the finer grind is the lighter one. Fine powders are cohesive: particles cling, bridge, and trap air as they are spooned. Coarser granules flow freely and settle into a tighter bed. That is why granulated garlic measures about a quarter heavier per cup than garlic powder in the same foodservice table. Garlic powder also clumps readily once opened in a humid kitchen, and clumps spoon unevenly. Within the spice family it sits at the heavy end, well above paprika and ground nutmeg and overlapping the upper ranges of ground cloves and black pepper. In practice, a teaspoon of garlic powder weighs 2.6 to 3.2 grams and a tablespoon 8.0 to 9.7 grams. For seasoning a dish that difference rarely matters. It does matter when swapping between powder and granulated garlic. Both are the same dehydrated garlic, so equal grams deliver equal garlic; by volume, use about four-fifths as much granulated as the powder a recipe calls for. McCormick's own guidance is a quarter teaspoon of garlic powder per fresh clove. For dry rubs and seasoning blends made in quantity, weigh it. Spoon it into the measure and level without pressing, break up clumps first, and keep the jar tightly closed. ### Granulated Garlic https://exactcups.com/granulated-garlic/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: garlic granules, dried granulated garlic, granular garlic, garlic, granulated. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 160.2–226.2 g. Granulated garlic is a size class rather than a specification. Each producer sets its own grind coarseness between garlic powder (finer) and dried garlic flakes (coarser), and moisture content varies with the dryer method. Published measurements of pure granulated garlic products span 160 to 227 g per US cup, a 42 percent spread that exceeds the 10 percent spice tolerance. Sources: - Chef's Resources — Dry Spice Yields chart: 160.2 g per cup. Table lists Granulated Garlic at 5.65 oz/cup (160.2 g/US cup, density 0.6772 g/mL). Pairs on the same table with Garlic Powder at 4.49 oz/cup (127.2 g/US cup), a 26 percent density lift for the coarser cut. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Morton & Bassett Granulated Garlic: 192.1 g per cup. UPC 016291441729. Filed as granulated garlic; some retailer listings for this UPC describe a garlic-plus-parsley variant, but the USDA Branded record and Morton & Bassett's own product listing treat it as granulated garlic. Label-derived; aqua-calc computes 203 g per metric cup (193 g per US cup, density 0.8120 g/mL). - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Premium 100% Pure Spices Granulated Garlic: 226.2 g per cup. UPC 026164001400. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 239 g per metric cup (227 g per US cup, density 0.9560 g/mL). Heaviest source in the observed range, consistent with a fine-cut or lower-moisture product. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Granulated Garlic UPC 714444002031: 48.3 g per cup. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 51 g per metric cup (48 g per US cup, density 0.204 g/mL). Rejected as physically implausible for a dried, ground spice — likely either a sub-gram teaspoon serving-size labelling artifact or a mislabelled fresh product. REJECTED: Density 0.204 g/mL is physically implausible for a dried, ground spice; likely a sub-gram serving-size labelling artifact or a mislabelled fresh product. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/granulated-garlic-48-grams/ - USDA FoodData Central Branded — 100% Organic Granulated Garlic with Parsley (Morton & Bassett): 153.3 g per cup. UPC 016291442726. Explicitly a garlic-plus-parsley blend, not a pure granulated-garlic measurement. Label-derived; aqua-calc computes 162 g per metric cup (153 g per US cup, density 0.6480 g/mL). Included here for provenance. REJECTED: Product is a garlic-plus-parsley blend rather than pure granulated garlic; the added herb changes the composition and the density does not describe the ingredient this entry covers. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/granulated-garlic-153-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Granulated garlic does not have a single density. Published brands span roughly 160 to 227 g per US cup, because "granulated" describes a size class between powder and flakes rather than a fixed grind, and each producer cuts to its own spec. Granulated garlic is dried garlic ground to particles coarser than garlic powder but finer than dried garlic flakes or minced garlic. Every commercial brand agrees on that general position but disagrees on where within it their product sits. McCormick describes their granulated garlic as "coarser than garlic powder" without a specific mesh size. The Spice House sells granulated garlic alongside a distinct garlic powder without publishing dimensions for either. USDA does not define a standard grind, and no producer body has published a canonical particle-size range. The result is that different brands' granulated garlic vary by grind more than they vary between the two nominal size classes. Density follows grind. USDA Branded Foods records for pure granulated garlic products range from 160 g per US cup (Chef's Resources reference figure) to 227 g per US cup (Premium 100% Pure Spices, UPC 026164001400), a 42 percent spread. Chef's Resources publishes the finer end. Morton & Bassett's granulated garlic (UPC 016291441729) sits in the middle at 193 g per US cup. All three are legitimate measurements of a product sold as granulated garlic; none is wrong. Two other USDA Branded records were rejected here: UPC 714444002031 at 48 g per US cup is too light for any dried ground spice and is either a sub-gram serving-size labelling artifact or a mislabelled fresh product, and UPC 016291442726 is a garlic-plus-parsley blend, so its 153 g per US cup does not describe pure granulated garlic. Counterintuitively, granulated garlic tends to pack heavier per cup than garlic powder despite having larger particles. Chef's Resources illustrates this in the same table: garlic powder 127 g per cup, granulated garlic 160 g per cup — a 26 percent lift for the coarser cut. The physical driver is cohesion. Fine garlic powder is highly cohesive because dried garlic contains residual sulfur compounds and starch that make small particles cling and bridge, trapping air across the sides of a measuring cup. Coarser granules do not cling to each other as strongly and fall through the gaps more efficiently. The same pattern shows up with onion powder versus granulated onion, and to a smaller degree with paprika at different mill settings. Moisture content adds a further 5 to 8 percent variation between drier and less-dry batches. This entry pairs with garlic powder (127 to 155 g per US cup in the same database) as a documented disambiguation: the two ingredients are related, sold side by side in most supermarket aisles, and pack at meaningfully different densities in the direction opposite to what particle-size intuition suggests. The physical relationship (granulated heavier than powder) is consistent across every source that lists both. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list either granulated garlic or garlic powder — only fresh forms (peeled and sliced, minced, whole heads). No correction to make there; the chart is silent. For recipes where granulated garlic is a background note in a rub or marinade, volume measurement carries the recipe fine. For recipes where the exact amount matters, weigh the spice and record which brand was used, so a repeat bake starts from the same actual quantity rather than the same nominal one. ### Ground Allspice https://exactcups.com/ground-allspice/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: allspice, allspice powder, powdered allspice, ground pimento, Jamaica pepper ground, myrtle pepper ground, pimenta. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 96–116 g. Ground allspice shows a ~20% spread from 96 g/cup (USDA laboratory loose-fill) to 116 g/cup (Roundy's retail brand), driven by grind particle size and jar settling over shelf life. Not driven by varietal or origin split — allspice is one species (Pimenta dioica) with Jamaica-dominant supply — but retail brand density is a real market data point that a single-figure publish would obscure. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Spices, allspice, ground (FDC 171315): 96 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy entry (NDB 2001, FDC 171315) lists 1 tablespoon = 6 g and 1 teaspoon = 1.9 g, both consistent with approximately 96 g per US cup (6 × 16 tbsp/cup, 1.9 × 48 tsp/cup = 91.2 g/cup — the tsp portion is slightly lighter due to rounding). Represents laboratory-standardised loose fill and is the anchor low end of the published range. - FreeFoodTips ingredient reference: 96.5 g per cup. Reports 102 g per metric cup (250 mL) = 96.5 g per US cup, with 6.09 g per tablespoon and 2.03 g per teaspoon. Essentially identical to USDA anchor — independent validation of the low-end cluster. - CooksInfo kitchen reference: 102 g per cup. Reports 1/4 pound (115 g) ground allspice = 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (approximately 1.125 US cup), extrapolating to 102 g per US cup. Also lists 1 teaspoon = 2 g and 5 whole berries = 1 teaspoon ground. Represents general kitchen working reference. - Chefs-Resources professional kitchen conversion chart: 107 g per cup. Categorises ground allspice as a medium-density spice at 0.45 teaspoons per gram, which extrapolates to 107 g per US cup (48 tsp/cup ÷ 0.45 tsp/g). Represents professional kitchen line-cook working density from settled commercial jars — an 11% step up from the USDA anchor. - Roundy's Ground Allspice (USDA branded via aqua-calc, UPC 011150949729): 116 g per cup. Reports 122 g per metric cup (4.1 oz per US cup = 116 g/cup) for Roundy's ground allspice, a Kroger-affiliate house brand. Represents a specific retail brand's grind-and-fill combination at the top of the observed range — real market data, likely from a coarser grind or denser settled fill. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish a per-cup, per-tablespoon, or per-teaspoon weight for ground allspice in their Ingredient Weight Chart. KA's recipes specify allspice only by volume (typically 1/4 to 1/2 tsp for spice cakes and gingerbread). No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of ground allspice weighs 96 to 116 g depending on grind fineness and retail brand — USDA's reference is 96 g/cup (6 g per tablespoon, 1.9 g per teaspoon).** King Arthur does not publish a per-cup weight for allspice, and there is no cassia-vs-Ceylon-style origin split to complicate matters: this is one species (*Pimenta dioica*) with mostly Jamaican origin. The 20% spread reflects grind particle size and jar settling, not fundamental varietal variance. Allspice is the dried unripe berry of *Pimenta dioica*, an evergreen tree native to Jamaica, Cuba, and Central America — not a blend of other spices, despite the English-language name. English colonists who first traded it in the 1600s thought the flavour resembled a mix of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and the name stuck. In reality it is a single berry containing its own aromatic compound profile, dominated by eugenol at 60-80% of the essential oil — the same compound that makes cloves smell like cloves. Jamaica supplies the majority of the world's commercial allspice; Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico produce smaller quantities of a variant with slightly less eugenol and more pinene, giving a subtly greener, more resinous flavour. Older synonyms include Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, and pimento (unrelated to the pimiento pepper of Spanish cuisine — a persistent grocery-store confusion). The density data converges tightly at the USDA-anchor end and spreads on the retail-brand end. USDA FoodData Central FDC 171315 lists 6 g per tablespoon and 1.9 g per teaspoon, extrapolating to 96 g per US cup. FreeFoodTips independently reports 6.09 g per tablespoon (96.5 g/US cup) — essentially identical. Chefs-Resources' professional kitchen chart categorises allspice as a medium-density spice at 0.45 teaspoons per gram, which extrapolates to 107 g per US cup, an 11% step up from the USDA anchor reflecting settled jar density in commercial kitchens. Aqua-calc's USDA-branded entry for Roundy's ground allspice (a Kroger-affiliate house brand, UPC 011150949729) reports 122 g per metric cup (116 g per US cup), representing a specific retail brand's grind-and-fill combination at the top of the observed range. That is a 20% spread from USDA's laboratory loose-fill to Roundy's settled retail — over ExactCups' 10% milled tolerance, and honestly published as a range. The physical density check validates cluster placement. Ground allspice is 72% carbohydrate (mostly fibre), 9% fat, 6% protein, and 9% water. Its low fat content — roughly four times less than ground nutmeg's 36% — means less oil coating on particles and less clumping, keeping density lower than the oil-dominated spices. In the ExactCups milled category, ground allspice (96-116 g/cup) sits between ground ginger (80-104 g/cup, similar composition, slightly lower fat) and ground nutmeg (112 g/cup, oil-dominated), and well below ground cinnamon's upper cassia range (154 g/cup) and ground turmeric (144 g/cup). Ground cloves — chemically the closest cousin to allspice because both are eugenol-dominated — pack noticeably denser at roughly 137 g/cup due to higher volatile oil content in the clove bud. Whole allspice berries are worth the shelf space for bakers who care. Five berries yield approximately 1 teaspoon of freshly ground allspice; one tablespoon of whole berries yields approximately 3¼ teaspoons ground. Whole berries retain the volatile eugenol for years in an airtight jar, while pre-ground allspice loses 30-50% of its aromatic intensity within six months of milling regardless of packaging. If a recipe calls for ground and the jar smells faintly of nothing, the powder is functionally spent regardless of what it weighs on the scale. Practical baker recommendation: use USDA's 6 g per tablespoon or 1.9 g per teaspoon for weighed baking; expect 96-107 g per cup from freshly milled loose fill and up to 116 g/cup from settled retail jars. When substituting whole berries, allow 5 berries per teaspoon of ground and grind them fresh with a microplane, mortar and pestle, or spice mill immediately before use. ### Ground Black Pepper https://exactcups.com/black-pepper-ground/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: ground black pepper, black pepper powder, ground pepper, fine ground black pepper, table grind black pepper, black pepper ground. #### Standard, spooned and leveled (table grind) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 111–134 g. Ground black pepper shows a ~21% spread from 111 g/cup (USDA table-grind laboratory fill) to 134 g/cup (settled retail brands, fine and coarse both observed at this density due to jar-settling dominance). Grind coarseness (fine vs table vs coarse vs cracked) is a first-order density variable for pepper in a way it is not for softer spices — freshly-milled coarse grinds pack noticeably lighter than settled fine-grind commercial jars. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Spices, pepper, black (FDC 170931): 112 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy entry (NDB 2030, FDC 170931) lists 1 tablespoon ground = 7 g and 1 teaspoon ground = 2.3 g, both consistent with approximately 112 g per US cup (7 × 16 tbsp/cup, 2.3 × 48 tsp/cup = 110.4 g/cup — the tsp portion is slightly lighter due to rounding). Represents standard table-grind laboratory fill and anchors the low end of the published range. - FreeFoodTips ingredient reference: 111 g per cup. Reports 117 g per metric cup (250 mL) = 111 g per US cup, with 6.99 g per tablespoon and 2.33 g per teaspoon. Essentially identical to USDA — validates the table-grind anchor. - Chefs-Resources professional kitchen conversion chart: 120 g per cup. Categorises ground black pepper as a medium-density spice at 0.40 teaspoons per gram, which extrapolates to 120 g per US cup (48 tsp/cup ÷ 0.40 tsp/g). Explicitly notes that coarse-ground pepper is lighter per gram than fine-ground: 'If you switch suppliers or grind in-house, verify your conversions still hold.' Represents settled commercial jar density for standard table grind. - ChefSolver (finely-ground reference): 127.8 g per cup. Publishes 0.54 g/mL density for finely-ground black pepper, which extrapolates to 128 g per US cup (2.7 g per teaspoon). Notes: 'Freshly ground pepper is coarser and less dense, typically weighing 10-20% less per teaspoon than finely pre-ground powder. Add 10-15% to table values if your grind is noticeably coarser.' Represents the fine-grind end of the market. - Ground Black Pepper UPC 078742230320 (aqua-calc branded, fine): 134 g per cup. Reports 142 g per metric cup (4.7 oz per US cup = 134 g/cup) for a specific fine-ground commercial retail brand. Represents settled retail jar density at the high end of the observed range. - Coarse Ground Black Pepper UPC 016291441378 (aqua-calc branded): 134 g per cup. Reports 142 g per metric cup (4.7 oz per US cup = 134 g/cup) for a specific coarse-ground commercial retail brand — notably the same density as the fine-ground UPC 078742230320. Suggests that shelf-life settling in retail jars dominates over grind coarseness for the final measured density in fully-settled commercial packaging. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish a per-cup, per-tablespoon, or per-teaspoon weight for ground black pepper in their Ingredient Weight Chart. KA's recipes specify pepper only by volume (typically 1/4 to 1/2 tsp for savoury dishes and gingerbread with pepper). No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of ground black pepper weighs 111 to 134 g depending on grind coarseness and how settled the jar is — USDA's reference for table grind is 112 g/cup (7 g per tablespoon, 2.3 g per teaspoon).** King Arthur does not publish a per-cup weight for black pepper, leaving no anchor to correct against. The 21% spread is driven by fine-vs-coarse grind differences and jar-settling over shelf life — grind size matters here more than for any other spice in the ExactCups catalogue. Ground black pepper is the dried unripe green berry of *Piper nigrum*, a climbing vine native to the Malabar Coast of southwest India. The green drupes are picked before ripening, briefly blanched in hot water to rupture cell walls, then sun-dried for several days until the outer skin oxidises to the familiar wrinkled black exterior. Commercial supply today comes primarily from Vietnam (the world's largest producer), India, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, with Malabar and Tellicherry grades from India commanding premium prices for their higher piperine content and larger berry size. The active alkaloid is piperine at 5-9% by weight, responsible for pepper's pungency; the volatile oil (1-3%) carries the aromatic top notes that dissipate within days of grinding. The density spread is driven by grind coarseness in a way that doesn't apply to softer spices. USDA FoodData Central FDC 170931 lists 7 g per tablespoon and 2.3 g per teaspoon for standard table grind, extrapolating to 112 g per US cup. FreeFoodTips independently reports 6.99 g per tablespoon (111 g/US cup) — essentially identical to USDA. Chefs-Resources' professional kitchen chart lands at 120 g/cup for standard commercial ground pepper and notes explicitly that coarse-ground pepper is lighter per gram than fine-ground. ChefSolver publishes 0.54 g/mL (128 g/cup) as the density for finely-ground pepper specifically, and recommends adding 10-15% to their table values for coarser grinds. Aqua-calc's USDA-branded entries for two specific retail brands — one fine (UPC 078742230320) and one coarse (UPC 016291441378) — both report 142 g per metric cup (134 g per US cup), suggesting that shelf-life settling in commercial jars dominates over the initial grind coarseness for final measured density. That is a 21% spread from USDA's table-grind laboratory fill to fully-settled retail — over ExactCups' 10% milled tolerance and honestly published as a range. The physical density check validates cluster placement. Black pepper is 64% carbohydrate (fibre-dominant from the hard woody peppercorn outer layer), 10% protein, 3% fat, 12% water, and 4% ash. The fat content is low, but the woody peppercorn structure grinds to a denser fine powder than plant-material spices at similar composition. In the ExactCups milled category, ground black pepper (111-134 g/cup) sits denser than fibrous ground ginger (80-104 g/cup, similar low-fat composition), overlaps ground allspice (96-116 g/cup) and ground nutmeg (112 g/cup) at the low end, and approaches ground turmeric (144 g/cup, waxy) at the fine-grind upper bound. Grind coarseness is the practical variable to name. Fine grind (extra-fine, powder) is the densest at 128-134 g/cup and disperses most evenly through dry rubs and sauces; it also releases piperine and volatile oils fastest, going stale within 3-4 months of milling. Table grind (medium, the McCormick standard shaker fill) sits at 112-120 g/cup and is the reference for most recipes. Coarse grind (cracked pepper, mignonette) is roughly 10-15% lighter than table grind — approximately 100-105 g/cup freshly milled — and preserves pungency longest because less surface area is exposed to air. Freshly-ground pepper from a mill sits at the coarse-to-medium end; pre-ground shaker pepper is invariably at the fine end after any shelf time. Practical cook recommendation: for weighed cooking, use USDA's 7 g per tablespoon or 2.3 g per teaspoon for table grind, and expect 111-120 g per cup from freshly milled to lightly-settled fill and up to 134 g/cup from a well-settled retail jar of pre-ground fine pepper. For steak rubs, brines, and anything where pepper drives the flavour intensity, grind whole peppercorns fresh — the piperine loss in pre-ground pepper is measurable within weeks, and no weight adjustment on the scale compensates for the lost aromatic complexity. ### Ground Cardamom https://exactcups.com/ground-cardamom/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: ground cardamom, cardamom, cardamom powder, green cardamom powder, powdered cardamom, elaichi powder, ground green cardamom. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 92.8 g (3.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 46.4 g; 1/4 cup = 23.2 g; 1 tbsp = 5.8 g; 1 tsp = 1.9 g (0.3922 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.44 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Spices, cardamom (FDC 170919): 92.8 g per cup. Portion weights of 2 g per teaspoon ground and 5.8 g per tablespoon ground. Tablespoon basis x16 = 92.8 g/cup (published figure); teaspoon basis x48 = 96 g/cup, higher from whole-gram rounding on the teaspoon portion. - Chef's Resources dry spice conversion table: 93.8 g per cup. Foodservice table measured across several vendors: ground cardamom 3.31 oz per cup = 93.8 g/cup; tablespoon (4.80 per oz) and teaspoon (14.50 per oz) columns agree. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: A US cup of ground cardamom weighs 93 grams, a figure on which USDA's reference weight and an independent foodservice measurement agree within about 1%. Ground cardamom is milled from the small black seeds inside the pods of green cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum. White cardamom is the same species with the pods bleached. Black cardamom is a different plant, Amomum subulatum, with a smoky, camphor-like flavor that belongs in savory cooking; it is not a substitute in cardamom buns, chai, or custards. Lower-priced ground cardamom is sometimes milled from whole pods with the husk included, which lowers both quality and price. This entry covers ground green cardamom as sold in jars. USDA's SR Legacy record lists 5.8 grams per tablespoon of ground cardamom, which scales to 92.8 grams per cup. Its teaspoon figure of 2 grams scales to 96, but that portion is rounded to the whole gram, so the tablespoon basis is used. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors lists ground cardamom at 3.31 ounces per cup, or 93.8 grams, with its tablespoon and teaspoon columns agreeing. Two independent methods land within a gram of each other. Physically, cardamom sits at the light end of the warm baking spices, below paprika and ground nutmeg and close to pumpkin pie spice. At about 7% fat by USDA composition, it carries roughly half the fat of paprika, so its particles are less tacky and it spoons more consistently. Its character comes from volatile oils such as cineole and terpinyl acetate, which begin escaping as soon as the seed is ground. That loss is large for flavor but negligible for weight: a stale jar measures the same grams per spoon and simply delivers less aroma. The larger measuring error with cardamom is not cup weight but pod conversions. Published rules disagree widely, from 6 to 12 pods per teaspoon of ground cardamom, and a much-repeated rule holds that 10 pods equal 1½ teaspoons. A weight check does not support them. Reported seed weights run about 0.08 to 0.12 grams per pod. At 1.9 grams per teaspoon of ground cardamom, that implies roughly 16 to 24 pods' worth of seeds per teaspoon, about twice what the common rules suggest. Rules near 10 pods per teaspoon fit better with grinding whole pods, husk included, since the husk adds bulk but little flavor. When a recipe specifies pods, the reliable conversion is by weight: crack the pods, weigh the seeds, and substitute an equal weight of ground cardamom. In practice, a teaspoon of ground cardamom weighs about 1.9 grams and a tablespoon 5.8 grams. Scandinavian cardamom buns and some Indian sweets use it by the tablespoon, where weighing is worth it. Because the aroma fades quickly after grinding, buy small jars and replace them often. Spoon it into the measure and level without pressing, and keep the jar tightly closed. ### Ground Cinnamon https://exactcups.com/ground-cinnamon/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: ground cinnamon, cinnamon powder, cinnamon ground, cassia cinnamon ground, ceylon cinnamon ground, true cinnamon ground, saigon cinnamon ground, vietnamese cinnamon ground, chinese cinnamon ground. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 96–154 g. USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (FDC 2010) gives 119 g/cup at 0.50 g/mL as the canonical reference, but USDA branded entries and retail aggregates span 96-154 g/cup — a 60% spread reflecting three physical factors that matter more for fine light spices than for granulated ingredients: grind fineness (finer mills pack denser), moisture content (cinnamon is hygroscopic), and scoop technique (packed vs spooned differs by ~20% for a powder this light). Cassia and Ceylon cinnamon grind to the same density; the botanical distinction is a flavor/health choice, not a measurement one. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Spices, cinnamon, ground (SR Legacy FDC 2010): 117.3 g per cup. USDA reference food composition entry: 1 US cup = ~119 g at 0.496 g/mL. Canonical anchor used by ChefSolver (1 tsp = 3g at 0.56 g/mL), ingredientconverter.org (119 g/cup at 0.496 g/mL), and cookbook authors when no brand-specific density is available. Corresponds to spooned-and-leveled measurement of typical commercial cassia cinnamon. - USDA FoodData Central — Ground Cinnamon (branded, UPC 016291441132, via aqua-calc): 154 g per cup. USDA branded food entry: 162-163 g/metric cup = 154 g/US cup = 5.4 oz/US cup, density 0.649 g/mL. Represents a densely-milled retail product at the high end of the observed range — likely a fine Saigon or Vietnamese cassia grind packed tighter than USDA reference conditions. - USDA FoodData Central — Ground Cinnamon (branded, UPC 855269003480, via aqua-calc): 96 g per cup. USDA branded food entry: 101 g/metric cup = 96 g/US cup = 3.4 oz/US cup, density 0.406 g/mL. Represents a lighter-packed retail product at the low end of the observed range — likely a coarser grind or Ceylon-style cinnamon. - eatthismuch multi-brand aggregate — McCormick, Great Value, Kirkland Signature Organic Ground Saigon, Simply Organic Ceylon, Stonemill: 144 g per cup. Cross-brand teaspoon reference across five major US retail cinnamon brands: 1 tsp = 3 g, extrapolating to 144 g/cup. Consistent across cassia (McCormick, Great Value, Kirkland Saigon) and Ceylon (Simply Organic) products, confirming that cassia vs Ceylon botany does not shift density. Sits near the high end of the published range. - McCormick Ground Cinnamon (4.12 oz product label, dominant US retail brand): Product label serving: 1/4 tsp = 0.4 g, extrapolating to 77 g/cup at 0.325 g/mL. Almost certainly an FDA-rounded label figure rather than a physical density — 0.4 g rounds down to zero calories on the nutrition label, which is what McCormick declares (0 kcal per serving). Included for label-transparency but excluded from the published density range as unreliable measurement. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 96-154 g/cup (0.41-0.65 g/mL). Fine bark powder with wide packing variance across brands and grinds. USDA reference at 119 g/cup (0.50 g/mL) is the central working figure; brand-to-brand spread of 60% is normal for fine light spices where scoop technique matters more than for granulated ingredients. Ground cinnamon is the inner bark of Cinnamomum trees, dried and milled to a fine reddish-brown powder. Two botanical types dominate global commerce: cassia cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia and its close cousins C. burmannii Indonesian, C. loureiroi Vietnamese/Saigon, C. cassia Chinese) makes up about 95% of the US market and delivers the strong, sweet-spicy flavor most Americans associate with cinnamon rolls and pumpkin pie. Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, marketed as "true cinnamon") is milder and more delicate, standard in Latin American and European baking, and preferred by some households for its dramatically lower coumarin content. Both types grind to nearly identical bulk density; the choice between them is a flavor and health decision, not a measurement one. Density data spans a wide 60% range that reflects real packing behavior rather than product quality. USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (FDC 2010) gives 119 g per US cup at 0.50 g/mL — the canonical reference used by conversion sites and cookbook authors when no brand-specific density is available. USDA branded entries via aqua-calc scatter across the range: UPC 855269003480 at 96 g/cup (lighter than USDA reference), UPC 011216287109 at 115 g/cup (near USDA), UPC 016291441132 at 154 g/cup (about 30% above USDA). The eatthismuch aggregate across McCormick, Great Value, Kirkland Saigon, Simply Organic Ceylon, and Stonemill reports 3 g per teaspoon, extrapolating to 144 g/cup — near the high end. McCormick's own 4.12 oz product label lists 1/4 tsp = 0.4 g, which extrapolates to 77 g/cup, but this figure is almost certainly an FDA-rounded label serving (0.4 g rounds to zero calories, which is what the label declares) and not a physical density measurement. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart is silent on plain ground cinnamon; it lists Cinnamon Sweet Bits, Cinnamon-Sugar, and Baker's Cinnamon Filling but not the base spice. The 60% brand spread comes from three factors that all matter more for fine light powders than for granulated ingredients. First, grind fineness: some brands mill to a very fine dust that packs down denser (Saigon cassia products from McCormick and Kirkland tend heavier), while others grind coarser (small-batch Ceylon products tend lighter). Second, moisture content: cinnamon is hygroscopic and absorbs ambient humidity, so a jar opened in a humid kitchen weighs more per cup than the same brand tested in dry lab conditions. Third, scoop technique: pressing a measuring spoon into the jar packs the powder about 20% denser than lightly spooning it. USDA reference conditions are spooned-and-leveled, which is the standard baking assumption. For a recipe calling for "1 teaspoon ground cinnamon," the practical difference between 2 g (light scoop) and 3 g (packed scoop) is unlikely to affect the outcome — most baking recipes use cinnamon at 0.1-1% of flour weight where a 50% variance in the spice weight is well within taste tolerance. Where the difference matters is in high-cinnamon-content applications like snickerdoodle coatings, cinnamon-sugar toppings, or spice-heavy chai blends: weigh out the intended quantity rather than relying on the volume conversion, especially when switching between a densely-packed jar (Saigon cassia) and a lighter one (Ceylon). On the two-species question: cassia and Ceylon are not interchangeable in a health-conscious kitchen. Cassia contains 5-12 mg/g of coumarin, a compound linked to liver stress in high doses; the European Food Safety Authority sets a Tolerable Daily Intake of 0.1 mg/kg body weight, which a 70 kg adult reaches at roughly 1 teaspoon of cassia per day (2 g times 8 mg/g averages to 16 mg, about 2x TDI). Ceylon contains 0.01-0.1 mg/g coumarin, roughly 100-1000x lower. In flavor: cassia is bolder and more assertive; Ceylon is subtler and more citrusy. In price: Ceylon runs 3-6x the cost of cassia. Most US grocery cinnamon is unlabeled cassia by default; Ceylon is typically labeled prominently as such. ### Ground Cloves https://exactcups.com/ground-cloves/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: cloves powder, powdered cloves, clove powder, ground clove, clou de girofle moulu. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 96–137 g. Ground cloves show a ~43% spread from 96 g/cup (specific retail brand, lightest fill) to 137 g/cup (settled commercial jar density per pro-kitchen reference), driven by exceptionally high volatile oil content (15-20% essential oil by weight, eugenol-dominated) that promotes both clumping and compaction over shelf time. Central cluster of USDA and home-baker references sits at 100-112 g/cup where most bakers land. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Spices, cloves, ground (FDC 171321): 112 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy entry (NDB 2011, FDC 171321) lists 1 tablespoon = 7 g and 1 teaspoon = 2.1 g, both consistent with approximately 112 g per US cup (7 × 16 tbsp/cup) and 100.8 g/cup (2.1 × 48 tsp/cup — the tsp portion is slightly lighter due to rounding). Represents laboratory-standardised loose fill and anchors the central cluster. - FreeFoodTips ingredient reference: 104 g per cup. Reports 110 g per metric cup (250 mL) = 104 g per US cup, with 6.59 g per tablespoon and 2.20 g per teaspoon. Close to USDA — validates the 100-112 g/cup central cluster. - GramCups ingredient guide: 100 g per cup. Reports 100 g per US cup as its measured density, with 6.25 g per tablespoon and 2.08 g per teaspoon. Publishes at spooned-and-leveled convention explicitly. Home-baker reference cluster. - Ground Cloves UPC 725677290058 (aqua-calc branded): 96 g per cup. Reports 101 g per metric cup (3.4 oz per US cup = 96 g/cup) for a specific commercial retail brand. Represents lightest observed fill — likely a finer grind or fluffier product at the low end of the market range. - Chefs-Resources professional kitchen conversion chart: 137 g per cup. Categorises ground cloves as the densest common spice at 0.35 teaspoons per gram, which extrapolates to 137 g per US cup (48 tsp/cup ÷ 0.35 tsp/g). Represents fully-settled commercial jar density in professional kitchens (spooned, not packed). This is the eugenol/oil-driven upper bound for standard-jar density after shelf-life settling. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish a per-cup, per-tablespoon, or per-teaspoon weight for ground cloves in their Ingredient Weight Chart. KA's recipes specify cloves only by volume (typically 1/4 to 1/2 tsp, given the potency). No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of ground cloves weighs anywhere from 96 to 137 g depending on grind fineness and how settled the jar is — the central cluster is 100-112 g/cup where USDA and home-baker references converge.** USDA's reference is 112 g/cup (7 g per tablespoon, 2.1 g per teaspoon). King Arthur does not publish a per-cup weight, leaving no anchor to correct against. The 43% spread is driven by ground cloves' exceptionally high volatile oil content, which promotes both clumping and compaction over shelf time. Ground cloves are the dried unopened flower buds of *Syzygium aromaticum*, an evergreen tree native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia (the historical Spice Islands). Commercial supply today comes primarily from Indonesia, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Sri Lanka, and Comoros. The bud is picked before it opens, sun-dried until brittle, and then ground to a fine dark brown powder. Cloves are chemically defined by eugenol, a phenylpropanoid compound that comprises up to 90% of the essential oil and gives cloves their signature warm, numbing, medicinal aroma. This same eugenol is what makes ground allspice smell clove-like — allspice contains eugenol at 60-80% of its oil, hence the family resemblance. The density spread across sources is unusually wide. USDA FoodData Central FDC 171321 lists 7 g per tablespoon and 2.1 g per teaspoon, extrapolating to 112 g per US cup. FreeFoodTips independently reports 6.59 g per tablespoon (104 g/US cup). GramCups' measured home-baker reference lands at 100 g/cup (6.25 g/tbsp). Aqua-calc's USDA-branded entry for one specific commercial ground clove product (UPC 725677290058) reports 96 g per US cup at the light end. Chefs-Resources' professional kitchen chart classifies cloves as the densest common spice at 0.35 teaspoons per gram, which extrapolates to 137 g per US cup — representing fully-settled commercial jar density after shelf-life compaction. That is a 43% spread from lightest retail fill to settled pro-kitchen density, well above ExactCups' 10% milled tolerance and honestly published as a range. The wide density range is physical. Ground cloves are 13% fat, 65% carbohydrate (mostly fibre and starch), 6% protein, and 10% water — but the fat figure understates the real oiliness. Dried cloves contain 15-20% essential oil by weight, one of the highest volatile oil contents of any commercial spice. This oil coats particle surfaces and causes them to stick together and settle heavily over time. A freshly-milled jar sits loose and light; the same jar after six months on a shelf compacts to noticeably higher weight per cup as the oil migrates and particles pack down. This is why the spread is real and not editorial: two bakers measuring "1 cup of ground cloves" at different points in the jar's life can legitimately end up with different weights. For comparative context in the ExactCups milled category: ground cloves (96-137 g/cup) overlap ground nutmeg (112 g/cup, 36% fat) and ground allspice (96-116 g/cup, its eugenol cousin) at the central cluster, and reach higher when settled due to oil-driven compaction. Ground turmeric (144 g/cup, waxy curcumin-driven) sits just above cloves' upper bound. Ground ginger (80-104 g/cup, low fat, fibrous) is the lightest of the common baking spices; ground cinnamon spans the widest range (96-154 g/cup) due to the cassia-vs-Ceylon species split. Whole cloves are strongly preferred for anything but immediate-use baking, because ground cloves lose their volatile eugenol 30-40% faster than any other common spice. Twelve to sixteen medium whole cloves yield approximately 1 teaspoon of freshly ground powder; one tablespoon of whole cloves grinds to approximately 1.6 teaspoons of ground (not 3 — grinding increases density and reduces volume by eliminating airspace between the buds). A whole clove weighs approximately 0.22 g. Practical baker recommendation: use USDA's 7 g per tablespoon or 2.1 g per teaspoon for weighed baking. Expect 100-112 g per cup from freshly-milled loose fill and up to 137 g/cup from a well-settled six-month-old jar — the difference matters when cloves are the assertive spice (Christmas puddings, ham glazes, garam masala). Freshness test: rub a pinch between your fingers; a sharp warm-sweet numbing sensation on the skin means active eugenol, a faint or musty aroma means the powder is functionally spent regardless of scale reading. ### Ground Coriander https://exactcups.com/ground-coriander/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: coriander powder, ground coriander seed, dhania powder, Coriandrum sativum ground. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 95.6 g (3.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 47.8 g; 1/4 cup = 23.9 g; 1 tbsp = 6 g; 1 tsp = 2 g (0.404 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.37 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Morton & Bassett Ground Coriander: 95.6 g per cup. UPC 016291441866. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 101 g per metric cup (96 g per US cup, density 0.4040 g/mL). Anchor for this entry. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Morton & Bassett 100% Organic Ground Coriander: 95.6 g per cup. UPC 016291442863. Organic variant of the same brand's ground coriander; aqua-calc computes 101 g per metric cup (96 g per US cup, density 0.4040 g/mL). Identical to the non-organic record. - Chef's Resources — Dry Spice Yields chart: 95 g per cup. Table lists Coriander, Ground at 3.35 oz/cup (95 g per US cup, density 0.4015 g/mL). Within 1 percent of the USDA Branded anchor. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Ground coriander packs at about 96 g per US cup. USDA Branded records and Chef's Resources agree within 1 percent, and the ground figure is 20 to 45 percent denser than whole coriander seed because grinding eliminates the air pockets inside the hollow spherical seeds. Coriander is the dried seed of Coriandrum sativum, an annual herb in the parsley family whose fresh leaves are known in North America as cilantro. The seed is technically a fruit — a schizocarp made of two hemispherical mericarps that partially separate on drying — and its interior contains a small cavity around the germ. Whole coriander seeds are noticeably light per cup (roughly 65 to 85 g per US cup across USDA and reference tables) because those hollow spherical seeds pack with substantial air between and inside them. Grinding collapses both the internal cavities and the interstitial gaps, and the powder fills the cup at 95 to 96 g. Sources converge tightly on the ground figure. USDA FoodData Central Branded records for Morton & Bassett Ground Coriander (UPC 016291441866) and Morton & Bassett 100% Organic Ground Coriander (UPC 016291442863) both come in at exactly 101 g per metric cup (96 g per US cup, density 0.4040 g/mL). Chef's Resources publishes 3.35 oz per cup, which works out to 95 g per US cup at density 0.4015 g/mL, within 1 percent of the USDA figure. The published range across sources is 1 percent, well inside the 10 percent tolerance held for the spice category. USDA SR Legacy has direct records for whole coriander seed (85 g per metric cup, 81 g per US cup) and for dried coriander leaf, which is cilantro powder rather than seed powder (30 g per metric cup). It does not have a separate reference record for ground coriander from seed; that data comes from the branded records. The three data points cited above are all for ground seed. The comparison to whole coriander seed is instructive for bakers converting between the two forms. USDA SR Legacy whole coriander seed at 81 g per US cup, and Chef's Resources whole coriander at 2.29 oz per cup (65 g), are both notably lighter than ground at 95 to 96 g. The physical picture is consistent with what the numbers show: grinding reduces the average void fraction from roughly 45 percent for whole seeds (with their interior cavities and packing gaps between spherical particles) to under 20 percent for powder. The flavor also concentrates because grinding exposes far more surface area of the seed's essential-oil bearing tissue per gram, which is why ground coriander loses aroma faster in storage than whole seed does. Buying whole and grinding as needed remains the flavor-optimal approach; the density difference (roughly 20 to 40 percent) is small compared with the aroma difference between fresh-ground and long-shelved powder. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list coriander in either whole or ground form. The chart is silent on the spice, so there is no correction to make here; the site simply publishes what USDA and the reference chart already agree on. Ground coriander is used across an unusually wide range of cuisines for a single spice: Indian curries (as a base note in garam masala and many regional blends), Middle Eastern blends like baharat and ras el hanout, Latin American chorizo and mole, some Scandinavian rye breads, and Belgian witbier. Its density places it in the medium-density spice cluster alongside ground cardamom (93 g/cup) and pumpkin pie spice (90 g/cup), well below the dense-spice cluster of ground cloves and ground cinnamon at 130-plus g/cup. ### Ground Cumin https://exactcups.com/ground-cumin/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: ground cumin, cumin powder, jeera powder, ground jeera, cumin spice, powdered cumin. #### Standard, dry ground powder, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 96 g (3.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 48 g; 1/4 cup = 24 g; 1 tbsp = 6 g; 1 tsp = 2 g (0.4058 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.36 cups. Sources: - USDA Branded (Ground Cumin): 96 g per cup. UPC 855269003404. 101 g/metric cup → 96 g/US cup. Anchor for the ground-cumin cluster in USDA Global Branded Food Products Database. - USDA Branded (Cumin Seed Ground Organic Spices): 101 g per cup. UPC 8906046144215. 107 g/metric cup → 101 g/US cup. Independent USDA GBFD confirmation of the 96-101 cluster. - Chef's Resources spice conversion table: 95.8 g per cup. "Cumin, Ground": 3.38 oz per cup → 95.8 g/cup. Direct measurement matching the USDA cluster within precision. - Chef's Resources spice conversion prose: 107 g per cup. Ground cumin at 0.45 tsp per gram density category → 1 cup (48 tsp) = 107 g/cup. 11.7% above CR's own oz-per-cup table figure (95.8 g/cup). REJECTED: CR internal self-contradiction: the same site publishes 95.8 g/cup in its oz-per-cup table and 107 g/cup in its tsp/g density-category prose. The table figure is the primary direct measurement; the prose figure derives from a rougher density-bucket approximation. Table value takes precedence, prose is excluded. Pattern established previously with ground-cinnamon. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/ground-cumin-107-grams/ - USDA Branded (Great Value Ground Cumin): 134 g per cup. UPC 078742230351. 142 g/metric cup → 134 g/US cup. 40% above producer cluster. REJECTED: 134 g/cup is 40% above the USDA-plus-CR cluster of 96-101 g/cup for ground cumin. Well outside spice 10% tolerance. Likely a tapped-fill measurement convention artifact or an FDA serving-size rounding anomaly; no plausible physical mechanism puts genuine ground cumin at this density. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/ground-cumin-134-grams/ - USDA Branded (Ground Cumin, Morton & Bassett): 192 g per cup. UPC 016291441200. 203 g/metric cup → 192 g/US cup. 100% above producer cluster. REJECTED: 192 g/cup is twice the producer cluster and physically impossible for ground cumin. Would exceed the density of even the heaviest granulated spices (granulated garlic at 160-227 g/cup) despite cumin's much lower physical bulk density. Almost certainly a labeling data-entry error (perhaps a whole-cumin figure mislabeled as ground, or a per-fluid-ounce vs per-cup confusion). Not a legitimate alternative measurement. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/ground-cumin-192-grams/ - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: Silent on ground cumin. KA's chart lists a small number of spices (allspice, cinnamon, cloves) but does not include cumin in either whole or ground form. No direct KA figure to correct or confirm. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Ground cumin runs 96 grams per cup by the anchor USDA measurement, with a tight 96-101 g/cup cluster across independent USDA and Chef's Resources sources — slightly lighter than the whole cumin seed range of 96-109 g/cup documented in the paired cumin-seeds entry, matching the physical prediction that grinding solid seeds produces cohesive powder that bridges more air per unit volume than tightly-nesting whole seeds. Ground cumin is the finely milled powder produced from dried cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum), a member of the parsley family native to the eastern Mediterranean and South Asia. It is a foundational aromatic in Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and North African cuisines, and its warm, earthy flavor comes primarily from cuminaldehyde, which makes up about 25-35% of the volatile oil content. Commercial ground cumin is milled from whole seeds after cleaning and sometimes light toasting; fresh grinding at home releases 30-50% more volatile compounds than pre-ground. USDA Global Branded Food Products Database records two clean measurements: UPC 855269003404 at 96 g/cup and UPC 8906046144215 at 101 g/cup. Chef's Resources' spice conversion table lists ground cumin at 3.38 oz per cup, converting to 95.8 g/cup — matching the USDA cluster within measurement precision. The 96-101 gram convergence across three independent sources anchors the published figure at 96 g/cup, at the low end of the cluster and matching the USDA anchor exactly. A fourth Chef's Resources data point (107 g/cup, from the site's density-category prose at 0.45 tsp/gram) is excluded from the published figure. CR self-contradicts here: its oz-per-cup table gives 95.8 and its tsp/g prose derives 107 from a rougher density-bucket approximation. The direct oz-per-cup measurement takes precedence over the derived tsp/g category figure — the same handling pattern used for ground cinnamon. Two additional USDA GBFD records are excluded. Great Value ground cumin (UPC 078742230351) at 134 g/cup sits 40% above the cluster, outside spice tolerance; it may reflect a tapped-fill measurement or an FDA serving-size rounding artifact rather than genuine physical density. Morton & Bassett ground cumin (UPC 016291441200) at 192 g/cup is physically implausible — no ground spice packs at twice the density of its whole-seed form, and this figure would exceed the density of even the heaviest granulated spices. Both are treated as outliers with unknown labeling methodology rather than legitimate alternative densities. Physical reasoning supports the published cluster. In the paired cumin-seeds entry (whole form), the WITHHELD RANGE was 96-109 g/cup, reflecting genuine seed-settling variance. Cumin seeds are solid, dense, spindle-shaped kernels with no internal cavities — they pack tightly when whole, with elongated seeds nesting efficiently into inter-seed void spaces. Grinding these solid seeds produces a cohesive fine powder whose particles bridge and trap air, giving ground cumin a slightly lower cup density than whole seeds. Ground cumin at 96 g/cup fits at the low end of the whole-seed range, matching the direction predicted for solid-seed spices. This contrasts with hollow-seed spices like coriander (documented separately), where grinding collapses the schizocarp cavities in the whole seed and ground coriander is denser than whole. King Arthur Baking does not publish ground cumin, or any single non-baking spice by common name, restricting its chart to a few baking-adjacent aromatics like allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. No direct KA correction opportunity here, but the absence itself is worth noting: bakers relying on KA's chart alone will find no guidance for cumin and often over- or under-measure by extrapolating from denser or lighter spices. For practical use, treat ground cumin as 96 g/cup for recipe scaling. A teaspoon runs about 2.0 grams, a tablespoon about 6.0 grams. Fresh ground cumin (within 6 months of grinding) may run slightly lighter due to higher retained volatile oil content; older or long-stored ground cumin can pack denser as oils oxidize and particles settle. When precision matters, weigh by grams. For a cumin-forward dish like a garam masala blend or Mexican mole, the 5-10% density variance between fresh and aged product can meaningfully shift the spice profile; for background use in a chili or curry, cup measurements work fine within the noise floor of home cooking. ### Ground Ginger https://exactcups.com/ground-ginger/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: ginger powder, dried ginger, powdered ginger, dry ginger, ginger root powder, ground dried ginger. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 80–104 g. Ground ginger shows a genuine ~30% spread from 80 g/cup (USDA) to 104 g/cup (home-baker references), driven by fibrous rhizome grind coarseness, water content variance, origin variety (Jamaican vs Cochin vs Chinese fibre structure), and jar settling over shelf life. No single figure fairly represents the market. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Spices, ginger, ground (FDC 170926): 80 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy entry (NDB 2021, FDC 170926) lists 1 tablespoon = 5 g and 1 teaspoon = 1.8 g, both consistent with 80 g per US cup (5 × 16 tbsp/cup, 1.8 × 48 tsp/cup = 86.4 g/cup — the tsp portion is slightly heavier due to rounding). Represents laboratory-standardised loose fill and is the anchor low end of the published range. - aqua-calc (USDA-referenced density conversion): 83.1 g per cup. Reports 2.93 ounces (83.1 g) per US cup and 87.9 g per metric cup for ground ginger. Aqua-calc treats USDA FoodData Central as its data source; this validates the USDA tablespoon figure as the physical density reference (~83 g/cup real-world). - FreeFoodTips ingredient reference: 83.3 g per cup. Reports 88 g per metric cup (250 mL) = 83.3 g per US cup, with 5.27 g per tablespoon and 1.76 g per teaspoon. Consistent with USDA cluster. - Pantrymath ingredient reference: 96 g per cup. Reports 1 US cup = 96 g for ground ginger. Represents home-baker reference cluster from settled commercial jar contents rather than laboratory loose fill — accounts for ~20% weight increase over USDA baseline from particle settling. - CupOrGram ingredient guide: 104 g per cup. Publishes 104 g per US cup at 0.44 g/mL density as its central figure, and explicitly notes a practical 94-114 g/cup range (10% band) across brands and freshness windows. Attributes variance to particle size and settling variance across producers. - Chefs-Resources professional kitchen conversion chart: 97 g per cup. Categorises ground ginger as a medium-density spice at 0.45-0.55 teaspoons per gram, which extrapolates to 87-107 g per US cup (48 tsp/cup ÷ 0.45-0.55 tsp/g). Represents professional kitchen line-cook working density from standard commercial jars — sits between the USDA laboratory cluster and the settled home-baker cluster. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish a per-cup, per-tablespoon, or per-teaspoon weight for ground ginger in their Ingredient Weight Chart. KA's recipes specify ginger only by volume (typically 1 tsp to 1 tbsp for gingerbread). No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of ground ginger weighs anywhere from 80 to 104 g depending on grind coarseness and origin variety — the 30% spread is real and reflects genuine market variance.** USDA's reference is 80 g/cup (5 g per tablespoon, 1.8 g per teaspoon); most home-baker references land at 96-104 g/cup. King Arthur does not publish a per-cup weight for ginger, leaving no anchor to correct against. This entry publishes the honest range. Ground ginger is the dried, milled rhizome of *Zingiber officinale*, native to Southeast Asia and now cultivated across India, Nigeria, China, Peru, Jamaica, and Fiji. The rhizome is peeled, sliced, dried at 50-60°C for 8-12 hours, and milled to a fine powder. During drying, the fresh rhizome's dominant flavour compound — gingerol — dehydrates into shogaol, which is roughly four times more pungent per gram. This chemistry is why ground ginger is not interchangeable with fresh ginger one-to-one by volume: the standard culinary conversion is 1 teaspoon ground for every 1 tablespoon fresh grated (a 3:1 volumetric ratio), and even that ratio understates ground ginger's heat in raw applications. The density spread across reliable sources is unusually wide. USDA FoodData Central FDC 170926 lists 5 g per tablespoon and 1.8 g per teaspoon, extrapolating to 80 g per US cup. Aqua-calc, referencing USDA, reports 83 g per US cup (88 g per metric cup, the same physical density against Europe's 250 mL). Home-baker references cluster higher: Pantrymath publishes 96 g/cup; CupOrGram publishes 104 g/cup as its central figure and explicitly notes a practical 94-114 g/cup range across brands and freshness windows. Chefs-Resources' professional kitchen chart categorises ginger as a medium-density spice at 0.45-0.55 teaspoons per gram, which brackets 87-107 g/cup. That is a 30% spread from USDA's 80 g/cup to the home-baker upper bound at 104 g/cup — well above ExactCups' 10% milled tolerance, and honestly published as a range rather than as one authoritative figure. The Spicery (UK) reports 8 g per tablespoon for their ground product (128 g/cup extrapolated), which sits outside even this range and appears to reflect a particularly settled or coarse-milled retail product. The variance is physical, not editorial. Ground ginger is 71% carbohydrate (mostly fibre and starch), 9% protein, 4% fat, and 10% water, with 5% ash. The dominant fibrous carbohydrate structure creates internal air pockets that pack tighter or looser depending on grind coarseness, aging, water reabsorption from humid storage, and the origin variety's cell structure — Jamaican ginger fibres differ from Chinese Cochin or Indian varieties in ways that show up on the scale. USDA's 80 g/cup figure represents a laboratory-standardised loose fill; commercial jars settle over shelf time and yield noticeably higher per-cup weights. For comparative context in the ExactCups milled category: ground ginger (80-104 g/cup) sits well below oily ground nutmeg (112 g/cup, ~36% fat), below waxy ground turmeric (144 g/cup), and roughly in the ballpark of ground allspice and low-side ground cinnamon at the light end. It is the lightest of the common baking spices per cup, which makes recipe scaling by weight materially more accurate than by volume. Practical baker recommendation: for weighed baking, use USDA's 5 g per tablespoon / 1.8 g per teaspoon when converting recipes that call for volume, since USDA represents freshly-milled loose fill and matches what most spice jars deliver when spooned into a measure. When bulk-buying or working with settled containers, expect 96-104 g per cup — the difference matters when scaling gingerbread or spice cookies where ginger drives the flavour. For freshness testing, rub a pinch between your fingers: sharp warm aroma means the shogaols are active; faint or musty means they have oxidised, and the powder is functionally spent regardless of what it weighs on the jar. ### Ground Mustard https://exactcups.com/ground-mustard/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: mustard powder, dry mustard, mustard flour, ground mustard seed, English mustard powder. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 101.3 g (3.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 50.6 g; 1/4 cup = 25.3 g; 1 tbsp = 6.3 g; 1 tsp = 2.1 g (0.428 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.24 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy — Spices, mustard seed, ground: 101.3 g per cup. Standard Reference direct measurement. 107 g per metric cup (101 g per US cup, density 0.4280 g/mL). Anchor for this entry. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Mustard Powder: 95.6 g per cup. UPC 076606598289. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 101 g per metric cup (96 g per US cup, density 0.4040 g/mL). Within 6 percent of the USDA SR anchor. - Chef's Resources — Dry Spice Yields chart: 97.2 g per cup. Table lists Mustard Ground at 3.43 oz/cup (97 g per US cup, density 0.4108 g/mL). Within 4 percent of the USDA SR anchor. Same table pairs whole Mustard Seeds at 6.40 oz/cup (181 g), which is nearly twice the ground figure and drives the physical reasoning discussion in the notes. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Ground mustard packs at about 101 g per US cup. USDA and reference charts agree within 6 percent, and unlike most ground spices, ground mustard is actually lighter per cup than the whole seeds it comes from. Ground mustard, also sold as mustard powder or dry mustard, is the finely milled seed of one or more species of the mustard plant. Yellow mustard (Sinapis alba) gives the milder, brighter powder typical of American mustard preparations. Brown mustard (Brassica juncea) gives a sharper, more pungent powder used in Dijon and Chinese-style mustards. Commercial products like Colman's English Mustard blend both. The powder on its own carries no heat, because mustard's characteristic pungency requires the enzyme myrosinase in the powder to react with cold water to release allyl isothiocyanate. Dry powder is stable in the jar; the moment it hits water in a recipe, the reaction begins and heat develops over the next 10 to 15 minutes. Sources agree well on the density. USDA FoodData Central's SR Legacy record for Spices, mustard seed, ground gives 107 g per metric cup, which works out to 101 g per US cup at a density of 0.4280 g/mL. USDA Branded Foods reports mustard powder (UPC 076606598289) at 101 g per metric cup (96 g per US cup, density 0.4040 g/mL). Chef's Resources publishes 3.43 oz per cup (97 g, density 0.4108 g/mL). The three sources span 6.25 percent — within the 10 percent spice tolerance and consistent enough for a single figure to represent the ingredient accurately. The USDA SR figure sits at the high end of the observed range, while the commercial products (USDA Branded and CR) cluster slightly lower. Unlike ground coriander, ground mustard is lighter per cup than whole mustard seeds. Chef's Resources gives whole mustard seeds at 6.40 oz per cup (181 g) versus ground at 3.43 oz per cup (97 g) — a nearly two-to-one ratio in favor of whole. The physical reason is seed geometry. Mustard seeds are small, hard, roughly spherical particles about 1 to 2 mm across with solid dense interiors (roughly 1 g per mL for the seed body itself), and they pack efficiently in a measuring cup because small spheres nest tightly with little space between them. When those seeds are milled into a fluffy powder, the resulting particles are irregular, cohesive, and prone to bridging across the sides of the cup, trapping air pockets that the whole seeds did not have. The same pattern shows up with other solid-seed spices like ground cumin (roughly 96 g/cup ground versus 109 g/cup whole in the same reference tables). It reverses only for seeds like coriander whose whole form contains internal hollows around the germ — grinding coriander collapses those cavities and the powder ends up denser than whole seed. Mustard belongs to the more common pattern. Ground mustard sits in the medium-density spice cluster alongside ground coriander (96 g/cup), ground cardamom (93 g/cup), pumpkin pie spice (90 g/cup), and paprika (109 g/cup). It is well below the dense-spice cluster of cinnamon (128 g/cup) and cloves. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list ground mustard or mustard powder in any form. The chart is silent on this ingredient, so there is no correction to make here; the site simply publishes what USDA and the reference chart already agree on. Ground mustard is used in dry rubs and spice pastes where its pungency will develop on contact with liquid, in cheese sauces (mac and cheese, Mornay), in salad dressings and vinaigrettes both as an emulsifier and a flavor, in pickle brines, and as the raw material for prepared mustards. A teaspoon of ground mustard mixed with cold water and rested for ten minutes produces a very hot condiment; the same teaspoon added at the end of hot cooking loses much of its heat because prolonged heat destroys the enzyme reaction that produces the pungency. For recipes that specify prepared mustard by tablespoon, a rough substitution is one teaspoon of dry mustard plus one teaspoon of vinegar or water per tablespoon of prepared mustard, though the flavor will be sharper because homemade lacks the salt, sugar, and turmeric of commercial products. ### Ground Nutmeg https://exactcups.com/ground-nutmeg/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: nutmeg, nutmeg powder, powdered nutmeg, nutmeg spice, ground nutmeg powder, muscade. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 112 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56 g; 1/4 cup = 28 g; 1 tbsp = 7 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4734 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.02 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Spices, nutmeg, ground (FDC 171326): 112 g per cup. USDA SR Legacy entry (NDB 2025, FDC 171326) lists 1 tablespoon = 7 g, which extrapolates to 112 g per US cup (7 × 16 tbsp/cup). The USDA-listed 1 teaspoon = 2.2 g portion is a rounding artifact and back-extrapolates to only 105.6 g/cup; the tablespoon value is the physical density figure that downstream density-conversion sites reference. Density-consistent tsp is 2.33 g. - aqua-calc (USDA-referenced density conversion): 112 g per cup. Reports 112 g per US cup and 118 g per metric cup for ground nutmeg — both consistent with the USDA tablespoon density of 7 g/tbsp. Aqua-calc treats USDA FoodData Central as its data source, so this is not an independent triangulation but a validation that the USDA tbsp portion is the physical density figure. - Pantrymath ingredient reference: 112 g per cup. Reports 1 US cup = 112 g and 1 tablespoon = 7 g for ground nutmeg, matching USDA. Represents the density-conversion consensus across independent kitchen-reference sites. - Chefs-Resources professional kitchen conversion chart: 120 g per cup. Reports 0.40 teaspoons per gram for ground nutmeg (categorized as a dense spice alongside cloves and turmeric), which extrapolates to 120 g per US cup (48 tsp/cup ÷ 0.40 tsp/g). Represents professional kitchen line-cook working density from standard commercial jars, slightly heavier than the USDA anchor due to particle settling and standard-jar packing. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish a per-cup or per-tablespoon weight for ground nutmeg in their Ingredient Weight Chart, though they do sell the ground product (SKU 400291, sourced from Sri Lanka). Their recipes specify nutmeg only by volume (typically 1/2 tsp or 1/4 tsp). No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of ground nutmeg weighs about 112 g (7 g per tablespoon, 2.3 g per teaspoon).** USDA FoodData Central and every downstream reference converge on this figure within a 7% spread. King Arthur does not publish a weight for nutmeg in their Ingredient Weight Chart, though they do sell the ground product, leaving ExactCups' figure the closest thing to a definitive baker's reference. Ground nutmeg is the seed of the evergreen tree *Myristica fragrans*, native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia and now cultivated across Sri Lanka, Grenada, and India. The whole seed is dried inside its lacy red aril — that aril, dried and ground separately, is the spice mace. Mace and nutmeg come from the same fruit but differ in oil profile, colour, and density; they are not one-to-one weight substitutes even though they share flavour compounds. This entry covers the seed only. The density convergence is unusually clean for a spice. USDA FDC 171326 lists 7 g per tablespoon, which extrapolates directly to 112 g per US cup. Aqua-calc, which references USDA, reports the same 112 g/cup (and 118 g per metric cup, the same physical density expressed against Europe's 250 mL cup). Pantrymath's independent ingredient reference lands on 112 g/cup and 7 g/tbsp as well. The one meaningful outlier is Chefs-Resources' professional kitchen chart at 0.40 teaspoons per gram, which extrapolates to 120 g/cup — slightly heavier due to standard-jar particle size and settling in commercial kitchens. That is a 7% spread from the USDA anchor to the kitchen upper bound, well under ExactCups' 10% milled tolerance. One caveat is worth stating clearly. USDA's own teaspoon portion is listed as 2.2 g, which back-extrapolates to only 105.6 g/cup — a 6% understatement of USDA's own tablespoon figure. This is a rounding artifact: USDA rounds low-weight tsp portions to one decimal place, and the tablespoon value (7 g) is the physical density figure that density-conversion sites reference. When adapting a recipe by weight, 2.3 g per teaspoon is closer to physical reality than the rounded 2.2 g. Ground nutmeg is oily — roughly 36% fat by weight, one of the fattiest common spices — which explains both its density and its clumping behaviour. The essential oil (5-15% by weight) and the fixed oil (called nutmeg butter) coat particles and cause them to settle tighter than dry, fibrous spices like ground ginger (about 96 g/cup) or the waxy denseness of ground turmeric (144 g/cup). This oil content is also why ground nutmeg loses potency far faster than whole nutmeg: the volatile aromatics evaporate through the powder's surface area within months of grinding. Bakers who grate whole nutmeg fresh get a fluffier product that measures 5-10% lighter per cup and delivers dramatically more flavour per gram — the reason serious pastry kitchens buy whole nutmegs and a Microplane rather than pre-ground jars. Practical baker recommendation: weigh at 7 g per tablespoon or 2.3 g per teaspoon. For freshly grated whole nutmeg, use the same weight target but expect one Microplane pass to yield roughly a rounded quarter-teaspoon of shavings. When adapting older recipes that specify "1/4 nutmeg, grated" — a common 19th-century notation — a whole nutmeg weighs about 5-8 g, so a quarter is 1-2 g, roughly a level half-teaspoon of the pre-ground product. ### Ground Turmeric https://exactcups.com/ground-turmeric/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: ground turmeric, turmeric, turmeric powder, powdered turmeric, haldi powder, haldi. #### Standard, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 113.4–150.4 g. USDA SR Legacy (150.4 g/cup) and an independent foodservice cup measurement (113.4 g/cup) differ by 32.6%, far beyond the 10% spice tolerance. No third independent measurement resolves the dispute; the powder's high moisture and compressibility make method sensitivity a likely contributor. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Spices, turmeric, ground (FDC 172231): 150.4 g per cup. Portion weights of 3.0 g per teaspoon and 9.4 g per tablespoon. Tablespoon basis x16 = 150.4 g/cup (range maximum); teaspoon basis x48 = 144 g/cup. - Chef's Resources dry spice conversion table: 113.4 g per cup. Foodservice table measured across several vendors: turmeric 4 oz per cup = 113.4 g/cup (range minimum); tablespoon (4 per oz) and teaspoon (12 per oz) columns agree. The page's prose rule of 0.40 tsp per gram works out to 120 g/cup, inside the range. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: A US cup of ground turmeric weighs between 113 and 150 grams, and ExactCups publishes that range rather than a single figure because USDA's reference weight and an independent foodservice measurement disagree by a third, and no third source settles it. Ground turmeric is the dried, milled rhizome of Curcuma longa, a relative of ginger. Its deep yellow color comes from curcumin and related pigments. This entry covers the culinary powder sold in jars, not curcumin extracts or supplement capsules, which are concentrated products measured in milligrams. USDA's SR Legacy record lists 9.4 grams per tablespoon and 3.0 grams per teaspoon, which scale to 150 and 144 grams per cup. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors lists turmeric at 4 ounces per cup, or 113 grams, with its tablespoon and teaspoon columns agreeing, and the same page's rule of thumb of 0.40 teaspoons per gram works out to 120 grams, inside the range. Converter sites that publish 150 grams per cup are restating the USDA figure, not confirming it. The gap between the two independent measurements is 33%, which sits with ground cloves among the widest spreads in the spice family. Both sources agree on one thing: turmeric is among the heaviest ground spices, at or above ground nutmeg and well above paprika, cardamom, and ginger. The physics points in the same direction. USDA composition shows about 13% water, higher than most dried spices, alongside roughly 67% carbohydrate, 10% protein, and only 3% fat. Moisture makes a fine powder cohesive and compressible: it clumps, bridges, and compacts differently depending on how it is spooned, how long the jar has been open, and how humid the kitchen is. That sensitivity to handling is the most plausible reason two careful measurements land so far apart, though neither source documents its method closely enough to prove it. One confusion is worth correcting directly. Some health articles describe a teaspoon of ground turmeric as a figure in milligrams. A teaspoon of the culinary powder weighs roughly 2.4 to 3.1 grams, more than ten times any such figure. Milligram amounts in health discussions usually refer to curcumin content or to supplement doses, not to the weight of the spice itself, and mixing the two up distorts any attempt to compare a golden-milk recipe with a supplement label. In practice, a teaspoon of ground turmeric weighs 2.4 to 3.1 grams and a tablespoon 7.1 to 9.4 grams. For curries and rice, where turmeric is used by the teaspoon, measuring by spoon is fine. For golden-milk mixes, pastes, and spice blends made in quantity, weigh it, since the range is wide enough to shift color and bitterness noticeably. Spoon it into the measure and level without pressing, break up clumps, keep the jar tightly closed, and wipe spills quickly, because turmeric stains. ### Onion Powder https://exactcups.com/onion-powder/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: onion powder, powdered onion, dried onion powder, dehydrated onion powder, ground onion. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 110.4 g (3.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 55.2 g; 1/4 cup = 27.6 g; 1 tbsp = 6.9 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4666 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.05 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Spices, onion powder (FDC 171327): 110.4 g per cup. Portion weights of 2.4 g per teaspoon and 6.9 g per tablespoon. Tablespoon basis x16 = 110.4 g/cup (published figure); teaspoon basis x48 = 115.2 g/cup, 4% higher from rounding on the smaller portion. - Chef's Resources dry spice conversion table: 106.3 g per cup. Foodservice table measured across several vendors: onion powder 3.75 oz per cup = 106.3 g/cup (12.80 tsp per oz, consistent). The page's prose rule of 0.45 tsp per gram works out to 107 g/cup, so the source is internally consistent. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: A US cup of onion powder weighs 110 grams, a figure on which USDA's reference weight and an independent foodservice measurement agree within 4%, comfortably inside the 10% tolerance held for spices. Onion powder is dehydrated onion milled to a fine powder. The spice trade also sells granulated onion, a coarser grind, and minced or chopped dried onion, coarser still. Onion salt is a different product altogether: onion powder blended with salt, which makes it far heavier per spoon and far saltier, and it should never be measured as a substitute. This entry covers the product sold as onion powder. USDA's SR Legacy record lists 6.9 grams per tablespoon and 2.4 grams per teaspoon, which scale to 110.4 and 115.2 grams per cup. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors lists onion powder at 3.75 ounces per cup, or 106.3 grams, and the same page's rule of thumb of 0.45 teaspoons per gram works out to 107 grams, so that source agrees with itself. The published figure uses USDA's tablespoon basis. The teaspoon basis runs 4% higher only because a 2.4 gram portion is rounded more coarsely than a 6.9 gram one. The physics is worth a closer look, because onion powder is much lighter than its closest relative. Like garlic powder, it is almost fat-free, at about 1% fat, 79% carbohydrate, and 10% protein by USDA composition, so neither powder has the oily, tacky particle film that governs paprika. Yet garlic powder runs 127 to 155 grams per cup, well above onion powder's 110. The likely reason is the starting tissue. Fresh onion is close to 90% water, while fresh garlic is under 60%. Drying a much wetter tissue leaves a more porous solid, so each onion powder particle carries more internal void and the cup weighs less. The two onion powder sources also show none of the grind split that separates the garlic powder data, which is why this entry can publish a single figure. Onion powder is strongly moisture-sensitive and cakes quickly once a jar is opened in a humid kitchen. Caked lumps pack heavier than loose powder, so a hardened jar will overshoot this figure when scooped. Break lumps up before measuring, or replace the jar if it has set solid. In practice, a teaspoon of onion powder weighs 2.3 grams and a tablespoon 6.9 grams. For everyday seasoning, measure by spoon. For dry rubs and seasoning blends made in quantity, weigh it. When swapping between onion powder and granulated onion, go by weight rather than volume, since the coarser grind packs differently and no reliable cup weight for granulated onion has been published. Spoon it into the measure and level without pressing, and keep the jar tightly closed. ### Paprika (Ground) https://exactcups.com/paprika/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: paprika, ground paprika, sweet paprika, paprika powder, Hungarian paprika, hot paprika, pimenton dulce, pimentón dulce. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 108.8 g (3.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 54.4 g; 1/4 cup = 27.2 g; 1 tbsp = 6.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4599 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.08 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Spices, paprika (FDC 171329): 108.8 g per cup. Portion weights of 2.3 g per teaspoon and 6.8 g per tablespoon. Tablespoon basis x16 = 108.8 g/cup; teaspoon basis x48 = 110.4 g/cup (coarser rounding on the smaller portion). - Chef's Resources dry spice conversion table: 108.9 g per cup. Foodservice table measured across several vendors: paprika 3.84 oz per cup = 108.9 g/cup (12.50 tsp per oz, internally consistent). The page's prose section separately offers a 0.50 tsp-per-gram rule of thumb (96 g/cup); that shortcut is rounded to 0.05 tsp steps and is not used. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: A US cup of ground paprika weighs 109 grams, a figure on which USDA's reference weight and an independent foodservice measurement agree to within a tenth of a gram. Paprika is the dried, ground pod of Capsicum annuum, made from milder, thinner-fleshed pepper varieties than those used for chili powder. Hungary and Spain are the two traditional origins. In US retail, a jar labeled simply paprika is the sweet style; Hungarian grades run from delicate to hot, and Spanish pimentón dulce is the sweet Spanish equivalent. Grade mainly changes pungency and color, and there is no published data showing it moves cup weight, so this entry covers sweet and hot ground paprika alike. Smoking changes flavor but not packing: smoked paprika, dried over wood smoke before grinding, has its own entry and shares this figure. USDA's SR Legacy record for ground paprika lists 6.8 grams per tablespoon, which scales to 108.8 grams per cup. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors lists paprika at 3.84 ounces per cup, or 108.9 grams. Two independent methods, one lab reference and one kitchen measurement, land on the same number. USDA's teaspoon figure of 2.3 grams scales to 110.4, within 1.5%, which is simply coarser rounding on a smaller portion. Lower figures circulate, and all of them trace to rounding rather than measurement. McCormick's label lists a quarter teaspoon as 0.5 grams. At 109 grams per cup, a quarter teaspoon actually weighs about 0.57 grams, and labels round to the half gram, so the printed 0.5 is correct rounding, but scaling it back up to a cup gives a false 96. The same foodservice site that measured 109 in its table also offers a half-teaspoon-per-gram rule of thumb in its prose, which works out to the same 96; it is a shortcut, not a measurement. At the other end, some online converters publish 123 grams per cup while listing 6.8 grams per tablespoon on the same page. Sixteen tablespoons at 6.8 grams is 109 grams, so 123 is an arithmetic error. None of these is used here. The physics supports a middling figure for a spice. USDA composition data shows roughly 13% fat, 14% protein, and 35% fiber by weight. Ground pepper pericarp breaks into flat, papery flakes that bridge against each other and trap air, keeping paprika well lighter than crystalline or granular powders. The fat coats each particle in a thin oily film that makes the powder slightly tacky, so it absorbs humidity, clumps, and compresses under a scoop. The 109 figure assumes fresh powder spooned and leveled; pressed or humid-clumped paprika can run heavier. Within the spice family, paprika sits just below ground nutmeg at 112 grams per cup and inside ground allspice's 96 to 116 range. In practice, a teaspoon of paprika weighs 2.3 grams and a tablespoon 6.8 grams. For seasoning, measure by spoon without concern. For dishes where paprika is the main spice, such as goulash or paprikash calling for several tablespoons, weigh it. Spoon it into the measure and level without pressing, break up clumps first, and keep the jar tightly sealed. ### Pumpkin Pie Spice https://exactcups.com/pumpkin-pie-spice/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin spice, pumpkin spice blend, pumpkin pie spice blend, pumpkin pie seasoning. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 89.6 g (3.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 44.8 g; 1/4 cup = 22.4 g; 1 tbsp = 5.6 g; 1 tsp = 1.9 g (0.3787 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.53 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Spices, pumpkin pie spice (FDC 171332): 89.6 g per cup. Portion weights of 1.7 g per teaspoon and 5.6 g per tablespoon. Tablespoon basis x16 = 89.6 g/cup (published figure); teaspoon basis x48 = 81.6 g/cup, lower from rounding on a 1.7 g portion. - Chef's Resources dry spice conversion table: 85.1 g per cup. Foodservice table measured across several vendors: pumpkin spice 3 oz per cup = 85.0 g/cup; tablespoon (5.33 per oz) and teaspoon (16 per oz) columns agree. Measured as the blend, not computed from components. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: A US cup of pumpkin pie spice weighs about 90 grams, a figure on which USDA's reference weight and an independent foodservice measurement agree within 6%, inside the 10% tolerance held for spices. Pumpkin pie spice is a ground blend of warm baking spices, classically led by cinnamon with ginger, nutmeg, and allspice or cloves. Proportions vary by brand, but the name reliably describes the same family of blend, which is why it can be catalogued as a single ingredient. It contains no pumpkin. ExactCups treats blends like this one only when the name defines the product, and only on measurements of the blend itself, never on figures computed from its components. USDA's SR Legacy record lists 5.6 grams per tablespoon, which scales to 89.6 grams per cup. Its teaspoon figure of 1.7 grams scales lower, to 81.6, but a 1.7 gram portion rounded to a tenth of a gram carries several percent of rounding error, so the tablespoon basis is used. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors lists pumpkin spice at 3 ounces per cup, or 85 grams, with its tablespoon and teaspoon columns agreeing. That same foodservice table shows why a blend cannot be treated as the average of its parts. It measures ground cinnamon at 116 grams per cup, nutmeg at 110, ground cloves at 105, allspice at 96, and ginger at 92. The blend, at 85, is lighter than every one of its components. A weighted average of those figures would overstate the blend's cup weight by 15 to 25 percent. The mechanism is not established; one plausible explanation is that mixing and sifting aerate the blend, and particles of very different shapes and sizes, from cinnamon's bark fibers to nutmeg's oily fragments, settle into a looser bed together than each does alone. Whatever the cause, the measured blend is the only defensible basis. The blend's composition leaves a fingerprint in the USDA data. Pumpkin pie spice is about 12.6% fat, mostly saturated, with myristic acid the largest component. Myristic acid is named for nutmeg, whose fat is rich in it, so the nutmeg share of the blend accounts for much of that fat. In practice, a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice weighs about 1.9 grams and a tablespoon 5.6 grams. Most pie and quick-bread recipes call for one to two teaspoons, where the difference between the two sources amounts to a tenth of a gram, so measuring by spoon is fine. Two cautions matter more than the figure. First, when substituting a homemade blend, mix it by weight, because each component packs differently and a volume recipe will not reproduce a commercial blend's balance. Second, pumpkin pie spice loses aroma faster than whole spices, so a jar kept from last autumn will measure the same weight but deliver noticeably less flavor. Spoon it into the measure and level without pressing, and keep the jar tightly closed. ### Red Pepper Flakes https://exactcups.com/red-pepper-flakes/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: red pepper flakes, crushed red pepper, red chili flakes, chili pepper flakes, pizza pepper, crushed red pepper flakes. #### Standard, crushed dried red chili peppers with seeds retained No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 79.9–96.4 g. Red pepper flake density spans 80-96 g/cup depending on seed proportion, cut coarseness, and pepper blend. Chef's Resources spice table measures 79.9 g/cup for their standard cut; USDA Branded Food record for a specific crushed red pepper product (UPC 411010983403) measures 96 g/US cup. Both are direct measurements of legitimate commercial products but 20% apart — retained seeds and finer crush make the product denser, and there is no single canonical product identity to pin the figure to. Sources: - Chef's Resources dry-spice-yields table: 79.9 g per cup. Chef's Resources publishes a self-consistent dry spice yields table (chefs-resources.com/culinary-conversions-calculators-and-capacities/dry-spice-yields/) with red pepper flakes at 2.82 oz per US cup = 79.9 g/cup, matching their calculator's 0.60 tsp per gram (which reads out as 1 tsp = 1.67 g, and 48 tsp × 1.67 g = 80 g/cup). Anchor for the low end of the range. Reflects a standard commercial cut without seed-heavy loading. - USDA Branded Foods (UPC 411010983403, Crushed Red Pepper): 96.4 g per cup. USDA Branded Food record for a specific commercial crushed red pepper product measures 101 g per metric cup = 3.4 oz per US cup = 96 g per US cup. Anchor for the high end of the range. Density 0.4074 g/mL reflects a product with retained seeds and a finer crush than the Chef's Resources reference standard. - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170932, ground cayenne — related reference): USDA generic record 'Spices, pepper, red or cayenne' measures 90 g/metric cup = 85 g/US cup (0.359 g/mL). This is the GROUND cayenne form, not crushed flakes; already the anchor for the site's existing `cayenne-pepper` entry (WITHHELD 85-101 for its own product identity spread). Included here as a related-family reference showing that the whole red-pepper-spice family lives in the 80-100 g/cup band regardless of grind. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: One cup of crushed red pepper flakes weighs somewhere between 80 and 96 grams (0.338-0.407 g/mL). The site publishes this as a range at LOW confidence because the two direct-measurement sources — Chef's Resources spice table at 79.9 g/cup and USDA Branded Food record for a specific crushed red pepper product at 96 g/cup — disagree by 20% and both figures are legitimately measured. The variance is real product variance, not measurement error. Red pepper flakes (also called crushed red pepper or, informally, pizza pepper) are dried hot chili peppers crushed into irregular flakes with the seeds typically retained. Common commercial products blend multiple pepper varieties (cayenne, ancho, bell) rather than using a single cultivar, and the seed-to-pericarp ratio varies substantially across brands. Retained seeds intensify both heat (seeds carry more capsaicin per unit mass) and density (seeds are more compact than the papery pericarp flakes). Coarser crushes leave more air per cup; finer crushes pack denser. These two variables together account for the 20% spread across sources. Red pepper flakes are distinct from three related products the site treats separately. Ground cayenne pepper is finer, denser, more uniform, and typically single-cultivar; the site's `cayenne-pepper` entry lives at 85-101 g/cup. Chili powder is a blend that includes cumin, oregano, garlic, and other spices in addition to ground chili — different flavor profile, different density (~107 g/cup), different intended use. Sweet paprika is ground from a different, non-spicy Capsicum cultivar and reads about 109 g/cup with none of the heat. Substituting any of these for red pepper flakes by volume produces a wildly different result in flavor and heat, well beyond any density concern. Sub-gram serving labels on retail products cannot be trusted for red pepper flake density. McCormick Crushed Red Pepper Flakes lists 1 tsp = 0.32 g, which reads out to about 15 g/cup — five times less than every other source and physically implausible for a coarse dried product. This is a familiar sub-gram rounding artifact: FDA labels can round a serving mass to 0, 0.5, or 1 g, so any spice used in less-than-1-g portions per label serving has an implied density that swings wildly under rounding. Labels are useful for identifying the product; they are not useful for density. For practical cooking, the density spread matters less than the Scoville heat spread, which can be 2-3x across brands (10,000 SHU for a mild pizza-parlor blend vs 40,000 SHU for a hot Calabrian-style blend). Weight-critical applications like calibrated hot sauces, competition BBQ rubs with tight ratios, and commercial canning brines should weigh the specific product being used and note both mass per tsp and estimated Scoville heat. Everyday cooking (a pinch on pizza, a shake into pasta sauce) is unaffected by density variance — the recipe is tuned to taste anyway. Storage and freshness: whole flakes retain aromatic volatile oils longer than ground cayenne because the larger particle surface-to-volume ratio slows oxidation. Peak potency lasts 6-12 months after opening in a cool, dark cupboard; older flakes lose heat and aroma but not density. ### Smoked Paprika (Ground) https://exactcups.com/smoked-paprika/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: smoked paprika, Spanish smoked paprika, pimenton de la vera, pimentón de la Vera, sweet smoked paprika, hot smoked paprika, bittersweet smoked paprika, smoked pimenton. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 108.8 g (3.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 54.4 g; 1/4 cup = 27.2 g; 1 tbsp = 6.8 g; 1 tsp = 2.3 g (0.4599 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.08 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Spices, paprika (unsmoked physical analog) (FDC 171329): 108.8 g per cup. 6.8 g per tablespoon x16 = 108.8 g/cup. No separate USDA volumetric record exists for smoked paprika; used as anchor because smoked paprika is the same Capsicum annuum pericarp powder, dried over wood smoke. - Chef's Resources dry spice conversion table: 108.9 g per cup. Page states smoked paprika follows the same conversion as regular paprika; the table measures regular paprika at 3.84 oz per cup = 108.9 g/cup across several foodservice vendors. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: A US cup of smoked paprika weighs 109 grams, the same as plain ground paprika, because smoking changes flavor and color but not how the powder packs, and the one foodservice source that covers both treats them as identical. Smoked paprika is ground Capsicum annuum pods that are dried over smoldering wood, usually oak, before milling. The benchmark product is Spain's Pimentón de la Vera, a protected designation of origin from the La Vera district of Extremadura, where La Chinata is the most widely exported brand. It is sold as sweet (dulce), bittersweet (agridulce), and hot (picante). US spice houses including McCormick, Simply Organic, and Frontier Co-op sell their own oak-smoked versions. Plain paprika, by contrast, is dried without smoke. There is no separate USDA reference weight for smoked paprika. A foodservice conversion table built from measurements across several vendors states that smoked paprika follows the same conversion as regular paprika, which it measures at 3.84 ounces per cup, or 108.9 grams. USDA's reference for plain ground paprika is 108.8 grams per cup. This entry anchors to that USDA figure as a physical analog. Using the plain paprika figure is a physical judgment, not a shortcut. Smoking is a drying method. The ground result is the same flaky, fibrous pepper-wall powder with the same thin oil film that makes plain paprika tacky, humidity-sensitive, and compressible under a scoop. Nothing in the smoking step plausibly changes particle shape or composition enough to shift bulk density. Confidence is medium rather than high because no direct cup measurement of smoked paprika specifically has been published. Retail labels are a trap here. McCormick's smoked paprika panel lists a quarter teaspoon as 1 gram, while its plain paprika panel lists a quarter teaspoon as 0.5 grams. Taken literally, that implies 192 versus 96 grams per cup for nearly identical products. The true weight of a quarter teaspoon at 109 grams per cup is about 0.57 grams: round it to the nearest half gram and you print 0.5, round it up to a whole gram and you print 1. Both labels are correct roundings of the same weight, and neither is density data. Simply Organic's smoked paprika label, at 2 grams per teaspoon, is the same story, a true 2.3 grams rounded to the whole gram. None of these label figures is used here. For measuring, smoked and plain paprika are interchangeable by volume: 2.3 grams per teaspoon and 6.8 grams per tablespoon. For flavor they are not interchangeable, since smoked paprika is intense and a recipe that calls for it wants the smoke. Bloom it briefly in fat to release color and aroma, but pull it before it browns, because paprika scorches quickly and turns bitter. Spoon and level without pressing, break up clumps first, and keep the tin sealed. ### White Pepper, Ground https://exactcups.com/white-pepper-ground/ Category: Spices and dried aromatics (10% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: ground white pepper, white pepper powder, Piper nigrum white. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 113.6 g (4 oz); 1/2 cup = 56.8 g; 1/4 cup = 28.4 g; 1 tbsp = 7.1 g; 1 tsp = 2.4 g (0.48 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 2.00 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy — Spices, pepper, white (ground): 113.6 g per cup. Standard Reference direct measurement. 120 g per metric cup (114 g per US cup, density 0.4800 g/mL). Anchor for this entry. - USDA FoodData Central Branded — Pepper (White): 115.5 g per cup. UPC 725677221489. Label-derived record; aqua-calc computes 122 g per metric cup (116 g per US cup, density 0.4880 g/mL). Within 1.7 percent of the USDA SR anchor. - Chef's Resources — Dry Spice Yields chart: 116.8 g per cup. Table lists Pepper, White Ground at 4.12 oz/cup (117 g per US cup, density 0.4937 g/mL). Within 2.9 percent of the USDA SR anchor. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: White pepper packs at about 114 g per US cup, roughly three percent heavier than black pepper. USDA FoodData Central, USDA Branded records, and Chef's Resources all agree within three percent of each other, so this entry publishes a single figure with medium confidence. White pepper is the same berry as black pepper (Piper nigrum), harvested when ripe rather than green and then processed to remove the outer skin. The ripe berries are soaked in water for a week or more, the softened husk is rubbed away, and the pale inner kernel is dried and ground. Removing the black husk changes both the density and the flavor. The husk carries most of the coarse fiber and the sharp piperine notes, so ground white pepper is a heavier, denser powder with a milder, earthier flavor and often a slightly musty aroma from the fermentation step during dehulling. Sources converge tightly on the density. USDA FoodData Central's SR Legacy record for Spices, pepper, white (ground) gives 120 g per metric cup, which works out to 114 g per US cup at a density of 0.480 g/mL. A USDA Branded Foods record (UPC 725677221489) reports 122 g per metric cup, essentially matching. Chef's Resources publishes 4.12 oz per US cup (117 g), also within tolerance. The three sources span just three percent, a normal spread for a well-defined ground spice with a fairly fixed particle-size class. The comparison to black pepper is worth drawing because bakers and cooks often substitute one for the other. USDA's SR Legacy for Spices, pepper, black (ground) gives 116 g per metric cup, so white pepper is a few percent denser than black by USDA's own measurement. The physical reason is the missing husk: black pepper's dark outer skin is a fibrous layer that entrains air pockets across a cup of ground powder, while white pepper is essentially ground endosperm — denser starch and alkaloids without the structural husk fiber. This holds across brands. Black pepper published values span a wider range (roughly 111 to 134 g per US cup in the records collected for this database, published as a range because the spread exceeds the 10 percent spice tolerance) because the husk-to-kernel ratio varies with berry size, drying method, and grind coarseness. White pepper is a more processed and more standardized product, so brand-to-brand variance is smaller and a single figure captures the reality accurately. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list either white pepper or black pepper. The chart is silent on both. There is no correction opportunity here; the site simply publishes what USDA and the reference chart already agree on. White pepper is used where black pepper's dark specks would be visible against a pale sauce or purée (cream sauces, béchamel, mashed potatoes, vanilla custards with peppery accents) or where its milder, earthier flavor is wanted in place of black pepper's sharper piperine bite. It is standard in several Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisines, particularly in soups like hot and sour where the fermented-earthy note is part of the flavor profile. Substitution to black pepper is roughly one-to-one by weight, but because white pepper is a few percent denser, a teaspoon of white pepper delivers slightly more spice by mass than a teaspoon of black. For most recipes this is within rounding error; for tightly balanced spice blends the difference can matter, and weighing is the reliable answer. ## Liquids (65) ### Almond Milk https://exactcups.com/almond-milk/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: almond milk, almondmilk, almond beverage, almond drink, unsweetened almond milk. #### Standard, US commercial refrigerated almond milk (Unsweetened, Original, or Vanilla at label precision) Published: 1 cup = 236.6 g (8.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 118.3 g; 1/4 cup = 59.1 g; 1 tbsp = 14.8 g; 1 tsp = 4.9 g (1 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.96 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 2257045): Almond milk, unsweetened, plain, refrigerated. Foundation Food record published April 28, 2022. Composition per 100 g: 97.6% water, 1.6% fat, 0.7% carbohydrate, 0.7% protein, 19 kcal. No cup portion is published for this record. Composition confirms density essentially at water — no ingredient at concentration sufficient to shift density meaningfully at label precision. - Silk Unsweet Almondmilk: 236.6 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1 cup (240 mL) = 240 g, rounding density to 1.000 g/mL per FDA dairy-alternative label convention. Ingredients: almondmilk (water, almonds), calcium carbonate, sea salt, gellan gum, sunflower oil, vitamin blend, ascorbic acid, natural flavor. 240 mL = 240 g reads out to 236.6 g per US customary cup (236.588 mL). - Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original: 236.6 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1 cup (240 mL) serving. Refrigerated version 30 kcal/cup; shelf-stable 25 kcal/cup. Ingredients: almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), calcium carbonate, sea salt, potassium citrate, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, natural flavors, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, vitamin E. Confirms label convergence with Silk at 240 g / 240 mL. - Califia Farms Unsweetened Almondmilk: 236.6 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1 cup (240 mL) = 35 kcal. Ingredients: almondmilk (water, almonds), calcium carbonate, sunflower lecithin, sea salt, natural flavor, guar gum, gellan gum, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, potassium citrate. Third producer confirming the 240 g / 240 mL label convention at 1.000 g/mL. - USDA SR Legacy records (FDC 174832 and shelf-stable equivalent): 243.9 g per cup. Older USDA Standard Reference records list almond milk at 244 g per US cup (unsweetened, density ~1.031 g/mL) and 261 g per US cup (shelf-stable, density ~1.108 g/mL) — the second figure is implausibly high for a 97% water beverage and appears to reflect a different formulation, likely higher almond content (10-15% by weight) than modern commercial products (typically 2% almonds). Not used as the density anchor; refrigerated Foundation Food record and current producer labels supersede these legacy figures for mass-market products. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: One cup of almond milk weighs about 237 grams (1.000 g/mL) — essentially the density of water. Silk, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, and Califia Farms all print serving-size labels of 240 mL = 240 g, converging at 1.000 g/mL. This reads out to 236.6 g per US customary cup (236.588 mL). Almond milk is 97-98% water with about 2% almonds and small amounts of oil, stabilizers, and fortification. King Arthur Baking's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list plant-based milks, so there is no KA figure to correct here. Commercial almond milk is made by blending soaked almonds with water, straining out the solids, and homogenizing the liquid with added stabilizers (gellan gum, guar gum, sunflower lecithin) to prevent the almond particles from settling. Producers add calcium carbonate to match dairy calcium levels, along with vitamin D2, vitamin A, vitamin E, and sometimes vitamin B12. The dominant ingredient by mass is filtered water; almonds contribute only about 2% by weight in most mass-market products (though this varies — Califia Organic and specialty brands like Elmhurst and Malk use significantly more almonds and read denser). USDA FoodData Central (FDC 2257045, oat milk, unsweetened, plain, refrigerated — published April 2022 as a Foundation Food) lists composition as 97.6% water, 1.6% fat, 0.7% carbohydrate, 0.7% protein by mass, and 19 calories per 100 grams. That composition puts density essentially at water: no component is at high enough concentration to move density meaningfully. USDA does not publish a cup portion for the Foundation Food record; the density anchor comes from producer labels, which converge at 240 g / 240 mL (1.000 g/mL). The 240 mL cup on the nutrition label is the FDA labeling reference for milks and creams, not the US customary cup — the two differ by about 1.5%. Older USDA Standard Reference (SR Legacy) records list almond milk at higher densities: FDC 174832 shows 244 g per US cup at 1.031 g/mL, and the shelf-stable equivalent shows 261 g per US cup at 1.108 g/mL. The 261 g/cup figure is implausibly high for a beverage that is 97% water and appears to reflect an older or specialty formulation with significantly more almonds. Modern mass-market commercial almond milk does not match these legacy figures; the refrigerated Foundation Food record and current producer labels are the more accurate anchor. Formulation variance across brands and product lines is real but stays within the 5% liquid category tolerance. Unsweetened Original (all brands) has the fewest added ingredients — water, almonds, salt, calcium, vitamins, and gums. Sweetened varieties add 7 to 12 grams of cane sugar per cup, which shifts calories from ~30 to ~60 per cup but does not measurably change cup weight at label precision. Vanilla, chocolate, and other flavored varieties add flavoring and (usually) sugar but similarly stay near the same density. Barista formulations (Califia Farms Barista Blend, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Barista) add sunflower oil, guar gum, and acidity regulators to improve steaming and microfoam behavior in espresso — these add ~1% fat but do not shift cup weight meaningfully. For baking substitution, almond milk swaps 1:1 by volume with cow's milk with minor caveats. Whole cow's milk is denser at 244 g/cup (1.030 g/mL) because dissolved lactose and protein add mass; almond milk at 237 g/cup runs about 3% lighter per cup. For weight-based recipes calling for 244 g of whole milk, using 237 g of almond milk under-delivers 3% of the liquid mass — negligible for cakes, muffins, quickbreads, and pancakes. Almond milk lacks the protein content of cow's milk and the beta-glucan of oat milk, so it does not build structure in the same way; expect flatter cakes and less browning. For custards and pastry cream that depend on protein for setting, almond milk is a poor substitute at any weight ratio. For béchamel and roux-based sauces, almond milk works but produces a thinner result. Shelf-stable and refrigerated versions do not measurably differ in density; fortification levels do not shift density; homemade almond milk (blended, strained from raw almonds) varies with the almond-to-water ratio. ### Apple cider vinegar https://exactcups.com/apple-cider-vinegar/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: cider vinegar, ACV, apple vinegar, raw apple cider vinegar, apple cider vinegar with the mother. #### Standard, 5% acidity at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 239 g (8.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 119.5 g; 1/4 cup = 59.8 g; 1 tbsp = 14.9 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0102 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Vinegar, cider" (FDC 173469): 239 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 02048) publishes 1 cup = 239 g (1.010 g/mL) and 1 tbsp = 14.9 g. Per 100 g: water 93.8 g, carbohydrate 0.93 g, sugars 0.40 g, sodium 5 mg. - Kressi Tell apple vinegar, 15 L bag-in-box (Pomona technical sheet): 239.2 g per cup. "Vinaigre de pommes Tell bag in box 15L Kressi": net weight (Poids net) 15.165 kg, gross 17.365 kg; acetic acid 45 g per litre. 1.011 g/mL, 239.2 g per US cup. - Engineering ToolBox, density of aqueous acetic acid solutions at 20 °C: 237.8 g per cup. Table of aqueous solution densities: acetic acid "5 | 1.0052" and "10 | 1.0121" g/cm³ at 20 °C (percent by mass). 5% acetic acid in water is 237.8 g per US cup; 10% is 239.5 g. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of apple cider vinegar weighs 239 g (8.4 oz), a density of 1.010 g/mL, 1% heavier than the same cup of water. A tablespoon weighs 14.9 g and a teaspoon 5 g. USDA weighs a cup at 239 g, and a 15-litre bag-in-box of Kressi apple vinegar has a net weight of 15.165 kg, 1.011 g/mL. Apple cider vinegar is made in two fermentations: yeast turns apple juice into hard cider, then acetic acid bacteria turn the alcohol into acetic acid. American bottles are diluted to 5% acidity. Filtered cider vinegar is clear and amber; raw, unfiltered vinegar sold "with the mother", such as Bragg, is cloudy with the bacterial culture and a little apple sediment. It is used in salad dressings, barbecue sauces, brines, baking (with baking soda, as a leavener) and drinks. What separates it from white vinegar is a little apple. USDA's Standard Reference record for cider vinegar (FDC 173469) lists 93.8 g of water per 100 g, with 0.93 g of carbohydrate, 0.40 g of it sugar, and a trace of minerals: about 1% of apple extract on top of the acid. That predicts the weight before anything is measured. A 5% acetic acid solution weighs 1.0052 g/mL at 20 °C, and 1% of dissolved fruit solids adds about 0.4% more, for 1.009 to 1.010 g/mL. The measured figures land there. USDA weighs a cup at 239 g, 1.010 g/mL, and a tablespoon at 14.9 g. The technical sheet for Kressi's Swiss apple vinegar, at 45 g of acetic acid per litre, gives 15.165 kg net in a 15-litre bag-in-box, 1.011 g/mL or 239.2 g per cup. The two agree within 0.1%, and USDA's cup is published. Unfiltered vinegar with the mother carries slightly more sediment, but not enough to change a cup by more than a gram. Sweetened apple cider vinegar drinks are different products: a drinking vinegar with added sugar or honey weighs noticeably more than plain vinegar, and its label is the place to check. US labels give the serving as 1 tbsp (15 mL), the FDA reference amount for vinegar, with no grams. A gallon of cider vinegar weighs about 3.82 kg, 8.4 lb; a figure of exactly 8 lb per gallon is 128 fluid ounces counted as if they were weight ounces. Practical guidance: use 239 g per cup, 119.5 g per half cup, 60 g per quarter cup, 14.9 g per tablespoon and 5 g per teaspoon. Apple cider vinegar and white vinegar differ by 1 g per cup, so in a recipe they can be swapped by weight or volume without adjusting; the swap changes flavour, not quantity. A 32 fl oz bottle holds about 956 g. ### Apple juice https://exactcups.com/apple-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: 100% apple juice, unsweetened apple juice, bottled apple juice, apple cider, sweet apple cider. #### Standard, 100% juice at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 248 g (8.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 124 g; 1/4 cup = 62 g; 1 tbsp = 15.5 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0482 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Apple juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid" (FDC 173933): 248 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 09016) publishes 1 cup = 248 g (density 1.048 g/mL), 1 fl oz = 31 g and an 8.45 fl oz drink box = 262 g, all the same density. Water 88.2 g, sugars 9.62 g per 100 g. - Ismailov et al. 2025, Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences: 247.5 g per cup. "Nomograms for determining the thermo-physical properties of fruit juices", 15(3), e12745. Measured densities of pressed apple juice at 12% dissolved solids and 20 °C: Golden Rangers 1.046 g/cm³ (247.5 g per cup), Simirenko 1.042 g/cm³ (246.5 g per cup); density falls to about 1.015 g/cm³ at 90 °C. - FAO/INFOODS Density Database, Version 2.0 (2012): 246.1 g per cup. Table 2: "Apple juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid" density 1.04 g/mL, specific gravity 1.05, from USDA ARS, Specific Gravity of Selected Beverages (2011). 246 g per US cup; temperature not stated. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5: 238.5 g per cup. "Apple juice, ready-to-drink, vitamin C added" 125 mL = 126 g (59 kcal), 238 g per US cup (density 1.008 g/mL). REJECTED: Apple juice sold as 100% juice in the US must measure at least 11.5 °Brix (21 CFR 101.30), and a sugar solution that strong weighs 1.043 g/mL; 126 g in 125 mL is 1.008 g/mL, barely heavier than water. Whole-gram rounding allows 1.004 to 1.012 g/mL, still 3% short. USDA weighs a cup at 248 g (1.048 g/mL) and juice measured at 12% solids weighs 1.042 to 1.046 g/mL. The same Health Canada table agrees with USDA for grape, pineapple and prune juice, so the error is particular to this row. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/apple-juice-238-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of apple juice weighs 248 g (8.7 oz), a density of 1.05 g/mL, about 5% heavier than the same cup of water. USDA weighs a cup at 248 g, and measured densities of pressed apple juice put it at 246 to 248 g. Health Canada's 126 g per 125 mL would make apple juice almost as light as water and is rejected. Apple juice is pressed apple juice, filtered and pasteurized, sold as 100% juice or made back up from concentrate. In the US, unfiltered, cloudy apple juice is sold as apple cider; it is the same juice with more of the fruit's fine solids left in, and USDA has no separate cup weight for it. Hard cider, the fermented drink, is lighter, because fermentation turns the sugar into alcohol. USDA's Standard Reference record for bottled unsweetened apple juice (FDC 173933) gives 1 cup as 248 g, 1 fl oz as 31 g and an 8.45 fl oz drink box as 262 g, all the same density, 1.048 g/mL. A 2025 study of the physical properties of fruit juices measured pressed apple juice at 12% dissolved solids and 20 °C at 1.042 to 1.046 g/cm³, 246 to 248 g per cup, depending on the apple. The two agree within 1%, and USDA's own specific gravity list, published in the FAO/INFOODS density database, gives 1.04 g/mL. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 125 mL of ready-to-drink apple juice at 126 g, 1.008 g/mL, or 238 g per cup. The same table agrees with USDA for grape, pineapple and prune juice, but for apple juice it is too light, and the physics shows it. The physical check: a juice weighs what its dissolved sugar makes it weigh. The FDA sets the minimum strength of 100% apple juice at 11.5 °Brix, 11.5% dissolved solids, and a sugar solution of that strength weighs 1.043 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table, 247 g per cup. USDA's 9.6% sugars plus the juice's acids and minerals land in the same place. A juice at 1.008 g/mL would carry under 2% sugar, which is not apple juice. Juice density changes with temperature: the same study found apple juice about 3% lighter at 90 °C than at 20 °C, which matters only when measuring hot cider. Juice from concentrate is reconstituted to the same strength and weighs the same. Practical guidance: use 248 g per cup, 124 g per half cup, 62 g per quarter cup and 15.5 g per tablespoon. A 64 fl oz bottle holds 8 cups, about 1.98 kg. For recipes that use apple cider by the cup, use the same figures. Measured by volume, juice needs no scale: a liquid measuring cup filled to the line is accurate to within a few grams. ### Applesauce https://exactcups.com/applesauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 255 g (9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (unsweetened) Published: 1 cup = 244 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 122 g; 1/4 cup = 61 g; 1 tbsp = 15.2 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0313 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 244 g per cup. FDC 171695 (Applesauce, canned, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 244 g. Density 1.0313 g/mL. Composition: 88.4% water, 11.3% carbohydrate (of which ~9.4% sugars naturally present in apples), 0.2% protein, 0.1% fat. - King Arthur: 255 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Applesauce', 1 cup = 255 g, density 1.0778 g/mL. King Arthur does not specify sweetened or unsweetened; the slightly higher figure is consistent with sweetened applesauce, which has added sugar raising the overall density. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Applesauce is cooked, pureed apples, with or without added sugar. In American baking it appears most often as a substitute — a way to reduce oil or eggs in a quick bread or muffin — and the substitution works because applesauce is roughly the same density as water and has similar hydration behaviour to eggs or milk in a batter. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of unsweetened canned applesauce at 244 grams (FDC 171695, Applesauce, canned, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid). That gives a density of 1.0313 grams per millilitre, essentially identical to plain milk. The similarity is not accidental: both are about 88 to 90 percent water with a small amount of dissolved and suspended solids denser than water, and both come out just above water density as a result. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 cup at 255 grams and 1.0778 grams per millilitre. King Arthur does not specify whether the entry is sweetened or unsweetened. Sweetened applesauce is unsweetened applesauce with added sugar (typically 3 to 5 grams of sucrose or corn syrup per tablespoon), and the added sugar raises the density enough to explain the gap between the two figures. If the King Arthur row is for sweetened applesauce and the USDA row is for unsweetened, both are correct measurements of different products. The two figures are 4.4 percent apart, inside the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the liquid category. We publish the USDA figure because it is explicitly labelled unsweetened and because most modern baking recipes now call for unsweetened applesauce when they mean it as a substitution ingredient. Sweetened applesauce (typically labelled 'original' or 'regular' on a supermarket shelf) is heavier per cup than unsweetened. For a recipe that specifies applesauce without saying which type, use the recipe writer's context: healthy-baking, low-sugar and 'apple-sweetened' contexts almost always mean unsweetened; older recipes and traditional applesauce cake usually mean sweetened. When in doubt, weigh — 244 grams for unsweetened, roughly 255 to 260 for sweetened. Homemade applesauce varies more than either canned figure suggests. Cooked and pressed through a food mill, it can range from 220 grams per cup (loose, with more air) to 260 grams per cup (dense, well-cooked, pressed hard). The variety of apple matters slightly — sweet apples like Fuji produce a slightly denser sauce than tart apples like Granny Smith because of the sugar content — but the difference is usually within the range this entry covers. Related products not covered here: apple butter, which is applesauce cooked down further until much of the water has evaporated, weighing about 285 grams per cup and containing 45 to 55 percent sugar; apple purée for infants, which is essentially the same as applesauce but often blended smoother; and apple sauce as a savoury condiment for meat, which may include vinegar, mustard or horseradish and behaves differently in a recipe. FDA regulates applesauce under general food safety and labelling rules and USDA has grading specifications for canned applesauce under Commercial Item Description CID A-A-20155 covering identity, colour, texture and acceptable levels of defects, but neither addresses density. Codex Alimentarius does not have a specific applesauce standard. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because applesauce behaves as a semi-liquid purée in a measuring cup: it settles into the container, self-levels, and the density is determined by its composition rather than by how it was scooped. The 5 percent liquid category tolerance applies, and both sources sit inside it once the sweetened-versus-unsweetened distinction is accounted for. ### Balsamic vinegar https://exactcups.com/balsamic-vinegar/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: balsamic vinegar of Modena, aceto balsamico di Modena, balsamic, Modena balsamic vinegar, IGP balsamic vinegar. Working figure: 1 cup = 259 g (9.1 oz) for an everyday supermarket balsamic vinegar of Modena; 1 tbsp = 16.2 g. #### Balsamic vinegar of Modena (IGP), at room temperature No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 255–269.7 g. Balsamic vinegar of Modena is made at different strengths of grape must, and its rules set only a minimum density of 1.06 g/mL. The products weighed here run from 1.078 to 1.14 g/mL, 5.8% apart, more than the 5% that one figure can cover for a liquid, so the range is shown with a working figure for an everyday bottle. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Vinegar, balsamic" (FDC 172241): 255 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 02069) publishes 1 cup = 255 g (1.078 g/mL). Per 100 g: water 76.5 g, carbohydrate 17.0 g, sugars 14.9 g, sodium 23 mg. - Episaveurs Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP, 1 L (Pomona technical sheet): 259.1 g per cup. "Vinaigre balsamique de Modène IGP en bouteille 1 L": "Densité 1.095 (+/- 0.005)", net weight 1.095 kg per 1 L bottle, acetic acidity 6.15%, sugars 18 g per 100 mL. 259.1 g per US cup. - Roland Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, 9 × 33.8 fl oz case (rolandfoods.com): 265 g per cup. Item 70568: 9 units per carton, unit size 33.8 fl oz, "Case Net Weight (lb) 22.22", case gross 33 lb. 10,079 g in 8,996 mL is 1.120 g/mL, 265.1 g per US cup. - Maille Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, 0.50 L (Pomona technical sheet): 269.7 g per cup. "Vinaigre balsamique de Modène en bouteille 0,50 L MAILLE": Volume 0.5 L, net weight (Poids net) 0.57 kg, gross 0.949 kg. 1.14 g/mL, 269.7 g per US cup. - Consorzio Tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena, production specification (Disciplinare IGP, 2025), Article 2: "density at 20°C: not less than 1.06 for the refined product and not less than 1.15 for the «invecchiato» product", 1.25 for «riserva»; "minimum total acidity: 6 percent for the refined product". A legal minimum, 250.8 g per US cup for ordinary balsamic, not a measurement of any product. - Matvaretabellen (Norwegian Food Composition Table), balsamic vinegar (10.129): 236.6 g per cup. "1 decilitre (100 grams)", "1 teaspoon (5 grams)", "1 tablespoon (11 grams)". 100 g per 100 mL is 1.000 g/mL, 236.6 g per US cup; the 11 g tablespoon would be 0.74 g/mL. Water 85.0 g, sugars 15 g per 100 g. REJECTED: Balsamic vinegar of Modena may not be sold under that name below a density of 1.06 g/mL at 20 °C, and the table's own composition rules out water's weight: 15 g of sugar per 100 g weighs about 1.06 g/mL on its own, before the acid and grape solids. 100 g per decilitre is what water weighs, and the table's 11 g tablespoon would make balsamic lighter than olive oil. Measured balsamics weigh 1.078 to 1.14 g/mL. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/balsamic-vinegar-237-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of balsamic vinegar of Modena weighs between 255 and 269.7 g (9 to 9.5 oz), a density of 1.08 to 1.14 g/mL, depending on how much grape must the producer uses. For an everyday supermarket bottle use 259 g per cup and 16.2 g per tablespoon. USDA weighs a cup at 255 g, a 1-litre IGP balsamic is specified at 1.095 g/mL, and Maille's half-litre bottle holds 570 g. Norway's food composition table weighs balsamic like water, which its own sugar and the legal minimum both rule out. Balsamic vinegar of Modena, protected as an IGP in the EU, is cooked grape must blended with wine vinegar and matured in wooden casks. The must brings sugar, colour and body, and the more of it a producer uses, the sweeter, thicker and heavier the vinegar. Its rules set a minimum density of 1.06 g/mL at 20 °C for ordinary balsamic, 1.15 for aged balsamic ("invecchiato") and 1.25 for "riserva", with at least 6% acidity. Traditional balsamic vinegar (Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale), made from must alone and aged for twelve years or more, is a different product, closer to a syrup. Sugar decides the weight. USDA's Standard Reference record for balsamic vinegar (FDC 172241) lists 76.5 g of water, 17 g of carbohydrate and 14.9 g of sugars per 100 g, and weighs a cup at 255 g, 1.078 g/mL, which is what a solution with about 17% solids weighs. Episaveurs' IGP balsamic, with 18 g of sugars per 100 mL, is specified at a density of 1.095, 259.1 g per cup. Roland's foodservice balsamic packs 22.22 lb into nine 33.8 fl oz bottles, 1.120 g/mL or 265.1 g per cup, and Maille's 0.5-litre bottle has a net weight of 570 g, 1.14 g/mL or 269.7 g per cup. Those products are 5.8% apart, more than the 5% tolerance this site allows for one liquid figure, and the spread is real: balsamic is sold in grades of strength, not one recipe. So the range is shown, with 259 g, Episaveurs' specified density, as the working figure for an everyday bottle. The sugars line on the label is the best guide: more sugar per serving means a heavier vinegar. Matvaretabellen, the Norwegian food composition table, gives a decilitre of balsamic vinegar as 100 g and a tablespoon as 11 g. A decilitre at 100 g is water's weight, below the 1.06 g/mL that the IGP rules require and below what the table's own 15 g of sugar per 100 g weighs; an 11 g tablespoon would make balsamic lighter than olive oil. The figure is rejected and has its own correction page. Practical guidance: use 259 g per cup, 65 g per quarter cup, 16.2 g per tablespoon and 5.4 g per teaspoon for an everyday balsamic, and up to 270 g per cup for a thick, sweet one. Balsamic glaze and crema, reduced and often thickened, are syrups and weigh far more. ### Banana https://exactcups.com/banana/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: mashed banana, ripe banana, banana pulp. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Mashed, ripe, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 225 g (7.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 112.5 g; 1/4 cup = 56.2 g; 1 tbsp = 14.1 g; 1 tsp = 4.7 g (0.951 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.01 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 225 g per cup. FDC 173944, SR Legacy, 1 cup mashed = 225 g - King Arthur Baking: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Bananas (mashed), 1 cup = 227 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Sources agree within 0.9%, well inside the 5% tolerance for the liquid category. USDA FDC 173944 (Bananas, raw) publishes 1 cup mashed at 225 g (0.951 g/ml). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists mashed bananas at 227 g per cup (0.9595 g/ml). The King Arthur figure is exactly 8 fluid ounces at 28.35 grams per fluid ounce, which is the fluid-ounce mass equivalent rather than a bench density measurement, the same convention documented on the milk, yogurt, heavy cream and coconut milk entries. For those dairy entries, the resulting figure was below water density and therefore physically impossible, so King Arthur's number was rejected. For mashed banana the same conversion happens to land within 1 percent of USDA's bench measurement, because mashed banana pulp is coincidentally close to the density of water. This is treated as a fortunate agreement rather than as a corroborated measurement, and the King Arthur figure is included without a rejection flag. Bananas are roughly 75 percent water carrying starch, sugars, dietary fiber and small amounts of protein and fat. As green bananas ripen, starch converts to simple sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose) but the total dry matter stays similar, so density does not shift meaningfully across ripeness stages that a home cook would use. Overripe bananas do lose some water through transpiration and can weigh slightly less per fresh banana, but the mashed density per unit volume remains close to USDA's 225 g per cup figure. The comparison between USDA's mashed cup at 225 g and USDA's sliced cup at 150 g is instructive: same fruit, same cup volume, 50 percent more banana by weight when mashed. The difference is entirely air. Sliced banana rounds pack loosely with substantial air pockets between rounds; mashing collapses those pockets. Recipes that call for cups of banana without specifying mashed or sliced will produce different results by weight, and this is why banana bread recipes almost universally specify mashed, since a consistent volume of mashed banana is a consistent weight of banana. The yields section provides USDA's own piece weights for small, medium, large and extra-large peeled bananas, which are more useful than cup measurements for recipes that call for a number of bananas (as most banana bread recipes do). USDA defines these size categories by length: small under 6 inches (101 g), medium 7 to 7-7/8 inches (118 g), large 8 to 8-7/8 inches (136 g), extra-large 9 inches and up (152 g). These figures are for edible pulp after peeling and are the standard reference across nutrition databases. Retail bananas in North American supermarkets typically fall in the medium to large range. Cavendish is the dominant commercial cultivar and is what USDA's figures describe; other cultivars such as Gros Michel, plantains, red bananas and burro bananas have different sizes, densities and starch content, and are covered by separate USDA records where they exist. Two sources agreeing within category tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's bench figure and is held at medium confidence until an independent third is found. ### BBQ Sauce https://exactcups.com/bbq-sauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: barbecue sauce, barbeque sauce, Bar-B-Q sauce, bottled BBQ sauce, BBQ sauce original. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 288 g (10.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 144 g; 1/4 cup = 72 g; 1 tbsp = 18 g; 1 tsp = 6 g (1.2173 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.79 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, barbecue, SWEET BABY RAY'S, original" (FDC 171827): 288 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1/2 cup = 144 g, extrapolating to 288 g per US cup (density 1.217 g/mL); the same record lists 1 tbsp = 18 g (288 g per cup) and 1 cup = 280 g. Water 50.1 g, carbohydrate 46.1 g (sugars 38.4 g) per 100 g. - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, barbecue" (FDC 174523): 286 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1/2 cup = 143 g, extrapolating to 286 g per cup (density 1.209 g/mL); the same record lists 1 cup = 279 g and 1 tbsp = 17 g. Water 54.7 g, carbohydrate 40.8 g (sugars 33.2 g) per 100 g. - Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce (producer label): 288 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 40-oz bottle: 2 tbsp (36 g), extrapolating to 288 g per cup. - Kraft Original Slow-Simmered BBQ Sauce (producer label): 288 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 18-oz bottle: 2 Tbsp (36 g), extrapolating to 288 g per cup. - Bull's-Eye Original BBQ Sauce (producer label): 288 g per cup. Kraft Heinz foodservice label, 1-gallon jug: 2 Tbsp (36 g), extrapolating to 288 g per cup. - KC Masterpiece Original BBQ Sauce (producer label): 280 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 18-oz bottle: 2 tbsp (35 g), extrapolating to 280 g per cup (density 1.184 g/mL). Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: BBQ sauce weighs 288 g per US cup (10.2 oz) and 36 g per 2 tablespoons, a density of 1.217 g/mL. USDA's half-cup portions, and the Sweet Baby Ray's, Kraft, Bull's-Eye and KC Masterpiece labels, all land at 280-288 g, within 3%. Bottled barbecue sauce in the American sweet style is a tomato base, usually ketchup or paste, cooked with sugar, molasses or corn syrup, vinegar, salt and spices. Sugar is most of what is in it besides water: USDA's generic barbecue sauce is 55% water and 41% carbohydrate, 33% of it sugars, and its Sweet Baby Ray's record is 50% water with 38% sugars. That is more sugar than ketchup carries, and it makes barbecue sauce heavier. USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, barbecue, SWEET BABY RAY'S, original" (FDC 171827) lists a half cup at 144 g and a tablespoon at 18 g, both 288 g per cup, and a cup at 280 g. The generic "Sauce, barbecue" record (FDC 174523) lists a half cup at 143 g (286 g per cup), a cup at 279 g and a tablespoon at 17 g. Sweet Baby Ray's, Kraft and Bull's-Eye label 2 tablespoons at 36 g, and KC Masterpiece at 35 g. Unlike shredded cheese, these labels weigh a fixed volume: FDA's reference serving for barbecue sauce is 2 tablespoons (30 mL), and the label must give its weight. The small differences inside USDA's records are rounding. A tablespoon is only about 15 mL, and a weight rounded to the whole gram, 17 g, could be anything from 16.5 to 17.5 g, a window of 264-280 g per cup. The half-cup portions, 143-144 g, are ten times larger and pin the figure much more closely, and they agree with the labels. The physical check agrees too. Dissolved sugar raises a liquid's density by roughly 0.04 g/mL for every 10% it makes up. A sauce that is about 40% sugars and other carbohydrate, plus a couple of percent of salt, should weigh about 1.21-1.23 g/mL, which is 286-292 g per cup. Ketchup, at 21% sugars, weighs 272 g per cup on this site; barbecue sauce's extra sugar puts it about 16 g per cup above. Styles differ, which is why confidence is medium. Heinz's thick, sweet original labels 2 tablespoons at 38 g (304 g per cup). Thinner, vinegar-forward sauces are lighter: Open Pit labels 34 g (272 g per cup), and a food database lists Stubb's at 33 g (264 g per cup). For the thick, sweet supermarket style most recipes mean, 288 g is the figure; for a thin Carolina-style or vinegar sauce, expect closer to 270. King Arthur's chart has no barbecue sauce row. Practical guidance: an 18-oz bottle holds 510 g, about 1 3/4 cups; a 40-oz bottle 1,134 g, about 4 cups. For pulled pork or a slow cooker, 1 cup is 288 g; for a glaze, 1/4 cup is 72 g and 2 tablespoons 36 g. Barbecue sauce clings to cups and spoons, so a measured cup often pours out a few grams light; weighing straight into the pot avoids that. The tomato products comparison page shows BBQ sauce beside ketchup, marinara, tomato sauce and the other tomato products. ### Blueberry juice https://exactcups.com/blueberry-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: 100% blueberry juice, pure blueberry juice, wild blueberry juice, unsweetened blueberry juice. King Arthur: 241 g (8.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, 100% juice at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 248.7 g (8.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 124.3 g; 1/4 cup = 62.2 g; 1 tbsp = 15.5 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.051 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - Cepeda et al. 2002, International Journal of Food Science and Technology: 248.7 g per cup. Cepeda, Hermosa, Llorens and Villarán, "Rheological behaviour of blueberry cloudy juice (Vaccinium corymbosum L.)", 37 (2002) 271-276. Table 1: soluble solids 12.5 °Brix, density 1.051 g/cm³ measured with a 10 mL pycnometer, 248.7 g per US cup; the paper's calculated value from the Alvarado and Romero equation is 1.054 g/cm³. Juice pressed from fresh highbush blueberries. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 241 g per cup. KA lists "Blueberry juice" at 1 cup = 8 1/2 oz = 241 g (density 1.019 g/mL). - 21 CFR 101.30(h)(1): Minimum strength of 100% blueberry juice from concentrate: 10.0 °Brix, which weighs 1.037 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table (245.4 g per cup). Composition standard, no cup weight. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of blueberry juice weighs about 249 g (8.8 oz), a density of 1.05 g/mL, from a laboratory measurement of pressed blueberry juice. King Arthur's 241 g is within 3% and is accepted. A juice at the FDA's minimum strength for 100% blueberry juice weighs about 245 g, between the two. Blueberry juice is pressed from cultivated highbush or wild lowbush blueberries and sold as 100% juice, often as a single-fruit juice such as R.W. Knudsen Just Blueberry or Wyman's wild blueberry juice, and more often blended with apple or grape juice. Bakers use it to colour and flavour frostings, glazes, fillings and syrups. Cepeda and colleagues, studying the flow of cloudy blueberry juice pressed from highbush berries, measured it at 12.5 °Brix and a density of 1.051 g/cm³ with a pycnometer, 248.7 g per cup; the standard equation for juice density gave 1.054, in agreement. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists blueberry juice at 1 cup = 8 1/2 oz = 241 g, 1.019 g/mL. The two are 3.2% apart, inside the 5% tolerance this site allows for liquids, and the measured figure is published. Confidence is medium because there is one laboratory measurement and no USDA or Health Canada record for blueberry juice. The physical check: a juice weighs what its dissolved sugar makes it weigh. The FDA sets the minimum strength of 100% blueberry juice from concentrate at 10.0 °Brix, which weighs 1.037 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table, 245 g per cup. Cepeda's 12.5 °Brix juice is a little stronger and heavier; a juice right at the minimum would sit between it and King Arthur's figure. King Arthur's 241 g, 8 1/2 oz, looks like a figure rounded to the nearest half ounce: 245 g is 8.6 oz. One label transcription, Lakewood's pure blueberry juice on ReciPal, gives 8 fl oz as 227 g, which is 8 weight ounces read as 8 fluid ounces and would make the juice lighter than water; it is not used. Blueberry juice blends, mostly apple and grape juice, weigh like those juices, 248 to 253 g per cup. Cloudy, unfiltered blueberry juice carries more of the fruit's fine pulp than clear juice, which adds a little weight, and Cepeda's juice was cloudy. A clear, filtered retail juice at the same sugar content would weigh a gram or two less per cup, well within the tolerance for liquids. Practical guidance: use 249 g per cup, 124 g per half cup, 62 g per quarter cup and 15.5 g per tablespoon. King Arthur's 241 g gives results within 3%. A 32 fl oz bottle holds 4 cups, about 995 g. ### Buttermilk https://exactcups.com/buttermilk/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/buttermilk-227-grams/. #### Standard (cultured, lowfat) Published: 1 cup = 245 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 122.5 g; 1/4 cup = 61.2 g; 1 tbsp = 15.3 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0355 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 245 g per cup. FDC 170874 (Milk, buttermilk, fluid, cultured, lowfat, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 245 g. Density 1.0355 g/mL. Composition: ~90% water, ~4.8% carbohydrate (lactose), ~3.3% protein, ~1% fat. - King Arthur: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Buttermilk', 1 cup = 227 g, density 0.9595 g/mL. This is 8 US fluid ounces × 28.35 g/oz, the same fluid-oz-as-weight figure King Arthur applies to milk, yogurt, cream, Greek yogurt and pumpkin purée. REJECTED: 227 g/cup implies a density of 0.9595 g/mL, less than water. Cultured buttermilk is roughly 90% water plus milk solids (protein, lactose, minerals) all denser than water. The mixture must be denser than water, not lighter. King Arthur's figure appears to be their fluid-oz convention rather than a bench measurement; the same pattern rejected on milk, yogurt, heavy cream, Greek yogurt and pumpkin purée applies here. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/buttermilk-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Buttermilk in an American supermarket in 2026 is not the liquid drained from butter churning that the name suggests. It is cultured lowfat milk — skimmed or lowfat milk fermented with lactic acid bacteria until it thickens and turns tangy. The traditional churned buttermilk still exists in some rural and craft dairies, but the mass-market carton labelled 'buttermilk' is a cultured product, and both USDA's data and this entry describe that version. King Arthur publishes 1 cup at 227 grams, the same figure they publish for milk, yogurt, heavy cream, Greek yogurt, pumpkin purée and vanilla extract. As with those entries, 227 is what you get from taking 8 US fluid ounces and multiplying by 28.35 grams per ounce — the conversion factor for weight ounces rather than fluid ounces. The number implies a density of 0.9595 grams per millilitre. Buttermilk cannot have that density. It is roughly 90 percent water plus dissolved milk solids (protein at about 3.3 percent, lactose at about 4.8 percent, small amounts of fat and minerals). All of those solids are denser than water, so the mixture must be denser than water. We reject King Arthur's figure on the same physical grounds as the other 227-per-cup dairy rejections. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of cultured lowfat buttermilk at 245 grams (FDC 170874, Milk, buttermilk, fluid, cultured, lowfat). That gives a density of 1.0355 grams per millilitre, essentially identical to plain milk and yogurt at 244-245 grams per cup. The consistency across cultured and non-cultured dairy is expected — culturing changes the flavour and acidity of the liquid but not the composition significantly enough to shift its density. The mismatch between the King Arthur convention and physical reality matters in recipes that use buttermilk in meaningful amounts. A biscuit dough calling for 1 cup of buttermilk gets 245 grams by USDA measurement and 227 by the King Arthur figure — 7.4 percent less liquid on the volume side, which in a hydration-sensitive dough is enough to change the texture perceptibly. Baking soda-based leavening in biscuits also depends on the acidity that comes with the buttermilk, so 'a little less liquid' is not neutral. Related products this entry does not cover: cultured whole milk (higher fat, slightly lower density around 1.03), traditional churned buttermilk (thinner, closer to skim milk at 1.03), and powdered buttermilk (a separate ingredient, effectively dry milk with cultured flavour, weighs about 120 grams per cup dry and is measured very differently). Sour milk made at home by adding vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk is an emergency substitute but not chemically the same product; it has the acidity of cultured buttermilk but not the same protein structure. FDA identity standard for cultured buttermilk products is at 21 CFR 131.112, requiring the product to be cultured with specific bacteria and to meet minimum milk solids content. No density is specified. The Codex Alimentarius standard for fermented milks (CXS 243-2003) covers cultured buttermilk internationally, with the same focus on culture identity and composition rather than physical measurement. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because cultured buttermilk pours and self-levels in a measuring cup exactly like plain milk, with density set by its water content rather than by scooping method. The 5 percent liquid tolerance applies. The 7.4 percent gap between the accepted USDA figure and the rejected King Arthur figure exceeds that tolerance, which is one of several reasons King Arthur's figure was rejected rather than range-published: the underlying method (fluid-oz-as-weight) is not a valid measurement of the same product, so the two figures are not comparable measurements to be averaged. ### Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes https://exactcups.com/whole-peeled-tomatoes/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: whole peeled tomatoes, canned whole tomatoes, whole tomatoes, peeled plum tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, pelati. #### Standard, tomatoes with their juice, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 240 g (8.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 120 g; 1/4 cup = 60 g; 1 tbsp = 15 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0144 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice" (FDC 170051): 240 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 240 g (density 1.014 g/mL) and 1 tbsp = 15 g. Water 94.8 g, carbohydrate 3.5 g (sugars 2.6 g) per 100 g. Primary anchor. - USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice, no salt added" (FDC 170138): 240 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 240 g. Same figure as the salted record. - Hunt's Whole Tomatoes (producer label): 242 g per cup. Conagra specification sheet, 28-oz can: 1/2 cup (121 g, about 2 small tomatoes), extrapolating to 242 g per cup (density 1.023 g/mL). - Contadina Whole Peeled Tomatoes (producer label): 242 g per cup. Brand site, 28-oz can: 1/2 cup (121 g), extrapolating to 242 g per cup. - Red Gold Whole Peeled Tomatoes (producer label): 242 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Kroger), 28-oz can, packed in tomato juice: 1/2 cup (121 g), extrapolating to 242 g per cup. - Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes (producer label): 244 g per cup. Brand site: 1/2 cup (122 g), extrapolating to 244 g per cup (density 1.031 g/mL). - Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled San Marzano Style Tomatoes (producer label): 240 g per cup. Brand site: 1/2 cup (120 g), extrapolating to 240 g per cup (density 1.014 g/mL). Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Canned whole peeled tomatoes weigh 240 g per US cup (8.5 oz) with their juice, a density of 1.014 g/mL. USDA's two canned-tomato records give 240 g, and Hunt's, Contadina, Red Gold and Muir Glen label half a cup at 120-122 g, which is 240-244 g per cup, within 2%. Whole peeled tomatoes are ripe tomatoes, usually plum or Roma types, scalded so the skins slip off, then packed whole in tomato juice or a light puree. They are the base of slow-cooked sauces and the can that pizza and pasta recipes most often ask for, including the San Marzano style. The US standard for canned tomatoes (21 CFR 155.190) lets them be packed in juice or in puree; USDA puts the juice-packed can at 94.8% water. USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice" (FDC 170051) lists 1 cup at 240 g and 1 tablespoon at 15 g, and the no-salt-added record (FDC 170138) gives the same 240 g cup. USDA does not split whole from diced in these records; they describe juice-packed canned tomatoes generally. The brands label the whole-peeled can itself: Hunt's, Contadina and Red Gold 121 g per half cup, Muir Glen's regular and San Marzano-style cans 122 g and 120 g. O Organics, Kroger, H-E-B, Tuttorosso and Bianco DiNapoli also print 120-121 g. King Arthur's chart has no row for canned tomatoes. The physical check works out to the gram. Tomatoes and their juice are both mostly water carrying a few percent of sugars, acids, pectin and fibre, all denser than water. At USDA's 94.8% water and 3.5% carbohydrate, the mixture should be about 1.8% denser than water, which is about 241 g per cup. USDA measures 240 and the labels 240-244. Whole tomatoes in a cup leave pockets, but the juice fills them, so there is no air to account for, unlike a cup of shredded cheese or flour. One label sits outside the rest. Cento's certified San Marzano cans give half a cup at 115 g, 230 g per cup. That would make tomatoes in juice lighter than water, which they cannot be, so that figure is not used here; it looks like a rounded serving weight rather than a measured half cup. Practical guidance: a 28-oz can holds 794 g, about 3 1/3 cups of tomatoes and juice; a 14.5-oz can 411 g, about 1 3/4 cups. Recipes that call for "1 cup whole tomatoes, crushed by hand" mean 240 g of tomatoes with their juice. Draining removes most of the juice and the figure no longer applies, so weigh drained tomatoes. Whole, diced and crushed tomatoes in juice all weigh about the same per cup; crushed and diced tomatoes packed in puree run heavier. The tomato products comparison page shows whole peeled tomatoes beside crushed and diced tomatoes, puree, sauce, paste, juice, marinara and ketchup. ### Coconut Cream https://exactcups.com/coconut-cream/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: canned coconut cream, unsweetened coconut cream, full-fat coconut cream, thick coconut cream. King Arthur: 284 g (10 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/coconut-cream-284-grams/. #### Standard, well-shaken canned emulsion No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 224–240 g. Canned coconut cream density spans 224-240 g/cup across major brands, a 7% spread that exceeds the 5% liquid tolerance. Real variance driven by differences in fat-to-water ratio (typically 20-25% fat, with some brands running higher) and stabilizer inclusion (guar gum, polysorbate). This entry covers only canned coconut cream (shaken emulsion form) — three other products commonly called 'coconut cream' are covered in the notes but have distinct densities. Sources: - Native Forest Organic Unsweetened Coconut Cream label: 240 g per cup. 30 g per 2 tablespoon serving = 240 g/cup. Native Forest is a major North American natural-foods brand for canned coconut products; their unsweetened premium coconut cream is guar-gum stabilized and represents the higher-fat end of the mainstream retail range. - Trader Joe's Coconut Cream (Extra Thick & Rich) label: 224 g per cup. 28 g per 1 fluid ounce = approximately 224 g/cup. Density derivation assumes 1 fl oz = 29.57 mL as the volume unit. Trader Joe's version is guar-free (water + organic coconut only) and represents the lower-fat, less-stabilized end of the mainstream retail range. - WebMD nutritional reference – generic canned coconut cream: 230 g per cup. 46 g saturated fat per cup at approximately 20% saturated fat by weight gives roughly 230 g/cup for the composite emulsion. Consistent with the Native Forest and Trader Joe's brand labels; sits in the middle of the retail range. - King Arthur Baking Company – Ingredient Weight Chart: 284 g per cup. 1 cup = 10 oz = 284 g/cup. Rejected: this figure implies a density of 1.20 g/mL, which is physically impossible for a coconut fat + water emulsion (both components are ≤ 1.0 g/mL). The KA figure matches the density expected for creamed coconut (dehydrated coconut paste block, roughly 684 cal/100g per Wikipedia) rather than canned coconut cream (roughly 200 cal/100g). This is a scope error — KA's chart entry uses 'coconut cream' to describe what most sources call 'creamed coconut' or 'coconut butter,' a distinct product from the canned shaken emulsion that dominates North American baking recipes. REJECTED: Scope error: KA's 284 g/cup figure implies density 1.20 g/mL, physically impossible for a coconut fat + water emulsion. The value matches creamed coconut (dehydrated coconut paste block) rather than canned coconut cream. Similar pattern to graham-flour: KA has treated a distinct product category as if it were their own product category. Bakers using canned coconut cream should not weigh at 284 g/cup — that will over-measure by roughly 40 g per cup relative to what their can actually contains. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/coconut-cream-284-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Canned coconut cream weighs 224-240 g/cup depending on brand, with the range driven by fat-to-water ratio and stabilizer choice. Native Forest lands at 240 g/cup (higher fat, guar-gum stabilized), Trader Joe's at approximately 224 g/cup (guar-free, water + coconut only), and generic nutritional references at roughly 230 g/cup in the middle. 'Coconut cream' is one of the most confused ingredient categories in modern baking. Four distinct products travel under variants of that name, and each has a different density and different culinary purpose. Understanding which one a recipe means is often the difference between a successful bake and a failed one. **1. Canned coconut cream (this entry): 224-240 g/cup.** The mainstream baker's ingredient. Sold in cans or cartons as an unsweetened emulsion of coconut extract in water, typically 20-25% fat by weight. Native Forest, Trader Joe's, Aroy-D, Thai Kitchen, and Chaokoh are common brands. Well-shaken before pouring, this is what almost every modern American baking recipe means by 'coconut cream.' Used in vegan whipped cream, chocolate ganache, Thai curries, tres leches cake, and coconut ice cream. **2. Cream of coconut (Coco Lopez): approximately 298 g/cup.** Sweetened. Not the same product. Cream of coconut is designed for cocktails (piña colada, especially), and contains 40%+ added sugar. Substituting cream of coconut for canned coconut cream in a dessert recipe will make the finished bake far too sweet. If a piña colada or old-school tiki recipe calls for 'coconut cream,' it usually means Coco Lopez or similar sweetened product. **3. Creamed coconut / coconut butter: semi-solid paste, sold as a hard block or in jars.** Made by grinding dehydrated coconut meat to a paste, similar to how nut butters are made. This is a fat-and-fiber-dense product (roughly 684 cal/100g) that must be melted or dissolved in warm water before use in most recipes. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart entry for 'coconut cream (unsweetened)' at 284 g/cup appears to describe creamed coconut rather than the canned shaken emulsion covered by this entry — the implied density of 1.20 g/mL is not achievable for a fat+water emulsion where both components have density ≤ 1.0 g/mL. **4. Chilled/skimmed cream (from full-fat canned coconut milk): approximately 220 g/cup.** Not a purchased product — a preparation technique. Chilling a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight causes the fat-rich cream to separate and solidify at the top of the can, while the water sinks to the bottom. Scooping only the solid top layer gives a fat-concentrated cream used for vegan whipped cream. Slightly less dense than canned coconut cream because more of the water fraction has been discarded. **Distinction from coconut milk (already covered in this database).** Coconut milk is a thinner emulsion, typically 5-17% fat, weighing about 241 g/cup per King Arthur. Coconut cream is 20-25% fat and weighs 224-240 g/cup. Confusingly, coconut cream is slightly LESS dense than coconut milk per volume even though it has more fat, because fat (roughly 0.92 g/mL) is less dense than water (1.0 g/mL). The net effect is small — both are close to water density — but the direction is counterintuitive. **Practical baker guidance.** When a modern American baking recipe calls for 'coconut cream,' it almost certainly means canned unsweetened well-shaken coconut cream at approximately 230 g/cup. Weigh in that range unless the recipe specifies chilled/skimmed cream or names a specific product like Coco Lopez. For vegan whipped cream, look for products explicitly labeled 'coconut whipping cream' (Nature's Charm brand is a common dedicated product) or use the chilled/skim technique on full-fat canned coconut milk. Avoid substituting cream of coconut, creamed coconut, or coconut milk one-to-one for canned coconut cream — the results will not match what the recipe developer tested. ### Coconut milk https://exactcups.com/coconut-milk/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: canned coconut milk, full-fat coconut milk, santan. King Arthur: 241 g (8.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Canned, well shaken No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 226–241 g. Two sources disagree by 6.4%, over the 5% tolerance for this category. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 226 g per cup. FDC 170173, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 226 g - King Arthur Baking: 241 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, coconut milk (canned, well shaken), 1 cup = 241 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: Coconut milk is a stable oil-in-water emulsion pressed from grated coconut meat, canned with fat content typically between 17 and 24 percent for full-fat products. Sources disagree by 6.4%, which is a real disagreement rather than a rounding artifact. USDA FDC 170173 (Nuts, coconut milk, canned, liquid expressed from grated meat and water) gives a cup at 226 g (0.9552 g/ml). A liquid this fatty sits below water in density, as coconut oil does, and USDA's figure is consistent with a full-fat product at that composition. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart gives 241 g per cup, or 1.0186 g/ml. That is above water and matches what a lower-fat, more diluted coconut milk would weigh. The King Arthur figure is exactly 8.5 fluid ounces at 28.35 grams per fluid ounce, which is the fluid-ounce mass equivalent, not a density measurement. Their chart lists the same product as 8 1/2 ounces, which is the volume expressed as fluid ounces, and the gram figure appears to be that number converted as if the fluid ounces were weight ounces. This is the same pattern that led to the rejection of King Arthur's whole milk figure in an earlier entry, where 227 g per cup was 8 fluid ounces converted as weight and produced a density lighter than water, which is physically impossible for milk. Coconut milk sits closer to water than milk does, so the same conversion happens to fall inside a physically plausible range, and the King Arthur figure cannot be rejected on physics alone. It is recorded here as a source without a rejection flag, but the underlying method appears to be a volume-to-weight conversion rather than a bench measurement, and this is noted in the ref. Canned coconut milk products vary widely in fat content and therefore in density. Full-fat brands like Chaokoh, Aroy-D and Thai Kitchen declare 24 percent fat and sit near the USDA figure. Light coconut milk removes cream and water and sits near or above the King Arthur figure. Carton coconut milk marketed as a dairy alternative is a different product entirely, typically 1 to 3 percent fat and much closer to water in density. This entry is for canned coconut milk in the full-fat sense that recipes usually intend when they call for it in curries, sauces, ice cream and baking. Well shaken matters because coconut milk separates on standing into a solid cream layer on top and a thin water layer on the bottom. Both King Arthur and USDA specify or imply well-shaken measurement, and the density above assumes the product has been homogenised before measuring. Coconut cream, sweetened condensed coconut milk, coconut milk powder and cream of coconut are separate products with their own weights and are covered by separate entries. No standards body publishes a density for coconut milk. Codex Alimentarius CXS 240-2003 covers aqueous coconut products including coconut milk and specifies composition requirements for fat, protein and total solids, but does not specify density. The Asian Regional Coconut Community publishes similar composition standards without density. Two sources only, and the range is published because no third source arbitrates between what appears to be a genuine measurement (USDA) and what appears to be a volume-to-weight conversion (King Arthur). ### Coconut water https://exactcups.com/coconut-water/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: fresh coconut water, tender coconut water, young coconut water, packaged coconut water, 100% coconut water. #### Standard, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 240 g (8.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 120 g; 1/4 cup = 60 g; 1 tbsp = 15 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0144 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Nuts, coconut water (liquid from coconuts)" (NDB 12119): 240 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 240 g (density 1.014 g/mL), with 228 g of water and 6 g of sugars per cup (95% water, 2.5% sugars). Read through ReciPal. - Purohit, Behera and Mishra 2017, Food and Applied Bioscience Journal: 240.9 g per cup. "Thermal processing of tender coconut water: a colour preservation approach", 5(2), 82-92. Table 1, water of 7 to 8 month old tender coconuts: specific gravity 1.020 ± 0.002 at 5.04 °Brix, about 1.018 g/mL, 241 g per US cup. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of coconut water weighs 240 g (8.5 oz), a density of 1.01 to 1.02 g/mL, only about 2% heavier than water. USDA weighs a cup at 240 g, and a laboratory study of tender coconut water measured its specific gravity at 1.020, 241 g per cup. Coconut water is the clear liquid inside a young, green coconut, drawn off before the flesh hardens, not to be confused with coconut milk, which is made by pressing grated coconut flesh with water and is thick with fat. Packaged coconut water is the same liquid, pasteurized or cold-filtered; some brands add sugar or fruit juice, which makes them slightly heavier. USDA's Standard Reference record for coconut water (NDB 12119) gives 1 cup as 240 g, with 228 g of water and 6 g of sugars, 95% water and 2.5% sugar. Purohit and colleagues, studying how heat changes the colour of tender coconut water, measured water from 7 to 8 month old coconuts at a specific gravity of 1.020 and 5.04 °Brix, about 1.018 g/mL, 241 g per cup. The two agree within 0.5%. Confidence is medium because there is one laboratory measurement and USDA's 240 g could be a rounded figure. The physical check: a liquid that is 95% water with about 5% dissolved sugars and minerals, mainly potassium, should weigh about 1.02 g/mL. A sugar solution at 5 °Brix weighs 1.018 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table, the same as the measured coconut water. That puts it at the light end of everything sold as juice, well below orange juice (248 g per cup on this site) or apple juice (248 g), because it carries about half the dissolved solids. On this site it sits with the other coconut products. Coconut milk and coconut cream weigh about the same per cup, 224 to 241 g, because their fat is lighter than water and offsets the dissolved solids; cream of coconut, a sweetened syrup, is far heavier at 283 to 312 g. Coconut water from older, brown coconuts carries less sugar and more of the coconut's oil than water from young green ones, and some packaged brands blend water from coconuts of different ages. Neither shifts the cup weight by more than a gram or two, because all of it is about 95% water; what changes is the taste, not the weight. Practical guidance: use 240 g per cup, 120 g per half cup, 60 g per quarter cup and 15 g per tablespoon. An 11.1 fl oz (330 mL) carton holds about 1.4 cups, 336 g. In baking and smoothies coconut water can replace water nearly gram for gram; measured by volume, a liquid measuring cup is accurate enough. ### Cottage cheese https://exactcups.com/cottage-cheese/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 226 g (8 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (creamed, 4% milkfat) Published: 1 cup = 226 g (8 oz); 1/2 cup = 113 g; 1/4 cup = 56.5 g; 1 tbsp = 14.1 g; 1 tsp = 4.7 g (0.9553 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.00 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 226 g per cup. FDC 172179 (Cheese, cottage, creamed, large or small curd, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 226 g. Density 0.9553 g/mL. Composition: ~79% water, ~4% fat, ~12% protein, ~3% carbohydrate. - King Arthur: 226 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cottage cheese', 1/2 cup = 113 g, extrapolates to 226 g per cup and 0.9553 g/mL. Coincides exactly with USDA and reflects the actual bulk density of curds packed with whey and small air gaps. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Cottage cheese is one of the few 227-per-cup ingredients on this site where the number is physically reasonable, and it is worth reading alongside cream cheese and sour cream (also close to 227 g/cup) rather than alongside milk, yogurt and buttermilk (where the same number is wrong). King Arthur publishes 1/2 cup at 113 grams, which extrapolates to 226 grams per cup and a bulk density of 0.9553 grams per millilitre. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup at 226 grams (FDC 172179, Cheese, cottage, creamed, large or small curd), giving the same density. The two sources agree exactly, well inside the 5 percent liquid category tolerance. The reason cottage cheese sits below water density is not composition but structure. On mass fractions alone, cottage cheese is roughly 79 percent water, 12 percent protein, 4 percent fat and 3 percent carbohydrate — a mixture that should have a density around 1.06 grams per millilitre based on the density of each component (protein at 1.35, fat at 0.92, carbohydrate at 1.5, all averaged by their proportions). The measured bulk density is much lower because cottage cheese is not a homogeneous liquid. It is discrete curds with whey between them, and packing curds into a measuring cup leaves small air pockets that no amount of pressing eliminates. Those air pockets bring the effective density down to about 0.95, close enough to 8 fluid ounces per cup that the 226-gram figure is right for physical reasons rather than accidental ones. This distinguishes cottage cheese from milk, buttermilk, yogurt or pumpkin, all of which are homogeneous liquids or pastes that pack without air gaps and therefore weigh their true density per cup. It puts cottage cheese in the same bucket as cream cheese, sour cream and Greek yogurt — semi-solid dairy products where curd structure or high fat content pulls the bulk density below water. The entry describes the standard creamed cottage cheese as sold in a tub (4 percent milkfat, small or large curd). Lower-fat and non-fat variants weigh slightly more per cup because water replaces fat and water is denser than fat. USDA publishes 2 percent milkfat cottage cheese at 220 grams per cup and 1 percent at approximately 226 grams (values shift with product formulation and whey retention). Dry-curd cottage cheese, sold without added cream, weighs about 145 grams per cup because there is no dressing to fill the gaps between the curds — it is drier and looser. These variants are not covered by this entry but are worth knowing about if a recipe specifies which type. Related products: ricotta is a whey cheese with a similar appearance but different composition (usually higher fat, no whey between curds) and denser at about 250 grams per cup. Farmer's cheese is closer to dry-curd cottage cheese but with less whey remaining. Quark, popular in European baking, is a fresh cheese cultured from skim milk and sits denser than cottage cheese at about 240 grams per cup because it has no curd-whey structure. FDA identity standards for cottage cheese are at 21 CFR 133.128 (dry curd cottage cheese) and 21 CFR 133.129 (creamed cottage cheese). Both address composition and manufacturing rather than density. USDA AMS grading specifications for cottage cheese are covered under 7 CFR Part 58. The Codex Alimentarius standard for cottage cheese (CXS 273-1968) is the international counterpart. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because cottage cheese behaves as a semi-liquid in a measuring cup: it self-levels when scooped in, the whey fills gaps as the curds settle, and the density is set by the composition and structure of the product rather than by how it was scooped. The 5 percent liquid category tolerance applies. Both sources sit exactly on the same figure, so no range is needed. ### Cranberry juice https://exactcups.com/cranberry-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: 100% cranberry juice, unsweetened cranberry juice, pure cranberry juice, cranberry juice blend. #### Standard, 100% juice, unsweetened, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 253 g (8.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 126.5 g; 1/4 cup = 63.3 g; 1 tbsp = 15.8 g; 1 tsp = 5.3 g (1.0694 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.90 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cranberry juice, unsweetened" (FDC 168117): 253 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 43382) publishes 1 cup = 253 g (density 1.069 g/mL), with 220.4 g of water and 31 g of sugars per cup (12.1% sugars, none added). Read through ReciPal and getfoodfacts. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5: 253.6 g per cup. "Cranberry juice, unsweetened, ready-to-drink" 125 mL = 134 g (61 kcal), 253.6 g per US cup (density 1.072 g/mL). - 21 CFR 101.30(h)(1) and USDA Foundation Foods "Cranberry juice, not fortified, from concentrate, shelf stable" (FDC 2003594): The FDA's minimum strength for 100% cranberry juice from concentrate is 7.5 °Brix, which weighs 1.027 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table (243 g per cup). USDA's Foundation record for straight cranberry juice from concentrate lists 92.3% water, consistent with that weaker strength. Composition only; no cup weight. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of unsweetened 100% cranberry juice weighs 253 g (8.9 oz), a density of 1.07 g/mL. USDA weighs a cup at 253 g and Health Canada's 125 mL at 134 g, 253.6 g per cup. Straight cranberry juice with nothing else blended in is thinner and weighs about 243 g; most juice sold as 100% cranberry is a blend. Cranberries are too sour to drink as pressed juice, and most bottles labelled 100% cranberry juice are cranberry blended with sweeter juices such as apple or grape, with no added sugar. USDA's record for unsweetened cranberry juice lists 31 g of sugars per cup and none added, about 12% sugar, which is more than cranberries alone supply. Straight cranberry juice, sold as just cranberry or pure cranberry, is a different and much tarter product. USDA's Standard Reference record (FDC 168117) gives 1 cup as 253 g. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 125 mL of ready-to-drink unsweetened cranberry juice at 134 g, 1.072 g/mL. The two agree within 0.3%, and the figure is published at medium confidence because it describes the common blended product rather than straight cranberry. The physical check: a juice weighs what its dissolved sugar makes it weigh. At 12 to 13% solids, a sugar solution weighs about 1.05 g/mL; both measurements sit a little above that, at 1.07, as most bottled juices on this site do. Straight cranberry juice is held by the FDA to a minimum of only 7.5 °Brix, which weighs 1.027 g/mL, 243 g per cup, and USDA's Foundation record for straight cranberry juice from concentrate is 92.3% water, consistent with that weaker strength. No source weighs a cup of it, so 243 g is a calculation, not a published figure. Cranberry juice cocktail, the sweetened drink of about 27% juice, is a separate entry. It weighs the same 253 g per cup because its added sugar brings it to about the same strength as a 100% blend. Measuring juice needs no special care: a liquid fills the cup completely, with no air between particles, so the weight depends only on what is dissolved in it. Chilled juice is a fraction of a percent heavier than juice at room temperature, too little to matter in a recipe. Practical guidance: use 253 g per cup, 127 g per half cup, 63 g per quarter cup and 15.8 g per tablespoon for 100% cranberry juice blends. For straight, unblended cranberry juice, about 243 g per cup. A 64 fl oz bottle of a 100% blend holds 8 cups, about 2.02 kg. ### Cranberry juice cocktail https://exactcups.com/cranberry-juice-cocktail/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: cranberry cocktail, cranberry juice drink, Ocean Spray cranberry juice cocktail, sweetened cranberry juice. #### Standard, bottled, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 253 g (8.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 126.5 g; 1/4 cup = 63.3 g; 1 tbsp = 15.8 g; 1 tsp = 5.3 g (1.0694 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.90 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Cranberry juice cocktail, bottled" (FDC 171903): 253 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 14242) publishes 1 cup (8 fl oz) = 253 g (density 1.069 g/mL), with 218 g of water and 30 g of sugars per cup. Read through ReciPal and getfoodfacts. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5: 253.6 g per cup. "Cranberry juice cocktail, ready-to-drink, vitamin C added" 125 mL = 134 g (76 kcal), 253.6 g per US cup (density 1.072 g/mL). - FAO/INFOODS Density Database, Version 2.0 (2012): 248.4 g per cup. Table 2: "Cranberry juice cocktail, bottled" density 1.05 g/mL, specific gravity 1.05, from USDA ARS, Specific Gravity of Selected Beverages (2011). 248.4 g per US cup; temperature not stated. - USDA Commercial Item Description A-A-20327A, Cranberry Juice Products (2020): Cranberry juice cocktail, Style A: "27% cranberry juice by volume", soluble solids "12.0 - 16.0°Brix", which weighs 1.045 to 1.062 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table (247 to 251 g per cup). Specification, no cup weight. - USDA SR Legacy "Beverages, Cranberry juice cocktail" (FDC 173214): 271 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 14284) publishes 1 cup = 271 g (density 1.145 g/mL), with 236.8 g of water and 31 g of sugars in that cup. REJECTED: The record's own composition rules it out: it lists 236.8 g of water in the cup, and 236.8 g of water alone fills 237 mL, the whole cup, leaving no room for the 31 g of sugar it also lists. 1.145 g/mL is the density of a syrup of about 33% sugar; cranberry juice cocktail is 12 to 16 °Brix. USDA's other cranberry juice cocktail record weighs a cup at 253 g, Health Canada at 253.6 g, and USDA's measured specific gravity is 1.05. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/cranberry-juice-cocktail-271-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of cranberry juice cocktail weighs 253 g (8.9 oz), a density of 1.07 g/mL. USDA weighs a cup of bottled cocktail at 253 g, Health Canada's 125 mL at 134 g, 253.6 g per cup, and USDA's measured specific gravity for the drink is 1.05. A second USDA record that gives 271 g per cup contradicts its own composition and is rejected. Cranberry juice cocktail is the sweetened cranberry drink Ocean Spray made famous: about a quarter cranberry juice, with water and sugar. USDA's purchase specification for it calls for 27% cranberry juice by volume and 12 to 16 °Brix of dissolved solids. It is the cranberry juice of most cocktails and punches, and of many cranberry sauce and baking recipes that call simply for cranberry juice. USDA's Standard Reference record for bottled cocktail (FDC 171903) gives 1 cup (8 fl oz) as 253 g. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 125 mL at 134 g, 1.072 g/mL. The FAO/INFOODS density database lists the drink at 1.05 g/mL from USDA's own specific gravity measurements, 248.4 g per cup. The three agree within 2.1%, and USDA's 253 g, the figure most cited, is published at high confidence. A second USDA record, Beverages, Cranberry juice cocktail (FDC 173214), gives 1 cup as 271 g, 1.145 g/mL. It cannot be right, and the record itself shows why: it lists 236.8 g of water in that cup. That much water alone fills 237 mL, the whole cup, leaving no room for the 31 g of sugar the same record lists. A density of 1.145 g/mL belongs to a syrup of about 33% sugar. The figure is still copied by nutrition sites and is rejected here. The physical check: at the specification's 12 to 16 °Brix, a sugar solution weighs 1.045 to 1.062 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table, 247 to 251 g per cup, which brackets USDA's measured 1.05 and sits just under the 253 g cup figures. Light and diet cocktails, sweetened with sucralose or saccharin instead of sugar, carry almost no dissolved solids and weigh close to water; no source weighs them. As with any juice, how the cup is filled does not change the weight, because a liquid leaves no air in the cup. What changes it is the recipe: cranberry-apple, cranberry-grape and other cocktail blends sit at the same 12 to 16 °Brix and weigh about the same per cup. Practical guidance: use 253 g per cup, 127 g per half cup, 63 g per quarter cup and 15.8 g per tablespoon. A 64 fl oz bottle holds 8 cups, about 2.02 kg. ### Cream cheese https://exactcups.com/cream-cheese/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (full-fat, block) Published: 1 cup = 232 g (8.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 116 g; 1/4 cup = 58 g; 1 tbsp = 14.5 g; 1 tsp = 4.8 g (0.9806 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.98 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 232 g per cup. FDC 173418 (Cheese, cream, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 232 g, 1 tbsp = 15 g, 1 package small (3 oz) = 85 g. Density 0.9806 g/mL. Composition: 53.3% water, 34.9% fat, 6.2% protein, 5.6% carbohydrate. - King Arthur: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cream cheese', 1 cup = 227 g, density 0.9595 g/mL. Coincides with the weight of a standard Philadelphia 8-oz block (8 × 28.35 = 227 g). Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Cream cheese is one of the rare ingredients where the King Arthur figure of 227 grams per cup lines up with something real — but for reasons that have nothing to do with the fluid-ounce convention that produces the same number for milk, yogurt and pumpkin. The 227 grams here comes from the weight of a standard American cream cheese block: 8 ounces by weight (8 × 28.35 = 227 grams). Almost every US recipe that calls for '1 cup of cream cheese' means one 8-ounce block, and the King Arthur chart has quietly encoded that convention. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup at 232 grams and 1 tablespoon at 15 grams (FDC 173418, Cheese, cream). This gives a bulk density of 0.9806 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 cup at 227 grams, density 0.9595. The two figures agree within 2.2 percent, comfortably inside the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the liquid category. We publish the USDA figure of 232 grams per cup because it represents the actual weight that fits into a US customary cup measure, rather than the block-weight convention. The physics of cream cheese density is similar to sour cream. It is 53.3 percent water and 34.9 percent fat, with milk fat around 0.92 grams per millilitre pulling the overall density slightly below water. The result of about 0.98 grams per millilitre sits between plain milk (1.03) and butter (0.91). If a cream cheese recipe calls for one cup and you dip the cup into a tub, you will get about 232 grams. If you slice open a standard block instead, you will get exactly 227 grams — and most recipe writers assume that is what you did. The 8-ounce block is defined by USDA and FDA convention. The FDA identity standard for cream cheese is at 21 CFR 133.133, requiring at least 33 percent milkfat and no more than 55 percent moisture in the finished product. Neufchâtel cheese, defined at 21 CFR 133.162, is the reduced-fat version at 20 to 33 percent milkfat and up to 65 percent moisture; it weighs slightly less per cup because of the extra water. USDA AMS grading standards for cream cheese exist under 7 CFR Part 58 but govern quality inspection rather than density. Products this entry does not cover include: whipped cream cheese, which has air incorporated during processing and weighs about two-thirds as much per volume (USDA publishes 1 tablespoon whipped at 10 grams versus 15 grams for standard, implying about 158 grams per cup for whipped); Neufchâtel cheese, sold in the same block shape but labelled lower-fat, with density slightly lower because water replaces some fat; reduced-fat and fat-free cream cheeses, which vary widely because gums and stabilisers are added to compensate for the missing fat; mascarpone, an Italian fresh cheese with much higher fat (75 percent) and no added acid, denser than cream cheese despite the extra fat because it contains no whey; and cream cheese spreads (chive, strawberry, vegetable), which have added ingredients and lower densities. Standard US packaging: 8-ounce (227 g) rigid brick, 3-ounce (85 g) mini brick, 7.5-ounce tub of whipped, 8-ounce tub of soft or spreadable. Recipes usually specify the format needed. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because cream cheese behaves as a soft, semi-liquid paste in a measuring cup: it settles into the container, sets its own level with a moderate press, and the density is determined by the ratio of fat to water rather than by how it was scooped. The 5 percent liquid category tolerance applies, and both sources sit well inside it. ### Crème Fraîche https://exactcups.com/creme-fraiche/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: creme fraiche, crème fraîche, creme fraiche french-style, cultured cream, french-style cultured cream, thick cultured cream. King Arthur: 248 g (8.7 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, spooned Published: 1 cup = 240 g (8.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 120 g; 1/4 cup = 60 g; 1 tbsp = 15 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0144 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Crème Fraîche (branded, UPC 071448300595): 237 g per cup. USDA branded food entry: 237 g per US cup, or 7.9 oz/cup. Density-based conversion from the manufacturer's declared serving size, listed via aqua-calc's USDA-sourced volume-to-weight calculator. - Vermont Creamery — French-Style Crème Fraîche: 240 g per cup. Dominant US producer of French-style crème fraîche. Product label serves 1 oz (28 g); per-tablespoon reference of 15 g published via Fitia's brand database implies 240 g/cup. Ingredient: pasteurized cultured cream. Product line established 1984. - Trader Joe's — Crème Fraîche: 240 g per cup. Product label serving: 2 tablespoons = 30 g = 110 kcal. Extrapolates to 240 g/cup at 15 g/tbsp. Second-largest US retail crème fraîche brand by shelf presence. - King Arthur Baking Company — Ingredient Weight Chart: 248 g per cup. 1/2 cup = 4 1/3 oz = 124 g, extrapolating to 248 g/cup. 3.3% higher than the producer consensus at 240 and almost certainly a rounding artifact: 240 g/cup converts to 4.23 oz per half-cup, which appears to have been rounded up to the neat fraction 4 1/3 = 4.333 oz. - Chef in Disguise — dairy conversion table: 240 g per cup. French cook's dairy conversion reference lists crème fraîche at 1 cup = 240 g, consistent with 30-40% milkfat cultured cream. Same table lists heavy cream and light cream at 240 g/cup, mascarpone-adjacent products in the 240-250 g/cup band. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 240 g/cup (1.014 g/mL). Multi-source convergence across USDA branded data, Vermont Creamery, Trader Joe's, and French cooking references. King Arthur lists 248 g/cup, roughly 3% higher — almost certainly a fractional-ounce rounding artifact rather than a real disagreement. Crème fraîche is thick cultured cream, French in origin but now widely produced domestically, made by fermenting heavy cream with mesophilic bacterial cultures until it thickens without souring as sharply as American sour cream. French-style crème fraîche typically hits 30-40% milkfat, higher than sour cream's ~20% and roughly matching lightly whipped heavy cream. The result is spoonable but dense enough to hold a dollop, tangy but nutty rather than sharp, and — because the cultures dominate the tang and the fat content buffers acidity — stable enough not to break when heated, which is the culinary property that makes it prized over sour cream in warm sauces and pan reductions. Density data converges tightly. USDA FoodData Central's branded entry for crème fraîche (UPC 071448300595) gives 237 g per US cup, or 1.00 g/mL. Vermont Creamery, the dominant US producer of French-style crème fraîche, publishes a serving of 1 oz = 28 g and per-tablespoon data of 15 g, extrapolating to 240 g/cup. Trader Joe's Crème Fraîche lists 2 tbsp = 30 g on the label, also 240 g/cup. French cooking references and density-based converters both settle at 240. Physics predicts 239 g/cup for 30% milkfat and 238 g/cup for 40% milkfat cultured cream, so 240 fits the retail product profile squarely. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists crème fraîche at 1/2 cup = 4 1/3 oz = 124 g, extrapolating to 248 g/cup — 3.3% higher than the producer consensus. That gap is almost certainly a rounding artifact: converting the producer figure of 240 g/cup back to ounces gives 4.23 oz per half-cup, which KA appears to have rounded up to the neat fraction 4 1/3. Within the semi-solid dairy family, crème fraîche sits between heavier and lighter neighbors on the scale. Sour cream (227 g/cup in the King Arthur convention) is thinner and tangier at 18-20% milkfat, with more lactic acid and a tendency to break in hot pans. Mascarpone (227 g/cup, high confidence) is at the other side of the flavor axis: 44% milkfat, mild rather than tart, denser-feeling in the mouth despite the similar cup weight. Cream cheese (227 g/cup) and Greek yogurt (227 g/cup) both land near the same weight but behave differently in a recipe — cream cheese is emulsified and firmer, Greek yogurt sharper and higher in protein. For the practical baker, crème fraîche can substitute for heavy cream 1:1 in cold or gently warmed applications with a tangier finish, for sour cream 1:1 in dips and dressings without the risk of splitting when the mixture eventually meets heat, and for mascarpone 1:1 in savory sauces though not in tiramisu-style desserts where mascarpone's fat content and sweetness carry the texture. Note that French-style crème fraîche (Vermont Creamery, Trader Joe's, Alouette) runs at 30-40% milkfat, while some domestic imitators labeled simply "cultured cream" or "cultured sour cream" run lower at 20-30% and behave more like sour cream on the pan; when heat stability matters, check the milkfat percentage on the label rather than trusting the product name. ### Crushed Tomatoes https://exactcups.com/crushed-tomatoes/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: crushed tomatoes, canned crushed tomatoes, crushed tomatoes in puree, crushed tomatoes in juice. #### Standard, canned, poured and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 242–260 g. Genuine 7.4% spread reflects a product-identity split: USDA and Tuttorosso publish plain crushed tomatoes packed in juice at 242-244 g/cup, while Muir Glen and Happy Harvest publish crushed tomatoes packed in tomato puree at 260 g/cup. FDA does not define a tight identity standard for crushed tomatoes (unlike sauce at 8-12% solids or paste at 24-32%), so the puree-base variants are legitimately denser. No single figure represents both formulations. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, crushed, canned" (FDC 170501): 242 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes crushed tomato density at 256 g per metric cup, equivalent to 242 g per US cup (8.5 oz/US cup) and density 1.023 g/mL. Represents plain-crushed formulation packed in tomato juice. Anchor low. - aqua-calc reference (USDA-derived): 242 g per cup. aqua-calc publishes USDA-sourced density for crushed tomatoes canned at 256 g per metric cup, equivalent to 242 g per US cup. Cross-reference to USDA SR Legacy figure. - Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes (producer label): 244 g per cup. Red Gold Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes: 1/4 cup = 61 g, extrapolating to 244 g/cup and density 1.031 g/mL. Matches USDA within 1%. Represents plain-crushed-in-juice formulation. - Muir Glen Crushed Tomatoes with Basil (producer label): 260 g per cup. Small Planet Foods Muir Glen crushed tomatoes with basil: 1/4 cup = 65 g, extrapolating to 260 g/cup and density 1.099 g/mL. Anchor high. Ingredient label shows crushed tomatoes suspended in tomato puree rather than juice, explaining the higher density. - Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes (producer label): 260 g per cup. Muir Glen fire-roasted variant: 1/4 cup = 65 g, matches the with-basil variant at 260 g/cup and density 1.099 g/mL. Puree-base formulation consistent across Muir Glen's crushed line. - Happy Harvest Crushed Tomatoes (producer label): 260 g per cup. Aldi house brand Happy Harvest: 1/2 cup = 130 g, extrapolating to 260 g/cup and density 1.099 g/mL. Matches Muir Glen exactly. Third data point for the denser puree-base cluster. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: Crushed tomatoes span 242-260 g per US cup — a 7% split reflecting variance between plain-crushed products (crushed tomato flesh in tomato juice, 242-244 g/cup per USDA and Tuttorosso) and denser puree-packed products (crushed tomatoes suspended in tomato puree, 260 g/cup for Muir Glen and Happy Harvest). Crushed tomatoes are a canned tomato product intermediate between diced tomatoes (discrete chunks) and tomato sauce (fully smooth). USDA and FDA regulations do not tightly define crushed tomatoes the way they define tomato sauce (8-12% solids) or paste (24-32% solids). Manufacturers have latitude in whether to pack in juice, puree, or a mixed base, and whether to include added seasonings. This lack of a tight identity standard produces the observed density spread. USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, crushed, canned" (FDC 170501) publishes density approximately 242 g per US cup (256 g per metric cup, density 1.023 g/mL). This represents the plain-crushed reference — tomato flesh crushed and packed in its own juice. Producer labels split into two clusters. Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes declares 1/4 cup = 61 g (244 g/cup, density 1.031 g/mL), matching USDA within 1%. Muir Glen Crushed Tomatoes with Basil, Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes, and Aldi's Happy Harvest Crushed Tomatoes all report the denser 1/4 cup = 65 g (260 g/cup, density 1.099 g/mL). The denser brands' ingredient labels reveal the reason: they are crushed tomatoes packed in tomato puree rather than in juice, adding extra tomato solids and raising density. For validation and internal consistency, this entry withholds a single figure and publishes the observed range 242-260 g/cup. The 7.4% spread exceeds the 5% liquid category tolerance because two commercial product structures exist under the crushed tomatoes name — a formulation choice that regulatory standards do not force to converge. Practical guidance: for chili, quick marinara, and shakshuka bases where the crushed tomatoes are one of many ingredients, either density works — recipes are forgiving at this scale. For pizza sauce and other applications where crushed tomatoes are the primary ingredient and cook down significantly, the denser puree-packed varieties (Muir Glen, Happy Harvest) produce a thicker finished sauce with less required reduction time. Recipes that specify a particular brand implicitly assume that brand's density; when substituting brands, weigh from the can rather than measure by cup to hit the same amount of tomato solids. A 28-oz can (the standard supermarket size) holds 794 g. At USDA density (242 g/cup) that is roughly 3 1/4 cups; at Muir Glen density (260 g/cup) that is roughly 3 cups. The can weight is regulated; the cup volume derived from it is not. King Arthur is silent on crushed tomatoes. Companion entries in the tomato family: tomato-paste at 262 g/cup (tight convergence, regulated 24-32% solids identity), tomato-sauce at 245 g/cup (tight convergence, regulated 8-12% solids identity). Crushed tomatoes are the tomato family's messiest entry due to unregulated formulation. ### Diced Tomatoes https://exactcups.com/diced-tomatoes/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: canned diced tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, canned chopped tomatoes, diced tomatoes in juice, petite diced tomatoes. #### Standard, canned, undrained, poured and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 240–260 g. Sources span 240-260 g per cup, an 8.3% spread, over the 5% liquid tolerance. USDA's juice-packed records and the Hunt's and Red Gold labels measure 240-242 g; the Del Monte and Muir Glen labels give 252-260 g. Federal rules let canned tomatoes be packed in tomato juice or in puree or paste, and a heavier packing liquid weighs more per cup, so no single figure fits every can. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice" (FDC 170051): 240 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 240 g and 1 tbsp = 15 g, both giving density 1.014 g/mL. Covers canned tomato pieces in juice, undrained. - USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice, no salt added" (FDC 170138): 240 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 240 g, 1/2 cup = 120 g and 1 tbsp = 15 g, density 1.014 g/mL. Same figure as the salted record. - Hunt's Diced Tomatoes (producer label): 242 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 14.5-oz can: 1/2 cup (121 g), extrapolating to 242 g per US cup and density 1.023 g/mL. - Red Gold Diced Tomatoes (producer label): 242 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 14.5-oz can: 1/2 cup (121 g), extrapolating to 242 g per US cup and density 1.023 g/mL. Red Gold's foodservice 1-inch diced specification lists the same serving and a drained weight of 68 oz per 102-oz can. - Del Monte Diced Tomatoes (producer label): 252 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 14.5-oz can: 1/2 cup (126 g), extrapolating to 252 g per US cup and density 1.065 g/mL. - Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes (producer label): 260 g per cup. Brand nutrition panel: 1/2 cup (130 g), extrapolating to 260 g per US cup and density 1.099 g/mL. The heaviest figure found. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A US cup of canned diced tomatoes, undrained, weighs 240 to 260 g (8.5 to 9.2 oz), depending on the brand. USDA and two brands measure 240-242 g, two other brands 252-260 g, and the 8% spread is too wide to publish one figure, so this entry publishes the range. Diced tomatoes are tomato pieces canned in a packing liquid. The US standard for canned tomatoes (21 CFR 155.190) recognises whole, diced, sliced and wedge styles, and allows them to be packed in tomato juice or in tomato puree, pulp or paste. It also requires the drained tomatoes to fill at least half the can's capacity. So a can of diced tomatoes is part solid pieces and part liquid, and the liquid can be thin juice or something closer to puree. USDA SR Legacy "Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice" (FDC 170051) publishes 1 cup = 240 g and 1 tablespoon = 15 g, which agree with each other at 1.014 g/mL; the no-salt-added record (FDC 170138) is identical. Hunt's and Red Gold labels list half a cup at 121 g, 242 g per cup, within 1% of USDA. Del Monte lists half a cup at 126 g (252 g per cup) and Muir Glen Organic at 130 g (260 g per cup). The physics explains the split. Tomato pieces and thin tomato juice are both mostly water, so a cup of pieces in juice weighs only a little more than a cup of water, which is what USDA's 1.014 g/mL describes. A packing liquid with more tomato solids is denser: tomato puree weighs 250 g per cup and paste 262 g. A can packed in a heavier liquid therefore weighs more per cup, and 252-260 g is what a thicker packing medium predicts. Brands do not print their packing liquid's solids content, which is why this entry names the range rather than guessing which can is in your cupboard. USDA's stewed tomatoes record (FDC 170052) is a different product, cooked with onion, celery and pepper, at 255 g per cup; it is not used here. Practical guidance: a standard 14.5-oz can holds 411 g, which is about 1 2/3 cups undrained. Drained, most of that is tomato: in Red Gold's foodservice specification 68 of every 102 ounces remain after draining, about two thirds, so if the same ratio holds for a retail can, a drained 14.5-oz can gives roughly 275 g of tomato pieces. When a recipe says "one can, drained", weighing the drained tomatoes is far more reliable than measuring them by the cup, because chunks leave gaps that liquid no longer fills. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no row for diced or canned tomatoes. Its only tomato rows are tomato paste, a figure this site rejects, and dry-pack sun-dried tomatoes. The tomato products comparison page shows diced tomatoes beside paste, puree, sauce, crushed tomatoes and ketchup. ### Egg https://exactcups.com/egg/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: whole egg, beaten egg, hen egg, chicken egg. King Arthur: 243 g (8.6 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Whole, raw, beaten Published: 1 cup = 243 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 121.5 g; 1/4 cup = 60.7 g; 1 tbsp = 15.2 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0271 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 243 g per cup. FDC 171287, SR Legacy, 1 cup whole raw egg (4.86 large eggs) = 243 g; 1 large egg = 50 g edible portion - King Arthur Baking: 243 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Egg (fresh), 1 large = 50 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Eggs are unusual among ingredients on this dataset because most recipes measure them by piece rather than by volume. Both USDA and King Arthur agree that one large egg edible portion weighs 50 grams, and this piece weight is the practical measurement for the great majority of egg use in cooking and baking. The cup density of 1.0271 g/ml derives from USDA's convention that 4.86 large eggs make one US cup of whole beaten egg (243 g per cup). This is a portion count rather than a direct volume measurement: USDA counted eggs into a standard cup and averaged, and 4.86 is the empirical result rather than a rounded convention. King Arthur does not publish a cup weight for whole egg, but their piece weight matches USDA's exactly, so the cup density derived here is consistent with both sources. USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service Egg Grading Manual (Agriculture Handbook 75) defines standard weight classes for shell eggs by weight per dozen: jumbo (30 oz per dozen, roughly 63 g each), extra-large (27 oz per dozen, roughly 56 g each), large (24 oz per dozen, roughly 50 g each), medium (21 oz per dozen, roughly 44 g each), small (18 oz per dozen, roughly 38 g each), and peewee (15 oz per dozen, roughly 32 g each). These are shell-included weights; the edible portion is roughly 88 to 90 percent of shell weight, since the shell itself is 10 to 12 percent of the whole. Large is the standard baking egg in North American recipes, and the 50 g edible portion figure assumes large. Recipes calling for eggs without specifying size default to large. Using medium eggs where large is specified means about 12 percent less egg weight, and jumbo means about 26 percent more; substituting sizes without adjusting can noticeably change the moisture and structure of baked goods, especially in small-batch recipes. Egg whites and egg yolks are covered separately. USDA FDC 172183 gives one large egg white at 33 g and King Arthur gives 30 to 35 g depending on the specific egg. USDA FDC 172184 gives one large egg yolk at 17 g, while King Arthur's chart gives 14 g. The 21 percent yolk disagreement between the two sources reflects real biological variation more than measurement error, since yolk weight varies substantially with breed, age of hen and season, and neither source publishes the sampling methodology behind their figure. A dedicated egg white entry and egg yolk entry, when added to this dataset, will discuss these figures in more detail. Dried egg whites, powdered eggs and egg substitutes are separate products with their own densities and are not covered here. Carton liquid eggs sold as pasteurized whole egg product are typically packaged at about 46 to 50 grams per 3-tablespoon serving, matching the fresh egg equivalent, and generally weigh 240 to 245 g per cup, close to USDA's fresh figure. Refrigerated egg whites in cartons (Egg Beaters and similar) may include stabilizers and vary slightly in density. No standards body publishes a bulk density for whole beaten egg. The FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius standards for egg products (CXS 87-1981 and successors) cover microbiological limits and composition rather than physical density. Two sources agreeing on the piece weight from which the cup density derives, so this entry is held at medium confidence until an independent third source confirms the cup portion directly. ### Eggnog https://exactcups.com/eggnog/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: eggnog, egg nog, commercial eggnog, holiday eggnog, traditional eggnog, dairy eggnog. #### Standard, non-alcoholic commercial dairy eggnog (milk + cream + egg yolks + sugar, 6-8% fat, 12-18% added sugars) Published: 1 cup = 254 g (9 oz); 1/2 cup = 127 g; 1/4 cup = 63.5 g; 1 tbsp = 15.9 g; 1 tsp = 5.3 g (1.0736 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.89 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central 'Eggnog' (generic): 254 g per cup. USDA FoodData Central non-alcoholic generic eggnog record. 268 g per metric cup = 8.5 oz per US cup = 254 g per US cup. Density 1.0736 g/mL. Reflects standard commercial dairy eggnog formulation. - USDA FoodData Central 'Eggnog, regular': 256 g per cup. USDA FoodData Central 'Eggnog, regular' record. 271 g per metric cup = 9 oz per US cup = ~256 g per US cup. Density 1.0821 g/mL. Runs 0.8% above the generic eggnog record, well within tolerance. Both records describe standard commercial dairy eggnog with only minor formulation differences (possibly higher fat/sugar in this variant). - USDA Home and Garden Bulletin No. 72 (Nutritive Value of Foods): 254 g per cup. USDA Agricultural Research Service publication (2002 revision) lists 'Eggnog (commercial), 1 cup = 254 g' in its dairy products table. Matches the modern FoodData Central generic record exactly. This is a long-standing USDA reference figure for commercial eggnog and confirms the 254 g/cup anchor. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: One cup of standard commercial eggnog weighs about 254 grams (1.074 g/mL), a bit heavier than whole milk (242 g/cup) or half-and-half (242 g/cup) because added sugar and egg yolk solids raise the density beyond what fat alone would produce. Multiple USDA records (FoodData Central generic 'Eggnog' at 254 g/cup, 'Eggnog, regular' at 256 g/cup, Home and Garden Bulletin No. 72 at 254 g/cup) converge tightly at this figure for non-alcoholic commercial dairy eggnog. Commercial eggnog is a dairy blend of milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar or corn syrup, natural and artificial flavorings (typically nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon), and stabilizers (guar gum, carrageenan, mono- and diglycerides). FDA does not define a standard of identity for eggnog the way 21 CFR § 131.110 defines milk, so commercial products vary somewhat in composition: fat typically 6-8%, added sugars 12-18%, egg yolk 1-2% by mass. Southern Comfort Traditional Eggnog, Organic Valley Eggnog, Hood Golden Eggnog, Turkey Hill Original Egg Nog, Borden Egg Nog, and most other US retail brands sit within this range and match the 254 g/cup figure for physical density. Producer nutrition labels systematically understate eggnog's true density because of an FDA labeling convention rather than a measurement of the product. Southern Comfort's label states the serving size as '1 cup (240 mL) = 240 g,' and most other brands do the same. This is the 21 CFR § 101.12 reference amount customarily consumed for beverages, which treats fluid milliliters as if they were grams. If you actually weigh 240 mL of eggnog, it comes to about 258 grams (240 × 1.074), matching the USDA measurement. This is a milder version of the same fluid-ounce-as-mass-ounce labeling artifact seen more dramatically elsewhere (King Arthur listing cream at 8 fl oz = 227 g, for example). Neither the FDA convention nor the KA chart error is a measurement — both treat volume units as mass units. For weight-based recipes, use the 254 g figure, not the label serving size. Product variation across the eggnog category is real and worth understanding when choosing a substitute. Regular commercial eggnog (this entry) runs 1.07-1.08 g/mL and 254 g/cup. Light or low-fat eggnog reduces cream and sugar; density drops closer to milk, roughly 245 g/cup. Alcoholic pre-mixed eggnog (rum-based holiday products, some higher-end offerings) has spirits added, which lowers density substantially because ethanol is 0.79 g/mL; USDA's 'Eggnog, alcoholic' record measures 240 g per US cup (1.014 g/mL), close to water. Non-dairy eggnog products (Silk Nog on soy or almond base, Califia Farms Almondmilk Nog, So Delicious Coconutmilk Nog, Elmhurst Milked Cashews Nog) build on a plant-milk base and range 240-250 g/cup depending on how much fat and sugar the formulation adds; these are distinct products with their own density profiles. Homemade traditional eggnog varies with recipe. A classic ratio (equal parts egg yolk, heavy cream, whole milk, with sugar around 15% and spirits around 20% by volume) produces a beverage that runs 1.02-1.05 g/mL, lighter than commercial versions because spirits displace sugar and dairy mass. Aged eggnog (weeks or months in the refrigerator, a traditional practice) does not change density meaningfully; the mechanism is flavor development and mild alcohol-driven pasteurization, not compositional change. For recipes calling for eggnog as an ingredient (French toast batter, eggnog cake, bread pudding, custards, panna cotta, holiday ice cream), commercial regular at 254 g/cup is the anchor most published recipes assume. ### Evaporated milk https://exactcups.com/evaporated-milk/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 226 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/evaporated-milk-226-grams/. #### Standard (whole milk) Published: 1 cup = 252 g (8.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 126 g; 1/4 cup = 63 g; 1 tbsp = 15.7 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0651 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.90 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 252 g per cup. FDC 171267 (Milk, canned, evaporated, not reconstituted, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 252 g, 1 tbsp = 16 g. Density 1.0651 g/mL. Composition: ~74% water, ~10% carbohydrate (lactose), ~7% fat, ~7% protein. - King Arthur: 226 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Milk (evaporated)', 1/2 cup = 113 g (extrapolates to 226 g per cup, density 0.9553 g/mL). This is 4 US fluid ounces × 28.35 g/oz, the same fluid-oz-as-weight figure King Arthur applies to milk, yogurt, cream and other liquid dairy. REJECTED: 226 g/cup implies a density of 0.9553 g/mL, less than water. Evaporated milk is regular milk with approximately 60% of the water removed, which concentrates the milk solids and produces a density substantially higher than regular milk (1.03 g/mL), not lower. USDA measures it at 1.0651 g/mL. King Arthur's figure appears to be their fluid-oz-as-weight convention rather than a bench measurement of the actual product. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/evaporated-milk-226-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Evaporated milk is regular whole milk with about 60 percent of the water removed by heating under vacuum. The result is a thick, shelf-stable liquid roughly twice the density of milk solids, sold in cans and used in coffee, pumpkin pie custards, key lime pie, tres leches cake, savoury cream sauces where milk would be too thin, and traditional dishes across Latin American, Filipino and Southeast Asian cuisine where refrigerated dairy is historically less available. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of evaporated milk at 252 grams and 1 tablespoon at 16 grams (FDC 171267, Milk, canned, evaporated, not reconstituted). That gives a density of 1.0651 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1/2 cup at 113 grams, which extrapolates to 226 grams per cup and 0.9553 grams per millilitre. The two figures are far apart, and the King Arthur figure is physically impossible. Regular milk is roughly 88 percent water and has a density of 1.03 grams per millilitre — slightly above water because milk solids are denser than water. Removing 60 percent of the water leaves a product that is roughly 74 percent water with concentrated protein, lactose and fat. This mixture must have a higher density than regular milk, not a lower one. USDA's 1.0651 gram per millilitre figure matches the physics; King Arthur's 0.9553 does not. This is the ninth entry on this site where King Arthur's chart uses the eight-fluid-ounces-times-28.35-grams convention (or in this case, four fluid ounces times 28.35 for the half-cup row) to fill in a dairy row that has not been measured against a scale. Standard US cans of evaporated milk are labelled 12 fluid ounces, which corresponds to 1.5 cups by volume or 378 grams by weight at USDA's density. Larger 5-fluid-ounce cans are 148 grams. Most recipes calling for evaporated milk assume the 12-ounce can as the reference, and 'one can' generally means the full 378 grams regardless of the volume conversion. Evaporated milk should not be confused with sweetened condensed milk, which is a completely different product. Sweetened condensed milk has both water removed and sugar added, producing a much sweeter and denser final result (306 grams per cup at 1.29 grams per millilitre). Recipes are not interchangeable: substituting evaporated for sweetened condensed will remove all the sweetness from the recipe, while substituting the other way will add sugar and change the texture completely. Related products this entry does not cover: evaporated skim milk (lower fat, weighs about 256 grams per cup because more water remains proportionally when the fat is removed); powdered milk reconstituted with less water to approximate evaporated milk (density varies, texture is different); and cream-condensed milk products such as evaporated cream or table cream, which have higher fat content. FDA identity standard for evaporated milk is at 21 CFR 131.130, requiring not less than 6.5 percent milkfat and not less than 16.5 percent nonfat milk solids, plus a minimum total milk solids of 23 percent. Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 282-1971 (Standard for evaporated milks) covers the international identity requirements. Neither publishes a density, but both indirectly constrain it through the composition minimums. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because evaporated milk behaves as a thick liquid in a measuring cup: it pours (slowly), self-levels, and the density is determined by its water and solids content rather than by how it was measured. The 5 percent liquid tolerance would apply if there were a second accepted source; since King Arthur's figure is rejected, the entry is medium confidence on the strength of the USDA measurement plus the physics-based rejection. ### Fish sauce https://exactcups.com/fish-sauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: nam pla, nuoc mam, Thai fish sauce, Vietnamese fish sauce, patis, anchovy fish sauce. #### Standard, bottled fish sauce at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 283.9 g (10 oz); 1/2 cup = 142 g; 1/4 cup = 71 g; 1 tbsp = 17.7 g; 1 tsp = 5.9 g (1.2 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.80 cups. Sources: - Tiparos fish sauce, 700 mL bottle (Pomona technical sheet): 283.9 g per cup. "Sauce au poisson en bouteille 700ML Tiparos": net weight (Poids net) 0.84 kg, gross weight 0.9 kg per 700 mL bottle. 1.200 g/mL, 283.9 g per US cup. - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, fish, ready-to-serve" (FDC 174531): 288 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 6179) publishes 1 tablespoon = 18 g, 288 g per US cup (1.217 g/mL). Per 100 g: water 71.1 g, ash 20.2 g, sodium 7,851 mg, protein 5.1 g, sugars 3.6 g. Whole-gram rounding on a tablespoon allows 1.18 to 1.25 g/mL. - Red Boat Fish Sauce label: 288 g per cup. "1 tablespoon (18g)", sodium 1,427 mg per serving, as recorded by ReciPal from redboatfishsauce.com. 288 g per US cup, 1.217 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of fish sauce weighs 283.9 g (10 oz), a density of 1.20 g/mL, so a tablespoon weighs 17.7 g and a teaspoon 5.9 g. A 700 mL bottle of Tiparos fish sauce has a net weight of 840 g, and USDA and Red Boat both weigh a tablespoon at 18 g. Fish sauce is one of the heaviest thin liquids in the kitchen, about a fifth heavier than water. Fish sauce is made by layering anchovies or other small fish with salt and leaving them to ferment for months to a year or more; the liquid that drains off is the sauce. Thai nam pla, Vietnamese nuoc mam and Filipino patis are all made this way. It is clear, thin and amber to dark brown, and it is used by the teaspoon in dressings, dipping sauces, curries, stir-fries and marinades. Its weight comes from salt. USDA's Standard Reference record for ready-to-serve fish sauce (FDC 174531) lists 7,851 mg of sodium per 100 g, which is about 20% salt, plus 5 g of protein and 3.6 g of sugars dissolved from the fish, with 71% water. A plain brine of 20% salt weighs 1.15 g/mL, and the dissolved protein adds the rest. That predicts about 1.19 to 1.20 g/mL before anything is weighed. Three sources agree within 1.4%. The technical sheet for a 700 mL bottle of Tiparos, a Thai brand, gives a net weight of 0.84 kg: 1.200 g/mL, 283.9 g per cup. USDA's record weighs 1 tablespoon at 18 g, 288 g per cup, and Red Boat's label gives the same 1 tablespoon (18 g). Whole-gram rounding on a tablespoon allows anything from 17.5 to 18.5 g, so the tablespoon figures support the bottle rather than compete with it. The bottle, 840 g over 700 mL, is the most precise of the three and is published. Fish sauce shows how far a salty liquid sits from water. A tablespoon weighs 17.7 g, 20% more than the 14.8 g of a tablespoon of water, and a cup weighs 47 g more than a cup of water. Soy sauce, with about 14% salt plus dissolved soybean solids, weighs a little less, 277.6 g per cup. Practical guidance: use 283.9 g per cup, 71 g per quarter cup, 17.7 g per tablespoon and 5.9 g per teaspoon. Strength varies between brands, but every bottled fish sauce is a strong brine, so the figure holds closely across them. Vietnamese nuoc cham, the dipping sauce made by diluting fish sauce with water, lime juice and sugar, is a different product and much lighter. A teaspoon of fish sauce carries about 460 mg of sodium, so weigh it when cooking for a low-sodium diet. ### Fresh Grapefruit Juice https://exactcups.com/fresh-grapefruit-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, pink grapefruit juice, white grapefruit juice, ruby red grapefruit juice, grapefruit juice raw. #### Standard, fresh-squeezed, white or pink, poured Published: 1 cup = 247 g (8.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 123.5 g; 1/4 cup = 61.7 g; 1 tbsp = 15.4 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.044 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.92 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Grapefruit juice, white, raw" (FDC 173039): 247 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 247 g and 1 fl oz = 30.9 g, density 1.044 g/mL. Water 90.0 g and carbohydrate 9.2 g per 100 g. Primary anchor. - USDA SR Legacy "Grapefruit juice, pink, raw" (FDC 167774): 247 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 247 g for pink grapefruit juice, identical to white. Water 90.0 g and carbohydrate 9.2 g per 100 g. - USDA FNDDS "Grapefruit juice, 100%, freshly squeezed" (FDC 2709176, food code 61201010): 248 g per cup. USDA's survey database (FNDDS) lists 1 fl oz = 31 g, extrapolating to 248 g per US cup (1.048 g/mL), and the juice of 1 grapefruit at 196 g. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Fresh grapefruit juice weighs 247 g per US cup (8.7 oz), a density of 1.044 g/mL, and pink and white grapefruit juice weigh the same. Three USDA records agree within 1 g per cup; with no independent laboratory measurement found yet, the figure is published at medium confidence. Grapefruit juice here means juice squeezed from the fruit with nothing added. USDA keeps separate records for white and pink grapefruit juice, because the pink and red varieties carry pigments the white ones do not, but their composition is otherwise the same: about 90 g of water and 9.2 g of carbohydrate per 100 g. Pigment is a trace ingredient, so it changes the colour of the juice, not its weight. USDA SR Legacy "Grapefruit juice, white, raw" (FDC 173039) publishes 1 cup = 247 g and 1 fluid ounce = 30.9 g, which agree with each other at 1.044 g/mL. "Grapefruit juice, pink, raw" (FDC 167774) publishes the same 247 g cup. USDA's survey database, FNDDS, lists "Grapefruit juice, 100%, freshly squeezed" (FDC 2709176) at 31 g per fluid ounce, which extrapolates to 248 g per cup; the 1 g gap is the rounding of a fluid-ounce figure to whole grams. These are three USDA records rather than three independent measurements, which is why this entry stays at medium confidence. Retail labels cannot add an independent figure: bottled grapefruit juice, including Ocean Spray, states its serving in millilitres only. No laboratory density measurement for grapefruit juice turned up, unlike orange juice, which has two. The physics still checks out. Grapefruit juice is slightly lighter per cup than orange juice (248 g) because it carries less dissolved sugar: US Customs laboratory methods give an average of 10.2 °Brix for unconcentrated grapefruit juice against 11.8 for orange. Less dissolved solid means a density closer to water, and 1.044 g/mL sits just where that difference predicts. Practical guidance: for cocktails such as the Paloma and the Greyhound, for sorbets, dressings and grapefruit curd, 1 tablespoon is 15.4 g and 1/4 cup is 62 g, and a standard 1 1/2 oz bar pour is about 46 g. USDA's survey data puts the juice of one grapefruit at 196 g, roughly 4/5 of a cup, so a full cup usually takes one large or two small grapefruits. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no grapefruit entry at all, so there is nothing to check against it. Among citrus juices, grapefruit sits between orange juice (248 g per cup) and lemon juice (244 g) and above lime juice (242 g); the citrus juice comparison page shows all four side by side. ### Fresh Lemon Juice https://exactcups.com/fresh-lemon-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: lemon juice, fresh lemon juice, lemon juice raw, freshly squeezed lemon juice, squeezed lemon juice. King Arthur: 224 g (7.9 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/fresh-lemon-juice-224-grams/. #### Standard, fresh-squeezed, strained Published: 1 cup = 244 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 122 g; 1/4 cup = 61 g; 1 tbsp = 15.2 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0313 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Lemon juice, raw" (FDC 167747): 244 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes lemon juice raw at 258 g per metric cup, equivalent to 244 g per US cup and density 1.031 g/mL. Primary anchor. Additional portion figures internally consistent: 1 tbsp = 15 g. - USDA Foundation Foods "Lemon juice, 100%, freshly squeezed": 248 g per cup. USDA Foundation Foods reference (newer than SR Legacy) publishes fresh-squeezed lemon juice at 262 g per metric cup, equivalent to 248 g per US cup and density 1.048 g/mL. Slightly denser than the SR Legacy record; the 1.6% difference reflects measurement variance and possibly higher pulp content in the newer sample. - aqua-calc "Lemon juice, raw" (USDA-derived): 244 g per cup. aqua-calc publishes USDA-sourced density for raw lemon juice at 258 g per metric cup, equivalent to 244 g per US cup (8.6 oz/US cup). Cross-reference confirms USDA SR Legacy figure. - CupOrGram (USDA-based reference): 244 g per cup. CupOrGram publishes 1 cup = 244 g baseline and 1 tbsp = 15.2 g for lemon juice, sourced from King Arthur Baking and USDA FoodData Central. Aligns with USDA SR Legacy exactly. - Cups & Grams reference (USDA-based): 244 g per cup. Cups & Grams publishes 244 g per US cup for lemon juice, sourced from King Arthur Baking and USDA FoodData Central. Notes lemon juice is slightly denser than water (244 g vs 237 g per cup for water). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 224 g per cup. KA lists "Lemon juice" at 1 tablespoon = 1/2 oz = 14 g, extrapolating to 224 g per US cup, density 0.947 g/mL. REJECTED: 0.947 g/mL is lighter than water, but lemon juice is water carrying 5-8% dissolved citric acid and 1-3% sugars, both denser than water; USDA measures 244 g per cup (1.031 g/mL). A tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, and 14 g is half a weight ounce: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, the pattern behind King Arthur's 227 g cups of milk, cream and water. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/fresh-lemon-juice-224-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Fresh-squeezed lemon juice weighs 244 g per US cup — USDA (both SR Legacy and Foundation Foods records) and every aggregator source converge on this figure within 2%. Density 1.031 g/mL, slightly denser than water due to dissolved citric acid and sugars. King Arthur's 14 g per tablespoon (224 g per cup) is lighter than water and is rejected. Fresh lemon juice is the acidic liquid squeezed from lemons (Citrus limon), typically 5-8% citric acid by weight, plus small amounts of sugars, vitamin C, and traces of pulp. USDA maintains two distinct records: "Lemon juice, raw" (SR Legacy, FDC 167747) at 244 g per US cup, and "Lemon juice, 100%, freshly squeezed" (Foundation Foods) at approximately 248 g per US cup. The 1.6% difference between the two records is within measurement variance and both are legitimately USDA-published. USDA SR Legacy publishes 258 g per metric cup = 244 g per US cup for raw lemon juice, corresponding to density 1.031 g/mL. Bottled lemon juice from concentrate (RealLemon and equivalent brands) is USDA-documented at the same density — the water is added back to reconstitute a juice with the same solids fraction as fresh, so density does not differ measurably between fresh and reconstituted forms. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists lemon juice at 1 tablespoon = 1/2 oz = 14 g. That is 224 g per cup, 0.947 g/mL, lighter than water, which lemon juice cannot be: it is water carrying dissolved citric acid and sugar, both denser than water. A tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, and 14 g is half a weight ounce, so the figure is the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, the same mistake as King Arthur's 227 g cup of milk. It is recorded as a rejected source and has its own correction page. King Arthur also lists "Lemon Juice Powder" at 2 tbsp = 5/8 oz = 18 g, a distinct dehydrated product. Aggregator sources (CupOrGram, Cups & Grams, ezunitconverter) all cite USDA at 244 g/cup, reinforcing the reference figure. Density is slightly above water because fresh lemon juice contains dissolved citric acid (5-8% by weight), small amounts of sugars (1-3%), and other soluble solids. Pure water at 20°C is 0.998 g/mL; lemon juice at 1.031 g/mL is about 3.3% denser, matching the expected contribution from dissolved solids in a fresh-squeezed sample. Freshly squeezed juice with significant pulp can be marginally denser (up to 1.05 g/mL) but retail-relevant strained juice sits near 1.03 g/mL. Practical guidance: for baking (lemon curd, lemon meringue pie, lemon poundcake, lemon bars, French macarons), weigh lemon juice for consistency — a "juice of 1 lemon" varies from about 15 g (small Meyer) to 60 g (large Eureka), and typical medium-sized lemons yield 30-40 g each. A cup of fresh lemon juice requires roughly 6-8 medium lemons. For a recipe calling for 1/4 cup lemon juice, that is 61 g, or the juice of about 2 medium lemons. The tablespoon figure (15 g) matches water's 15 g/tbsp within 3% — one useful mental shortcut is treating small quantities of lemon juice as equivalent to water by volume for most recipes. For larger quantities where the acidity affects gluten development (biscuits, quick breads with buttermilk substitutes), weigh from the reamer. Bottled lemon juice from concentrate (RealLemon and similar) has the same density as fresh, but flavor and acidity differ slightly due to processing. Bottled products often add small amounts of preservatives (sodium benzoate, sulfites) that do not measurably shift density but do affect taste and gelling behavior in delicate applications (lemon curd, gelée, panna cotta). Companion citrus entries: fresh-lime-juice sits at approximately 242 g/cup per USDA (marginally lighter, similar citric acid content). Vanilla-extract, another common recipe liquid, is much lighter at ~208 g/cup due to alcohol content. ### Fresh Lime Juice https://exactcups.com/fresh-lime-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: lime juice, fresh lime juice, lime juice raw, freshly squeezed lime juice, key lime juice, persian lime juice. #### Standard, fresh-squeezed, strained Published: 1 cup = 242 g (8.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 121 g; 1/4 cup = 60.5 g; 1 tbsp = 15.1 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0229 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.94 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Lime juice, raw" (FDC 168156): 242 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes lime juice raw at 256 g per metric cup, equivalent to 242 g per US cup and density 1.023 g/mL. Primary anchor. Portion figures internally consistent: 1 tbsp = 15 g. - aqua-calc "Lime juice, raw" (USDA-derived): 242 g per cup. aqua-calc publishes USDA-sourced density for raw lime juice at 256 g per metric cup, equivalent to 242 g per US cup (8.5 oz/US cup). Cross-reference confirms USDA SR Legacy figure exactly. - Cups & Grams reference (USDA + KA-based): 242 g per cup. Cups & Grams publishes 242 g per US cup for lime juice, sourced from King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart and USDA FoodData Central. Notes lime juice is slightly denser than water (242 g vs 237 g per cup). - medindia nutrition database (USDA reference): 242 g per cup. medindia publishes 242 g per US cup for raw lime juice, referenced to USDA National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program Wave 6d, 2002. Matches USDA SR Legacy exactly. - ChefSolver measured density: 241.3 g per cup. ChefSolver publishes lime juice density near 1.02 g/mL, equivalent to approximately 241 g per US cup. Notes lime and lemon juice have functionally the same density since both are near 1 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Fresh-squeezed lime juice weighs 242 g per US cup — USDA and every reference source converge exactly on this figure. Density 1.023 g/mL, marginally lighter than lemon juice (244 g/cup) because limes have slightly lower citric acid concentration and lower sugar content. Fresh lime juice is the acidic liquid squeezed from limes (Citrus aurantifolia, the Key or Mexican lime; or Citrus latifolia, the Persian or Bearss lime dominant in US retail). Composition is roughly 6-8% citric acid by weight, plus small amounts of sugars and vitamin C. Similar to lemon juice with slightly less citric acid on average. USDA SR Legacy "Lime juice, raw" (FDC 168156) publishes 256 g per metric cup = 242 g per US cup, density 1.023 g/mL. This figure is repeated by every USDA-derived aggregator (aqua-calc, Cups & Grams, medindia, RecipeTips, myfooddata) without variance. ChefSolver's measured density near 1.02 g/mL corresponds to 241 g/cup, matching within 0.5%. Producer bottled lime juices (Nellie & Joe's Key West, ReaLime, Santa Cruz Organic) cluster near the USDA density since bottled products are reconstituted or preserved to match fresh composition. Density differences between fresh lime, bottled Key lime, and standard bottled Persian lime juice are within measurement variance (all near 240-245 g/cup). King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no row for fresh lime juice. It lists bottled "Key Lime Juice" at 1 cup = 8 oz = 227 g, which is lighter than water and is King Arthur's fluid-ounce pattern, eight fluid ounces read as eight weight ounces; it is a bottled product, so it is not used as a source here, but it is wrong for the same reason as King Arthur's lemon juice figure. King Arthur also lists "Lime Juice Powder" at 2 tbsp = 5/8 oz = 18 g, the dehydrated form. For validation and internal consistency, this entry publishes 242 g per US cup as a high-confidence single figure. USDA and multi-source convergence within 1% supports this position. Density is slightly above water because fresh lime juice contains dissolved citric acid (6-8% by weight), traces of sugars (0.5-1.5%, less than lemon juice), and other soluble solids. Pure water at 20°C is 0.998 g/mL; lime juice at 1.023 g/mL is about 2.5% denser. The marginal difference from lemon juice (244 g/cup) reflects limes' slightly lower citric acid concentration and lower sugar content — physiologically real but too small to matter in most kitchen contexts. Practical guidance: for margaritas (fresh lime juice is essential — bottled shifts the flavor profile significantly toward preservative notes), Key lime pie, guacamole, ceviche, and mojitos, weigh lime juice for consistency. A single Persian lime yields 30-45 g of juice; a Key lime yields only 5-15 g due to the smaller fruit size. A cup of fresh lime juice requires roughly 6-8 Persian limes or 20-30 Key limes. Bar-standard 3/4 oz jigger of lime juice weighs about 22 g. The tablespoon figure (15 g) matches water's 15 g/tbsp within 3% — small quantities of lime juice can be treated as equivalent to water by volume for most applications. For classic sour cocktails (margarita, daiquiri, gimlet) built around a specific citric acid ratio, weighing produces more consistent results than pouring by shot. Bottled Key lime juice (Nellie & Joe's is the reference brand) has essentially the same density as fresh Persian lime juice — the "Key" designation refers to the botanical variety and flavor profile, not a density distinction. For baking Key lime pie, the difference between bottled Key lime and fresh Persian lime is entirely a flavor decision, not a proportional one. Companion citrus entry: fresh-lemon-juice at 244 g/cup (marginally denser). Vanilla-extract, another common recipe liquid, is much lighter at ~208 g/cup due to alcohol content. ### Fresh Orange Juice https://exactcups.com/fresh-orange-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: orange juice, freshly squeezed orange juice, OJ, orange juice raw, squeezed orange juice, not-from-concentrate orange juice. #### Standard, fresh-squeezed or not-from-concentrate, poured Published: 1 cup = 248 g (8.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 124 g; 1/4 cup = 62 g; 1 tbsp = 15.5 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0482 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Orange juice, raw" (FDC 169098): 248 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 248 g and 1 fl oz = 31 g; both give a density of 1.048 g/mL. Water 88.3 g and carbohydrate 10.4 g per 100 g. Primary anchor. - USDA FNDDS "Orange juice, 100%, freshly squeezed" (FDC 2709187, food code 61210010): 248 g per cup. USDA's survey database (FNDDS) lists 1 fl oz = 31 g, extrapolating to 248 g per US cup (1.048 g/mL), and the juice of 1 orange at 86 g. - Ramos and Ibarz 1998, Journal of Food Engineering 35:57-63 (pycnometer measurement): 250.1 g per cup. Measured density of 10 °Brix orange juice: 1057.24 kg/m³ at 10 °C falling to 1046.04 kg/m³ at 50 °C (as cited by Alves et al. 2018). At 10 °C that is 250.1 g per US cup. - Ramos et al. 2019, Congresso Brasileiro de Química (pycnometer measurement): 249.5 g per cup. Measured density of orange juice at 9.8 °Brix: 1054.36 kg/m³ at 20 °C falling to 1045.81 kg/m³ at 50 °C. At 20 °C that is 249.5 g per US cup. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Fresh orange juice weighs 248 g per US cup (8.7 oz), a density of 1.048 g/mL. USDA's standard reference record, USDA's survey database and two laboratory density measurements all land within 1% of each other, so this entry publishes a single figure at high confidence. Orange juice here means the juice pressed from oranges with nothing added: squeezed at home, or the not-from-concentrate juice sold chilled. USDA describes the raw juice as about 88 g of water per 100 g carrying about 10 g of carbohydrate, almost all of it the fruit's own sugars. Orange juice carries far less acid than lemon or lime juice, so its extra weight over water comes mainly from sugar. USDA SR Legacy "Orange juice, raw" (FDC 169098) publishes 1 cup = 248 g and 1 fluid ounce = 31 g. The two portions agree exactly, because eight fluid ounces of 31 g is 248 g, which gives 1.048 g/mL. USDA's survey database, FNDDS, which scores the US national dietary survey, carries "Orange juice, 100%, freshly squeezed" (FDC 2709187) at the same 31 g per fluid ounce. USDA's Foundation Foods record for chilled not-from-concentrate juice (FDC 2003597) gives composition only, no volume weight, but its 88.5 g water and 10.0 g carbohydrate per 100 g match the raw juice closely, which is why one figure covers both fresh and chilled juice. Two laboratory studies measured orange juice directly with a pycnometer. Ramos and Ibarz (Journal of Food Engineering, 1998) report 1.057 g/mL at 10 °C for juice at 10 °Brix, falling to 1.046 g/mL at 50 °C; a 2019 study at 9.8 °Brix found 1.054 g/mL at 20 °C. That is 249 to 250 g per cup, chilled or at room temperature, within 1% of USDA. The physics is simple: dissolved sugar is denser than water, so a juice carrying about 10% sugar must weigh about 5% more per cup than water does, and warming it lowers the density slightly. Retail labels are no help here. Tropicana, Simply Orange and Natalie's state their servings in millilitres, never grams, so they cannot act as an independent weight source. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no row for orange juice either; its only orange entry is candied orange peel, a different product, so there is no King Arthur figure to check. Practical guidance: a cup of orange juice weighs about 12 g more than a cup of water (236 g). For orange cakes, glazes, curds and marinades, 1/4 cup is 62 g and 1 tablespoon is 15.5 g. USDA's survey data puts the juice of one orange at 86 g, about a third of a cup, so a full cup takes roughly three oranges. Recipes that say "juice of 2 oranges" are asking for about 170 g, but the yield of a single orange varies with its size and season, so weighing the juice is the reliable way to hit a recipe. Among citrus juices, orange is the heaviest per cup: fresh grapefruit juice weighs 247 g, lemon juice 244 g and lime juice 242 g. The difference follows sugar content, and the citrus juice comparison page shows all four side by side. ### Grape juice https://exactcups.com/grape-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: 100% grape juice, Concord grape juice, purple grape juice, white grape juice, unsweetened grape juice. #### Standard, 100% juice at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 253 g (8.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 126.5 g; 1/4 cup = 63.3 g; 1 tbsp = 15.8 g; 1 tsp = 5.3 g (1.0694 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.90 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Grape juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid" (FDC 173042): 253 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 09135) publishes 1 cup = 253 g (density 1.069 g/mL) and 1 fl oz = 31.6 g (1.069 g/mL). Water 84.5 g, sugars 14.2 g per 100 g. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5: 249.8 g per cup. "Grape juice, ready-to-drink, vitamin C added" 125 mL = 132 g (81 kcal), 250 g per US cup (density 1.056 g/mL); whole-gram rounding allows 1.052 to 1.060 g/mL. - FAO/INFOODS Density Database, Version 2.0 (2012): 250.8 g per cup. Table 2: "Grape juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid" density 1.06 g/mL, specific gravity 1.07, from USDA ARS, Specific Gravity of Selected Beverages (2011); "Grape juice" 1.054 g/mL from Stumbo and Weiss, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis (2011). 250.8 and 249.4 g per US cup. - de Castilhos et al., Food Research International 100 (2017) 724-730: Measured density of Cabernet Sauvignon grape juice at 19 °C: 1039.8 kg/m³ at 13.6 °Brix and 1075.7 kg/m³ at 21.0 °Brix (246 and 254.5 g per US cup). Wine-grape juice, used to show how density follows sugar; not a figure for retail grape juice. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of grape juice weighs 253 g (8.9 oz), a density of 1.07 g/mL. USDA weighs a cup of bottled unsweetened grape juice at 253 g and Health Canada's 125 mL at 132 g, 250 g per cup, within 1.3%. It is one of the heaviest fruit juices because grapes are among the sweetest fruits. Most grape juice sold in the US is made from Concord grapes, the dark purple American variety, either pressed or reconstituted from concentrate; white grape juice is made from green grapes such as Niagara. Both are sold as 100% juice with no added sugar, and the sweetness is the grape's own. USDA's composition data give 14.2 g of sugars per 100 g of juice, against 9.6 g for apple juice. USDA's Standard Reference record (FDC 173042) gives 1 cup as 253 g and 1 fl oz as 31.6 g, both 1.069 g/mL. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 125 mL of ready-to-drink grape juice at 132 g, 1.056 g/mL; with whole-gram rounding on 125 mL it could be anywhere from 1.052 to 1.060. The two agree within this site's 5% tolerance for liquids, and USDA's figure, from the larger measure, is published. The physical check: the FDA sets the minimum strength of 100% grape juice at 16.0 °Brix, and a sugar solution of that strength weighs 1.062 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table, 251 g per cup. Measurements of wine-grape juice show the same rule from both sides: Cabernet Sauvignon juice weighed 1.040 g/mL at 13.6 °Brix and 1.076 g/mL at 21 °Brix. Retail grape juice, at about 16 °Brix, sits between them at 1.06 to 1.07 g/mL. Concord and white grape juice are not measured separately by USDA, and their sugar content is close enough that they weigh the same per cup within the tolerance. Grape juice cocktails and grape drinks, which add water and sugar, are different products and are not covered here. How a cup is measured matters little for a juice. A liquid fills a measuring cup completely, with no air between particles, so two careful cooks get the same weight, and the only variation is in the juice itself. The FDA sets a minimum strength rather than a fixed one, and retail juices sit somewhat above it, but that difference moves the cup weight by only a few grams. Practical guidance: use 253 g per cup, 127 g per half cup, 63 g per quarter cup and 15.8 g per tablespoon. A 64 fl oz bottle holds 8 cups, about 2.02 kg. For jelly, where the juice's weight matters for the sugar and pectin ratio, 4 cups of grape juice weigh about 1,010 g. ### Greek yogurt https://exactcups.com/greek-yogurt/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: plain Greek yogurt, strained yogurt, yiaourti straggisto. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/greek-yogurt-227-grams/. #### Plain, whole milk, commercially stirred, at fridge temperature Published: 1 cup = 245 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 122.5 g; 1/4 cup = 61.3 g; 1 tbsp = 15.3 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0356 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 245 g per cup. FDC 171304, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 245 g - King Arthur Baking: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, yogurt (undifferentiated), 1 cup = 8 oz (227 g) REJECTED: 0.9595 g/ml is lighter than water and lighter than plain yogurt, both of which are impossible for a strained-and-concentrated dairy product. The King Arthur chart also lists no separate row for Greek yogurt, applying the same 227 g figure to all yogurts, which cannot be a bench measurement of a strained product with concentrated solids. The figure originates from the 8-fluid-ounce serving convention converted as weight, documented in detail on the yogurt entry. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/greek-yogurt-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: King Arthur Baking's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list Greek yogurt as a separate ingredient. Their chart carries a single generic row for yogurt at 227 g per cup, which is applied to all yogurts regardless of style. That figure is rejected here on the same physics grounds as on the plain yogurt entry, and it is doubly wrong for Greek yogurt because a strained product concentrated in solids cannot weigh less than an unstrained one. USDA is the only accepted source, and the notable result on this entry is that USDA publishes Greek yogurt at the same 245 g per cup as regular plain yogurt (FDC 171284), despite straining being expected to concentrate the solids and raise the density. USDA FDC 171304 (Yogurt, Greek, plain, whole milk) gives 245 g per cup, 1.0356 g/ml, identical to the regular plain yogurt figure to the precision published. The identity carries across fat levels: FDC 170894 (Greek, plain, nonfat) also publishes at 245 g per cup, and FDC 170903 (Greek, plain, low-fat) does the same. This is not a rounding coincidence; it appears to be a genuine finding about commercial Greek yogurt production. Commercial straining removes roughly 30 to 50 percent of the whey by weight and concentrates the protein and solids in the remaining product. This should raise density by a similar percentage, from around 1.036 to somewhere between 1.05 and 1.08 g/ml, and give a cup weight of roughly 250 to 255 g. The USDA figure does not show this because commercial Greek yogurt is stirred and homogenised after straining as part of the packaging process, and the stirring incorporates a small but consistent amount of air into the product. The air offsets the density increase from concentration, and the finished packaged product measures very close to unstrained yogurt at the cup level, even though the substance itself is thicker and holds more solids per gram. Traditional strained yogurt made in the labneh or Greek village style, drained overnight through a cloth bag or muslin and not stirred afterward, is measurably denser than the USDA figure suggests and can approach 1.06 to 1.08 g/ml. This is a different physical product from commercial Greek yogurt sold in tubs. Retail single-serve containers of 170 g are commonly labelled as one cup on the front of the package. The 170 g figure is the mass of 6 fluid ounces of water (6 times 28.35 grams per fluid ounce) rather than the mass of the product in a cup, and the container holds 3/4 cup by volume at the true density. Chobani, Fage, Oikos, Stonyfield and generic supermarket Greek yogurts all use the 170 g single-serve convention, and none of these container labels counts as a measurement of volume. Skyr, quark, labneh and Icelandic strained yogurt are related but distinct cultured dairy products with different fat and moisture contents and their own separate USDA records. Sheep-milk and goat-milk Greek yogurt are also distinct products with somewhat different densities due to different milk composition. Sweetened, flavoured and fruit-added Greek yogurts have their own weights that vary by product and are outside the scope of this entry. One accepted source. The entry is held at medium confidence until an independent second and third are found. Dairy composition standards regulate protein and milkfat content rather than density, so the Codex route that resolved olive oil is not directly available. ### Half-and-Half https://exactcups.com/half-and-half/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: half and half, half & half, half-and-half cream, cream half and half. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/half-and-half-227-grams/. #### Standard, homogenized blend of milk and cream, 10.5-12% milkfat Published: 1 cup = 242 g (8.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 121 g; 1/4 cup = 60.5 g; 1 tbsp = 15.1 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0229 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.94 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 171255): 242 g per cup. Cream, fluid, half and half. 1 cup = 242 g; 1 tbsp = 15.1 g; 1 fl oz = 30.2 g. Anchor value for 10.5-12% milkfat commercial half-and-half. - Land O'Lakes Traditional Half and Half: 236.6 g per cup. Nutrition label states 2 Tbsp (30 mL) = 30 g, rounding density to 1.000 g/mL per FDA dairy label convention (mass and volume both quantized to whole numbers). Ingredients: milk, cream. Reads out to 236.6 g/cup, within 2.3% of USDA. - Organic Valley Organic Half & Half: 236.6 g per cup. Nutrition label states 2 tbsp (30 mL) = 30 g, same rounding convention as Land O'Lakes. Ingredients: organic pasture-raised milk, organic cream. Confirms mass-market convergence at 236.6-242 g/cup band. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 227 g per cup. Chart states 'Cream (heavy cream, light cream, or half & half) 1 cup = 8 oz = 227 g'. Rejected for two errors: (1) fluid-oz-as-mass-oz — 8 × 28.35 = 227, treating US fluid ounces as if they were avoirdupois mass ounces, undercounting half-and-half by 6.6% versus USDA's 242 g/cup at the actual density of 1.023 g/mL; (2) scope error — grouping heavy cream (35% fat, ~235 g/cup because fat lowers density below water), light cream (18-30% fat), and half-and-half (10.5-12% fat, 242 g/cup because it is still mostly milk) under one figure despite these products having physically distinct densities. King Arthur's Recipe Success Guide compounds the error by declaring light cream and half-and-half interchangeable in recipes. REJECTED: Fluid-oz-as-mass-oz error (8 × 28.35 = 227) compounded by scope error grouping heavy cream, light cream, and half-and-half under one figure despite physically distinct densities. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/half-and-half-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: One cup of half-and-half weighs 242 grams (1.023 g/mL), landing between whole milk (denser, because milk solids raise density) and heavy cream (lighter than water, because 35% fat pushes density down). King Arthur Baking's chart lists 227 g per cup for 'cream (heavy cream, light cream, or half & half)' — the classic fluid-ounce error, undercounting by 6.6% and treating three different-density products as interchangeable. The FDA defines half-and-half as a homogenized blend of milk and cream containing 10.5-18% milkfat (21 CFR § 131.180). Every mass-market US product anchors at the low end, 10.5-12%, because 'light cream' occupies the 18-30% band as a separate FDA product category. So while the legal window is wide, real cartons converge on 10.5-12%, which is what USDA measured for FDC 171255: one cup is 242 grams, one tablespoon is 15.1 grams, density is 1.023 g/mL. King Arthur's 227 g/cup is 8 fluid ounces treated as 8 mass ounces (8 × 28.35). This is the fluid-oz-as-mass-oz confusion the ExactCups project exists to correct. The physical density of half-and-half is slightly above water — not below — because milk solids (protein, lactose, minerals) outweigh the density-lowering effect of 10-12% fat. Actual density is 1.023 g/mL, not 0.96 g/mL. Beyond the numeric error, KA groups heavy cream (35% fat), light cream (18-30% fat), and half-and-half (10.5-12% fat) under one entry — but each has a distinct density because fat is less dense than water. Heavier cream runs lighter per cup; leaner half-and-half runs heavier. Averaging them is not physically meaningful for weight-based conversion. Producer labels converge with USDA once rounding is factored in. Land O'Lakes Traditional Half and Half and Organic Valley Organic Half & Half both list a 2 Tbsp serving (30 mL) at 30 grams, rounding density to 1.000 g/mL — the standard dairy nutrition-label convention, which quantizes mass and volume to whole numbers for legibility. That reads out to 236.6 g/cup, within 2.3% of USDA. Under the 5% liquid category tolerance, USDA and producer labels are convergent, and 242 is the published single figure. Practical bakers: the difference matters most where a recipe depends on fat-to-liquid ratio. Custards, pastry cream, ganache, panna cotta, and ice cream bases need the true mass. Using King Arthur's 227 g/cup in a panna cotta shorts you 15 grams per cup of half-and-half; the result sets softer or fails to set. Ganache with too little cream by weight breaks. Ice cream with too little fat freezes coarse. For coffee and casual pouring, none of this matters — the label rounding is what your carton reflects and the difference is under a spoonful. For volumetric substitution, half-and-half and whole milk swap cleanly by cup (density difference is under 1%), though the fat content still changes browning, set, and mouthfeel. Substituting for heavy cream is where the difference bites: cream is fattier and lighter per cup, so a volumetric swap thins the result AND under-delivers fat. Weigh both. Ultra-pasteurization, lactose-free processing (Land O'Lakes Lactose-Free), and added stabilizers like sodium citrate or carrageenan do not measurably shift density. Grassmilk and organic labeling do not either. The 242 g/cup figure holds across mass-market US half-and-half. ### Heavy cream https://exactcups.com/heavy-cream/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: heavy whipping cream, whipping cream, double cream (British 48% fat is a distinct product). King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/heavy-cream-227-grams/. #### Liquid, at fridge temperature Published: 1 cup = 238 g (8.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 119 g; 1/4 cup = 59.5 g; 1 tbsp = 14.9 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.006 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 238 g per cup. FDC 170859, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 238 g, minimum 36% milkfat - King Arthur Baking: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, cream (heavy cream, light cream, or half & half), 1 cup = 8 oz (227 g) REJECTED: 0.9595 g/ml is below water density and below what any of the three cream products in this row can physically be. Half and half is roughly 10-18% milkfat and sits around 1.02 g/ml. Light cream is 18-30% and sits around 1.01 g/ml. Heavy whipping cream at the FDA minimum 36% sits at USDA's 1.006. All three are denser than water because their aqueous phase carries dissolved milk solids. The same weight assigned to three products with substantially different fat contents cannot be a bench measurement of any of them; it is the volume of a US cup expressed in fluid ounces read as a weight, the same convention that produced the rejected King Arthur figures for milk and yogurt. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/heavy-cream-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: The King Arthur figure for cream extends the same volume-to-weight conversion error already documented on the milk and yogurt entries, and adds a clearer proof that it is a convention rather than a measurement: King Arthur assigns a single weight of 227 grams to three products (heavy cream, light cream, and half and half) that have substantially different fat contents and therefore different densities. Half and half is 10 to 18 percent milkfat, light cream is 18 to 30 percent, and heavy whipping cream is a minimum of 36 percent under FDA identity standards. A bench measurement of the cup weight for these three products would produce three different numbers. Applying the same 227 gram figure to all three demonstrates that the number is an 8-fluid-ounce serving converted as if the fluid ounces were weight ounces, not a measurement of what a cup of any specific cream weighs. The value is recorded as rejected rather than deleted, because a published figure that is wrong is worth knowing about, and this one is refuted by the products themselves rather than by an external standard. USDA FDC 170859 (Cream, fluid, heavy whipping, minimum 36 percent milkfat) gives a cup at 238 g, or 1.006 g/ml. This is slightly above water because the aqueous phase of cream carries dissolved milk solids that raise the density enough to offset the presence of butterfat, and the balance falls just above water at the 36 percent fat level. Higher-fat creams sit closer to or slightly below water: British double cream at 48 percent fat is approximately 0.99 g/ml, and clotted cream at 55 to 60 percent is genuinely below water. These are distinct products from US heavy whipping cream and are not covered by this entry. USDA also publishes a tablespoon at 15 g for the same record, and 15 times 16 gives 240 g, close to the cup figure. The 2 g difference reflects nutrition-label rounding on the small measure; the cup portion carries the more reliable density. Whipping cream (the lower FDA category at minimum 30 percent milkfat, sometimes labelled light whipping cream) is a distinct product that USDA lists separately at FDC 170858 with a cup portion of 239 g. The density is effectively identical to heavy whipping cream at the precision published, since the 6-percent fat difference is within the rounding band. Light cream, half and half, single cream, coffee cream and pouring cream form a spectrum of lower-fat products with densities from about 1.02 down to 1.01 g/ml, each covered by its own USDA record and none matching King Arthur's 227 g figure. Whipped cream, which is the same product with air incorporated to double its volume, weighs roughly half as much per cup at 60 g (FDC 173441 pressurised, 120 g whipped from 1 cup fluid). This is not a state of heavy cream in the sense used for coconut oil solid and liquid: it is a distinct food produced by mechanical aeration, and it belongs in its own entry. That leaves one accepted source. The entry is held at medium confidence until an independent second and third are found. Dairy composition standards regulate milkfat content rather than density directly, so the Codex route that resolved olive oil is not available here. ### Hoisin sauce https://exactcups.com/hoisin-sauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: hoisin, hoi sin sauce, Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce, Kikkoman hoisin sauce. #### Standard, bottled hoisin sauce at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 312 g (11 oz); 1/2 cup = 156 g; 1/4 cup = 78 g; 1 tbsp = 19.5 g; 1 tsp = 6.5 g (1.3187 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.73 cups. Sources: - Kikkoman Hoisin Sauce label: 312 g per cup. kikkomanusa.com: "Serving Size 2 Tbsp (39g)", about 7 servings per 9.3 oz bottle, 17 g total sugars and 560 mg sodium per serving. 312 g per US cup, 1.319 g/mL; whole-gram rounding allows 1.30 to 1.34 g/mL. - Lee Kum Kee Hoisin Sauce label: 320 g per cup. 20 oz bottle (Kroger listing): "1 tbsp (20 g)", 28 servings, 530 mg sodium per serving. 320 g per US cup, 1.353 g/mL; whole-gram rounding allows 1.32 to 1.39 g/mL. - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, hoisin, ready-to-serve" (NDB 6175): 256 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 tablespoon = 16 g, 256 g per US cup (1.082 g/mL), with 7.1 g of water and 258 mg of sodium in that tablespoon (44% water). No FDC ID was found for this record; it is cited by its NDB number. REJECTED: USDA's own record puts 7.1 g of water in its 16 g tablespoon, so hoisin is 44% water and 56% sugar, starch, soybean paste and salt. A sauce that is more than half dissolved and suspended solids weighs about what a heavy sugar syrup weighs, 1.25 to 1.30 g/mL, and the salt pushes it higher. 1.08 g/mL is the density of a solution of about 20% sugar, a light syrup. Kikkoman weighs 2 tablespoons at 39 g and Lee Kum Kee 1 tablespoon at 20 g, 1.32 to 1.35 g/mL. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/hoisin-sauce-256-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of hoisin sauce weighs 312 g (11 oz), a density of 1.32 g/mL, so a tablespoon weighs 19.5 g, about a third more than a tablespoon of water. Kikkoman weighs 2 tablespoons of its hoisin at 39 g and Lee Kum Kee weighs 1 tablespoon at 20 g. USDA's 16 g per tablespoon is too light for a sauce that is more than half sugar and soybean paste, and is rejected. Hoisin is a thick, sweet, dark Chinese sauce made from fermented soybean paste, sugar, garlic, vinegar and spices, often with plum or sweet potato. It glazes roast pork and duck, seasons stir-fries, and is the dipping sauce for Peking duck and spring rolls. Kikkoman's label shows 17 g of sugar in a 39 g serving, 44% sugar, and its ingredients begin with sugar, water, miso and plum puree. That composition settles the weight. USDA's own record for ready-to-serve hoisin (NDB 6175) puts 7.1 g of water in its 16 g tablespoon: 44% water, so 56% sugar, starch, soybean solids and salt. A sauce that is more than half dissolved and suspended solids weighs about what a heavy sugar syrup weighs, 1.25 to 1.30 g/mL by the sucrose tables, and salt pushes it a little higher. Both producer labels land there. Kikkoman's 39 g per 2 tablespoons is 1.32 g/mL, 312 g per cup; Lee Kum Kee's 20 g per tablespoon is 1.35 g/mL, 320 g per cup. Whole-gram rounding allows 1.30 to 1.34 g/mL for Kikkoman's two tablespoons and 1.32 to 1.39 g/mL for Lee Kum Kee's one, and the two overlap. The labels are 2.6% apart, inside the 5% tolerance this site allows for liquids. Kikkoman's figure, weighed over twice the volume, is the more precise and is published. USDA's 16 g per tablespoon is 256 g per cup and 1.08 g/mL. That is the density of a solution of about 20% sugar, a light syrup, far less than a sauce with only 44% water can weigh, so the figure contradicts USDA's own water content. It is rejected and has its own correction page. Because the labels give their servings in grams and those grams are well above water weight, they are measurements rather than the convention of writing grams equal to millilitres. Hoisin is the heaviest of the common bottled sauces. Ketchup weighs 272 g a cup, barbecue sauce 288 g, soy sauce 277.6 g and fish sauce 283.9 g. Thick sauces cling to spoons, so a scraped-out tablespoon is often a gram or two short; weighing into the bowl avoids that. Practical guidance: use 312 g per cup, 78 g per quarter cup, 39 g per 2 tablespoons, 19.5 g per tablespoon and 6.5 g per teaspoon. Brands vary by a few percent with their sugar and starch, and Lee Kum Kee runs slightly heavier than Kikkoman. ### Kefir https://exactcups.com/kefir/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: kefir, milk kefir, plain kefir, cultured milk kefir, drinkable kefir, kefir milk. #### Standard, poured Published: 1 cup = 240 g (8.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 120 g; 1/4 cup = 60 g; 1 tbsp = 15 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0144 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - Lifeway Whole Milk Plain Kefir (product label, dominant US brand since 1986): 240 g per cup. Product label serving: 1 cup = 240 g = 160 kcal (8 g fat, 12 g carb, 10 g protein). Density 240/236.588 = 1.014 g/mL. Ingredient: organic whole milk cultured with 12 live probiotic strains. Lifeway (Morton Grove IL, Smolyansky family) is the dominant US kefir brand with roughly 90% retail market share. Also produces lowfat, nonfat, and goat-milk kefir variants at similar cup-weight conventions. - USDA FoodData Central — Kefir, lowfat, plain, Lifeway (NBD ID 1289, via aqua-calc): 243.2 g per cup. USDA legacy entry with density calculator: 257 g/metric cup = 243 g/US cup = 8.6 oz/US cup, density 1.028 g/mL. Represents the physical density of Lifeway lowfat kefir measured under USDA reference conditions. Sits 1.25% above the whole-milk label figure of 240 — the small gap reflects Lifeway's label convention of treating 240 mL and 240 g interchangeably rather than measuring actual mass per cup. - Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery Plain Kefir (cow milk, product composition data): Product composition per USDA/myfooddata: 91.5% water, 4.2% carbs, 3.3% protein, 1% fat. Density prediction from composition (0.915 × 1.0 + 0.042 × 1.53 + 0.033 × 1.35 + 0.01 × 0.91) gives 1.03 g/mL, matching the USDA physical figure. California-based grass-fed producer; also makes goat-milk kefir variant. - Wallaby Organic Whole Milk Plain Kefir (Wallaby Yogurt Co, California): 3.5% milkfat organic plain kefir, distributed via Whole Foods and specialty grocers. Product uses standard 240 mL/cup serving convention. Ingredient statement: organic pasteurized whole milk, live and active cultures. One of the three dominant US organic dairy kefir brands alongside Lifeway Organic and Nancy's. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 240 g/cup (1.014 g/mL). Lifeway whole milk kefir label and USDA physical density figure converge at 240-243 g/cup within 1.25%. Publishing at 240 to match the dominant US brand's own labeling convention and align with the milk/buttermilk/cream cup weights already in the database. King Arthur is silent on kefir. Kefir is fermented milk cultured with kefir grains — small cauliflower-like clumps of a symbiotic community of about 30 species of lactic-acid bacteria and yeasts held together in a polysaccharide matrix. The grains ferment lactose in raw or pasteurized milk over 12-24 hours at room temperature, producing a drinkable cultured milk with the tangy flavor of yogurt, the pourable body of buttermilk, and a slight natural effervescence from carbon dioxide produced by the yeast component. Traditional kefir is a Caucasus mountains product with origins in the North Ossetian and Karachay regions of the Russian Caucasus; commercial production in the US began in earnest when the Smolyansky family founded Lifeway Foods in 1986 and popularized the drinkable-yogurt-adjacent format. Density data converges tightly around 240-243 g per US cup. Lifeway's Whole Milk Plain Kefir product label lists 1 cup = 240 g, following the standard dairy convention of treating 240 mL (approximately 1 US cup) and 240 g as interchangeable for water-density-adjacent liquids. USDA FoodData Central's entry for Lifeway lowfat kefir (NBD 1289) gives 257 g/metric cup or 243 g/US cup at 1.028 g/mL, which is the actual physical density measured under USDA reference conditions. Physical prediction from typical whole-milk-kefir composition (3.25% milkfat, 4.5% carbs, 3.5% protein, 88.75% water) gives 1.028 g/mL, matching the USDA figure exactly. Publishing at 240 g/cup keeps consistency with the milk, buttermilk, heavy-cream, and yogurt entries elsewhere in this database that all follow the same dairy-label convention. The cultured dairy family lands in a tight density band because water dominates the composition. Kefir at 1.014-1.028 g/mL sits alongside whole milk (1.03 g/mL), buttermilk (1.03), plain yogurt (1.03), and half-and-half (1.02), and just below sour cream (1.03-1.04), Greek yogurt (1.03-1.05), and heavy cream (0.98-1.00 depending on whipping). The differences between these products at the volume-to-weight level are within 5% for practical baking purposes — where they differ meaningfully is in fat content, viscosity, and how the culture interacts with heat and acid in the pan. Several disambiguations matter for search intent. Milk kefir (this entry) is not the same as water kefir, which is made from sugar water plus fruit fermented with water kefir grains (Tibicos or Ginger Beer Plant); water kefir has density essentially matching water (1.00-1.02 g/mL) and no dairy content, so it is a distinct product family. Kefir is not yogurt: yogurt is fermented by two specific bacterial strains (Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus) with no yeast component, produces no CO2, and sets to a firmer body; kefir's yeast-plus-bacteria consortium produces the pourable body and the slight fizz. Kefir is not buttermilk: cultured buttermilk uses a single-strain lactic-acid fermentation, has no yeast, no CO2, and a milder tang. All three are cultured dairy but the microbial communities and resulting products differ. For sourdough baking, kefir feeds an active starter well — many bakers hydrate their starter refresh with kefir instead of water once a week for a burst of additional yeast and lactic-acid activity, which the starter's own microbes then metabolize alongside the wheat starches. In quick breads, kefir substitutes 1:1 by weight for buttermilk with slightly more tang and a slight effervescence that acts as a leavening boost when combined with baking soda. In smoothies, salad dressings, and marinades where buttermilk is called for, the substitution is direct at 1:1 by volume. For heat-set custards, cheesecakes, and pastry cream, kefir behaves like buttermilk: it curdles above 180°F and needs to be added off-heat or tempered gradually. ### Ketchup https://exactcups.com/ketchup/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: catsup, tomato ketchup, tomato catsup, Heinz ketchup. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 272 g (9.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 136 g; 1/4 cup = 68 g; 1 tbsp = 17 g; 1 tsp = 5.7 g (1.1497 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.83 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Catsup" (FDC 168556), tablespoon portion: 272 g per cup. USDA Standard Release lists 1 tbsp = 17 g, extrapolating to 272 g per US cup and density 1.150 g/mL. Matches every producer label. Composition per 100 g: water 68.5 g, carbohydrate 27.4 g (sugars 21.3 g), sodium 907 mg. - Heinz Tomato Ketchup (producer label): 272 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 32-oz bottle: 1 Tbsp (17 g), extrapolating to 272 g per US cup and density 1.150 g/mL. - Hunt's 100% Natural Tomato Ketchup (producer label): 272 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 38-oz bottle: 1 tbsp (17 g), extrapolating to 272 g per US cup and density 1.150 g/mL. Identical to Heinz. - USDA SR Legacy "Catsup" (FDC 168556), cup portion: 240 g per cup. The same USDA record lists 1 cup = 240 g, density 1.014 g/mL, which contradicts its own 17 g tablespoon (1.150 g/mL) by 13%. REJECTED: 1.014 g/mL is barely denser than water, but ketchup is not mostly water: USDA's own composition for this record is 68.5% water carrying 27.4% carbohydrate (21.3% sugars) and about 2.3% salt. A liquid carrying roughly 30% dissolved solids is about 1.13-1.15 g/mL, which is what the same record's 17 g tablespoon and the Heinz and Hunt's labels give. 240 g is the weight of 240 mL of water, the nutrition-label cup read as if ketchup weighed the same as water. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/ketchup-240-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Ketchup weighs 272 g per US cup (9.6 oz) and 17 g per tablespoon, a density of 1.15 g/mL. USDA's tablespoon figure, Heinz and Hunt's all agree on 17 g. USDA's own cup figure of 240 g contradicts the rest of its record and is rejected here. Ketchup is tomato concentrate cooked with sugar or corn syrup, vinegar, salt and spices. The US standard of identity for catsup (21 CFR 155.194) sets no minimum solids content; it controls consistency instead, requiring a flow of no more than 14 cm in 30 seconds at 20 °C on a Bostwick consistometer. Most of what makes ketchup thick and heavy is sugar: USDA's record shows 68.5 g of water per 100 g carrying 27.4 g of carbohydrate, 21.3 g of it sugars, plus about 2.3 g of salt. That composition settles the weight. Roughly 30% dissolved solids makes ketchup about 15% denser than water, the same territory as a light syrup. USDA SR Legacy "Catsup" (FDC 168556) lists 1 tablespoon at 17 g, which is 272 g per cup and 1.15 g/mL. Heinz and Hunt's labels both list 1 tablespoon at 17 g. Producer labels round to whole grams, so 17 g could be anything from 16.5 to 17.4 g, which is why this entry holds medium rather than high confidence. The same USDA record also lists 1 cup at 240 g. That is a density of 1.014 g/mL, barely more than water, and 13% below the record's own tablespoon. 240 g is exactly what 240 mL of water weighs, and 240 mL is the cup that US nutrition labels use, so the figure looks like a label cup converted as if ketchup weighed the same as water. A liquid that is 30% sugar and salt cannot weigh what water weighs, so the cup figure is recorded as a rejected source with that reasoning and has its own correction page. USDA's low-sodium catsup record (FDC 169381) carries the same 240 g cup. Practical guidance: a 20-oz bottle holds 567 g, a little over 2 cups, and a 32-oz bottle 907 g, about 3 1/3 cups. USDA lists a single-serve packet at 9 g, about half a tablespoon. For barbecue sauces, glazes and meatloaf, 1/4 cup of ketchup weighs 68 g and 2 tablespoons 34 g. Ketchup clings to measuring cups and spoons, so the tablespoon you scrape out is often a gram or two short; weighing straight into the bowl avoids that. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no row for ketchup. Among the tomato concentrates and sauces, ketchup is the heaviest per cup because of its added sugar: paste 262 g, pizza sauce 252 g, puree 250 g, sauce 245 g. Only BBQ sauce, sweeter still at 288 g, weighs more. The tomato products comparison page shows them side by side. ### Key Lime Juice https://exactcups.com/key-lime-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: bottled Key lime juice, Key West lime juice, Mexican lime juice, West Indian lime juice, fresh Key lime juice. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/key-lime-juice-227-grams/. #### Standard, bottled or fresh-squeezed, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 246 g (8.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 123 g; 1/4 cup = 61.5 g; 1 tbsp = 15.4 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0398 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.92 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Lime juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened" (FDC 168157): 246 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 246 g (density 1.040 g/mL) and 1 fl oz = 30.8 g. Water 92.5 g, carbohydrate 6.7 g, sugars 1.4 g per 100 g. USDA has no Key lime record; bottled Key lime juice is the same kind of product, lime juice reconstituted from concentrate. - USDA SR Legacy "Lime juice, raw" (FDC 168156): 242 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 242 g (density 1.023 g/mL) and 1 fl oz = 30.8 g; the juice of one lime is 44 g. Carbohydrate 8.4 g, sugars 1.7 g per 100 g. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (Table 5): 252.4 g per cup. "Lime juice, canned or bottled" 15 mL = 16 g (density 1.067 g/mL as printed; whole-gram rounding puts it anywhere from 1.033 to 1.100). "Lemon juice, canned or bottled" 15 mL = 15 g on the same table. - Haro-Guzmán, "Estudio sobre el crecimiento y maduración del Limón mexicano", Fruits 34(6), 1979: Juice of the Mexican lime (Citrus aurantifolia, the Key lime) through the harvest season: soluble solids 9.0-10.3 °Brix, titratable acidity 5.4-7.5% as citric acid. No density given; a juice carrying about 10% dissolved solids weighs about 1.04 g/mL. - Nellie & Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice (producer label): Retail nutrition label (Kroger), 16 fl oz bottle: serving 1 tsp (5 mL), no gram weight. Ingredients: filtered water, Key West lime juice from concentrate, sodium benzoate, lime oil. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 227 g per cup. KA lists "Key Lime Juice" at 1 cup = 8 oz = 227 g, density 0.960 g/mL. REJECTED: 0.960 g/mL is lighter than water, and lime juice cannot be: it is water carrying about 10% dissolved citric acid and sugars (Key lime juice measures 9-10 °Brix), which makes it about 4% heavier than water. USDA weighs a cup of bottled lime juice at 246 g and fresh lime juice at 242 g. A cup is 8 fluid ounces and 227 g is 8 weight ounces: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, the same mistake as King Arthur's 227 g cup of water. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/key-lime-juice-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of Key lime juice weighs 246 g (8.7 oz), a density of 1.040 g/mL. USDA weighs a cup of bottled lime juice at 246 g and fresh lime juice at 242 g, and Health Canada's tablespoon of bottled lime juice agrees. King Arthur's 227 g would make the juice lighter than water and is rejected. Key limes (Citrus aurantifolia), also called Mexican or West Indian limes, are small, round, thin-skinned and seedy, and they ripen to yellow. The common supermarket lime is the larger Persian or Tahiti lime (Citrus latifolia). Key lime juice is the base of Key lime pie, where it sets sweetened condensed milk without baking much. Most of it is sold bottled: Nellie & Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice, the best-known brand, is filtered water and Key lime juice from concentrate, brought back to normal strength. USDA has no record for Key lime juice as such. Its SR Legacy record for bottled, unsweetened lime juice (FDC 168157) gives 1 cup = 246 g and 1 fl oz = 30.8 g, and its fresh lime juice record (FDC 168156) gives 1 cup = 242 g. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 15 mL of bottled lime juice at 16 g, against 15 g for bottled lemon juice; whole grams on a tablespoon are a coarse measure, but the reading is consistent with the other two. Nellie & Joe's label gives a 1 teaspoon (5 mL) serving and no gram weight. The physical check: a juice's density follows what is dissolved in it. A study of Mexican limes measured their juice at 9.0 to 10.3 °Brix through the harvest season, with 5.4 to 7.5% acidity as citric acid. A liquid carrying about 10% dissolved solids weighs about 1.04 g per millilitre, 246 g per cup, exactly USDA's bottled figure. Persian lime juice measures a little lower in published studies, about 7.3 to 9.6 °Brix, which fits USDA's 242 g for fresh lime juice. The two limes differ in aroma and acid balance far more than in weight. King Arthur lists Key lime juice at 1 cup = 8 oz = 227 g, 0.960 g per millilitre, lighter than water. An acid juice cannot be lighter than water. A cup is 8 fluid ounces, and 227 g is 8 weight ounces: the fluid ounce has been read as a weight ounce, the same mistake as King Arthur's 227 g cup of water and its 14 g tablespoon of lemon juice, and this entry rejects it. The fruit decides how much juice you get, not the weight of the juice. USDA counts the juice of one Persian lime at 44 g, about five or six limes per cup; Key limes are a fraction of the size, so a cup takes several times as many. Practical guidance: use 246 g per cup of Key lime juice, 123 g per half cup, the usual amount in a Key lime pie, and about 15.4 g per tablespoon. A 16 fl oz bottle holds 2 cups, about 490 g. Bottled and fresh juice weigh the same within 2%, so a recipe written for one works with the other by weight or by volume; the difference is flavour. ### Kombucha https://exactcups.com/kombucha/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: fermented tea, SCOBY tea, booch, kombucha tea, raw kombucha. #### Standard, at typical serving temperature Published: 1 cup = 240 g (8.5 oz); 1/2 cup = 120 g; 1/4 cup = 60 g; 1 tbsp = 15 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0144 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - GT's Kombucha (dominant US brand since 1995): 240 g per cup. GT's Organic Raw Kombucha nutrition label (multiple flavor variants including Original, Trilogy, Gingerade) lists 8 fl oz serving = 240 g. This yields a density of 1.014 g/mL (240 g / 236.588 mL) — slightly above water due to dissolved organic acids, residual sugar (typically 3-4 g per 8 fl oz for GT's original flavors), and trace CO2. GT's is the dominant US kombucha brand, founded by GT Dave in 1995, and their density profile serves as the market anchor. - Health-Ade Kombucha: 240 g per cup. Health-Ade Kombucha nutrition data (via SnapCalorie) lists 240 g serving = 60 calories, 14 g total carbohydrate. Sugar content runs 8-14 g per 8 fl oz depending on flavor (fruit-based higher than classic or ginger). Density matches GT's at approximately 1.014 g/mL. Health-Ade is the second-largest US kombucha brand and validates the market density anchor. - Physical density prediction (sucrose + organic acid solution): 240 g per cup. Kombucha post-fermentation composition: 90-95% water, 1-3% residual sucrose/fructose/glucose, 1-2% organic acids (acetic, gluconic, glucuronic, lactic), 0.5-1% ethanol (typically <0.5% ABV for commercial products under US TTB regulations), plus trace tea polyphenols, B-vitamins, and dissolved CO2. Standard sucrose-water density tables at 20°C give: 2% w/w sucrose = 1.008 g/mL, 5% = 1.019 g/mL. Adding acids and salts pushes density up marginally. Total predicted density: 1.01-1.02 g/mL, matching observed brand labels within measurement precision. Brand variance in residual sugar (0-14 g/serving) shifts density by less than 0.02 g/mL, which is below typical scale precision. - Kefir cross-reference (identical density, aqueous fermented beverage): 240 g per cup. Kombucha at 240 g/cup matches kefir at 240 g/cup exactly (ExactCups kefir entry). Both are aqueous fermented beverages with ~90-95% water content and minor dissolved solids from fermentation byproducts. Kefir is milk-based (fermented by kefir grains), kombucha is tea-based (fermented by SCOBY), but the finished products land at essentially identical density because the fermentation metabolic pathways convert similar amounts of substrate into similar amounts of acids and dissolved solids. Physical validation of the water-density band placement. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish kombucha in their Ingredient Weight Chart. Kombucha is a beverage rather than a baking ingredient, so this is consistent with KA's chart scope. No KA correction applies. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of kombucha weighs 240 g** — GT's Kombucha and Health-Ade both list 240 g per 8 fl oz serving on their nutrition labels. Density 1.014 g/mL, essentially identical to kefir and just above water. Kombucha sits in the water-density band alongside kefir, milk, buttermilk, and other aqueous fermented liquids. King Arthur does not publish kombucha; it is a beverage rather than a baking ingredient. Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage made from sweetened *Camellia sinensis* tea (black, green, or white) and a SCOBY — Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast — dominated by acetic-acid bacteria (*Gluconacetobacter*, *Komagataeibacter*) and osmotolerant yeasts (*Saccharomyces*, *Zygosaccharomyces*, *Brettanomyces*). The culture floats as a cellulose mat on the tea's surface during fermentation, giving rise to the traditional English name 'mushroom tea' (though it is neither a mushroom nor closely related to fungi). Origins are traditionally traced to Manchuria around 200 BC, with documented consumption across East Asia, Russia, and Eastern Europe for centuries before the American commercial boom that began in the mid-1990s. GT Dave founded GT's Kombucha in Beverly Hills in 1995 after making kombucha for his mother during her breast cancer treatment; GT's remains the dominant US brand, joined in the 2010s by Health-Ade, Better Booch, Brew Dr., Kevita, Suja, and Remedy. The density data is exceptionally clean. GT's Organic Raw Kombucha nutrition label lists 8 fl oz serving = 240 g across multiple flavor variants (Original, Trilogy, Gingerade). Health-Ade Kombucha (verified via SnapCalorie) lists 240 g serving = 60 calories with 14 g total carbohydrate. Both figures yield density 1.014 g/mL (240 g ÷ 236.588 mL), slightly above pure water (1.000 g/mL) due to dissolved organic acids, residual sugar, and trace CO2. The physical prediction confirms this: post-fermentation kombucha is 90-95% water, 1-3% residual sugars (sucrose, fructose, glucose in various ratios depending on fermentation length), 1-2% organic acids (acetic, gluconic, glucuronic, lactic), 0.5-1% ethanol (kept below 0.5% ABV for commercial non-alcoholic classification under US TTB regulations), plus trace tea polyphenols and B-vitamins produced by the yeasts. Standard sucrose-water tables predict 1.01-1.02 g/mL for solutions in this concentration range, matching observation within measurement precision. Brand variance in residual sugar is substantial — Remedy runs 0-2 g per 8 fl oz, GT's 3-7 g, Humm 8-12 g, Brew Dr. 8-14 g, Health-Ade 8-16 g, Kevita 9-11 g — but the density impact is trivial. The difference between 0% and 4% dissolved sugar is only 0.017 g/mL, well below typical kitchen-scale precision, so a cup of any commercial kombucha weighs 240 g within any measurable tolerance. Homemade kombucha varies with fermentation length: a 7-day ferment retains 3-5% residual sugar (density ~1.02 g/mL, 241 g/cup) while a 21-day ferment drops to 0-1% (density ~1.005 g/mL, 238 g/cup). Neither difference matters for practical purposes. In the ExactCups liquid category, kombucha (240 g/cup) joins the water-density band alongside kefir (240 g/cup), whole milk (245 g/cup), buttermilk (240 g/cup), and pure water (237 g/cup). All aqueous liquids with modest dissolved solids cluster in this narrow 237-245 g/cup range regardless of what specifically is dissolved — the physics of dilute aqueous solutions dominates over compositional detail. Kombucha and kefir sitting at identical density despite completely different substrates (tea vs milk) and different microbial communities (SCOBY vs kefir grains) is a nice illustration: both metabolic processes convert similar amounts of carbohydrate substrate into similar amounts of acid + gas + trace solids, producing similar final density even though the flavor profiles are worlds apart. Practical baker recommendation: kombucha weighs 240 g per US cup, matching water within 1%. When substituting for water in bread doughs (some sourdough bakers use kombucha for extra acidity), use equal weight with no hydration adjustment needed. When substituting for buttermilk in pancake or biscuit recipes, use equal weight — the acidity is similar enough to trigger baking soda leavening reactions, though the flavor will lean tea-tangy rather than dairy-tangy. Kombucha's live cultures die at cooking temperatures above about 45°C (113°F), so any probiotic benefit is lost in baked applications; use raw kombucha for cocktails, dressings, and cold applications when the live cultures matter. ### Marinara Sauce https://exactcups.com/marinara-sauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: jarred marinara, marinara pasta sauce, pasta sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato basil sauce, jarred pasta sauce. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 250 g (8.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 125 g; 1/4 cup = 62.5 g; 1 tbsp = 15.6 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0567 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - Rao's Homemade Marinara Sauce (producer label): 250 g per cup. Brand site: 1/2 cup (125 g), extrapolating to 250 g per US cup (density 1.057 g/mL). - RAGÚ Old World Style Marinara Sauce (producer label): 250 g per cup. Brand site: 1/2 cup (125 g), 5 servings per container, extrapolating to 250 g per cup. - Classico Marinara with Plum Tomatoes & Olive Oil (producer label): 250 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 24-oz jar: 1/2 cup (125 g), extrapolating to 250 g per cup. - Bertolli Traditional Marinara Sauce (producer label): 250 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 24-oz jar: 1/2 cup (125 g), extrapolating to 250 g per cup. - Newman's Own Marinara Pasta Sauce (producer label): 248 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 24-oz jar: 1/2 cup (124 g), extrapolating to 248 g per cup (density 1.048 g/mL). - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, pasta, spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve" (FDC 171192): 264 g per cup. USDA Standard Release lists 1 serving, 1/2 cup = 132 g (one reproduction of the record shows 128 g), extrapolating to 264 g per US cup and density 1.116 g/mL. Composition per 100 g: water 87.9 g, carbohydrate 7.4 g (sugars 4.9 g), fat 1.6 g, protein 1.4 g. REJECTED: A sauce that is 88% water cannot weigh 1.116 g/mL. USDA's own composition for this record leaves about 12 g of solids per 100 g, mostly sugars, tomato fibre, oil and salt; those predict about 1.04-1.05 g/mL, which is 246-250 g per cup, and even if every gram of solids were as compact as dissolved salt the sauce would stay under 1.09 g/mL. 264 g per cup would make marinara heavier than tomato paste (262 g per cup), which is only about 75% water. The 132 g half cup reads as a serving weight, not a measured volume. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/marinara-sauce-264-grams/ - USDA Foundation "Sauce, pasta, spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve" (FDC 332282): 270 g per cup. Foundation Foods record lists 1 serving, 1/2 cup = 135 g, extrapolating to 270 g per US cup and density 1.141 g/mL. Analysed composition per 100 g: water 87.4 g, carbohydrate 8.1 g, fat 1.5 g, protein 1.4 g. REJECTED: Same physics as the SR Legacy record: at 87% water the density cannot pass about 1.05 g/mL, and 1.141 g/mL would make the sauce 3% heavier than tomato paste, which is 75% water. A 135 g half-cup serving is a serving weight, not a volume measured in a cup. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/marinara-sauce-270-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Marinara sauce weighs 250 g per US cup (8.8 oz), a density of 1.057 g/mL. Rao's, Ragú, Classico and Bertolli label half a cup at 125 g and Newman's Own at 124 g. USDA's two records for ready-to-serve pasta sauce give 264 and 270 g per cup, which a sauce that is 88% water cannot weigh, and both are rejected here. Marinara is a quick Italian-American tomato sauce: tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, onion and herbs, cooked briefly and sold in jars as the plainest of the pasta sauces. USDA's composition for jarred marinara and spaghetti sauce is 87-88% water, with 7-8% carbohydrate (about 5% sugars), 1.5% fat, 1.4% protein and some salt. That puts it close to tomato sauce, which is about 90% water. The labels converge, with a caveat. FDA's reference amount for spaghetti sauce is 125 g (21 CFR 101.12), and four of the five brands print exactly that, so their agreement may partly be the reference amount rather than a measurement. Newman's Own at 124 g suggests a weighed figure. What settles it is the physics, which predicts the same number from USDA's own composition. That check is the core of this entry. Dissolved sugars, tomato fibre and salt make a sauce denser than water; olive oil makes it lighter. At 88% water, the solids predict 1.04-1.05 g/mL, which is 246-250 g per cup. Tomato sauce, at about 90% water, measures 245 g per cup on this site; tomato puree 250 g. Marinara belongs in that company. USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, pasta, spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve" (FDC 171192) lists a half-cup serving at 132 g, which is 264 g per cup and 1.116 g/mL. The newer Foundation record with the same name (FDC 332282) lists 135 g, which is 270 g per cup and 1.141 g/mL. Either would make marinara heavier per cup than tomato paste, which weighs 262 g and is only about 75% water. A liquid cannot gain weight by holding more water. Both half-cup portions look like serving weights rather than measured volumes, and both are recorded as rejected sources with their own correction pages. Two other labels err the opposite way. Victoria and Carbone both print half a cup at 113 g, exactly 4 ounces, which is 226 g per cup and lighter than water. That is the fluid-ounce mistake, half a cup of 4 fluid ounces read as 4 weight ounces, and those figures are not used. Chunky and sugary sauces should run a few grams heavier than thin, oily ones, but the spread between the brands that weigh their half cup is small, 124-125 g. King Arthur's chart has no marinara row. Practical guidance: a 24-oz jar holds 680 g, about 2 3/4 cups; a 32-oz jar 907 g, about 3 2/3 cups. For a pound of pasta, 2 cups is 500 g. For a pizza base, use pizza sauce or weigh marinara: 1/4 cup is about 63 g. The tomato products comparison page shows marinara beside tomato sauce, puree, paste, canned tomatoes, juice and ketchup. ### Mascarpone https://exactcups.com/mascarpone/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: mascarpone cheese, italian cream cheese, italian-style cream cheese, mascarpone di panna. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, softened (fresh, spoonable) Published: 1 cup = 227 g (8 oz); 1/2 cup = 113.5 g; 1/4 cup = 56.8 g; 1 tbsp = 14.2 g; 1 tsp = 4.7 g (0.9595 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.00 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart (Mascarpone cheese): 227 g per cup. 1 cup = 8 oz = 227g, density 0.960 g/mL. Sits at the upper end of the physically defensible range for 44-55% milkfat mascarpone. - BelGioioso Mascarpone nutrition label: 224 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 14g per label. 14g x 16 tbsp/cup = 224 g/cup, density 0.947 g/mL. BelGioioso is the dominant US-produced mascarpone brand. - Trader Joe's Mascarpone nutrition label: 224 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 14g per label, matching BelGioioso exactly. 224 g/cup, density 0.947 g/mL. Independent brand confirmation. - Physical density derivation from milkfat composition: 224.8 g per cup. Butterfat density is 0.911 g/mL, water is 1.00 g/mL. A 44% fat / 55% water mascarpone calculates to 0.951 g/mL (225 g/cup); a 55% fat version calculates to 0.941 g/mL (223 g/cup). Producer labels and KA sit within this physically defensible range. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Mascarpone converges tightly at 227 g/cup across King Arthur's chart and major producer labels (BelGioioso and Trader Joe's both list 14g per tablespoon = 224 g/cup). Density around 0.95 g/mL follows directly from mascarpone's 44-55% milkfat composition. Mascarpone is an Italian fresh cheese made by heating cream and setting it with an acid (traditionally tartaric or citric, industrially glucono-delta-lactone). It has no rennet, no aging, and no cultures — technically a heat-set fresh cheese rather than a true cultured dairy product. Milkfat content sits at 44-55% depending on the brand, much higher than American cream cheese (33-38%), giving mascarpone its signature richness and silky texture. Bakers use it as the base of tiramisu (its defining application), in cheesecakes and no-bake versions, folded into buttercream frosting for extra richness, in pasta sauces (particularly with mushrooms or sausage), and as a topping for fresh fruit or waffles. Density is physically constrained by the fat-water composition. Butterfat has a density of 0.911 g/mL at room temperature; water is 1.00 g/mL. A 44% fat / 55% water mascarpone (with roughly 1% solids) calculates to 0.951 g/mL, or 225 g/cup. A 55% fat mascarpone calculates to 0.941 g/mL, or 223 g/cup. King Arthur's chart figure at 227 g/cup (density 0.960 g/mL) sits at the upper end, consistent with brands that include light stabilizers or slightly lower fat content. BelGioioso and Trader Joe's both publish 14g per 1 tablespoon on their nutrition labels, giving 224 g/cup. Convergence across authoritative sources is tight (1-2% variation), well within the 5% liquid tolerance. This is one of the cleanest density entries in the dairy category. Mascarpone versus cream cheese: the two products look similar but behave differently in baking. Cream cheese (American style, per FDA standard of identity) requires minimum 33% milkfat and maximum 55% moisture, typically stabilized with locust bean gum and carrageenan for structural integrity. Mascarpone has 44-55% milkfat, no rennet, no cultures, and in traditional Italian production no stabilizers. Cream cheese is tangier due to bacterial culturing; mascarpone is milder, sweeter, richer. In texture, cream cheese holds its shape when cool; mascarpone is softer, silkier, and prone to breaking (curdling) when overheated or over-whisked. Cup weights are similar (KA lists both at 227 g/cup) because the higher fat in mascarpone is roughly balanced by its lower water content, but 1:1 substitution changes the finished product noticeably — cream-cheese tiramisu tastes tangier and denser than mascarpone tiramisu. Mascarpone versus crème fraîche: also distinct. Crème fraîche is cultured cream at 30-40% fat, cultured with lactic acid bacteria for a tangy flavor, still pourable at room temperature (KA lists it at 226 g/cup). Mascarpone is heat-set with an acid, has higher fat, and holds a spoonable and spreadable form. Both work in similar dessert contexts, but crème fraîche brings acid brightness while mascarpone brings richness. Italian PDO regulations for authentic mascarpone (produced in Lombardy) specify a minimum 40% milkfat and require whole cream from cows. Most US brands are not PDO-certified but follow similar composition, though some add stabilizers (guar gum, carrageenan) for shelf life. For the closest-to-traditional experience, look for brands with only three ingredients: pasteurized cream, skim milk (or milk), and citric acid or glucono-delta-lactone as the setting agent. Practical baker recommendation: use mascarpone at cold or slightly cool temperature — never bring it fully to room temperature the way you would butter or cream cheese. Mascarpone loses structure and can turn grainy when warm. Fold gently rather than whisking vigorously to avoid breaking the emulsion. For any recipe calling for a specific gram amount, weigh from the tub; the 14g/tbsp label figure is reliable, but scooping semi-solid cheese into a measuring cup often leaves air pockets that under-measure. Substitution: cream cheese works as a 1:1 emergency substitute but changes flavor and firmness noticeably; a blend of 8 oz cream cheese plus 1/4 cup heavy cream approximates mascarpone's fat content and texture better than cream cheese alone. ### Mashed Potatoes https://exactcups.com/mashed-potatoes/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: mashed potato, homemade mashed potatoes, potato mash, whipped potatoes, creamy mashed potatoes. King Arthur: 213 g (7.5 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, prepared with milk and butter, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 210 g (7.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 105 g; 1/4 cup = 52.5 g; 1 tbsp = 13.1 g; 1 tsp = 4.4 g (0.8876 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 1.08 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Potatoes, mashed, home-prepared, whole milk and butter added" (FDC 168555): 210 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 210 g (density 0.888 g/mL). Water 75.6 g, carbohydrate 16.8 g, fat 4.2 g, protein 1.9 g per 100 g. USDA's records for home-prepared mash with whole milk only (FDC 170493) and with whole milk and margarine (FDC 170037), and for mash made from dehydrated flakes with whole milk and butter (FDC 170446), all give the same 1 cup = 210 g; they are not counted again. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (Table 4): 210.1 g per cup. "Potatoes, mashed, homemade with 2% milk and margarine" 125 mL = 111 g (density 0.888 g/mL, 210 g per US cup); "Potatoes, mashed, dried, with 2% milk and margarine" the same 125 mL = 111 g. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 213 g per cup. KA lists "Mashed potatoes" at 1 cup = 7 1/2 oz = 213 g, density 0.900 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of mashed potatoes weighs 210 g (7.4 oz). USDA weighs a cup of home-style mash at 210 g in every preparation it lists, Health Canada's 125 mL at 111 g works out to the same 210 g, and King Arthur gives 213 g. The three agree within 2%, so this entry publishes USDA's figure and King Arthur's agrees. Mashed potatoes are boiled potatoes broken down with milk and butter, by masher, ricer or mixer. Cooking swells the starch granules inside each potato cell, and mashing breaks the flesh into a soft paste that holds small pockets of air, more of them the longer it is whipped. USDA puts milk-and-butter mash at 75.6% water, 16.8% carbohydrate and 4.2% fat. USDA SR Legacy gives 1 cup = 210 g for home-prepared mash with whole milk and butter (FDC 168555), with whole milk only (FDC 170493), with whole milk and margarine (FDC 170037), and for mash made from dehydrated flakes with whole milk and butter (FDC 170446). The cup does not change with the fat, so USDA's figure reflects the texture of a spooned mash more than the recipe. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 125 mL of homemade mash with 2% milk and margarine at 111 g, and the same for mash made from dried flakes: 0.888 g per millilitre, 210 g per US cup. King Arthur gives 1 cup at 7 1/2 oz, 213 g. The physical check: raw potato flesh has a specific gravity of about 1.06 to 1.10, and milk and butter bring the mash down slightly, so a cup of mash with no air at all would weigh roughly 245 to 250 g. At 210 g, about one sixth of a spooned cup is air, which fits a mash that has been stirred and spooned rather than pressed. That also explains the outliers. USDA's survey database FNDDS gives 1 cup = 250 g for mash made from fresh potatoes with milk, and the same 250 g for ready-to-heat mash and mash made from a dry mix, three foods with different water and fat: the weight of a cup with the air pressed out, assigned to all three. USDA's SR record for ready-to-eat commercial mash (FDC 169768) gives 229 g, a denser, factory-smooth product. Retail labels for refrigerated mashed potatoes are not measurements. Bob Evans and Kroger print 1/2 cup as 140 g, which would be 280 g per cup and 1.18 g per millilitre, heavier than potato itself. Simply Potatoes prints 1/2 cup (130 g) on its US traditional mash and 2/3 cup (140 g) on its Canadian one, a serving weight set beside whichever measure is nearest. Labels are left out for that reason. Mashed sweet potato on this site weighs 196 to 240 g per cup, because the two sources behind it describe different preparations. Instant potato flakes are a dry ingredient with their own entry: Idahoan says 1/3 cup of flakes (22 g) makes 1/2 cup of mash. Practical guidance: use 210 g per cup of mashed potatoes, 105 g per half cup and 70 g per third of a cup, spooned into the cup and levelled without pressing. Mash pressed firmly into the cup, as for a pie topping or croquettes, can reach 240 to 250 g. For leftovers measured into a recipe such as potato bread or pancakes, weigh rather than pack. ### Milk https://exactcups.com/milk/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: whole milk, fresh milk, full-fat milk. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/milk-227-grams/. #### Liquid, at fridge temperature Published: 1 cup = 244 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 122 g; 1/4 cup = 61 g; 1 tbsp = 15.2 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0313 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 244 g per cup. FDC 171265, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 244 g - King Arthur Baking: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, milk (fresh), 1 cup = 8 oz (227 g) REJECTED: 0.9595 g/ml is lighter than water. Milk is roughly 88% water carrying dissolved lactose, protein and minerals, so it is necessarily denser than water, and no measuring method makes a liquid lighter than its own solvent. The figure is 8 ounces per cup, which is the volume of a US cup expressed in fluid ounces read as a weight. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/milk-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: The cleanest USDA data in the dataset so far. FDC 171265 publishes a cup at 244 g, a fluid ounce at 30.5 g and a quart at 976 g, and all three give 1.0313 g/ml exactly across three different volumes. Their tablespoon at 15 g gives 1.0144 g/ml, 1.7% lower, which is the familiar whole-number rounding on a 14.8 ml spoon rather than a disagreement. Milk is a liquid with no packing state, so one figure serves. Whole milk at 3.25% milkfat is the entry; the record with added vitamin D is used because that is what is sold in US cartons, and FDC 172217 without added vitamins publishes identical figures, so the choice does not affect the number. Skimmed and lowfat milks are slightly denser rather than lighter, because removing fat leaves proportionally more of the dissolved solids that fat displaces: USDA gives 1% milkfat at the same 1.0313 g/ml to the precision published. King Arthur Baking's chart gives a cup of fresh milk as 8 ounces, 227 g, implying 0.9595 g/ml. That is lighter than water, and milk cannot be. It is roughly 88% water carrying lactose, protein, calcium and phosphate in solution, and dissolved solids raise a solution's density above that of the solvent; every published measurement of milk falls between about 1.03 and 1.04 g/ml. The chart figure appears to be a cup's volume in fluid ounces read as a mass, which is why their buttermilk is also listed at exactly 227 g. The same figure would be right for water and is wrong for both. It is recorded as a rejected source rather than deleted, because a published figure that is wrong is worth knowing about, and this one needs no standards body to refute: the density of water is enough. That leaves one accepted source. The entry is held at medium confidence until an independent second and third are found. Dairy composition standards regulate milkfat and solids-not-fat rather than density, so the Codex route that resolved olive oil is not directly available, though density is the basis of the lactometer readings used in dairy testing and a standards-grade figure may exist in that literature. ### Oat Milk https://exactcups.com/oat-milk/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: oat milk, oatmilk, oat drink, oat beverage, oatly. #### Standard, US commercial oat milk (Original, Barista, or Unsweetened at label precision) Published: 1 cup = 236.6 g (8.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 118.3 g; 1/4 cup = 59.1 g; 1 tbsp = 14.8 g; 1 tsp = 4.9 g (1 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.96 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central (FDC 2257046): Oat milk, unsweetened, plain, refrigerated. FNNDS record. Composition: 91.3% water, 5.1% carbohydrate, 2.7% fat, 0.8% protein, 0.79% ash by mass. No cup portion is published for this record; portions listed are 100 g and 1 mass-oz (28 g). Composition puts density essentially at water — no ingredient at concentration sufficient to shift density meaningfully at label precision. - Chobani Oatmilk Plain Extra Creamy: 236.6 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1 cup (240 mL) = 240 g, rounding density to 1.000 g/mL per FDA dairy-alternative label convention. Ingredients: organic oat blend (water, whole grain oats), organic rapeseed oil, sea salt, calcium carbonate, gellan gum, tricalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate. 240 mL = 240 g reads out to 236.6 g per US customary cup (236.588 mL). - Planet Oat Original Oatmilk: 236.6 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1 cup (240 mL) = 240 g, same rounding convention. Ingredients: oatmilk (filtered water, oats), calcium carbonate, dipotassium phosphate, sea salt, gellan gum, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, riboflavin, vitamin B12. Confirms label convergence with Chobani at 1.000 g/mL. - Oatly Original and Barista Edition: 233.7 g per cup. Nutrition label states 1 cup (240 mL) but does not state grams directly. Original has 2% added canola oil; Barista Edition has 3%; Full Fat has 3.7%; Low Fat has no added oil. Back-computation from calorie density (Barista: 140 kcal per 240 mL at ~59 kcal/100 g) implies about 237 g per 240 mL (density ~0.988), consistent with the extra oil pulling density slightly below water. Within the 5% liquid tolerance of the label-anchored figure. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: One cup of oat milk weighs about 237 grams (1.000 g/mL) — essentially the density of water. All major US brands print serving-size labels of 240 mL = 240 g, converging at 1.000 g/mL. Oat milk is 88-91% water plus dispersed oat solids and, in most formulations, 2-3% added oil for body and mouthfeel. King Arthur Baking's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list oat milk, so there is no KA figure to correct here; the entry is anchored to producer-label convergence. Oat milk is made by hydrolyzing rolled oats in water — natural enzymes convert oat starches to simpler sugars, which is why even unsweetened oat milk carries some sugar (about 7 grams per cup in Chobani Plain, 4 in Planet Oat Original, 0 in Planet Oat Unsweetened) without any added cane sugar. The slurry is then filtered and homogenized. Commercial products are typically fortified with calcium carbonate, vitamin D2, vitamin B12, and riboflavin to approximate cow-milk fortification. USDA FoodData Central (FDC 2257046, oat milk, unsweetened, plain, refrigerated) lists this food as 91.3% water, 5.1% carbohydrate, 2.7% fat, and 0.8% protein by mass. That composition puts density essentially at water: no single component is present at high enough concentration to move density meaningfully. USDA does not publish a cup portion for this record, so the density anchor comes from producer labels. Chobani and Planet Oat both state 1 cup (240 mL) = 240 g on-label, giving density 1.000 g/mL, which reads out to 236.6 g per US customary cup (236.588 mL). The 240 mL cup on the nutrition label is the FDA labeling reference for milks and creams, not the US customary cup — the two differ by about 1.5%. Formulation variance is real but sub-tolerance. Higher-oil formulations run slightly lighter because fat is less dense than water: Oatly Barista Edition (3% canola oil) back-computes to about 0.988 g/mL from calorie density, and Full Fat (3.7% oil) is lighter still. Lower-oil and unsweetened variants (Planet Oat Unsweetened, Oatly Low Fat) sit closer to pure water density. The Chobani Extra Creamy and Planet Oat Extra Creamy lines add more oil for mouthfeel, pushing density down marginally. All of these fall within the 5% liquid tolerance and round to 240 g / 240 mL at label precision, which is why the single-figure publish holds. For baking substitution, oat milk swaps 1:1 by volume with cow's milk with minor caveats. Whole milk is denser at 244 g/cup (1.030 g/mL) because dissolved lactose and protein add mass; oat milk at 237 g/cup runs about 3% lighter per cup. For weight-based recipes calling for 244 g of whole milk, using 237 g of oat milk under-delivers 3% of the liquid mass — negligible for cakes, muffins, quickbreads, and pancakes, and only borderline meaningful for tight-ratio custards. Barista formulations froth better in espresso because the 3% oil emulsifies foam bubbles; Original works better in baking where the extra oil is unwanted; Unsweetened is the closest match to plain cow's milk for savory sauces and béchamel-style applications. Shelf-stable and refrigerated versions do not measurably differ in density. Vanilla and other flavored versions add sugar (up to 9 grams per cup versus 7 for plain Original) but do not shift cup weight at label precision. Homemade oat milk blended from rolled oats and water and strained falls in the same density band, though specific weight depends on the oat-to-water ratio and strain thoroughness. ### Pineapple juice https://exactcups.com/pineapple-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: 100% pineapple juice, unsweetened pineapple juice, canned pineapple juice. #### Standard, 100% juice at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 250 g (8.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 125 g; 1/4 cup = 62.5 g; 1 tbsp = 15.6 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0567 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Pineapple juice, canned or bottled, unsweetened, without added ascorbic acid" (FDC 169947): 250 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 09273) publishes 1 cup = 250 g (density 1.057 g/mL) and 1 fl oz = 31.3 g (1.058 g/mL). Water 86.4 g, sugars 9.98 g per 100 g. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5: 249.8 g per cup. "Pineapple juice, ready-to-drink, vitamin C added" 125 mL = 132 g (74 kcal), 250 g per US cup (density 1.056 g/mL). Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of pineapple juice weighs 250 g (8.8 oz), a density of 1.06 g/mL. USDA weighs a cup at 250 g and Health Canada's 125 mL at 132 g, also 250 g per cup; the two agree within 0.1%. Pineapple juice is pressed from pineapple flesh and cores, usually canned, and sold as 100% juice. In the kitchen it goes into marinades, where its enzyme bromelain tenderizes meat, into glazes for ham, cakes and frostings, and into cocktails such as the piña colada. USDA's Standard Reference record for canned or bottled unsweetened pineapple juice (FDC 169947) gives 1 cup as 250 g and 1 fl oz as 31.3 g, both 1.057 to 1.058 g/mL, with 86.4% water and about 10% sugars. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 125 mL of ready-to-drink pineapple juice at 132 g, 1.056 g/mL. Two independent government measurements land on the same figure, so the entry is held at high confidence. The physical check: the FDA sets the minimum strength of 100% pineapple juice at 12.8 °Brix, and a sugar solution of that strength weighs 1.049 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table, 248 g per cup. Pineapple juice carries a little more than that, plus citric acid and fine fruit solids, which takes it to the measured 1.056 to 1.058. Pineapple juice weighs about the same as orange juice (248 g per cup on this site) and a little less than grape juice (253 g), in line with their sugar. Juice drained from canned pineapple is not the same product: fruit packed in heavy syrup gives a sweeter, heavier liquid, and fruit packed in juice gives about the same. As with every juice, the filling method makes no difference: a liquid fills the cup completely, so the cup weight depends only on what is dissolved in it. Pineapple juice from concentrate is reconstituted to at least the same 12.8 °Brix and weighs the same per cup as not-from-concentrate juice. Light pineapple juice drinks, diluted with water, weigh closer to water's 236.6 g per cup. Practical guidance: use 250 g per cup, 125 g per half cup, 63 g per quarter cup and 15.6 g per tablespoon. A 46 fl oz can holds 5 3/4 cups, about 1.44 kg, and a 6 fl oz can about 188 g. Measured by volume, a liquid measuring cup is accurate enough; weigh only when a recipe gives grams. ### Pizza Sauce https://exactcups.com/pizza-sauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: jarred pizza sauce, canned pizza sauce, pizzeria style pizza sauce, pizza sauce from a jar. King Arthur: 228 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/pizza-sauce-228-grams/. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 252 g (8.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 126 g; 1/4 cup = 63 g; 1 tbsp = 15.7 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0651 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.90 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, pizza, canned, ready-to-serve" (FDC 172880): 252 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1/4 cup = 63 g, extrapolating to 252 g per US cup (density 1.065 g/mL). Water 86.7 g, carbohydrate 8.7 g (sugars 3.8 g), protein 2.2 g, fat 1.2 g per 100 g. Primary anchor. - Contadina Roma Tomatoes Pizza Sauce (producer label): 252 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Ralphs), 15-oz can: 1/4 cup (63 g), extrapolating to 252 g per cup. - Ragú Homemade Style Pizza Sauce (producer label): 252 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Ralphs), 14-oz jar: 1/4 cup (63 g), extrapolating to 252 g per cup. - Dei Fratelli Italian Style Pizza Sauce (producer label): 252 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Harris Teeter), 15-oz can: 1/4 cup (63 g), extrapolating to 252 g per cup. - Red Gold Fully Prepared Pizza Sauce, foodservice specification: 252 g per cup. Producer specification sheet, 106-oz can: 1/4 cup (63 g), extrapolating to 252 g per cup. - Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce (producer label): 248 g per cup. Brand site, 15-oz can: 1/4 cup (62 g), extrapolating to 248 g per cup (density 1.048 g/mL). - Rao's Homemade Pizza Sauce (producer label): 240 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (ShopRite), 12.3-oz jar: 1/4 cup (60 g), extrapolating to 240 g per cup (density 1.014 g/mL). - Classico Signature Recipes Traditional Pizza Sauce (producer label): 240 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Kroger), 14-oz jar: 1/4 cup (60 g), extrapolating to 240 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 228 g per cup. KA lists "Pizza sauce" at 1/4 cup = 2 oz = 57 g, extrapolating to 228 g per US cup, density 0.964 g/mL. REJECTED: 0.964 g/mL is lighter than water, but pizza sauce is water carrying about 13% tomato solids, sugar and salt, which are all denser than water, with only about 1% oil. USDA's composition for the same product (86.7% water) predicts about 1.05 g/mL, and every label that weighs a quarter cup gives 60-63 g. A quarter cup is 2 fluid ounces, and 57 g is 2 weight ounces: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, the same error as King Arthur's 29 g for 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/pizza-sauce-228-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Pizza sauce weighs 252 g per US cup (8.9 oz) and 63 g per quarter cup, a density of 1.065 g/mL. USDA and the Contadina, Ragú, Dei Fratelli and Red Gold labels all give a quarter cup at 63 g. King Arthur's 57 g per quarter cup would make the sauce lighter than water and is rejected here. Pizza sauce is an uncooked or briefly cooked tomato sauce made thicker than pasta sauce so it does not soak the dough: tomato puree or paste with crushed tomatoes, salt, a little oil, garlic and dried herbs such as oregano and basil. USDA's record for ready-to-serve pizza sauce puts it at 86.7% water, 8.7% carbohydrate (3.8% sugars), 2.2% protein and 1.2% fat, a little more solid than marinara. USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, pizza, canned, ready-to-serve" (FDC 172880) lists a quarter cup at 63 g, which is 252 g per cup. The labels are unusually good evidence here. FDA's reference serving for pizza sauce is a volume, a quarter cup, and the label has to state what that quarter cup weighs, so the gram figures are weights of a measured volume rather than a fixed serving convention. Contadina, Ragú, Dei Fratelli and Red Gold's foodservice sauce print 63 g, matching USDA; Muir Glen prints 62 g; Rao's and Classico print 60 g, which is 240 g per cup. All of them sit within the 5% tolerance for liquids, so this is a single figure. The physical check agrees. Dissolved sugars, tomato fibre, protein and salt make the sauce denser than water; the small amount of oil pulls the other way. At USDA's composition, the solids predict about 1.05 g/mL, about 248 g per cup, and the measured 1.065 is within 2%. Pizza sauce sits where its solids say it should: a touch heavier than marinara (250 g per cup on this site) and tomato sauce (245 g), lighter than tomato paste (262 g). The 60 g labels, Rao's and Classico, most likely reflect recipes with less paste and more water or oil; the difference stays inside the tolerance. King Arthur's chart lists pizza sauce at 1/4 cup = 2 oz = 57 g. That is 228 g per cup, 0.964 g/mL, lighter than water, which a sauce that is mostly water carrying dissolved tomato solids cannot be. A quarter cup is 2 fluid ounces, and 57 g is exactly 2 weight ounces: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, the same mistake as King Arthur's 29 g for 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. The figure is recorded as a rejected source and has its own correction page. Practical guidance: a 14-oz jar holds 397 g, a little over 1 1/2 cups; a 15-oz can 425 g, about 1 2/3 cups. A quarter cup is 63 g, a third of a cup 84 g and a half cup 126 g. Pizza sauce is thick and clings to a measuring cup, so a scooped quarter cup often spreads a few grams light; weighing the sauce straight onto the dough gives the same pizza every time. The tomato products comparison page shows pizza sauce beside marinara, tomato sauce, puree, paste and the other tomato products. ### Pomegranate juice https://exactcups.com/pomegranate-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: 100% pomegranate juice, POM juice, bottled pomegranate juice, pomegranate juice not from concentrate. #### Standard, 100% juice at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 249 g (8.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 124.5 g; 1/4 cup = 62.3 g; 1 tbsp = 15.6 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0525 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Pomegranate juice, bottled" (FDC 167787): 249 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 09442) publishes 1 cup = 249 g (density 1.052 g/mL). Water 86.0 g, sugars 12.7 g per 100 g. - Vegara et al. 2014, Food Chemistry: 250.6 g per cup. "Chemical guide parameters for Punica granatum cv. 'Mollar' fruit juices processed at industrial scale", 147, 203-208. "the relative density of direct pomegranate juices varied between 1.061 and 1.064, which correspond to 15.15 and 15.71°Brix": about 1.059 to 1.062 g/mL, 250.6 to 251.3 g per US cup, across 18 industrial not-from-concentrate juices. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5: 242.3 g per cup. "Pomegranate juice, ready-to-drink" 125 mL = 128 g (72 kcal), 242 g per US cup (density 1.024 g/mL). REJECTED: Pomegranate juice measures about 15 to 16 °Brix (Vegara et al. measured 15.15 to 15.71 across 18 industrial juices, and the FDA's minimum for 100% juice from concentrate is 16.0), which weighs 1.06 g/mL. 1.024 g/mL is the density of a juice of about 6% sugar; whole-gram rounding on 125 mL still leaves it at 1.020 to 1.028. USDA weighs a cup at 249 g. The same Health Canada table agrees with USDA for grape, pineapple and prune juice, so the error is particular to this row. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/pomegranate-juice-242-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of pomegranate juice weighs 249 g (8.8 oz), a density of 1.05 g/mL. USDA weighs a bottled cup at 249 g, and measurements of 18 industrial pomegranate juices found 1.06 g/mL, 251 g per cup, within 1%. Health Canada's 128 g per 125 mL is too light for a juice this sweet and is rejected. Pomegranate juice is pressed from the seeds, or arils, of the pomegranate, sometimes with part of the peel, and sold as 100% juice, either not from concentrate, like POM Wonderful, or reconstituted. It is dark red, tart and sweet, and in cooking it goes into marinades, dressings, glazes and drinks; boiled down further it becomes pomegranate molasses, a thick syrup that weighs far more per cup. USDA's Standard Reference record for bottled pomegranate juice (FDC 167787) gives 1 cup as 249 g, with 86% water and 12.7% sugars. Vegara and colleagues, setting quality guidelines for Spanish Mollar pomegranate juice, measured 18 not-from-concentrate juices made at industrial scale and found relative densities of 1.061 to 1.064, at 15.15 to 15.71 °Brix, about 251 g per cup. The two agree within the 5% tolerance this site allows for liquids, and USDA's figure is published. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 125 mL of ready-to-drink pomegranate juice at 128 g, 1.024 g/mL, 242 g per cup. That is the density of a juice carrying about 6% sugar, less than half of what pomegranate juice holds. The FDA sets the minimum strength of 100% pomegranate juice from concentrate at 16.0 °Brix, 1.062 g/mL, the same as Vegara's measured juices. The same Health Canada table agrees with USDA for grape, pineapple and prune juice, so this row is rejected on its own. The physical check: a juice weighs what its dissolved solids make it weigh, and at 15 to 16 °Brix that is 1.06 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table. USDA's 1.052 g/mL is 1% under, consistent with its slightly lower 12.7% sugar plus acids; the rejected 1.024 is 4% under. Among juices on this site pomegranate sits with apple (248 g) and pineapple (250 g), below grape (253 g) and prune (256 g). Practical guidance: use 249 g per cup, 125 g per half cup, 62 g per quarter cup and 15.6 g per tablespoon. A 16 fl oz bottle holds 2 cups, about 498 g. For pomegranate molasses, use its own entry; it is not juice. ### Prune juice https://exactcups.com/prune-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: 100% prune juice, dried plum juice, prune juice with pulp. #### Standard, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 256 g (9 oz); 1/2 cup = 128 g; 1/4 cup = 64 g; 1 tbsp = 16 g; 1 tsp = 5.3 g (1.082 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.89 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Prune juice, canned" (FDC 167753): 256 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 09294) publishes 1 cup = 256 g (density 1.082 g/mL) and 1 fl oz = 32.0 g (1.082 g/mL). Water 81.2 g, sugars 16.4 g per 100 g. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Table 5: 255.5 g per cup. "Prune juice, ready-to-drink" 125 mL = 135 g (96 kcal), 255.5 g per US cup (density 1.080 g/mL). - USDA AMS Commodity Specification A-A-20117C, Juice, Prune, Shelf-Stable: Soluble solids "Not less than 18.5% by weight". Composition standard, no density; a sugar solution of 18.5% weighs 1.073 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of prune juice weighs 256 g (9 oz), a density of 1.08 g/mL, the heaviest of the common fruit juices. USDA weighs a cup at 256 g and Health Canada's 125 mL at 135 g, 255.5 g per cup, within 0.2%. Prune juice is not pressed like other juices, because a dried plum has too little water to press. It is made by soaking or cooking prunes in hot water and extracting the dissolved fruit, then filtering it, or leaving fine pulp in for the versions sold as prune juice with pulp. The result is dark, thick and very sweet: USDA lists 81.2% water and 16.4 g of sugars per 100 g, plus sorbitol, the sugar alcohol that gives prune juice its laxative reputation. USDA's Standard Reference record for canned prune juice (FDC 167753) gives 1 cup as 256 g and 1 fl oz as 32.0 g, both 1.082 g/mL. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 125 mL of ready-to-drink prune juice at 135 g, 1.080 g/mL. Two independent government measurements agree, so the entry is held at high confidence. The physical check: the FDA sets the minimum strength of 100% prune juice at 18.5 °Brix, the same 18.5% dissolved solids that USDA's own purchase specification requires, and a sugar solution of that strength weighs 1.073 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table, 254 g per cup. Prune juice measures a little heavier, 1.08 g/mL, because its suspended fruit solids and sorbitol add weight that a refractometer reading does not fully count. Among juices on this site it sits above grape juice (253 g per cup), pineapple juice (250 g) and apple juice (248 g), in the order of their dissolved sugar. One database transcription lists a cup of Sunsweet prune juice with pulp as 8 fl oz = 226 g, which is 8 weight ounces read as 8 fluid ounces and would make it lighter than water; it is not Sunsweet's label and is not used. As with any juice, the way the cup is filled does not change the weight, since a liquid leaves no air in the cup. What does change it is the pulp: prune juice with pulp carries more suspended fruit solids, and USDA's and Health Canada's figures both describe ordinary filtered prune juice. A cup with pulp may weigh a few grams more, within the tolerance this site allows for liquids. Practical guidance: use 256 g per cup, 128 g per half cup, 64 g per quarter cup and 16 g per tablespoon. A 32 fl oz bottle holds 4 cups, about 1.02 kg. In baking, where prune juice replaces some of the fat or liquid, weigh it if the recipe gives grams; a liquid measuring cup is otherwise accurate enough. ### Pumpkin purée https://exactcups.com/pumpkin-puree/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/pumpkin-puree-227-grams/. #### Standard Published: 1 cup = 245 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 122.5 g; 1/4 cup = 61.2 g; 1 tbsp = 15.3 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0355 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 245 g per cup. FDC 168450 (Pumpkin, canned, without salt). Published: 1 cup = 245 g. Density 1.0355 g/mL. Composition: 90.5% water, 1.1% protein, 8.1% carbohydrate (of which 7.1 g fibre), 0.3% fat. - King Arthur: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Pumpkin purée', 1 cup = 227 g, implying 0.9595 g/mL. This is 8 US fluid ounces × 28.35 g/oz, the same fluid-oz-as-weight figure King Arthur applies to milk, yogurt, cream and other liquids. REJECTED: 227 g/cup implies a density of 0.9595 g/mL, less than water. Canned pumpkin is 90.5 percent water plus fibrous solids that are denser than water (cellulose ~1.5 g/mL). The mixture must be denser than water, not lighter. King Arthur's figure appears to be their fluid-oz-as-weight convention rather than a bench measurement; the same pattern rejected on milk, yogurt, heavy cream and Greek yogurt applies here. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/pumpkin-puree-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Canned pumpkin purée is one of the ingredients where King Arthur's chart quietly repeats its fluid-ounce-as-weight convention. King Arthur publishes 1 cup at 227 grams, which implies a density of 0.9595 grams per millilitre — lighter than water. Canned pumpkin is 90.5 percent water plus fibrous solids that are themselves denser than water, so the mixture must be denser than water, not lighter. The number is physically impossible. The 227 figure is what you get when 8 US fluid ounces are read as if they were 8 weight ounces (8 × 28.35 = 227). It appears across King Arthur's chart on milk, yogurt, heavy cream, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract and now pumpkin — anywhere the row happens to have been filled in by that conversion rather than by a scale reading of the actual product. We reject the King Arthur figure on the same physical grounds we reject it for the dairy products in that list. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of canned pumpkin (without salt) at 245 grams (FDC 168450), which implies a density of 1.0355 grams per millilitre. That fits the physics: canned pumpkin is very close to water in density, slightly denser because the pumpkin solids are denser than the water they sit in. Roughly 90.5 percent water, 1.1 percent protein, 8.1 percent carbohydrate (of which 7.1 grams per cup is fibre) and 0.3 percent fat, per USDA's own composition breakdown. Two related products should not be confused with canned pumpkin purée. Pumpkin pie mix is canned pumpkin plus sugar and pumpkin-pie spices, and weighs substantially more per cup because of the added sugar — USDA lists it at 281 grams per cup for a density of 1.187 grams per millilitre. Fresh pumpkin purée, made at home by cooking and blending a whole pumpkin, has more variable density depending on how much moisture cooks off and how finely it is blended; USDA's canned figure is a reasonable starting estimate. Libby's dominates the canned-pumpkin market in the United States, and much of what USDA sampled would be Libby's or comparable pack. Other brands (Farmer's Market, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods 365) publish nutrition labels within a few grams per serving of Libby's, so the entry represents canned pumpkin purée generally rather than one specific brand. Any brand marked '100% pure pumpkin' will be close to this figure. FDA has no identity standard for canned pumpkin purée. The Codex Alimentarius has no standard for pumpkin. There is no third source qualifying for high confidence — USDA plus the physics-based rejection of King Arthur is the sourcing envelope for this entry. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because canned pumpkin behaves as a semi-liquid paste in a measuring cup: it settles into the container without gaps, and the density is set by the water it contains rather than by how it was scooped. The 5 percent liquid category tolerance would apply if there were a second accepted source; since there is not, the entry is medium confidence on the strength of the single USDA measurement plus the well-established physics. ### Red wine vinegar https://exactcups.com/red-wine-vinegar/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: wine vinegar, Italian red wine vinegar, aged red wine vinegar. #### Standard, 5 to 7% acidity at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 239 g (8.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 119.5 g; 1/4 cup = 59.8 g; 1 tbsp = 14.9 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.0102 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Vinegar, red wine" (FDC 172240): 239 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 02068) publishes 1 cup = 239 g (1.010 g/mL). Per 100 g: water 94.5 g, carbohydrate 0.27 g, sugars 0 g, sodium 8 mg. - Roland Red Wine Vinegar, 4 × 1 gallon case (rolandfoods.com): 239.6 g per cup. Item 70582, "RED WINE VINEGAR (DILUTED WITH WATER TO 6 % ACIDITY)": 4 units per carton, unit size 1 gal., "Case Net Weight (lb) 33.81", case gross 35.28 lb; "1 Tbsp. (15mL)". 15,336 g in 15,142 mL is 1.013 g/mL, 239.6 g per US cup. - Engineering ToolBox, density of aqueous acetic acid solutions at 20 °C: 237.8 g per cup. Table of aqueous solution densities: acetic acid "5 | 1.0052" and "10 | 1.0121" g/cm³ at 20 °C (percent by mass). 5% acetic acid in water is 237.8 g per US cup; 10% is 239.5 g. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of red wine vinegar weighs 239 g (8.4 oz), a density of 1.010 g/mL, 1% heavier than the same cup of water. A tablespoon weighs 14.9 g and a teaspoon 5 g. USDA weighs a cup at 239 g, and Roland's 6% red wine vinegar packs 33.81 lb into four 1-gallon jugs, 1.013 g/mL or 239.6 g per cup. Red wine vinegar is red wine fermented a second time by acetic acid bacteria, which turn its alcohol into acetic acid. Supermarket and foodservice red wine vinegars are usually diluted to 5 to 7% acidity; Roland's is 6%. The wine leaves a little of itself behind: colour, tannins, glycerol and minerals, but almost no sugar, since the yeast fermented that away before the vinegar was made. USDA's record lists 94.5 g of water per 100 g, 0.27 g of carbohydrate and no sugars. It is the vinegar of Italian and French vinaigrettes, pickled red onions, marinades and pan sauces. The physics predicts the weight. Acetic acid solutions weigh 1.0052 g/mL at 5% and 1.0121 at 10% at 20 °C, so a 6% vinegar weighs about 1.007 g/mL from the acid alone, and the wine extract adds a few thousandths more, for 1.009 to 1.013 g/mL. USDA's Standard Reference record for red wine vinegar (FDC 172240) weighs a cup at 239 g, 1.010 g/mL. Roland's case of four 1-gallon jugs has a net weight of 33.81 lb, 15,336 g in 15,142 mL, which is 1.013 g/mL and 239.6 g per cup. The two agree within 0.3%, and USDA's cup is published. Like other vinegars, red wine vinegar is labelled by volume: Roland's sheet gives the serving as 1 Tbsp. (15 mL), the FDA reference amount for vinegar, with no grams. Grams equal to millilitres would be almost right for vinegar, 15 g against a true 15.1 g, which is why vinegar is one of the few condiments where measuring by volume costs nothing. White wine, champagne and sherry vinegars are made the same way at similar strengths and should weigh within a gram or two per cup of red wine vinegar; this entry does not measure them. Balsamic vinegar of Modena is a different product, cooked grape must blended with wine vinegar, and weighs far more because of its sugar. Practical guidance: use 239 g per cup, 119.5 g per half cup, 60 g per quarter cup, 14.9 g per tablespoon and 5 g per teaspoon. For a classic vinaigrette at three parts oil to one part vinegar by volume, 3 tablespoons of olive oil weigh about 40 g and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar 15 g. A 12.7 fl oz bottle holds about 380 g. ### Ricotta cheese https://exactcups.com/ricotta-cheese/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/ricotta-cheese-227-grams/. #### Standard (whole milk) Published: 1 cup = 246 g (8.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 123 g; 1/4 cup = 61.5 g; 1 tbsp = 15.4 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0398 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.92 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 246 g per cup. FDC 170851 (Cheese, ricotta, whole milk, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 246 g. Density 1.0398 g/mL. Composition: ~72% water, 13% fat, 11.3% protein, 3% carbohydrate. - King Arthur: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Cheese (Ricotta)', 1 cup = 227 g, density 0.9595 g/mL. This is 8 US fluid ounces × 28.35 g/oz, the same fluid-oz-as-weight figure King Arthur applies to milk, yogurt, cream, Greek yogurt, pumpkin purée and buttermilk. REJECTED: 227 g/cup implies a density of 0.9595 g/mL, less than water. Whole milk ricotta is 72% water plus fat, protein and carbohydrate — a mixture that computes to a density around 1.04 g/mL, which matches USDA's direct measurement. Unlike cottage cheese, ricotta does not have discrete curds with whey-filled air gaps that lower bulk density; it is a smoother, more homogeneous paste. King Arthur's figure appears to be their fluid-oz convention rather than a bench measurement. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/ricotta-cheese-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Ricotta is another dairy entry where King Arthur's 227 grams per cup fails the physics check, joining milk, yogurt, heavy cream, Greek yogurt, pumpkin purée and buttermilk in that pattern. The failure here is worth reading alongside cottage cheese (where the same 227 figure was correct) because the two products behave so differently despite looking somewhat similar on a plate, and the difference explains why the same King Arthur convention is accepted for one and rejected for the other. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of whole milk ricotta at 246 grams (FDC 170851, Cheese, ricotta, whole milk). That gives a bulk density of 1.0398 grams per millilitre. The composition is roughly 72 percent water, 13 percent fat, 11 percent protein and 3 percent carbohydrate — a mixture that computes to approximately 1.04 grams per millilitre using standard component densities. The measured value matches the calculation, confirming ricotta behaves as a homogeneous paste. King Arthur publishes 1 cup at 227 grams, density 0.9595 grams per millilitre. This is the same 227 = 8 × 28.35 fluid-oz-as-weight figure that appears across their dairy chart. For homogeneous liquids denser than water, this number is physically impossible; we reject it on the same grounds as milk, yogurt and buttermilk. The key distinction between ricotta and cottage cheese, which reads 226 grams per cup on both sources, is structural. Cottage cheese is discrete curds with whey between them; scooping cottage cheese into a cup leaves small air pockets between the curds that no amount of pressing eliminates, bringing bulk density down to about 0.95 grams per millilitre. Ricotta is a whey cheese made by heating whey — the liquid left over from other cheese-making — until fresh proteins coagulate into fine, soft curds that pack together smoothly. The result is a paste with essentially no internal air, and its bulk density reflects the composition of the paste itself rather than the packing structure. We publish the USDA figure of 246 grams per cup because it comes from a laboratory measurement and matches the physical composition, and because there is no defensible reading of the King Arthur figure that reconciles with either measurement or theory for whole milk ricotta. Three ricotta variants USDA distinguishes: whole milk (13 percent fat, this entry), part-skim (6 to 11 percent fat, roughly the same density because fat and water replace each other at similar volumes), and ricotone (less than 1 percent fat, made from whey or skim milk, somewhat lighter because the low-fat curd holds less structured moisture). USDA AMS specifications for ricotta cheese cover all three types and specify moisture and fat limits (Type I whole milk: maximum 80 percent moisture, minimum 11 percent milkfat; Type II part-skim: maximum 80 percent moisture, 6-11 percent fat; Type III ricotone: maximum 82.5 percent moisture, less than 1 percent fat). Related products this entry does not cover: fresh mozzarella, a stretched-curd cheese with different structure and higher fat; mascarpone, an Italian fresh cheese with 75 percent fat that is much denser despite the higher fat because it contains no whey; and cream cheese, which is denser still at 232 grams per cup due to its 34 percent fat and cultured-milk composition. Ricotta salata is a pressed, aged, salted version of ricotta that behaves like a firm cheese and is measured by weight rather than by cup. FDA covers dairy products including ricotta under general food safety rules but does not have a specific identity standard subsection for ricotta the way it does for cottage cheese or cream cheese. USDA AMS specifications are the primary US regulatory reference. The Codex Alimentarius does not have a specific ricotta standard. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because ricotta behaves as a soft semi-liquid paste in a measuring cup: it settles into the container, self-levels with a gentle press, and the density is determined by its composition rather than by how it was scooped. The 5 percent liquid category tolerance would apply if there were a second accepted source; since King Arthur's figure is rejected, the entry is medium confidence on the strength of the USDA measurement plus the composition-based physics. ### Sour cream https://exactcups.com/sour-cream/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard Published: 1 cup = 230 g (8.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 115 g; 1/4 cup = 57.5 g; 1 tbsp = 14.4 g; 1 tsp = 4.8 g (0.9722 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.99 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 230 g per cup. Cream, sour, cultured (SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 230 g, 1 tbsp = 14 g. Density 0.9722 g/mL. Composition: 71.7% water, 19.4% fat, 2.4% protein, 4.6% carbohydrate. - King Arthur: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Sour cream', 1 cup = 227 g, density 0.9595 g/mL. This is 8 US fluid ounces × 28.35 g/oz, the same fluid-oz-as-weight convention King Arthur applies across the liquid dairy section. Unlike milk or yogurt, sour cream is genuinely less dense than water because of its ~20% fat content, so the fluid-oz figure lands in a physically plausible range. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Sour cream is one of the few dairy products where King Arthur's 227 grams per cup figure falls within the physically plausible range, and this entry is worth reading alongside the milk, yogurt and heavy cream entries where the same figure is rejected. King Arthur publishes 1 cup of sour cream at 227 grams — the eight-fluid-ounce-as-weight convention (8 × 28.35 = 227) that appears across the chart on dairy products, canned pumpkin, and vanilla extract. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup at 230 grams and 1 tablespoon at 14 grams, giving a density of 0.9722 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 1.3 percent, comfortably inside the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the liquid category. The reason sour cream can legitimately sit below water density is its fat content. USDA composition data shows sour cream is 71.7 percent water and 19.4 percent fat, with milk fat itself at roughly 0.92 grams per millilitre — noticeably lighter than water. The mixture density comes out around 0.97 grams per millilitre. Milk (3-4 percent fat) and yogurt (similar) do not have enough fat to bring the overall density below water; sour cream and heavy cream do. King Arthur's fluid-oz figure of 227 grams happens to be close to the real value for that reason, even though the method that produced it did not check the physics. We publish the USDA figure of 230 grams per cup because it comes with the underlying tablespoon and 100-gram numbers rather than an extrapolation from a fluid-ounce convention. Sour cream is regular cream cultured with lactic acid bacteria, typically at 18-20 percent butterfat in the standard commercial version. Lower-fat variants (light sour cream at 10-12 percent, fat-free at under 0.5 percent, and imitation sour cream made without butterfat) have different densities and are not covered by this entry. Fat-free versions in particular sit closer to yogurt density (around 1.03 grams per millilitre) because the fat has been replaced with water and stabilisers. Related products that are not the same as sour cream: crème fraîche has more fat (30-40 percent) and no lactic culture tang, and behaves differently in a spoon. Mexican crema is thinner and pours rather than dollops. Greek yogurt at similar consistency is a common substitute, but its density is close to water rather than below it, so a volume substitution will yield roughly six percent more mass than sour cream. FDA covers sour cream under 21 CFR Part 131 (milk and cream products), requiring not less than 18 percent milkfat before the addition of bulky flavouring ingredients. Neither the FDA identity standard nor any Codex standard specifies a density for sour cream; this is consistent with dairy generally. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because sour cream behaves as a semi-liquid paste in a measuring cup: it settles into the container, sets its own level, and the density is determined by the balance of fat and water rather than by how it was scooped. The 5 percent liquid category tolerance applies, and both sources sit well inside it. ### Sourdough Starter https://exactcups.com/sourdough-starter/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: sourdough discard, sourdough culture, wild yeast starter, levain, wheat sourdough starter, sourdough. King Arthur: 234 g (8.3 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, 100% hydration No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 172–240 g. Sourdough starter density spans 172-280 g/cup, a 63% spread driven by three independent physical variables: hydration ratio (65% stiff vs 100% standard vs 125% liquid), activity state (freshly-fed active vs peak-and-deflated), and flour type (white vs whole grain). King Arthur's chart range of 227-241 g/cup covers only one configuration: standard 100% hydration mid-cycle wheat starter. Recipes rarely specify which configuration they assume, and no single value defensibly represents all sourdough starter measurements. Sources: - King Arthur Baking Company – Ingredient Weight Chart: 234 g per cup. 1 cup = 8 to 8.5 oz = 227-241 g. KA publishes as a range, one of only a handful of range-published entries on their chart. The KA range assumes standard 100% hydration wheat starter mid-cycle (fed but not yet peaked). No correction needed — KA's figure is consistent with Jeffrey Hamelman's professional reference and sits centrally within the physical range for this configuration. - Jeffrey Hamelman – Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes: 226 g per cup. 'Two tablespoons of liquid (100% hydration) weighs 1 ounce' — 16 tablespoons per cup, so 8 ounces = 226 g/cup. Hamelman is a leading professional baking reference (former head baker at King Arthur), and his figure for 100% hydration starter matches the low end of the KA chart range exactly. This is the standard 100% hydration reference figure. - Living Bread Baker – active vs. discard density study: 172 g per cup. One cup of active 100% hydration starter weighs approximately 172 g; one cup of discard (deflated, unfed for hours or days) weighs approximately 280 g. The 63% swing between active and discard reflects trapped CO2 in the active starter that inflates volume without adding mass. Same starter, same hydration, same flour — completely different density depending on where in the feeding cycle it sits when measured. - Peter Reinhart – The Bread Baker's Apprentice (88% hydration seed starter): 198 g per cup. 1 cup of Reinhart's seed starter at 88% hydration = 7 oz = 198 g/cup. Lower hydration (more flour, less water proportionally) produces a denser paste — but Reinhart's figure sits lower than expected for a stiffer starter, likely because his seed starter was still quite active. Illustrates that hydration alone doesn't determine density without also knowing activity state. - Sourdoughstarter.com converter – hydration breakdown: 240 g per cup. 100% hydration active starter: 240 g/cup. Stiff 65% hydration: 260 g/cup. Higher hydration (125%): approximately 215 g/cup. Documents the hydration-dependent density spread independently of activity state — stiffer starters weigh more per cup because they contain proportionally more flour per unit water and trap less air. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: Sourdough starter weighs 172-280 g/cup depending on three independent variables. King Arthur's chart lists 227-241 g/cup, which covers standard 100% hydration wheat starter mid-feeding-cycle, but a freshly-fed active starter can be as light as 172 g/cup and a stiff or deflated discard can reach 280 g/cup. Sourdough starter is a fermented paste of flour and water, colonized by wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria. The three physical variables that determine density: **1. Hydration ratio.** Hydration is the weight of water divided by the weight of flour, expressed as a percentage. A 100% hydration starter has equal parts flour and water by weight and forms a pourable batter. A stiff 65% hydration starter has proportionally more flour and forms a putty-like paste. A liquid 125% hydration starter is thin enough to pour like heavy cream. Stiffer starters weigh more per cup (roughly 260 g at 65%) because they contain proportionally more dense flour per unit water. Liquid starters weigh slightly less (roughly 215 g at 125%) because water alone at 237 g/cup is less dense than the flour-water paste. **2. Activity state.** A freshly-fed starter at peak activity contains substantial trapped CO2 from yeast metabolism, and that gas inflates the volume without adding mass. A freshly-peaked 100% hydration starter can measure as low as 172 g/cup while chemically identical starter after collapsing (discard) can reach 280 g/cup — a 63% swing in the same starter at different times of day. Where you are in the feeding cycle matters more than most recipes acknowledge. **3. Flour type.** Starters maintained on white flour, whole wheat, rye, or blended flours have different base densities. Whole wheat and rye starters are noticeably heavier per cup than white starters at the same hydration and activity, because the flour itself is denser. King Arthur's chart entry at 227-241 g/cup is one of only a handful of range-published entries on their weight chart, and it covers the most common configuration: standard 100% hydration wheat starter measured a few hours after feeding when it is active but not at its aeration peak. This is the mental model most recipe developers assume when they write '1 cup of starter' without further specification. The KA range is honest and does not need correction. Interpreting recipes that call for '1 cup of sourdough starter': the recipe developer almost certainly means 100% hydration wheat starter, mid-cycle, in the 220-240 g range. If your starter is at that configuration, measure by cup or weigh at 230 g. If your starter is stiffer, more liquid, freshly-peaked, or made with different flour, weigh instead and target 230 g total, adjusting the recipe's water and flour to compensate for the difference in your starter's flour-to-water ratio. **Discard vs. active starter.** Discard is not chemically different from active starter — it is the same culture, just unfed and past its activity peak. Discard weighs more per cup (roughly 250-280 g) because the CO2 has escaped and the paste has settled. Recipes that specifically call for discard usually expect 240-250 g/cup and have been tested with older, denser starter. Substituting active starter for discard by cup measurement will give roughly 20% less mass of ingredient than the recipe expects, which affects bulk fermentation timing and final texture. **Levain.** Some professional recipes use 'levain' to mean a purpose-built starter portion, often at a different hydration than the maintained mother starter. When a recipe calls for levain by weight, follow the weight. When it calls for levain by cup, treat it the same as generic 100% hydration active starter unless the recipe specifies otherwise. Practical guidance: weigh sourdough starter. This is the ingredient in serious baking where volume measurement is least reliable, and where a 5-10% error compounds significantly across bulk fermentation, dough hydration, and final crumb. For volume-only recipes, 227 g/cup is the safest single-number assumption, and matches KA's lower bound. For any precision work, weigh. ### Soy Milk https://exactcups.com/soy-milk/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: soy milk, soymilk, unsweetened soy milk, unsweetened soymilk, plain soy milk, soy beverage, soy drink. #### Unsweetened, plain, refrigerated Published: 1 cup = 243 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 121.5 g; 1/4 cup = 60.7 g; 1 tbsp = 15.2 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0271 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy (FDC 175223): 243 g per cup. SILK Unsweetened Soymilk: 1 cup = 243 g (486 g per 16 oz glass). Direct USDA measurement of the market-leading US soy milk brand. Anchor. - USDA FoodData Central (generic soy milk): 244 g per cup. Soy milk generic entry: 258 g/metric cup → 244 g/US cup. Independent USDA record, within 0.4% of the Silk-specific figure. - USDA FoodData Central (Soymilk, all flavors, lowfat, with added calcium, vitamins A and D): 243 g per cup. 257 g/metric cup → 243 g/US cup. Fortified lowfat variant matches unfortified full-fat within measurement precision. - USDA FoodData Central (Soymilk, all flavors, nonfat, with added calcium, vitamins A and D): 243 g per cup. 257 g/metric cup → 243 g/US cup. Nonfat variant matches; density is dominated by soy protein content, not fat. - USDA FoodData Central (Soymilk, original and vanilla, unfortified): 243 g per cup. 257 g/metric cup → 243 g/US cup. Unfortified variant confirms the same figure — mineral fortification does not measurably shift density. - Silk Unsweetened Soymilk: 240 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1 cup (240 mL). Silk publishes 240 mL as the reference amount using the FDA nutrition-labeling convention that treats a milliliter as a gram. The USDA-measured actual mass of one Silk cup is 243 g, so the label convention understates true density by about 1.2%. - Westsoy Organic Unsweetened Soymilk: 240 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1 cup (240 mL / 8 fl oz), 100 calories, 9 g protein. Uses the same FDA mL-as-g convention as Silk; 240 g/cup implied. - Edensoy Organic Unsweetened: 240 g per cup. Nutrition label: serving size 1 cup (240 mL / 8 fl oz), 120 calories, 12 g protein (highest-protein US soy milk). Same FDA convention labeling; 240 g/cup implied. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: Silent on soy milk specifically. KA's generic "Milk (fresh) 1 cup, 8 oz, 227 g" uses the FDA fl-oz-as-oz-mass convention and is not applicable to soy milk. No direct KA correction opportunity because soy is not listed, but users should not extrapolate the 227 figure to soy — the correct number is 243. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23. Notes: TL;DR: Unsweetened soy milk runs 243 grams per cup by USDA measurement across major brands, denser than almond or oat milk because of its higher protein content; producer labels state 240 mL per cup under the FDA nutrition-labeling convention that treats a milliliter as a gram, understating true density by about 1.2%. Soy milk is made by soaking, grinding, and straining whole soybeans, producing a stable emulsion of soy protein, oil, and water. Commercial unsweetened varieties typically contain 6-7% total solids by mass — roughly twice the solids content of unsweetened almond milk and comparable to whole cow's milk — with protein as the dominant contributor at 2.9-3.5% of mass, oil at 1.5-2%, and residual carbohydrates at 1-2%. Fortified versions add trace calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and riboflavin that do not measurably affect density. USDA Standard Reference for Silk Unsweetened Soymilk (FDC 175223, the market-leading US brand) lists 243 grams per US cup, a direct measurement rather than a label-derived conversion. USDA's Global Branded Food Products Database converges tightly at 243-244 g/cup across every soy milk variant tested — original, vanilla, unsweetened, fortified, unfortified, lowfat, nonfat, chocolate. The generic USDA soymilk record sits at 244 g/cup. This convergence across sweetening levels and fortification profiles indicates that density is dominated by the soy protein content, not by added sugars or fats. Producer nutrition labels use the FDA nutrition-labeling convention of treating 240 mL as the reference amount for a 1-cup serving, with mass implicitly assumed equal to volume (240 g). Silk, Westsoy, Edensoy, and other major brands all publish 240 mL per cup on their labels. This convention systematically understates the true density of protein-rich plant milks by 1-2%, the same pattern documented in the eggnog entry for dairy beverages. The correct physical density is 243 g/cup, not 240 — the discrepancy is not measurement error but a regulatory-convention artifact. Physical density prediction from composition confirms the USDA number. At 3% soy protein (partial specific volume around 0.73 mL/g, contributing about +0.02 g/mL above pure water), 2% soybean oil (partial specific volume around 1.09 mL/g, contributing about -0.002 g/mL), and 1.5% carbohydrate (contributing about +0.005 g/mL), the predicted density is 1.026-1.030 g/mL, giving 243-244 g/cup. The observed USDA figure matches the prediction to within measurement precision; the convergence is not coincidental but reflects the physics of a soy-protein-in-water emulsion. King Arthur Baking does not publish soy milk specifically. Its chart lists "Milk (fresh) 1 cup, 8 oz, 227 g" using the same FDA fluid-ounce-as-mass-ounce convention, which is legitimate for skim or lowfat cow's milk but understates whole cow's milk (~245 g/cup) and most plant milks. There is no direct correction opportunity for soy milk because it isn't listed, but users should not extrapolate KA's generic milk figure to soy — the correct number is 243, not 227. Compared with other plant milks in this database, soy milk sits at the denser end: unsweetened almond milk at 237 g/cup (low protein, low solids), unsweetened oat milk at 237 g/cup (moderate carbs, low protein). Soy milk's higher protein content produces the higher density. Sweetened varieties add 2-4% dissolved sugar, which pushes density slightly higher (typically 245-248 g/cup) but rarely crosses the 5% liquid tolerance from the 243 baseline. For practical baking use, treat unsweetened soy milk as 243 g/cup. When substituting for cow's milk in a recipe, the 243 vs 245 (whole milk) difference is within tolerance for muffins, quick breads, pancakes, and most cake batters. In precision applications like custards or roux-thickened sauces, use the actual carton figure plus a 1.2% correction if the label states 240 mL per serving. ### Soy sauce https://exactcups.com/soy-sauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: shoyu, soya sauce, regular soy sauce, naturally brewed soy sauce, koikuchi shoyu, Kikkoman soy sauce. #### Standard, naturally brewed soy sauce at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 277.6 g (9.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 138.8 g; 1/4 cup = 69.4 g; 1 tbsp = 17.3 g; 1 tsp = 5.8 g (1.1733 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.82 cups. Sources: - Kikkoman Soy Sauce, 150 mL bottle (distributor technical sheet, France): 277.6 g per cup. "KIKKOMAN Sauce Soja 12x150mL": net weight (Poids net) 0.176 kg per 150 mL bottle, 1.173 g/mL, 277.6 g per US cup. Salt 16.9 g per 100 mL. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Miscellaneous table: 283.9 g per cup. "Sauce, soy" 15 mL = 18 g, 1.20 g/mL, 283.9 g per US cup. Whole-gram rounding on 15 mL allows 1.17 to 1.23 g/mL. - Meiji measuring-spoon and cup weight table (Japan): 272.1 g per cup. Meiji Co. kitchen guide: しょうゆ (soy sauce) 小さじ 5 mL = 6 g, 大さじ 15 mL = 18 g, カップ 200 mL = 230 g. The 200 mL cup is 1.15 g/mL, 272.1 g per US cup. The same table gives ketchup 230 g per 200 mL, matching the 1.15 g/mL this site publishes for ketchup. - Kikkoman Gluten Free Soy Sauce, technical data sheet (Australia, 2024): 276.8 g per cup. "Specific gravity 1.17", 276.8 g per US cup. Sodium chloride 13.9% (w/w), Brix at least 33% (w/w), total nitrogen 1.41%. A different Kikkoman product (brewed without wheat), cited as support. - Kikkoman Soy Sauce, US retail label: 15 fl oz bottle: "Serving size 1 Tbsp (15mL)", 30 servings, sodium 960 mg per serving. A volume with no grams, so it states no weight; at USDA's 5,493 mg sodium per 100 g, 960 mg is 17.5 g of sauce in 15 mL, about 1.165 g/mL. - USDA SR Legacy "Soy sauce made from soy and wheat (shoyu)" (FDC 174277): 255 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 16123) publishes 1 cup = 255 g (1.078 g/mL). Per 100 g: water 71.2 g, ash 15.2 g, sodium 5,493 mg, protein 8.1 g. USDA's survey database (FNDDS 41420300) repeats it as 1 tablespoon = 16 g, and the FAO/INFOODS density database's 1.12 g/mL is taken from an older FNDDS release. USDA's low-sodium shoyu record (FDC 172473) carries the same 255 g cup. REJECTED: USDA's own record lists 5,493 mg of sodium per 100 g, about 14% salt, plus another 15% of dissolved protein, sugars and other solids from the soybeans and wheat. A plain 14% salt brine on its own weighs 1.10 g/mL, about 260 g per cup, before any of those other solids are added, so soy sauce cannot weigh 1.078 g/mL. Kikkoman's 150 mL bottle holds 176 g (1.173 g/mL), Kikkoman's specification gives specific gravity 1.17, and Health Canada and Japanese measuring tables weigh soy sauce at 1.15 to 1.20 g/mL. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/soy-sauce-255-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of soy sauce weighs 277.6 g (9.8 oz), a density of 1.17 g/mL, so a tablespoon weighs 17.3 g, not the 14.8 g of a tablespoon of water. Kikkoman's 150 mL bottle holds 176 g, and Health Canada and a Japanese kitchen table weigh soy sauce at 1.15 to 1.20 g/mL. USDA's 255 g per cup is lighter than the salt brine inside soy sauce and is rejected. Soy sauce is brewed from soybeans, wheat, salt and water: the mash ferments for months, then is pressed and pasteurised. Japanese-style soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), the kind Kikkoman makes and most American recipes mean, is about 14 to 17% salt, with another 15% or so of dissolved amino acids, sugars and other solids from the beans and grain. Kikkoman's specification for its gluten-free soy sauce gives 13.9% salt and at least 33% total soluble solids. That composition settles the weight. Salt is the densest thing in the bottle: a plain brine of 14% salt already weighs 1.10 g/mL, about 260 g per cup, before any of the other solids are added, and everything else pushes the density higher. Kikkoman's 150 mL bottle has a net weight of 176 g, which is 1.173 g/mL and 277.6 g per cup. Kikkoman's gluten-free specification gives a specific gravity of 1.17, 276.8 g. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 15 mL of soy sauce at 18 g, 1.20 g/mL or 284 g per cup at whole-gram precision, and the measuring table published by Meiji in Japan gives a 200 mL cup of shoyu as 230 g, 1.15 g/mL or 272 g per US cup. The four figures sit within 4.4% of each other, inside the 5% tolerance this site allows for liquids. Kikkoman's bottle, weighed to the gram, is published. The US label points the same way without stating a weight. Kikkoman's American bottle gives the serving as 1 Tbsp (15 mL), the FDA reference amount for a major condiment, with 960 mg of sodium. At USDA's 5,493 mg of sodium per 100 g, 960 mg is 17.5 g of sauce, 1.165 g/mL. USDA's Standard Reference record for shoyu (FDC 174277) gives 1 cup as 255 g, 1.078 g/mL. The same record lists about 14% salt and 15.2 g of ash per 100 g. A liquid carrying that much salt cannot weigh less than the brine alone, so the cup figure is rejected and has its own correction page. USDA's survey database repeats it as 16 g per tablespoon, and the FAO density database's 1.12 g/mL comes from an older edition of that survey; both are too light for the same reason. USDA's low-sodium record carries the identical 255 g cup. Practical guidance: use 277.6 g per cup, 69 g per quarter cup, 17.3 g per tablespoon and 5.8 g per teaspoon. For a stir-fry sauce written in tablespoons the difference from water weight is small; it matters when a recipe in grams is scaled up, or when sodium is counted by weight. Reduced-sodium soy sauce carries less salt and should weigh a little less; tamari and Chinese dark soy sauce are different products with their own weights. ### Sriracha https://exactcups.com/sriracha/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: sriracha sauce, sriracha hot chili sauce, rooster sauce, Huy Fong sriracha, sriraja. #### Standard, bottled sriracha at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 275.6 g (9.7 oz); 1/2 cup = 137.8 g; 1/4 cup = 68.9 g; 1 tbsp = 17.2 g; 1 tsp = 5.7 g (1.1648 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.82 cups. Sources: - Flying Goose Sriracha, 455 mL bottle (Pomona technical sheet): 275.6 g per cup. "Sauce sriracha piquante bouteille 455ml Flying Goose": Volume 0.455 L, net weight (Poids net) 0.53 kg, gross weight 0.58 kg. 1.165 g/mL, 275.6 g per US cup. Per 100 g: sugars 20 g, salt 7.1 g. - Kikkoman Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce label: 288 g per cup. kikkomanusa.com foodservice, 20 oz bottle: "Serving Size 1 Tsp (6g)", about 95 servings (567 g / 95 = 5.97 g). 288 g per US cup, 1.217 g/mL; whole-gram rounding on a teaspoon allows 1.12 to 1.32 g/mL. - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, hot chile, sriracha" (FDC 171186): Per 100 g: water 71.8 g, carbohydrate 19.2 g, sugars 15.1 g, sodium 2,124 mg (about 5.4% salt), ash 6.1 g. About 28% solids, which predicts about 1.12 g/mL (265 g per cup). Nutrition databases reproduce the record's teaspoon as 5 g, the same water-weight figure as the Huy Fong label. - Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce label: 240 g per cup. 17 oz bottle (King Soopers listing): "1 tsp. (5g)", 96 servings per container (482 g / 96 = 5.02 g). 240 g per US cup, 1.014 g/mL. REJECTED: 5 g in a 5 mL teaspoon is the weight of water, and the 96 servings are the bottle's 482 g net weight divided by 5 g, not a measurement. USDA's record for sriracha is 71.8% water carrying 15.1% sugars, about 5.4% salt and ground chili and garlic, 28% solids in all, which weighs about 1.12 g/mL; a sauce that dense cannot weigh what water weighs. Flying Goose's 455 mL bottle holds 530 g, 1.165 g/mL. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/sriracha-240-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of sriracha weighs 275.6 g (9.7 oz), a density of 1.16 g/mL, so a tablespoon weighs 17.2 g and a teaspoon 5.7 g. A 455 mL bottle of Flying Goose sriracha has a net weight of 530 g, and Kikkoman weighs a teaspoon of its sriracha at 6 g. Huy Fong's label, 5 g per teaspoon, gives sriracha the weight of water and is rejected. Sriracha is a smooth chili-garlic sauce named after the Thai seaside town of Si Racha. The American version, made famous by Huy Fong Foods' rooster bottle, is red jalapeño chilies ground with sugar, salt, garlic and vinegar and thickened with xanthan gum. Flying Goose, a Thai brand, is sweeter. Sriracha is a table sauce for noodles, eggs and rice, and it is stirred into mayonnaise, soups and marinades. Sriracha is not mostly water. USDA's record for sriracha (FDC 171186) lists 71.8 g of water per 100 g, with 15.1 g of sugars and 2,124 mg of sodium, about 5.4% salt; with the ground chili and garlic, 28% of the sauce is solids. A sauce of that composition weighs about 1.12 g/mL by the sugar and salt tables. Flying Goose, with 20 g of sugars and 7.1 g of salt per 100 g, should weigh more, and its 455 mL bottle holds 530 g: 1.165 g/mL, 275.6 g per cup. Kikkoman's label gives 1 Tsp (6 g), about 95 servings in a 20 oz bottle, which is 288 g per cup; whole-gram rounding on a teaspoon allows 5.5 to 6.5 g, so it supports the bottle within its precision. The two are 4.5% apart, inside the 5% tolerance this site allows for liquids, and the bottle, the only weight measured over a known volume, is published. Huy Fong's label gives 1 tsp. (5g) and 96 servings per 17 oz bottle. Five grams is exactly what a 5 mL teaspoon of water weighs, and the 96 servings are the bottle's 482 g net weight divided by 5 g, not a measurement. A sauce that is 28% sugar, salt and chili solids cannot weigh what water weighs: 240 g per cup is 13% lighter than Flying Goose's bottle and 9% under what Huy Fong's own composition predicts. The label figure is rejected and has its own correction page. Brands differ. Huy Fong's lower sugar should put it a few percent under Flying Goose, at about 265 g per cup, which is why this figure is held at medium confidence rather than high. For the teaspoon or two most recipes call for, the difference is a fraction of a gram. Practical guidance: use 275.6 g per cup, 69 g per quarter cup, 17.2 g per tablespoon and 5.7 g per teaspoon. Sriracha clings to the spoon, so squeeze it straight onto the scale when the amount matters. Chili-garlic sauce, sambal oelek and gochujang are different products, thicker and with their own weights. ### Sweet potato, mashed https://exactcups.com/sweet-potato-mashed/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. King Arthur: 240 g (8.5 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard (cooked, mashed) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 196–240 g. USDA and KA figures disagree by 20% (USDA 196 g/cup vs KA 240 g/cup). Reflects preparation method: fresh boiled and mashed sweet potato incorporates air during mashing (density ~0.83), while canned or smoothly pureed sweet potato behaves as a homogeneous paste (density ~1.01). Published as a range. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 196 g per cup. FDC 169305 (Sweet potato, cooked, boiled, without skin, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup mashed = 196 g. Density 0.8283 g/mL. Composition: ~80% water, ~17% carbohydrate, ~1.4% protein, ~0.1% fat. Fresh boiled and mashed sweet potato incorporates small air pockets during the mashing process, lowering effective cup density. - King Arthur: 240 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Mashed sweet potatoes', 1 cup = 240 g, density 1.0144 g/mL. Consistent with a smoothly pureed or canned sweet potato with no incorporated air. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Mashed sweet potato is unusual on this site in that both source figures are physically correct — they describe different preparation methods of what is nominally the same ingredient. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of cooked, boiled, mashed sweet potato at 196 grams (FDC 169305, Sweet potato, cooked, boiled, without skin), giving a density of 0.83 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 cup at 240 grams and 1.01 grams per millilitre. The two figures are 20 percent apart, well outside any reasonable tolerance, so we publish the range 196 to 240 grams per cup rather than a single figure. The physics explains the disagreement. Sweet potato flesh has a real density of about 1.02 grams per millilitre — very close to water, because it is roughly 80 percent water plus dissolved sugars and starch that are denser than water. When you mash cooked sweet potato with a fork or masher, you incorporate air into the mash, and that air lowers the effective density in a measuring cup. A rough fork mash traps more air; a smooth puree traps less. USDA's 196 gram figure describes a typical home-prepared mash with substantial air incorporation. King Arthur's 240 gram figure describes a smoother preparation — a purée blended or pressed through a sieve, or the canned sweet potato commonly sold in cans alongside canned pumpkin. For baking, the distinction matters. Recipes that specify 'canned mashed sweet potato' or 'sweet potato purée' typically expect the denser 240 gram figure, similar to how a recipe expects canned pumpkin at 245 grams per cup rather than home-cooked pumpkin at a lower weight. Recipes that specify 'freshly mashed sweet potato' or use it as a substitute for oil or eggs in quick breads typically get closer to the USDA 196 gram figure. Sweet potato composition is close to canned pumpkin in water content (80 versus 90 percent) and behaves similarly in a batter — it adds moisture, some natural sweetness, and structure from the starch. It is not interchangeable with regular potato because the sugar content and starch structure differ meaningfully, and it is not the same as yam, which is a completely different plant with denser, drier flesh. Related products this entry does not cover: canned yams in syrup (sold as 'candied yams' in US supermarkets), which are actually sweet potatoes in a sugar syrup and weigh differently because of the added liquid; sweet potato flour (dried and ground sweet potato flesh, weighs about 130 grams per cup and behaves like a starch); and sweet potato baby food, which is essentially the same as pureed sweet potato but sometimes with added water for smoothness. FDA has no identity standard for mashed sweet potato specifically; sweet potatoes are covered under USDA grade standards for the whole vegetable. The Codex Alimentarius does not have a specific sweet potato standard. The category here is 'liquid' rather than 'sugar' or 'milled' because mashed sweet potato behaves as a semi-liquid paste in a measuring cup: it settles into the container, and the density is determined by the preparation method (how much air is incorporated during mashing) rather than by scooping method. The 5 percent liquid category tolerance is exceeded here because the two source measurements describe different preparation methods, not the same product measured differently. That is why the entry publishes a range and is marked low confidence. ### Tomato Juice https://exactcups.com/tomato-juice/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: canned tomato juice, 100% tomato juice, bottled tomato juice, tomato juice no salt added. #### Standard, poured and leveled Published: 1 cup = 243 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 121.5 g; 1/4 cup = 60.7 g; 1 tbsp = 15.2 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0271 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Tomato juice, canned, with salt added" (FDC 170458): 243 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 243 g and 6 fl oz = 182 g, both a density of 1.027 g/mL. Water 94.2 g, carbohydrate 3.5 g (sugars 2.6 g) per 100 g. Primary anchor. - USDA SR Legacy "Tomato juice, canned, without salt added" (NDB 11886): 243.2 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 243 g and 1 fl oz = 30.4 g; the fluid-ounce portion extrapolates to 243.2 g per cup (density 1.028 g/mL). Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Tomato juice weighs 243 g per US cup (8.6 oz), a density of 1.027 g/mL. USDA's salted and unsalted canned tomato juice records both give 243 g per cup, and their fluid-ounce portions agree with the cup to within a fifth of a gram. Tomato juice is the strained juice of ripe tomatoes, heated and canned or bottled, usually with salt. It is about 94% water, with about 5% dissolved and suspended solids: sugars, citric and malic acids, pectin and fine tomato pulp. Drunk on its own, it is also the base of a Bloody Mary, of gazpacho and of tomato soups and braises. Vegetable juice blends such as V8 are mostly tomato juice with other vegetables and are a different product. USDA SR Legacy "Tomato juice, canned, with salt added" (FDC 170458) lists 1 cup at 243 g and 6 fluid ounces at 182 g; the without-salt record (NDB 11886) lists 1 cup at 243 g and 1 fluid ounce at 30.4 g. Each portion works out to 1.027-1.028 g/mL, so the records agree with themselves and with each other. Confidence is medium rather than high because both figures come from USDA, and no independent measurement was found. Labels do not help: US juice labels state the serving as 8 fl oz (240 mL), the FDA reference amount for vegetable juice, with no gram weight. The physical check agrees. Dissolved solids raise a liquid's density by roughly 0.04 g/mL for every 10% they make up. Tomato juice, at about 5-6% solids, should come out around 1.02-1.03 g/mL, and USDA's 1.027 sits in the middle. It is lighter than the sweet citrus juices, because tomato carries less sugar: fresh orange juice weighs 248 g per cup and grapefruit 247 g, at roughly twice tomato's dissolved solids. Lemon (244 g) and lime (242 g) bracket it. Salt makes no visible difference. The salted and unsalted records give the same 243 g cup, and their fluid-ounce portions differ by less than a gram per cup, which is inside the rounding of the portions themselves. Practical guidance: 1 cup is 243 g, 1/2 cup 122 g and 1 fluid ounce about 30 g. A 46-fl-oz can holds about 1.36 L, roughly 1,400 g or 5 3/4 cups; a 5.5-fl-oz single can about 167 g. For a Bloody Mary, 4 fl oz is about 122 g. Because tomato juice is so close to water, using it by volume is accurate enough for drinks and soups; weigh it only where a recipe is built on grams. The tomato products comparison page shows tomato juice beside canned tomatoes, puree, sauce, paste, marinara and ketchup, from thinnest to thickest. ### Tomato Paste https://exactcups.com/tomato-paste/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: tomato paste, canned tomato paste, tomato concentrate, concentrated tomato paste. King Arthur: 232 g (8.2 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/tomato-paste-232-grams/. #### Standard, canned, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 262 g (9.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 131 g; 1/4 cup = 65.5 g; 1 tbsp = 16.4 g; 1 tsp = 5.5 g (1.1075 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.87 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added" (FDC 170459): 262 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 262 g, corresponding to density 1.108 g/mL. Additional portion figures: 1/4 cup = 66 g, 1 tbsp = 16 g, 1 oz = 28 g, 6-oz can = 170 g. Internally consistent within 1%. Primary anchor. - aqua-calc reference (USDA-derived): 264 g per cup. aqua-calc publishes USDA-sourced density for tomato paste at 279 g per metric cup, equivalent to 264 g per US cup (9.3 oz/US cup) and density 1.116 g/mL. Consistent with USDA SR Legacy within rounding. - Hunt's Tomato Paste (producer label): 264 g per cup. Conagra Foods Hunt's tomato paste nutrition label: 2 tablespoons = 33 g, extrapolating to 264 g per US cup and density 1.116 g/mL. Matches USDA within 1%. - Contadina Tomato Paste (producer label): 264 g per cup. Del Monte Contadina tomato paste nutrition label: 2 tablespoons = 33 g, extrapolating to 264 g per US cup and density 1.116 g/mL. Identical to Hunt's, matches USDA. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 232 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, "Tomato paste": 2 tablespoons = 1 oz = 29 g, extrapolating to 232 g per US cup and a density of 0.981 g/mL. REJECTED: 0.981 g/mL is lighter than water. Canned tomato paste is 24 to 32% tomato solids (pectin, cellulose and sugars, all denser than water) in water, so the paste must be denser than water; USDA, Hunt's and Contadina all measure about 1.11 g/mL. Two tablespoons hold one US fluid ounce, and 29 g is that fluid ounce read as one weight ounce (28.35 g) and rounded up: the same fluid-ounce pattern rejected for milk, yogurt and buttermilk. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/tomato-paste-232-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Canned tomato paste weighs 262-264 g per US cup — USDA, Hunt's, Contadina, and aqua-calc all converge within 1%. Density is 1.11 g/mL, denser than water because concentrated tomato solids dominate the finished product. Tomato paste is tomatoes cooked down until most water has evaporated, leaving 24-32% natural tomato soluble solids by USDA Grade A standards. The result is a thick, spreadable concentrate that sits between tomato puree (10-24% solids) and double-concentrated tomato paste (36-40% solids). Canned tomato paste is the FDA-defined form, sold in 6-oz (170 g) cans across US brands and increasingly in resealable tubes for portioned use. USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added" (FDC 170459) publishes 1 cup = 262 g, corresponding to density 1.108 g/mL. Additional portion figures: 1/4 cup = 66 g, 1 tbsp = 16 g, 1 oz = 28 g, 6-oz can = 170 g. The 1-cup and 1/4-cup figures are internally consistent within 1%. Producer labels converge tightly. Hunt's tomato paste declares 2 tablespoons = 33 g, extrapolating to 264 g per US cup. Contadina publishes the identical figure. aqua-calc's USDA-derived record shows 279 g per metric cup, equivalent to 264 g per US cup and density 1.116 g/mL. The full-source range is 262-264 g/cup — a 0.76% spread, easily within the 5% liquid category tolerance. This tight cross-source convergence reflects tomato paste's regulated identity. USDA Grade A canned tomato paste must contain 24-32% natural tomato soluble solids; anything above 32% is technically "concentrated tomato paste." The finished density is dominated by tomato solids (mostly pectin, cellulose, and sugars) suspended in the remaining water fraction. At approximately 25% solids and 75% water, given tomato-solid density near 1.5 g/mL, the resulting weighted density lands consistently near 1.11 g/mL across brands. No air is entrained — canned tomato paste is a viscous fluid rather than a shredded solid, so packing behavior does not vary the way it does for shredded cheese or ground spices. Double-concentrated tomato paste (Cento's tube product, DeLallo, Amore, Mutti) is a distinct product — 36-40% tomato solids rather than 24-32% — but is sold with volumetric substitution guidance ("1 tsp tube paste = 1 tsp canned paste") rather than a distinct cup weight. Its density is slightly higher than standard paste, but the volumetric substitution rule means recipes calling for tomato paste by cup or tablespoon translate directly regardless of concentration. For validation and internal consistency, this entry publishes 262 g per US cup as a high-confidence single figure. USDA, Hunt's, Contadina, and aqua-calc convergence within 1% supports this position without a range publish. Practical guidance: for most home cooking (chili, ragù, marinara base, meatloaf, braises), the 16 g/tbsp figure is accurate enough that scooping from the can is fine. For baking applications (tomato-based bread, focaccia, savory tarts) and for scaling commercial recipes, weigh from the can. A full 6-oz can holds 170 g, which is roughly 2/3 cup; a 12-oz can holds 340 g, about 1 1/3 cup. Refrigerated leftovers can be portioned into 1-tbsp (16 g) dollops and frozen on parchment for grab-and-use bases. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists tomato paste at 2 tablespoons = 1 oz = 29 g, which extrapolates to 232 g per US cup and a density of 0.98 g/mL, lighter than water. That cannot be right for a paste that is 24-32% tomato solids, and USDA, Hunt's and Contadina all measure about 1.11 g/mL. Two tablespoons hold one US fluid ounce, and 29 g is that fluid ounce converted as if it were one ounce of weight (28.35 g), rounded up: the same fluid-ounce pattern behind King Arthur's 227 g cup of milk. The figure is recorded here as a rejected source with that reasoning, and the correction has its own page. ### Tomato Puree https://exactcups.com/tomato-puree/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: canned tomato puree, tomato purée, tomato pulp, passata. #### Standard, canned, poured and leveled Published: 1 cup = 250 g (8.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 125 g; 1/4 cup = 62.5 g; 1 tbsp = 15.6 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0567 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, puree, without salt added" (FDC 170460): 250 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 250 g, density 1.057 g/mL, and a 29-oz can at 822 g. Primary anchor. - Hunt's Tomato Puree (producer label): 248 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 29-oz can: 1/4 cup (62 g), extrapolating to 248 g per US cup and density 1.048 g/mL. Within 1% of USDA. - Contadina Puree Roma Tomatoes (producer label): 252 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 29-oz can: 1/4 cup (63 g), extrapolating to 252 g per US cup and density 1.065 g/mL. - Cento Tomato Puree (producer label): 252 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 28-oz can: 1/4 cup (63 g), extrapolating to 252 g per US cup and density 1.065 g/mL. Identical to Contadina. - Red Gold Tomato Puree, foodservice specification (1.045 specific gravity): 247.2 g per cup. Red Gold's product specification sets a minimum specific gravity of 1.045 at 9.9 °Brix (their extra-heavy puree: minimum 1.060 at 13.0 °Brix). At 1.045 a US cup weighs 247 g; the extra-heavy grade gives 251 g. An independent physical check on the label figures. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Canned tomato puree weighs 250 g per US cup (8.8 oz), a density of 1.057 g/mL. USDA, three producer labels and a manufacturer's specific-gravity specification all land between 247 and 252 g, a spread under 2%, so this is a high-confidence single figure. Tomato puree is tomatoes cooked and strained, then concentrated part of the way to paste. The US standard of identity (21 CFR 155.191) defines it by its tomato soluble solids: tomato puree, also called tomato pulp, carries at least 8% but less than 24%, and anything from 24% up is tomato paste. That puts puree between tomato sauce and paste, and its weight per cup sits between them too: sauce 245 g, puree 250 g, paste 262 g. Italian passata is the same kind of product, sieved tomatoes cooked down lightly, and weighs the same per cup when it is in the same solids range. USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, puree, without salt added" (FDC 170460) publishes 1 cup = 250 g, and the salted version carries the same cup weight. Producer labels converge on it: Hunt's lists 1/4 cup at 62 g (248 g per cup), and Contadina and Cento both list 1/4 cup at 63 g (252 g per cup). Red Gold publishes something rarer, the physical specification its puree must meet: a minimum specific gravity of 1.045 at 9.9 °Brix, and 1.060 at 13.0 °Brix for its extra-heavy grade. Those work out to 247 and 251 g per cup, bracketing USDA's 250 g. The physics is straightforward. Tomato solids, mostly sugars, pectin and cellulose, are denser than water, so the more of them a product carries, the heavier the cup. Puree at around 10 °Brix is about 5-6% denser than water; paste at 24% solids and above is about 11% denser. Because the solids range is set by regulation, brands cannot drift far, which is why the sources agree so closely here and why puree, like paste and sauce, earns a single figure while crushed tomatoes, with no equally tight standard, do not. Practical guidance: a 29-oz can holds 822 g, about 3 1/4 cups, and a 15-oz can holds 425 g, about 1 2/3 cups. One tablespoon weighs 15.6 g and 1/4 cup weighs 62.5 g. When a recipe calls for puree and you only have paste, two parts water to one part paste gets close to puree's solids, but weigh the result rather than measuring it by the cup. When substituting sauce for puree, expect a slightly thinner, seasoned result for about 2% less weight per cup. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no row for tomato puree, so there is no King Arthur figure to check here. The chart does list tomato paste, at a figure this site rejects; the tomato-paste entry explains why. The tomato products comparison page shows puree beside paste, sauce, crushed and diced tomatoes and ketchup. ### Tomato Sauce https://exactcups.com/tomato-sauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: tomato sauce, canned tomato sauce, plain tomato sauce. #### Standard, canned, poured and leveled Published: 1 cup = 245 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 122.5 g; 1/4 cup = 61.2 g; 1 tbsp = 15.3 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0355 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, sauce" (FDC 170054): 245 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 cup = 245 g, corresponding to density 1.036 g/mL. Primary anchor. - aqua-calc reference (USDA no-salt-added, USDA-derived): 245 g per cup. aqua-calc publishes USDA-sourced density for tomato sauce (no salt added) at 259 g per metric cup, equivalent to 245 g per US cup (8.6 oz/US cup) and density 1.036 g/mL. Matches USDA SR Legacy exactly. Confirms salt content has negligible effect at nutrition-label concentrations. - Hunt's Original Tomato Sauce (producer label): 248 g per cup. Conagra Foods Hunt's tomato sauce nutrition label: 1/4 cup = 62 g, extrapolating to 248 g per US cup and density 1.048 g/mL. Slightly above USDA within 1.2%. - Contadina Tomato Sauce (producer label): 244 g per cup. Del Monte Contadina tomato sauce nutrition label: 1/4 cup = 61 g, extrapolating to 244 g per US cup and density 1.031 g/mL. Slightly below USDA within 0.4%. Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Canned tomato sauce is 245 g per US cup — USDA, Hunt's, and Contadina all converge within 2%. Density 1.036 g/mL, marginally denser than water because dissolved tomato solids (8-12% by USDA grade standards) slightly raise the water-based sauce density. Tomato sauce is a specific FDA-defined product — thin, smooth, ready to use, made from tomato puree diluted to about 8-12% natural tomato soluble solids per USDA Grade A standards. It sits at the low end of the tomato-concentrate spectrum: sauce (8-12%) then puree (10-24%) then paste (24-32%) then double-concentrated paste (36-40%). Standard canned sauce is what most US recipes mean by "tomato sauce" — a starting base for chili, marinara, meatloaf, sloppy joes, and quick pan sauces. It is distinct from bottled "pasta sauce" (fully seasoned and closer to marinara) and from crushed or diced tomatoes (chunky structure). USDA SR Legacy "Tomato products, canned, sauce" (FDC 170054) publishes 1 cup = 245 g, density 1.036 g/mL. USDA also publishes "Tomato sauce, canned, no salt added" (aqua-calc reference) at 259 g per metric cup = 245 g per US cup, matching the salted version within rounding — salt content has negligible effect at nutrition-label concentrations. Producer labels converge tightly. Hunt's Original Tomato Sauce declares 1/4 cup = 62 g, extrapolating to 248 g per US cup and density 1.048 g/mL. Contadina Tomato Sauce reports 1/4 cup = 61 g, extrapolating to 244 g per US cup and density 1.031 g/mL. The full-source range is 244-248 g/cup — a 1.64% spread, comfortably within the 5% liquid category tolerance. The tight convergence reflects tomato sauce's regulated identity, similar to tomato paste. USDA Grade A canned tomato sauce must contain 8-12% natural tomato soluble solids; producers cluster near the midpoint of this range for taste and cost balance. Density is driven by the dissolved solids fraction (mostly pectin, cellulose, and sugars) adding weight to the water base. At 10% solids and 90% water, the resulting density lands consistently near 1.04 g/mL — very close to water but reliably denser. Salt, onion powder, and garlic powder additions at less than 2% by weight do not measurably shift density. For validation and internal consistency, this entry publishes 245 g per US cup as a high-confidence single figure. USDA, Hunt's, and Contadina convergence within 2% supports this position without a range publish. Practical guidance: an 8-oz can holds 227 g (roughly 15/16 cup), a 15-oz can holds 425 g (about 1 3/4 cups), and a 29-oz can holds 822 g (about 3 1/3 cups). For scaling recipes precisely, weigh from the can; for most home cooking, the 245 g/cup figure and rough can-to-cup conversions are close enough. Companion entries in the tomato family: tomato-paste at 262 g/cup, denser from its higher solids concentration, shares the same tight cross-source convergence driven by grade standards, while crushed-tomatoes spans 242-260 g/cup because no equally tight standard governs it. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart has no row for tomato sauce. It does list tomato paste, at 2 tablespoons = 29 g, a figure this site rejects because it makes the paste lighter than water; the tomato-paste entry explains why. ### Vanilla extract https://exactcups.com/vanilla-extract/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: pure vanilla extract, vanilla essence, extract of vanilla. King Arthur: 224 g (7.9 oz), inside the published range. #### Liquid, at room temperature No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 208–224 g. Two sources disagree by 7.4%, over the 5% tolerance for this category. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 208 g per cup. FDC 173471, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 208 g - King Arthur Baking: 224 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, Vanilla Extract, 1 tablespoon = 14 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Two sources 7.4% apart, over the 5% tolerance for the liquid category, so this entry publishes a range rather than a figure. The disagreement is real and reflects a genuine physical difference in how commercial vanilla extract is formulated. USDA FDC 173471 (Vanilla extract) gives 1 cup at 208 g (0.8792 g/ml). King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists vanilla extract at 14 g per tablespoon, implying 224 g per cup or 0.9468 g/ml. Vanilla extract is a solution of vanillin and other flavour compounds extracted from cured vanilla beans, dissolved in a water-ethanol mixture. FDA identity standards under 21 CFR 169.175 require pure vanilla extract to contain a minimum of 35 percent ethanol by volume and a minimum of one unit of vanilla constituent (13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon of finished extract). This is a floor, not a ceiling: commercial pure vanilla extracts commonly contain 40 to 50 percent ethanol by volume, and the higher-alcohol products are noticeably less dense because ethanol is significantly lighter than water (0.789 g/ml versus 1.0 g/ml at 20 Celsius). A 35 percent ethanol solution weighs approximately 0.947 g/ml, matching King Arthur's figure closely. A 45 to 50 percent ethanol solution weighs approximately 0.88 to 0.92 g/ml, bracketing USDA's figure. Both sources are therefore physically consistent with FDA-compliant vanilla extract, and neither can be rejected on physics grounds. They describe different product formulations rather than measurement errors on the same product. The practical implication for a home baker is that vanilla extract weight varies by brand. Nielsen-Massey, McCormick and Watkins pure vanilla extracts all publish nutrition labels declaring different serving weights per teaspoon (typically 4 to 4.5 grams), and the difference across brands is real and consistent with alcohol content variation. For teaspoon quantities, which is how most recipes use vanilla extract, the practical difference is at most 0.5 grams per teaspoon and does not affect finished baked goods. For larger quantities (a full tablespoon in a batch of ice cream base, or 2 tablespoons in a large batch of frosting), the difference can reach 2 to 3 grams and become detectable. Imitation vanilla extract (vanillin dissolved in propylene glycol, water and sometimes ethanol, without vanilla beans) is a distinct product with different density and is covered by USDA FDC 172235 at approximately 208 g per cup. Vanilla bean paste (thickened vanilla extract with vanilla seeds suspended in it) is denser again, typically 250 to 280 g per cup depending on brand, and is a separate product. Vanilla powder (dried vanilla bean, no alcohol) is a solid and outside the scope of a liquid extract entry. No standards body publishes a bulk density for vanilla extract. FDA 21 CFR 169.175 specifies ethanol minimum and vanilla constituent content but not density directly, though density can be estimated from ethanol content via ICUMSA-style alcohol-water density tables. Two sources only, both physically valid within FDA identity standards, and the range is published because no third source arbitrates between formulations at different ethanol levels. ### Water https://exactcups.com/water/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: tap water, drinking water, cold water, lukewarm water, filtered water. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/water-227-grams/. #### Standard, poured and leveled, at room temperature (20 °C) Published: 1 cup = 236.2 g (8.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 118.1 g; 1/4 cup = 59 g; 1 tbsp = 14.8 g; 1 tsp = 4.9 g (0.9982 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.96 cups. Sources: - CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 84th edition: density of water: 236.2 g per cup. Pure water at 20 °C is 0.99821 g/mL, which is 236.2 g per US cup. The same table gives 0.99984 g/mL at 0 °C, 0.99970 at 10 °C, 0.98803 at 50 °C and 0.95840 at 100 °C (reproduced in the LibreTexts "Properties of Water" reference table). - USDA SR Legacy "Beverages, water, tap, municipal" (FDC 175103): 237 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 fl oz = 29.6 g, 1 bottle (8 fl oz) = 237 g and 1 liter = 1,000 g, which takes water as 1.000 g/mL. Eight fluid ounces is one US cup, so 237 g per cup (density 1.002 g/mL). - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 227 g per cup. KA lists "Water" at 1 cup = 8 oz = 227 g, density 0.959 g/mL. REJECTED: Water at room temperature is 0.998 g/mL (CRC Handbook), so a US cup of 236.6 mL weighs 236 g. 227 g is 8 weight ounces: a cup of 8 fluid ounces read as 8 weight ounces, although a fluid ounce of water weighs 29.6 g, not 28.35 g. Water only comes down to 227 g per cup near boiling (0.958 g/mL at 100 °C), not at any temperature a recipe measures it. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/water-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A US cup of water weighs 236 g (8.3 oz) at room temperature, a density of 0.998 g/mL. The CRC Handbook's 0.99821 g/mL at 20 °C and USDA's 237 g per 8 fluid ounces agree within half a percent. King Arthur's 227 g is eight weight ounces, not a cup of water, and is rejected here. A US cup is 236.6 mL: half a US pint, or 8 US fluid ounces. Water's density is very close to 1 g/mL, which is no accident, since the gram was originally defined from the mass of a cubic centimetre of water. So a cup of water weighs almost exactly its volume in millilitres. The small difference is temperature. Water is densest just above freezing and expands as it warms. The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics gives the density of pure water as 0.99984 g/mL at 0 °C, 0.99970 at 10 °C, 0.99821 at 20 °C, 0.98803 at 50 °C and 0.95840 at 100 °C. In cups, that is 236.5 g for cold tap water, 236.2 g at room temperature, 233.8 g for hot water at 50 °C and 226.8 g at the boil. Across the temperatures bakers actually use, cold to lukewarm, the cup moves by less than half a gram, so 236 g is the figure. Tap water's dissolved minerals add a fraction of a gram per litre and make no visible difference. USDA SR Legacy "Beverages, water, tap, municipal" (FDC 175103) lists 1 fluid ounce at 29.6 g, an 8-fluid-ounce bottle at 237 g and a litre at 1,000 g. USDA simply takes water as 1 g/mL, which is its value near 4 °C and within 0.2% of room temperature. Other cups give other answers, which is where most confusion comes from. US nutrition labels use a 240 mL cup, so a label cup of water weighs 240 g, and converters that use the label cup print 240. Australia and New Zealand use a 250 mL metric cup, which holds 250 g of water. The US customary cup that American recipes mean is 236.6 mL and 236 g. King Arthur's chart lists water at 1 cup = 8 oz = 227 g. The 8 oz is right as a volume, 8 fluid ounces, but 227 g is 8 weight ounces of 28.35 g each. A fluid ounce of water weighs 29.6 g, about 4% more, so reading one ounce as the other loses 9 g per cup. The same 227 g appears in King Arthur's chart for milk, cream, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, pumpkin puree and other liquids, all of which are denser than water and weigh more than 236 g. This page is the anchor for every one of those corrections: if a cup of water weighs 236 g, nothing denser than water can weigh 227 g. Only boiling water is that light. Practical guidance: 1 cup is 236 g, 1/2 cup 118 g, 1/4 cup 59 g, 1 tablespoon 14.8 g, 1 teaspoon 4.9 g and 1 fluid ounce 29.5 g. For bread, where hydration is a percentage of the flour weight, put the bowl on the scale and pour the water in by weight; treating 1 mL as 1 g is accurate to 0.2% at room temperature. The corrections page lists every King Arthur figure built on the 227 g cup. ### White vinegar https://exactcups.com/white-vinegar/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: distilled white vinegar, distilled vinegar, white distilled vinegar, spirit vinegar, 5% vinegar. #### Standard, 5% acidity at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 238 g (8.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 119 g; 1/4 cup = 59.5 g; 1 tbsp = 14.9 g; 1 tsp = 5 g (1.006 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.95 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Vinegar, distilled" (FDC 172237): 238 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 02053) publishes 1 cup = 238 g (1.006 g/mL) and 1 tbsp = 14.9 g. Per 100 g: water 94.8 g, carbohydrate 0.04 g, sodium 2 mg. - Engineering ToolBox, density of aqueous acetic acid solutions at 20 °C: 237.8 g per cup. Table of aqueous solution densities: acetic acid "5 | 1.0052" and "10 | 1.0121" g/cm³ at 20 °C (percent by mass). 5% acetic acid in water is 237.8 g per US cup; 10% is 239.5 g. - Alliance Chemical, 5% Diluted Acetic Acid Food Grade, technical data sheet: 237.8 g per cup. "Composition 5 % acetic acid in deionized water, by weight"; "Density 1.0052 g/cm³ at 20 °C"; "Specific Gravity 1.007 at 20/20 °C". 237.8 g per US cup. - Heinz White Vinegar, label: 1 gallon jug, "5% (50 GRAINS) ACIDITY", "Serving Size 1 tbsp (15mL)". A volume with no grams; the FDA reference amount for vinegar, a major condiment, is 1 tablespoon. States no weight. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of white vinegar weighs 238 g (8.4 oz), a density of 1.006 g/mL, less than 1% heavier than the same cup of water. A tablespoon weighs 14.9 g and a teaspoon 5 g. USDA weighs a cup at 238 g, and a 5% solution of acetic acid in water, which is what white vinegar is, measures 1.0052 g/mL at 20 °C, 237.8 g per cup. White vinegar, sold as distilled vinegar in the US and spirit vinegar in Britain, is made by letting acetic acid bacteria ferment a dilute distilled alcohol, usually from corn or other grain, and then diluting the result with water to a standard strength. In American supermarkets that strength is almost always 5% acidity, printed on the label as 5% or "50 grain". Nothing else of note is dissolved in it: USDA's record lists 94.8 g of water per 100 g and only 0.04 g of carbohydrate. It goes into pickles and quick pickles, marinades, slaws, homemade buttermilk and cleaning. The physics is unusually simple. Pure acetic acid is only slightly denser than water, about 1.05 g/mL, so a 5% solution weighs only half a percent more than water. Engineering ToolBox's table of aqueous solutions gives 5% acetic acid as 1.0052 g/cm³ at 20 °C, and Alliance Chemical's specification for food-grade 5% acetic acid gives the same 1.0052. USDA's Standard Reference record for distilled vinegar (FDC 172237) weighs a cup at 238 g and a tablespoon at 14.9 g, 1.006 g/mL. Measured vinegar and the textbook solution agree within 0.1%, which is about as close as two sources can get. USDA's measured cup is published. Strength barely moves the figure. Cleaning vinegar at 6% and industrial vinegar at 10% are stronger, and 10% acetic acid weighs 1.012 g/mL, 239.5 g per cup, still within 1% of the 5% figure. Pickling vinegar sold in the US is the same 5% as table vinegar, so a pickling recipe can use this figure unchanged. Labels give the serving as 1 tbsp (15 mL), a volume rather than a weight, because the FDA reference amount for vinegar, a major condiment, is 1 tablespoon. For vinegar, unlike thicker condiments, writing grams equal to millilitres would be almost right: 15 mL weighs 15.1 g. Practical guidance: use 238 g per cup, 119 g per half cup, 59.5 g per quarter cup, 14.9 g per tablespoon and 5 g per teaspoon. A gallon of white vinegar weighs about 3.81 kg, 8.4 lb, and a 32 fl oz bottle about 952 g. For pickling brines given in cups, weighing the vinegar and water together on a scale is quicker than measuring each, and because vinegar weighs so nearly what water weighs, a liquid measuring cup filled to the line is accurate to within a couple of grams. ### Worcestershire sauce https://exactcups.com/worcestershire-sauce/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: Worcester sauce, Worcestershire, Lea & Perrins, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. #### Standard, bottled Worcestershire sauce at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 267 g (9.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 133.5 g; 1/4 cup = 66.7 g; 1 tbsp = 16.7 g; 1 tsp = 5.6 g (1.1285 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.85 cups. Sources: - Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, 568 mL bottle (Gedal technical sheet): 267 g per cup. "Lea&Perrins Worcester Sauce flacon verre 568ml" (brand owner Heinz): Volume 568 ml, net weight (Poids net) 641 g. 1.129 g/mL, 267.0 g per US cup. - Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, 150 mL bottle (distributor technical sheet): 261.8 g per cup. "Worcestershire Sauce L&P 150ml": Volume 150 ml, net weight (Poids net) 166 g. 1.107 g/mL, 261.8 g per US cup. - Heinz Worcestershire Sauce, 150 mL bottle (Pomona and distributor technical sheets): 266.6 g per cup. Pomona sheet "Sauce Worcestershire en flacon verre 150 ml HEINZ": Volume 0.15 L, net weight 0.169 kg; a second distributor sheet gives "Volume 150ml", "Poids net 169g". 1.127 g/mL, 266.6 g per US cup. Per 100 g: sugars 19 g, salt 2.8 g. Spirit vinegar, molasses, malt vinegar, water, sugar, tamarind, salt, onion, anchovy, garlic, spices. - Lea & Perrins The Original Worcestershire Sauce, US retail label: 10 oz bottle (H-E-B listing): "Serving Size 1.00 tsp", about 59 servings, 65 mg sodium. Distilled white vinegar, molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, chili pepper extract. A volume with no grams, so it states no weight. - USDA SR Legacy "Sauce, worcestershire" (FDC 171610): 275 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 6971) publishes 1 cup = 275 g (1.162 g/mL). Water 78.5 g per 100 g. REJECTED: USDA's own record lists 78.5 g of water per 100 g, so no more than 21.5% of the sauce is dissolved or suspended solids. A solution that weak weighs 1.16 g/mL only if nearly every dissolved gram is salt, the densest common solute (a 21.5% salt brine weighs 1.16 g/mL); Worcestershire's solids are mostly molasses and sugar, and a 21.5% sugar solution weighs 1.09 g/mL. Lea & Perrins bottles weigh 1.107 and 1.129 g/mL and Heinz's 1.127 g/mL. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/worcestershire-sauce-275-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of Worcestershire sauce weighs 267 g (9.4 oz), a density of 1.13 g/mL, so a tablespoon weighs 16.7 g and a teaspoon 5.6 g. A 568 mL bottle of Lea & Perrins has a net weight of 641 g, its 150 mL bottle 166 g, and Heinz's own Worcestershire sauce 169 g per 150 mL. USDA's 275 g per cup is heavier than a sauce with its water content can be, and is rejected. Worcestershire sauce was first sold by the chemists John Lea and William Perrins in Worcester, England, in the 1830s. It is a thin, dark, sharp sauce of vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies, tamarind, onion, garlic and spices, aged before bottling. It goes into marinades, Caesar dressing, Bloody Marys, chili and meatloaf, usually by the teaspoon or tablespoon. Its weight comes from the molasses, sugar and salt dissolved in vinegar. Heinz's technical sheet gives 19 g of sugars and 2.8 g of salt per 100 g, and USDA's record lists 78.5 g of water, about 21% solids. A solution with that much sugar and salt weighs about 1.10 to 1.13 g/mL by the sucrose and salt tables, and the bottles agree. Lea & Perrins' 641 g in 568 mL is 1.129 g/mL, 267 g per cup; its 166 g in 150 mL is 1.107 g/mL, 262 g; and Heinz's 169 g in 150 mL is 1.127 g/mL, 267 g. The three sit within 2% of each other, inside the 5% tolerance this site allows for liquids, and the large Lea & Perrins bottle, weighed over the biggest volume, is published. Both brands belong to Kraft Heinz, so the confidence is medium rather than high. These are European bottlings. The American Lea & Perrins uses distilled white vinegar where the British bottle uses malt and spirit vinegar, with the same molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies and tamarind. Its label gives the serving as 1 tsp with no grams, the FDA reference amount for a minor condiment, so it states no weight. USDA's Standard Reference record (FDC 171610) gives 1 cup as 275 g, 1.162 g/mL. The same record lists 78.5% water, so at most 21.5% solids. A solution reaches 1.16 g/mL at that strength only if nearly every dissolved gram is salt, the densest common solute; Worcestershire's solids are mostly molasses and sugar, and a 21.5% sugar solution weighs 1.09 g/mL. The cup figure is rejected and has its own correction page. Japanese Worcester sauce, such as Bull-Dog, is a different, sweeter fruit-and-vegetable sauce made for tonkatsu and okonomiyaki; this figure is not for it. Practical guidance: use 267 g per cup, 67 g per quarter cup, 16.7 g per tablespoon and 5.6 g per teaspoon. For a Caesar dressing that calls for a teaspoon, that is 5.6 g; for a big batch of marinade, the cup figure matters more than the spoon. Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, so look for a vegetarian version when that matters; its weight is not covered here. ### Yellow mustard https://exactcups.com/yellow-mustard/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: prepared mustard, prepared yellow mustard, American mustard, classic yellow mustard, ballpark mustard, French's mustard. #### Standard, prepared yellow mustard, level measure Published: 1 cup = 249 g (8.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 124.5 g; 1/4 cup = 62.3 g; 1 tbsp = 15.6 g; 1 tsp = 5.2 g (1.0525 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.91 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Mustard, prepared, yellow" (FDC 172234): 249 g per cup. USDA Standard Release (NDB 02046) publishes 1 cup = 249 g (1.052 g/mL). Per 100 g: water 83.7 g, sodium 1,104 mg, ash 3.4 g, carbohydrate 5.8 g. - Health Canada, Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods (2008), Miscellaneous table: 252.4 g per cup. "Mustard" 15 mL = 16 g, 1.067 g/mL, 252.4 g per US cup. Whole-gram rounding on 15 mL allows 1.03 to 1.10 g/mL. - USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs, Section 6 (Other Foods): 252 g per cup. Mustard: "Pound 1.80 1 cup", so 453.6 g / 1.80 = 252.0 g per US cup (1.065 g/mL); "Gallon (about 142 oz) 16.00 1 cup", 251.6 g per cup; "Quart (about 35 oz) 64.00 1 tablespoon", 248 g per cup. - Retail labels: French's Classic Yellow Mustard and others: French's: "Net Wt.: 14oz (396g)", "Serving size: 1 tsp (5g)", "Servings: 79". Red Gold's foodservice tub and other yellow mustards print the same 1 tsp (5 g). Five grams is the weight of 5 mL of water, 240 g per cup; the FDA reference amount for mustard is 1 teaspoon, and the grams follow a water-weight convention rather than a measurement. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of yellow mustard weighs 249 g (8.8 oz), a density of 1.05 g/mL, so a tablespoon weighs 15.6 g and a teaspoon 5.2 g. USDA weighs a cup at 249 g, Health Canada weighs 15 mL at 16 g, and the USDA Food Buying Guide counts 1.8 cups to the pound, 252 g a cup. Labels print 5 g per teaspoon, a water-weight convention a few percent light. Yellow mustard, the bright American hot-dog mustard, is ground white mustard seed mixed with distilled vinegar, water, salt and turmeric, which gives the colour. It is mild beside Dijon or English mustard because white mustard seed carries less of the pungent oil, and the vinegar tames what is there. French's and the store brands follow close to the same recipe. Its weight is close to water's because most of it is water. USDA's Standard Reference record for prepared yellow mustard (FDC 172234) lists 83.7 g of water per 100 g, with 1,104 mg of sodium, about 2.8% salt, and the rest ground seed, protein and fibre. A paste that is 84% water and 16% seed and salt weighs about 1.05 to 1.06 g/mL, which is where every measured source sits. Three sources agree within 1.4%. USDA weighs a cup at 249 g, 1.052 g/mL. Health Canada's Nutrient Value of Some Common Foods weighs 15 mL at 16 g, 1.067 g/mL or 252 g per cup at whole-gram precision. The USDA Food Buying Guide, which tells school kitchens how many servings come out of each purchase unit, counts 1.80 cups to a pound of mustard, 252 g per cup, and 16 cups to a gallon of about 142 oz, also 252 g per cup. USDA's measured cup is published. Retail labels give the serving as 1 tsp (5 g): French's 14 oz bottle says so, with 79 servings in 396 g. Five grams is what 5 mL of water weighs. The FDA reference amount for mustard, a minor condiment, is 1 teaspoon, and labels commonly fill in the grams at water weight. At 240 g per cup the convention is 3.6% under USDA's figure, close enough that it is kept as a source rather than rejected, but it is not a measurement. Mustard holds its shape in a spoon, so a heaped teaspoon can weigh far more than a level one. Level the spoon with a knife, or weigh. Practical guidance: use 249 g per cup, 62 g per quarter cup, 15.6 g per tablespoon and 5.2 g per teaspoon. A 14 oz squeeze bottle, 396 g, holds about 1 1/2 cups or 25 tablespoons. Dry mustard powder and whole mustard seeds have their own entries and are not interchangeable with prepared mustard by volume. ### Yogurt https://exactcups.com/yogurt/ Category: Liquids (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: plain yogurt, whole milk yogurt, natural yogurt, curd (dahi). King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/yogurt-227-grams/. #### Plain, whole milk, at fridge temperature Published: 1 cup = 245 g (8.6 oz); 1/2 cup = 122.5 g; 1/4 cup = 61.3 g; 1 tbsp = 15.3 g; 1 tsp = 5.1 g (1.0356 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.93 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 245 g per cup. FDC 171284, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 245 g - King Arthur Baking: 227 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, yogurt, 1 cup = 8 oz (227 g) REJECTED: 0.9595 g/ml is lighter than water. Plain yogurt is roughly 85% water carrying dissolved and suspended milk solids (protein, lactose, calcium and phosphate), so it is necessarily denser than water, and no measuring method or preparation makes a hydrated dairy product lighter than its own solvent. The figure is 8 ounces per cup, which is the volume of a US cup expressed in fluid ounces read as a weight, the same convention that produced the rejected King Arthur figure for milk. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/yogurt-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: The King Arthur figure for yogurt reproduces the same volume-to-weight conversion error already documented on the milk entry. King Arthur's chart lists 1 cup at 8 ounces and 227 grams, which are the same measure expressed twice, once as fluid ounces and once as if those fluid ounces were weight ounces. The gram figure implies 0.9595 g/ml, which is lighter than water. Yogurt is a fermented milk product with the same base composition as milk (roughly 85% water carrying protein, lactose and minerals in solution and suspension) plus additional bacterial biomass and lactic acid, and it is necessarily denser than water for the same reason milk is. The value is recorded as rejected rather than deleted, because a published figure that is wrong is worth knowing about, and this one needs no standards body to refute: the density of water is enough. USDA FDC 171284 (Yogurt, plain, whole milk) gives a cup at 245 g, or 1.0356 g/ml. This is slightly denser than whole milk (1.0313 g/ml on the milk entry), which is what fermentation produces: converting some of the lactose to lactic acid increases the density of the water phase, and the addition of bacterial biomass raises total solids by a small amount. USDA also lists FDC 170886 (plain low fat yogurt) at 245 g per cup and FDC 170887 (plain skim milk yogurt) at 245 g per cup, and the cup portion is the same across all three fat levels because the removed fat is replaced by proportionally more of the dissolved solids that fat displaces. This is the same effect documented on the milk entry between whole and 1% milkfat. The 8-ounce single-serving container that is standard in US supermarkets weighs 227 g, and this appears to be the origin of the King Arthur figure: the volume of an 8-fluid-ounce serving read as if it were a weight. That serving is one cup by volume but under-weighs the actual cup content by about 7% for the reason described above. Greek yogurt is a separate product covered by a separate entry. It is strained plain yogurt with much of the whey removed, which concentrates the milk solids and raises the density substantially, typically to 1.05-1.08 g/ml depending on how thoroughly the strain was performed. Chobani, Fage and similar brands publish per-cup weights between 227 and 245 g depending on style, but these do not indicate a lighter product; the label serving is often standardised at 227 g regardless of true cup weight. Skyr, labneh, quark and other cultured dairy products are related but distinct and are not covered by this entry. Sweetened, flavoured and fruit-added yogurts have their own weights that vary by product and are outside the scope. That leaves one accepted source. The entry is held at medium confidence until an independent second and third are found. Dairy composition standards regulate protein and milkfat content rather than density, so the Codex route that resolved olive oil is not directly available. ## Syrups (25) ### Agave Syrup https://exactcups.com/agave-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: agave nectar, agave, blue agave syrup, blue agave nectar, organic agave syrup, light agave nectar, amber agave, dark agave, maguey syrup. King Arthur: 336 g (11.9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, poured Published: 1 cup = 336 g (11.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 168 g; 1/4 cup = 84 g; 1 tbsp = 21 g; 1 tsp = 7 g (1.4202 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.67 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart (Agave syrup): 336 g per cup. 1/4 cup = 3 oz = 84g, so 336 g/cup, density 1.42 g/mL. - USDA Sweetener syrup agave (NDB ID 19912): 331.3 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 20.7g per USDA nutrient database, so 331 g/cup, density 1.40 g/mL. 1.5% variation from KA chart, within syrup tolerance. - Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave nutrition label: 336 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 21g per label, so 336 g/cup. Wholesome is one of the dominant US retail brands for organic agave syrup. - Agave in the Raw Organic Agave Nectar nutrition label: 336 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 21g per label, so 336 g/cup. Matches Wholesome and KA exactly. - Madhava Organic Light Agave nutrition label: 336 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 21g per label, so 336 g/cup. Madhava is another dominant US retail brand. - Xagave Agave Nectar nutrition label: 336 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 21g per label, so 336 g/cup. Fifth independent brand confirmation. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Agave syrup converges tightly at 336 g/cup (21g per tablespoon) across USDA, King Arthur's chart, and every major producer label (Wholesome Sweeteners, Agave in the Raw, Madhava, Xagave). Density 1.42 g/mL is identical to honey and barley malt syrup — all concentrated sugar solutions at similar solids fractions. Agave syrup (also called agave nectar) is a sweetener produced from the sap of blue agave and other agave species, concentrated to about 76% sugars by weight. It's used as a liquid sugar substitute in beverages (cocktails especially — margaritas, palomas, tommy's-style tequila drinks), baking (in place of honey or as a 30% weight-reduction substitute for granulated sugar), and drizzling on pancakes, waffles, yogurt, and oatmeal. About one-third sweeter than table sugar per gram, so recipes typically call for about 25-30% less agave than sugar for equivalent sweetness. Density is a solved physical property here. Blue agave syrup contains 76% carbohydrates and 23% water, with 56% fructose and 12% glucose as the dominant sugars. Sugar solutions at 76% solids sit near 1.40-1.42 g/mL density, and agave lands squarely in that range. USDA branded food data (NBD ID 19912) lists 20.7g per tablespoon, or 331 g/cup. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 1/4 cup = 3 oz = 84g, giving 336 g/cup. Producer labels converge exactly: Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave lists 21g per tablespoon, Agave in the Raw lists 21g per tablespoon, Madhava Organic Light Agave lists 21g per tablespoon, Xagave lists 21g per tablespoon. Six independent sources within 1.5% of each other. This is one of the cleanest density entries in the syrup category. Substitution equivalence with honey: honey and agave both weigh 336 g/cup at density 1.42 g/mL, so they substitute 1:1 by weight or volume with essentially no measurement adjustment needed. Flavor differs (honey is floral, agave is neutral to slightly caramel) and sugar composition differs (honey is roughly 40% fructose plus 30% glucose while agave is roughly 56% fructose plus 12% glucose), which affects sweetness perception and browning behavior. Barley malt syrup also matches at 336 g/cup, though its flavor profile (malty, molasses-like) makes it a poor 1:1 substitute for agave in most applications. Substitution for granulated sugar: because agave is about one-third sweeter than table sugar per gram, use approximately 2/3 to 3/4 the weight of agave when replacing sugar in a recipe. So 200g sugar becomes about 135-150g agave. Because agave is a liquid (76% carbs, 23% water), reduce other liquids in the recipe by about 1/4 cup per 1 cup agave to maintain hydration balance. Agave also causes baked goods to brown faster due to fructose's higher browning rate, so bakers commonly reduce oven temperature by 25°F when substituting agave for sugar in cakes and cookies. Light versus amber versus dark: producers grade agave by color and flavor intensity. Light agave (most common in US supermarkets) is filtered to remove color and has a neutral flavor best for cocktails and light-flavored baking. Amber agave has stronger caramel notes, comparable to light honey. Dark agave has intense caramel and molasses notes similar to maple syrup. All three grades have essentially identical density (336 g/cup) and identical sugar content — the color reflects processing choices and filtration, not composition changes. Health marketing caveat: agave is often marketed as a healthier sweetener because of its low glycemic index. The low GI comes from the high fructose content (fructose doesn't spike blood glucose the way glucose does), but fructose is metabolized primarily by the liver and excess intake is associated with metabolic issues. Agave is not calorically or metabolically distinguishable from other sugars in the amounts typically used in cooking. Choose it for flavor and texture reasons, not for perceived health benefits. Practical baker recommendation: for any recipe calling for agave by cup or tablespoon, the 21g/tbsp figure is rock-solid across brands. Weigh for precision but volume measures are reliable for agave. Substitute 1:1 by weight or volume with honey; substitute at 2/3 to 3/4 weight when replacing granulated sugar and reduce oven temperature 25°F to prevent over-browning. ### Apple juice concentrate https://exactcups.com/apple-juice-concentrate/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: frozen apple juice concentrate, unsweetened apple juice concentrate, concentrated apple juice, AJC. King Arthur: 280 g (9.9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, unsweetened frozen concentrate (retail form) Published: 1 cup = 281 g (9.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 140.5 g; 1/4 cup = 70.3 g; 1 tbsp = 17.6 g; 1 tsp = 5.9 g (1.1878 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.81 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 281 g per cup. FDC 173934, Apple juice, frozen concentrate, unsweetened, undiluted, without added ascorbic acid (SR Legacy). Published: 1 can (6 fl oz) = 211 g. Extrapolated to 1 cup (8 fl oz): 281 g. Density 1.1878 g/mL. - King Arthur: 280 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Apple juice concentrate', 1/4 cup = 70 g (280 g/cup). Density 1.1835 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-21. Notes: Two sources agree within measurement precision. USDA FoodData Central FDC 173934 (Apple juice, frozen concentrate, unsweetened, undiluted, without added ascorbic acid, SR Legacy) publishes 1 can (6 fl oz) = 211 g, which extrapolates to 1 cup (8 fl oz) = 281 g and implies a density of 1.1878 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Apple juice concentrate' at 1/4 cup = 70 g, extrapolating to 280 g per cup and 1.1835 g/mL. The gap between them is 0.46 percent, well inside any reasonable tolerance, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 281 g per cup and names both sources. Both figures describe the retail-form frozen apple juice concentrate: unsweetened, undiluted, packaged in standard 6 or 12 fluid ounce cans to be thawed and mixed with water to produce regular-strength apple juice. The 1.19 g/mL density corresponds to approximately 40 to 45 degrees Brix, the standard concentration for retail frozen apple juice concentrate in the United States. Industrial apple juice concentrate is often shipped at 65 to 72 degrees Brix (density approximately 1.32 to 1.36 g/mL) for bulk transport efficiency, but this stronger concentrate is not typically sold at retail and is not what King Arthur's chart is measuring. Home bakers using apple juice concentrate as a natural sweetener or moisture source in recipes essentially always use the retail 40 to 45 Brix form covered by this entry. Apple juice concentrate is placed in the syrup category alongside honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, molasses and sweetened condensed milk on this site. At 1.19 g/mL it is the lowest-density entry in the syrup cluster (honey publishes at approximately 1.42 g/mL, corn syrup at approximately 1.38, sweetened condensed milk at approximately 1.28), but its physical behavior and baking function match the syrup category rather than the water-based liquid category. It is thick, sticky, slow-pouring, and functions in recipes as a sugar-forward moistener the way other syrups do. Recipes calling for 'juice concentrate' as an ingredient are treating it as a syrup, not as a fruit juice. Apple juice concentrate is distinct from regular ready-to-drink apple juice, which USDA covers under a separate record (FDC 173935, apple juice, frozen concentrate, diluted with 3 volumes water) at approximately 1.04 g/mL, a water-density beverage. The dilution ratio is important: standard retail apple juice concentrate reconstitutes 1 volume concentrate to 3 volumes water, so a 6 fl oz can of concentrate produces 24 fl oz of drinkable juice. Recipes calling for 'apple juice' without qualifier mean the reconstituted beverage, not the concentrate. This distinction matters both for weight (concentrate is roughly 15 percent denser than the reconstituted juice) and for sweetness (concentrate contains four times the sugar per volume). Product variants: unsweetened frozen concentrate (covered here) is the primary retail form. Sweetened frozen apple juice concentrate exists but is uncommon in the US market where 'apple juice concentrate' generally means the unsweetened product. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) fortification is common in modern packaged apple juice concentrate but has negligible density impact. Shelf-stable ambient apple juice concentrate (sold in aseptic packaging without freezing) has essentially the same density as the frozen form. Boiled cider, a traditional New England apple concentrate reduced to 60 to 70 degrees Brix on the stovetop, is a distinct product with higher density (approximately 1.28 to 1.32 g/mL) closer to maple syrup, and would earn its own entry when a second authoritative source becomes available. No standards body publishes a bulk density for apple juice concentrate. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service publishes grade standards for frozen concentrated apple juice that specify minimum Brix values (22.9 degrees for Grade A) but not density directly. Density can be derived from Brix using standard sugar-solution tables but the relationship is not published as a physical-density standard for apple juice concentrate. Two independent authoritative sources agree within measurement precision, 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. ### Barley Malt Syrup https://exactcups.com/barley-malt-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: barley malt, malt syrup, barley malt extract, traditional barley malt syrup, organic barley malt syrup, non-diastatic malt syrup. King Arthur: 336 g (11.9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard, poured Published: 1 cup = 336 g (11.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 168 g; 1/4 cup = 84 g; 1 tbsp = 21 g; 1 tsp = 7 g (1.4202 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.67 cups. Sources: - King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart (Barley malt syrup): 336 g per cup. 2 tablespoons = 1 1/2 oz = 42g, so 336 g/cup - USDA Branded (Eden Foods Organic Traditional Barley Malt Syrup, UPC 024182491159): 336 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 21g per USDA FoodData Central. 21g x 16 tbsp/cup = 336 g/cup. Aqua-calc confirms 355 g/metric cup = 336 g/US cup. - Eden Foods 20 oz jar nutrition label: 336 g per cup. Nutrition label: 1 tablespoon (21g), 60 calories. Consistent across Amazon, Better Health Market, iHerb, CalorieKing, and multiple aggregator listings. - Pleasant Hill Grain product page: 336 g per cup. Product description explicitly states 15g carbohydrates per 21g (1 tablespoon) serving, confirming Eden's label figure independently. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Barley malt syrup consistently weighs 336 g/cup (21g per tablespoon), converging across King Arthur's chart, Eden Foods (the dominant US brand), and USDA branded food data. The naming confusion is where bakers get tripped up: it's a distinct product from barley malt extract powder, diastatic malt, non-diastatic malt powder, and malted milk powder. Barley malt syrup is a thick, dark, molasses-like sweetener made by extracting maltose and complex carbohydrates from sprouted (malted) barley. Its primary baking uses are bagels (both in the dough and in the boiling water for glossy crust), pretzels (soft or hard), pumpernickel and other dark whole-grain breads, gingerbread, and baked beans. About half as sweet as refined sugar, it contributes a distinctive malty flavor no other sweetener duplicates. Density is a solved physical property here. Concentrated maltose solutions at the standard 74-79% solids fraction produce a density near 1.42 g/mL, virtually identical to honey. Eden Foods (USDA branded UPC 024182491159, the dominant retail brand and only widely-available producer of barley-malt-only syrup in US supermarkets) publishes 21g per 1 tablespoon on their nutrition label, which works out to 336 g/cup. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists barley malt syrup at 42g per 2 tablespoons, the same 336 g/cup. USDA branded food data for the Eden UPC confirms 355 g per metric cup (336 g per US cup). Three independent sources, exact convergence, no correction needed. The disambiguation matters more than the density. Five related products are frequently confused for one another. Barley malt syrup (this entry) is a thick liquid concentrate at 336 g/cup, non-diastatic, used for sweetness and flavor in bagels and dark breads. Barley malt extract is often used interchangeably with barley malt syrup, but the extract label sometimes covers products containing other grains or corn syrup; home brewers use liquid malt extract (LME) for beer wort at similar density. Non-diastatic malt powder is the dried version of malt syrup with no active enzymes: King Arthur sells it at 18g per 2 tablespoons (144 g/cup), and the substitution equivalence is 1 tablespoon syrup (21g) matches roughly 2 tablespoons powder (16g) by weight solids. Diastatic malt powder retains active amylase enzymes that break down starch, used in tiny quantities (fractions of a teaspoon per loaf) to boost fermentation and browning in long-proofed doughs. Malted milk powder contains dry milk solids and sugar plus malt extract, made for chocolate malt beverages and malt balls: it is not a substitute for barley malt syrup in bread applications, and King Arthur lists it at 35g per 1/4 cup (140 g/cup). King Arthur also has a separate Malt syrup chart entry at 43g per 2 tablespoons (344 g/cup), a 2% variation from the barley-malt-specific entry that likely reflects blended malt syrups containing non-barley grains. Practical baker recommendation: for bagels and pretzels, use barley malt syrup by weight (21g per tablespoon in dough, more in the water bath). For any barley-malt-syrup recipe where the product is unavailable, molasses is the closest 1:1 substitute by weight; light brown sugar dissolved in equal weight of water works in a pinch but lacks the malty character. If a recipe calls for barley malt syrup and you only have non-diastatic malt powder, use half the weight of powder (16g powder for every 21g syrup). ### Brown Rice Syrup https://exactcups.com/brown-rice-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: rice syrup, rice malt syrup, rice malt, organic brown rice syrup, lundberg brown rice syrup, brown rice malt syrup. #### Standard, poured No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 335–368 g. Two-cluster split between physical density (336 g/cup, matches sugar-syrup family at 1.42 g/mL for 78% solids) and Lundberg retail label (368 g/cup, implies 1.55 g/mL — physically implausible, reflects heaping-tablespoon measurement convention). Sources: - USDA Branded (Organic Brown Rice Syrup, UPC 733739069078): 336 g per cup. 355 g/metric cup = 336 g/US cup per USDA FoodData Central via aqua-calc, density 1.42 g/mL. Matches the sugar-syrup density family (honey, agave, golden syrup, barley malt syrup). - GloryBee industrial specification sheet (Brown Rice Syrup 55 DE): 335 g per cup. Density listed as 11.8 lb/gal at 100°F. Converting: 11.8 lb (5352g) / 1 US gallon (3785 mL) = 1.41 g/mL, giving 335 g/cup. Independent industrial-source confirmation of physical density. - Physical density from composition (78% sugars, 22% water): 336 g per cup. Sugar solutions at 78% Brix have density near 1.40-1.42 g/mL. Brown rice syrup at 78% solids (typical retail product) matches this range, aligning with the entire sugar-syrup family. - Lundberg Sweet Dreams Organic Brown Rice Syrup nutrition label: 368 g per cup. 2 tablespoons = 46g per label. 46g x 8 = 368 g/cup, implying density 1.55 g/mL. Physically implausible for a 78% sugar solution and 9% higher than USDA branded data for the same product class. Likely reflects a heaping-tablespoon measurement convention rather than level tablespoons. Home bakers scooping directly from a Lundberg jar will practically approach this figure. - Perkchops aggregator (generic rice syrup): 352 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 22g per aggregator listing. 22g x 16 = 352 g/cup, density 1.49 g/mL. Sits between the physical density and Lundberg label figures. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Brown rice syrup ranges 336-368 g/cup depending on measurement convention. The physical density is 336 g/cup (1.42 g/mL, matching honey and other sugar syrups at 78% solids), while Lundberg's nutrition label lists 368 g/cup reflecting a heaping-tablespoon convention. King Arthur's chart does not list brown rice syrup, leaving conversions unstandardized. Brown rice syrup (also called rice syrup or rice malt) is a viscous amber sweetener made by cultured enzymatic breakdown of cooked brown rice starches into maltose, maltotriose, and glucose. Unlike sugar-cane-based syrups, brown rice syrup contains no fructose — its sweetness comes primarily from maltose (a glucose-glucose disaccharide), making it about half as sweet as table sugar. Bakers use it in vegan and paleo baking, granola bars, macrobiotic cooking, gluten-free desserts, and as a corn syrup alternative in confectionery for chewy texture. Lundberg Family Farms is the dominant US retail brand; Suzanne's Specialties is the largest industrial supplier. Density has two answers depending on which reference you use. The physical density of brown rice syrup at 78% solids (typical for the finished retail product) is 1.42 g/mL, giving 336 g/cup. USDA branded food data for organic brown rice syrup (UPC 733739069078) confirms 355 g per metric cup = 336 g per US cup. GloryBee's industrial specification sheet for 55 DE brown rice syrup lists 11.8 lb/gallon at 100°F, converting to 1.41 g/mL = 335 g/cup. Both align with the sugar-syrup density family (honey, agave, golden syrup, barley malt syrup — all at ~336 g/cup). Lundberg's retail nutrition label states 2 tablespoons = 46g, working out to 368 g/cup at density 1.55 g/mL — physically implausible for a 78% sugar solution and likely reflecting a heaping-tablespoon measurement convention rather than level tablespoons. Home bakers scooping from a Lundberg jar will practically get closer to the label figure than to the physical density. Brown rice syrup versus other sugar syrups. Honey, agave, and golden syrup all sit at 336 g/cup with density 1.42 g/mL, matching brown rice syrup's physical density. Substitute for brown rice syrup 1:1 by weight or volume — sweetness will be about double (because brown rice syrup is half as sweet as fructose-heavy syrups), so reduce quantity accordingly if matching sweetness. Corn syrup at 312 g/cup and density 1.32 g/mL is slightly less dense; both are glucose-based non-fructose sweeteners, so substitute 1:1 by volume with minor sweetness difference. Barley malt syrup at 336 g/cup is physically similar to brown rice syrup (both are maltose-dominant enzyme-hydrolyzed grain syrups), so 1:1 substitution works by weight or volume, but flavors differ — barley malt has strong malty and molasses notes, while brown rice is mild and neutral. Sweetness comparison: brown rice syrup is roughly 50% as sweet as sucrose (table sugar) by weight. To match the sweetness of 1 cup granulated sugar (200g), use approximately 400g brown rice syrup (about 1 and 1/4 cups). Reduce other liquids in the recipe by 1/4 cup per 1 cup of brown rice syrup to maintain hydration balance. Because brown rice syrup is glucose and maltose dominant with no fructose, browning behavior is milder than agave or honey — bake at the recipe's specified temperature without the 25°F reduction typically applied for fructose-heavy syrup substitutions. Dextrose Equivalent (DE) grades: industrial brown rice syrup is sold at various DE grades (28 DE, 42 DE, 55 DE, 60 DE) reflecting how completely the rice starches have been converted to sugars. Higher DE means more sweetness, more glucose relative to maltose, and thinner consistency. Retail Lundberg is typically in the 42-55 DE range. This mostly affects flavor and viscosity, not density — all DE grades sit near 1.42 g/mL at 78% solids. Practical baker recommendation: for recipes tested with Lundberg brand and calling for cup measures, use the label figure at 46g per 2 tbsp (368 g/cup). For recipes with weight in grams, weigh directly. For substitution planning, treat brown rice syrup as a sugar syrup with density essentially matching honey (336 g/cup physical), and adjust for sweetness — you'll need roughly double the weight of brown rice syrup to match the sweetness of an equivalent amount of honey or table sugar. ### Cane Syrup https://exactcups.com/cane-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: cane syrup, pure cane syrup, sugar cane syrup, sugarcane syrup, Louisiana cane syrup, Steen's cane syrup, open kettle cane syrup. #### Standard, poured Published: 1 cup = 320 g (11.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 160 g; 1/4 cup = 80 g; 1 tbsp = 20 g; 1 tsp = 6.7 g (1.3527 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.71 cups. Sources: - Steen's 100% Pure Cane Syrup (C.S. Steen's Syrup Mill, Abbeville LA, since 1910): 320 g per cup. Product label serving: 2 tablespoons = 40 g = 120 kcal (29 g sugar). Extrapolates to 320 g/cup at 20 g/tbsp. Ingredient: pure sugarcane juice, slow-simmered in open kettles. Louisiana's defining cane syrup brand for well over 100 years, listed by Slow Food USA in the Ark of Taste as an endangered traditional food. Sold in 12 oz, 16 oz, 46 oz, and 90 oz sizes with iconic yellow label. - USDA FoodData Central — Cane Syrup (branded, UPC 864023000115, via aqua-calc): 319.9 g per cup. USDA branded food entry: 338 g/metric cup = 320 g/US cup = 11.3 oz/US cup, density 1.352 g/mL. Exact match with Steen's product label figure, confirming 320 g/cup as the true cane syrup density independent of any single brand's labeling convention. - Charles Poirier's Louisiana Cane Syrup (Youngsville LA, small-batch artisan): Small-batch (near-homemade scale) Louisiana producer, distributed by Zingerman's, Coutelier NOLA, and specialty grocers. Grown, crushed, cooked, and bottled on the Poirier farm. Six-to-seven-hour open-kettle boil yields roughly 3 gallons of syrup per 125 stalks of cane. Represents the traditional Acadiana small-mill production alongside Steen's industrial-scale operation. No explicit per-serving nutrition label published. - Wikipedia — Steen's cane syrup: Reference: traditional American sweetener made by simple concentration of cane juice through long cooking in open kettles. "Dark, caramel-flavored, burnt gold-colored syrup, deep and slightly sulfurous with a lightly bitter backlash. Sweeter than molasses because no refined sugar is removed from the product." Confirms cane syrup ≠ cane molasses distinction that drives search-intent for this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 320 g/cup (1.35 g/mL). Steen's Pure Cane Syrup and USDA branded cane syrup data converge exactly at 320 g/cup, placing this ingredient in the 320 g/cup density cluster alongside date syrup, pomegranate molasses, and maple cream. King Arthur is silent on cane syrup — it's a Louisiana traditional sweetener outside the chart's coverage. Cane syrup is boiled sugarcane juice: sugarcane stalks are crushed and the juice extracted, then simmered in open kettles for 6-7 hours until it concentrates to a dark amber syrup at roughly 72-75% sugar. The finished product is a whole natural sweetener with no crystallization or refining step — "nothing added, nothing extracted" is Steen's own tagline. The flavor is caramel-forward with a slight sulfurous depth from the long open-kettle cook, sweeter and less bitter than sugarcane molasses because no refined sugar has been removed from the concentrate. C.S. Steen's Syrup Mill in Abbeville, Louisiana has produced the defining brand since 1910; smaller artisan producers like Charles Poirier's operation in Youngsville keep the traditional small-mill craft alive alongside Steen's industrial-scale production. Density data converges exactly at 320 g/cup. Steen's product label lists 2 tablespoons = 40 g, extrapolating to 20 g/tbsp and 320 g/cup at 1.353 g/mL. The USDA branded entry (UPC 864023000115, via aqua-calc) gives 338 g per metric cup, which is 320 g per US cup at 1.352 g/mL — a perfect match with the Steen's figure to within rounding. Physical density prediction from composition (72.5% sugar × 1.53 g/mL + 25% water × 1.0 g/mL) gives 1.36 g/mL, or 322 g/cup, again within 1% of the observed value. This is a high-confidence single-figure ingredient. The nomenclature disambiguation is where cane syrup earns most of its search intent. Cane syrup is not the same as cane molasses, despite similar dark color and pourable consistency. Molasses is a byproduct of crystalline sugar refining — cane juice is boiled, sugar crystals are extracted and removed, and the dark bitter fraction left behind becomes molasses. Cane syrup is the whole boiled juice with no crystallization or extraction step, so it retains all the plant's natural sugars and reads sweeter, milder, and thinner than molasses on the tongue. Fresh sugarcane juice (roughly 13% sugar, no boiling) is different again — a beverage, not a sweetener. And sorghum syrup, despite being colloquially called "sorghum molasses" in the Southern US, comes from a different plant genus entirely (Sorghum bicolor rather than Saccharum officinarum) and lands in the 336 g/cup cluster rather than the 320. Within the syrup density framework, cane syrup at 320 g/cup joins the plant-juice cluster with date syrup (320), pomegranate molasses (320), and maple cream (320). It sits below the 336 g/cup cluster of honey, agave syrup, barley malt syrup, golden syrup, and sorghum syrup because Steen's open-kettle process stops at a specific target clarity and consistency rather than pushing to maximum sugar concentration. The 5-6% density difference between the two clusters reflects a 3-4% difference in final solids content — roughly the difference between boiling to 72-75% solids (cane syrup, date syrup) versus 76-80% solids (sorghum syrup, honey, sugarcane molasses). For baking, cane syrup substitutes 1:1 by weight for corn syrup in pecan pie, sweet potato pie, and glazes with a more assertive caramel flavor. It replaces molasses in gingerbread and marinades at 1:1 by weight with a sweeter, less bitter finish. In Cajun and Creole cooking, cane syrup is an essential ingredient in tarte à la ferlouche, sauce piquante glazes, ham marinades, and vinaigrettes; the syrup's slight sulfurous depth pairs particularly well with mustard, black pepper, and smoked meats. Direct substitution for honey is 1:1 by weight, though the assertive caramel flavor changes the character of a recipe more than a honey-to-maple swap would. ### Corn syrup https://exactcups.com/corn-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 312 g (11 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard (light) Published: 1 cup = 320 g (11.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 160 g; 1/4 cup = 80 g; 1 tbsp = 20 g; 1 tsp = 6.7 g (1.3527 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.71 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 320 g per cup. FDC 168836 (Syrups, corn, light, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 320 g, 1 tbsp = 20 g. Density 1.3527 g/mL. Composition: ~22% water, ~78% carbohydrate (primarily glucose), 0% protein, 0% fat. - King Arthur: 312 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Corn syrup', 1 cup = 312 g, density 1.3187 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-17. Notes: Corn syrup is a concentrated glucose solution made by breaking down corn starch enzymatically until the starch molecules become simple sugars. It is one of the densest liquid ingredients in a home kitchen, sitting in the same range as honey, molasses and maple syrup — all concentrated sugar solutions with similar water content and similar density around 1.3 to 1.4 grams per millilitre. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup at 320 grams and 1 tablespoon at 20 grams (FDC 168836, Syrups, corn, light). This gives a bulk density of 1.3527 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1 cup at 312 grams and 1.3187 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 2.5 percent, comfortably inside the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the syrup category. We publish the USDA figure of 320 grams per cup because it comes with the underlying tablespoon and 100-gram numbers rather than an extrapolation from a partial cup, and because USDA's laboratory measurements are more rigorous than a chart entry. Corn syrup should not be confused with high-fructose corn syrup, though the density is nearly identical. Regular corn syrup (the kind sold in bottles under the Karo brand) is predominantly glucose. High-fructose corn syrup is regular corn syrup that has been further processed with an enzyme to convert some of the glucose to fructose, producing HFCS-42 (42 percent fructose) or HFCS-55 (55 percent fructose). HFCS is used almost exclusively in commercial food manufacturing rather than home baking; the bottle on the supermarket shelf is regular glucose corn syrup. Both have density near 1.35 grams per millilitre because the total sugar content is similar; the distinction is in the sugar type and sweetness, not the weight per cup. Light and dark corn syrup differ only slightly. Dark corn syrup is light corn syrup with molasses or refiners' syrup added for colour and a slight caramel note; the density is essentially the same at 320 to 325 grams per cup. King Arthur does not publish a separate row for dark, and USDA lists them separately with only a few grams of difference. For measurement purposes, treat them as interchangeable and rely on the recipe's flavour requirement to choose between them. Related concentrated sugar syrups: honey (339 g/cup, density 1.43), molasses (337 g/cup, 1.42), maple syrup (322 g/cup, 1.36), sweetened condensed milk (306 g/cup, 1.29). All sit in the same density range because all are concentrated aqueous solutions of sugars, and all measure similarly in a cup — thick, slow to pour, self-levelling once settled, insensitive to how the cup is filled. A cup of corn syrup weighs about 2.4 times more than a cup of water, which is why recipes that call for it as part of the liquid balance need to weigh rather than measure by volume when the ratio matters — pecan pie and caramel are the two clearest examples, where 10 percent too much or too little corn syrup changes the final texture from set to runny or set to hard. FDA does not publish an identity standard for corn syrup as a common name; it is regulated under general food safety and labelling rules. The Codex Alimentarius standard for sugars (CXS 212-1999) covers glucose syrups and related sweeteners internationally, addressing composition and identity rather than density. The category here is 'syrup' rather than 'liquid' because corn syrup's measuring behaviour matches other concentrated sugar solutions: thick, slow-pouring, and not sensitive to how the cup is filled once it settles. The 5 percent syrup tolerance applies, and both sources sit well inside it. ### Cream of Coconut https://exactcups.com/cream-of-coconut/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: coco lopez, crema de coco, sweetened cream of coconut, sweetened coconut cream, real cream of coconut, coconut cream sweetened. King Arthur: 284 g (10 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, poured (canned, sweetened) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 283–312 g. Density varies by brand formulation. Goya (lower coconut solids, coconut-milk-based) at 1.20 g/mL. Coco Lopez (higher coconut solids, coconut-first ingredient list) at 1.27-1.32 g/mL. 10% gap reflects real formulation differences, not measurement error. Sources: - King Arthur Ingredient Weight Chart (Cream of coconut): 284 g per cup. 1/2 cup = 5 oz = 142g, so 284 g/cup, density 1.20 g/mL. This chart figure is correct for cream of coconut, though KA also mistakenly applies the same 284 g/cup to their unsweetened Coconut cream entry — a scope error documented in the existing coconut-cream entry. - Goya Cream of Coconut nutrition label (15 fl oz can): 283 g per cup. 12 servings per 15 fl oz can (425g total). 2 tbsp per serving = 35.4g per 30 mL = 283 g/cup, density 1.20 g/mL. Matches KA chart figure independently. - Coco Lopez per Art of Drink professional reverse-engineering: 300 g per cup. Coco Lopez composition (5g fat, 21g sugar, 2g water in a 28g serving) calculated to occupy 22 mL, giving density 1.27 g/mL = 300 g/cup. Coco Lopez's own nutrition label states 2 tbsp = 28g, but this is inconsistent with the 30 mL volume of 2 US tablespoons — the label understates volume-to-mass conversion. - Fitia nutrition app (Coco Lopez upper reading): 312 g per cup. Lists 2 tbsp Coco Lopez = 39g, implying density 1.32 g/mL = 312 g/cup. Represents Coco Lopez at maximum settled concentration where the syrup phase separates from the emulsion. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Cream of coconut ranges 283-312 g/cup depending on brand formulation. It's a sweetened, heavily emulsified coconut product (Coco Lopez is the dominant brand), physically distinct from unsweetened coconut cream despite the naming confusion. King Arthur's chart entry at 284 g/cup applies correctly here, though their chart mistakenly gives the same figure to unsweetened coconut cream. Cream of coconut is a thick, syrupy, sweetened emulsion of coconut fat, sugar, and water with stabilizers. Coco Lopez (Dominican Republic, invented 1954) is the archetypal product and the inventor of the piña colada. Goya makes a lower-fat version starting from coconut milk rather than coconut solids. Both are staples for tropical cocktails (piña colada, painkiller, blue Hawaiian), Puerto Rican coquito, tres leches variants, coconut ice cream, and coconut cream pie. Density lands in the 1.20-1.32 g/mL range depending on solids concentration. Goya Cream of Coconut publishes 35g per 2 tablespoons on its nutrition label (12 servings per 15 fl oz can, 425g total), which works out to 283 g/cup at density 1.20 g/mL — matching King Arthur's chart entry (142g per 1/2 cup = 284 g/cup) exactly. Coco Lopez is denser: its higher coconut-solids content (label lists coconut first, sugar second, versus Goya's coconut milk with added water) gives a physical density near 1.27 g/mL per Art of Drink's professional cocktail reverse-engineering, or 300 g/cup. The upper bound at 312 g/cup (density 1.32 g/mL) reflects Coco Lopez at maximum settled concentration where the syrup phase separates from the emulsion. Coco Lopez's nutrition label has an internal inconsistency worth flagging. The label states 2 tablespoons (28g) as the serving size, which would imply a density of 0.947 g/mL — less than water, physically impossible for a sugar-loaded product. The reality is that 28g of Coco Lopez occupies about 22 mL, not 30 mL. If you scoop 2 level tablespoons volumetrically, you actually get about 38g and consume more calories than the label per-serving figure suggests. For cup-weight purposes, the physical density of about 1.27 g/mL is what matters, giving roughly 300g per US cup. Do not confuse cream of coconut with coconut cream, canned coconut milk, or creamed coconut. All four are distinct products. Cream of coconut (this entry) is sweetened, syrupy, emulsified, 283-312 g/cup, used for cocktails and desserts. Coconut cream (existing entry) is unsweetened, the skimmed thick portion of canned coconut milk or dedicated canned coconut cream, 224-240 g/cup, used for curries and unsweetened whipped-cream substitutes. Canned coconut milk is a thinner unsweetened liquid, about 241 g/cup per King Arthur, and serves as the base ingredient for the above. Creamed coconut (also called coconut butter) is a solid block of coconut flesh at room temperature, no water, no sugar — a denser semi-solid roughly 260-284 g/cup. King Arthur's chart lists both Cream of coconut and Coconut cream (unsweetened) at 284 g/cup — the correct figure for this entry, but a scope error for their unsweetened coconut cream figure (which physically should sit near 240 g/cup, matching most producer labels for canned coconut cream). This entry confirms where the 284 g/cup figure actually belongs. Practical baker recommendation: substitute cream of coconut only in recipes that call for sweetened cream of coconut specifically. It is not interchangeable with coconut cream or coconut milk in curries or savory applications because the sugar content will dominate. For piña coladas and coquito, Coco Lopez remains the reference product with the strongest coconut flavor and thickest texture. Goya works well as a lower-fat substitute. If a recipe calls for a specific gram amount, weigh from the can rather than trusting the tablespoon count on the Coco Lopez label. ### Date Syrup https://exactcups.com/date-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: silan, date molasses, date honey, date nectar, medjool date syrup, organic date syrup, pure date syrup. #### Standard, poured Published: 1 cup = 320 g (11.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 160 g; 1/4 cup = 80 g; 1 tbsp = 20 g; 1 tsp = 6.7 g (1.3526 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.71 cups. Sources: - D'vash Date Syrup nutrition label: 320 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 20g per label. 20g x 16 = 320 g/cup, density 1.35 g/mL. D'vash is one of the dominant US retail brands for date syrup. - Date Lady Date Syrup nutrition label: 320 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 20g per label. 320 g/cup. Date Lady is another dominant US brand (Walmart, Amazon best-seller for date syrup category). - Silan (Middle Eastern date syrup) multi-brand data: 320 g per cup. Israeli and Middle Eastern silan brands (Galilees Delicacy, Kinneret Farm, Soom, Cedar Phoenicia) all converge on 20g per tablespoon, 60 calories. Silan is the traditional Levantine name for the same product. - Physical density from composition: 320 g per cup. Date syrup is approximately 70% sugars (glucose + fructose roughly equal), 20% water, 2-3% fiber, with trace minerals. Sugar solutions at 70% solids sit at 1.35 g/mL density, matching the label figure. Slightly less dense than honey (1.42 g/mL, 78% solids) because date syrup contains more water and less concentrated sugar. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Date syrup (also called silan, date molasses, or date honey) converges tightly at 320 g/cup (20g per tablespoon), density 1.35 g/mL, across all major producer labels (Date Lady, D'vash, Just Date, and multiple Middle Eastern silan brands). King Arthur's chart does not list date syrup, leaving conversions unstandardized for the fastest-growing alternative sweetener category. Date syrup is a thick amber-to-dark-brown sweetener made from steamed or enzymatically-processed dates (traditionally Medjool or Deglet Nour), concentrated to about 70% sugars. Unlike sugar-cane-based syrups, date syrup contains 2-3% dietary fiber per serving — a unique property among liquid sweeteners — and delivers trace minerals (potassium, magnesium, iron) that pure sugar syrups lack. In the Middle East, silan (its Levantine name) has been a traditional sweetener for millennia, drizzled over labneh, whisked into tahini for salad dressing, spread on flatbreads (kubaneh, malawach), and used in savory-sweet meat marinades. In modern Western baking, it's used as a honey substitute in vegan and paleo recipes, as a molasses substitute in gingerbread and spiced desserts, and increasingly as a coffee sweetener or granola binder. Density is a solved single figure. D'vash Date Syrup nutrition label lists 1 tablespoon = 20g, giving 320 g/cup at density 1.35 g/mL. Date Lady, the dominant US brand, lists the same 20g per tablespoon. Silan brands (Galilees Delicacy, Kinneret Farm, Soom, Cedar Phoenicia, and multiple Israeli producers) all converge on 20g per tablespoon. Density 1.35 g/mL is slightly lower than honey and agave (both 1.42 g/mL) because date syrup contains more water (~20%) and lower sugar concentration (~70% vs 76-78%). Physical density places it between corn syrup (1.32 g/mL) and honey (1.42 g/mL), consistent with its position as a moderate-density syrup. Silan versus date syrup versus date molasses versus date honey — same product, different names. These terms are interchangeable. Silan is the Hebrew and Middle Eastern name; date syrup is the standard English name; date molasses is used in some cookbooks (though it's not related to sugar-cane molasses); date honey is a marketing term used to signal the honey-substitute positioning to vegan consumers. All refer to the same product: concentrated liquid extract of dates. Traditional silan (Israeli and Levantine style) is made by boiling and pressing whole dates until only the syrup remains; modern commercial date syrup often uses enzymatic conversion for higher yield and lighter color. Density and composition are essentially identical across production methods. Not the same as date paste or date sugar. Date paste is thicker (pureed whole dates with less water removed) and typically weighs 260-300 g/cup — a distinct product used differently in baking. Date sugar is dried and ground dates, granular and non-flowing, closer in behavior to brown sugar than to a syrup. Recipes calling for date syrup specifically require the pourable liquid form; substituting date paste or date sugar produces different textures and requires water and liquid adjustment. Substitution rules: for honey, substitute 1:1 by weight or volume — date syrup is slightly less sweet than honey (about 85-90% as sweet) and has a distinctive fruity-caramel-prune flavor, best in recipes where the flavor complements rather than competes. For maple syrup, substitute 1:1 by volume (maple syrup is at 315 g/cup, density 1.33 g/mL, essentially the same density); flavor difference is significant. For molasses, substitute 1:1 by weight in gingerbread and spiced recipes — both contribute dark color and rich flavor, though molasses has more mineral bitterness and date syrup more fruity sweetness. For granulated sugar, use 3/4 the weight of date syrup and reduce other liquids by 3 tablespoons per 1 cup. Nutritional distinctions: date syrup is high in potassium (about 3% DV per tablespoon), calcium, magnesium, and iron — meaningful mineral content that pure sugar syrups lack. It's also naturally high in antioxidants. These properties are used prominently in marketing, though as with any sweetener the amounts consumed in typical use provide only modest daily intake of these nutrients. Practical baker recommendation: for any recipe calling for date syrup, silan, or date molasses, weigh at 20g per tablespoon (320 g/cup) with high confidence across all brands. Substitute 1:1 by weight or volume for honey with a fruity flavor shift; substitute 1:1 for molasses in spiced recipes; substitute at 3/4 weight for granulated sugar with liquid reduction. Store at room temperature; date syrup does not crystallize and has approximately 12 month shelf life once opened. ### Ginger Syrup https://exactcups.com/ginger-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: ginger cocktail syrup, ginger simple syrup, fiery ginger syrup, spicy ginger syrup, cocktail ginger syrup. #### Standard, ginger syrup (either real-ginger artisan or commercial ginger-flavor) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 293.5–308 g. Ginger syrup exists as two distinct product families with different compositions and slightly different density profiles: real-ginger artisan (Liber & Co Fiery Ginger, Morris Kitchen, Portland Syrups, Liquid Alchemist, BG Reynolds) built from cold-pressed or juiced fresh ginger root plus cane sugar (often with invert sugar to prevent crystallization); and commercial ginger-flavor (Torani, Monin, Fee Brothers, Finest Call) built from cane sugar, water, natural or artificial ginger flavor, and preservatives without real ginger content. Real-ginger variants land at the lower end (280-298 g/cup) because ginger juice water content displaces some pure sucrose; commercial variants run higher (300-310 g/cup) because they are essentially rich sugar-water syrup with flavoring. Published as a range covering both families. Sources: - Liber & Co Fiery Ginger Syrup (real-ginger artisan): 293.5 g per cup. Liber & Co Fiery Ginger Syrup nutrition label lists 15 mL serving = 41 calories, 11 g total carbohydrate including 10 g sugar. Sugar concentration of 667 mg/mL implies ~50-55° Brix, extrapolating to density 1.23-1.26 g/mL and roughly 291-298 g per US cup. Ingredients: 50% organic Peruvian ginger juice, pure cane sugar. Represents the fresh-ginger-juice artisan benchmark for Moscow Mules, Dark 'N Stormies, and ginger beer applications. - Morris Kitchen Ginger Syrup (real-ginger artisan): 293.5 g per cup. Morris Kitchen ginger syrup (Brooklyn artisan brand, founded 2009) is built from cold-pressed ginger juice, cane sugar, and invert cane sugar. The invert sugar addition (a mix of glucose and fructose from acid-hydrolyzed sucrose) prevents recrystallization and gives a silky texture. Ginger juice content is high enough that the finished syrup runs slightly lighter than pure sucrose-water syrup at the same total dissolved solids. - Portland Syrups Authentic Ginger Syrup (real-ginger artisan): 293.5 g per cup. Portland Syrups authentic ginger syrup lists 12 oz bottle = 24 servings = 15 mL serving, similar to Liber & Co profile. Uses real ginger with intense spicy finish. Represents mid-Pacific-Northwest craft cocktail standard. - Monin Ginger Syrup (commercial): 308 g per cup. Monin Ginger Syrup ingredients: pure cane sugar, water, natural flavors, natural ginger flavor, citric acid. Standard commercial formulation matches Monin's other flavored syrups at approximately 60-65° Brix. Density approximately 1.28-1.32 g/mL, 303-312 g per US cup. Refrigeration not required — commercial preservative-free clean-label formulation. - Torani Ginger Syrup (commercial): 308 g per cup. Torani commercial ginger syrup follows their standard cane-sugar + water + natural flavor + preservatives formulation. Represents US commercial bar and coffee-shop standard, density profile matches Monin cluster at approximately 300-310 g per US cup. - Sucrose-water thermodynamics (US Pharmacopeia / ICUMSA): 298.1 g per cup. Physical density derivation: real-ginger artisan syrups converge around 50-55% Brix based on published sugar content per serving; commercial ginger syrups run richer at 60-65% Brix based on standard commercial-syrup formulation. Standard sucrose-water density tables at 20°C: 50% w/w = 1.230 g/mL (291 g/cup), 55% w/w = 1.259 g/mL (298 g/cup), 60% w/w = 1.289 g/mL (305 g/cup), 65% w/w = 1.319 g/mL (312 g/cup). Real-ginger variants may skew a few g/cup lighter than pure sucrose at the same Brix due to ginger juice water and suspended fibre content; commercial variants track physics directly. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish ginger syrup in their Ingredient Weight Chart. No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of ginger syrup weighs 280 to 310 g depending on brand and product family.** Two distinct product families exist under the same name: real-ginger artisan (Liber & Co Fiery Ginger, Morris Kitchen, Portland Syrups, Liquid Alchemist) and commercial ginger-flavor (Torani, Monin, Fee Brothers). Real-ginger artisan runs lighter (280-298 g/cup) due to ginger juice water content displacing sucrose; commercial ginger-flavor runs heavier (300-310 g/cup) because it is essentially rich sugar-water syrup with flavoring. King Arthur does not publish ginger syrup. Ginger syrup as a discrete cocktail ingredient is a relatively modern American bar product, dating to the craft-cocktail revival of the mid-2000s. Its cultural ancestor is Jamaican ginger beer plant fermentation — a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria that produces naturally carbonated ginger beer over several days — and the pre-Prohibition-era ginger-based punches and cordials that faded from American drinking culture through the twentieth century. The modern rebirth traces to two cocktails: the Moscow Mule (vodka, ginger beer, lime, dating to 1941 but popularized by copper mug fetishism in the 2000s) and the Dark 'N Stormy (Gosling's Black Seal rum, ginger beer, lime, a Bermudian trademark since the 1980s). Bartenders wanting more control over ginger intensity and sweetness began substituting ginger syrup for pre-made ginger beer, and craft brands like Morris Kitchen (Brooklyn, 2009) and Liber & Co (Austin, 2013) built entire product lines around fresh-juiced ginger as the differentiator. The two-product-family split defines the modern market. **Real-ginger artisan syrup** starts with fresh ginger root that is either cold-pressed for juice or blended and strained to extract maximum flavor compounds (gingerol, shogaol, and volatile terpenes). Liber & Co's Fiery Ginger Syrup uses 50% organic Peruvian ginger juice by volume plus pure cane sugar; Morris Kitchen combines cold-pressed ginger juice with cane sugar and invert cane sugar to prevent recrystallization and produce a silky texture; Portland Syrups and Liquid Alchemist follow similar real-ginger formulations. **Commercial ginger-flavor syrup** (Torani, Monin, Fee Brothers, Finest Call) is fundamentally a cane sugar-water base with natural or artificial ginger flavoring and preservatives — no real ginger juice at all. The flavor is thinner and one-dimensional, closer to ginger candy than to fresh ginger, but the price is a fraction of the artisan cost and shelf life is longer. The density difference between the two families is real but modest. Real-ginger artisan syrups converge around 50-55° Brix based on published sugar content per serving (Liber's label shows 10 g sugar per 15 mL serving, implying 667 mg/mL sugar concentration and roughly 291-298 g per US cup). Commercial ginger-flavor syrups run richer at 60-65° Brix because they follow the standard commercial flavored-syrup profile, landing at approximately 300-310 g per US cup. Sucrose-water density tables at 20°C give the physics: 50% w/w sucrose = 1.230 g/mL (291 g/cup), 55% w/w = 1.259 g/mL (298 g/cup), 60% w/w = 1.289 g/mL (305 g/cup), 65% w/w = 1.319 g/mL (312 g/cup). Real-ginger variants may skew a few grams per cup lighter than pure sucrose at the same Brix due to the water and suspended fibre content in fresh ginger juice; commercial variants track the sucrose-water physics directly. In the ExactCups syrup cluster, ginger syrup joins the **cocktail-syrup family** alongside grenadine (280-320 g/cup) and orgeat (288-320 g/cup). All three follow the same real-fruit vs commercial family split, and all three cluster in the 280-320 g/cup band — well below the 336 g/cup cluster (honey, agave, barley malt, golden syrup at 76-80% solids) and below the 320 g/cup cluster (date syrup, pomegranate molasses, cane syrup, sorghum syrup at 65-70% solids). The pattern is consistent: cocktail syrups optimize for pourability and flavor integration in mixed drinks, not for maximum sugar concentration, so they run at 50-65% Brix rather than the 65-80% Brix of concentrated baking syrups. Practical bartender recommendation: for a proper Moscow Mule, Dark 'N Stormy, Penicillin, or any cocktail where ginger drives the flavour, use a real-ginger artisan brand (Liber & Co, Morris Kitchen, Portland Syrups) — the fresh gingerol content translates directly to the finished drink's aromatic complexity. Commercial ginger-flavor syrups work for volume applications where cost matters more than character. Weigh at approximately 295 g per cup as a central working figure across both families. Store refrigerated after opening; artisan real-ginger syrups typically keep 4-6 months refrigerated, commercial preservative-containing syrups keep 12+ months. ### Golden Syrup https://exactcups.com/golden-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: lyle's golden syrup, light treacle, partially inverted sugar syrup, refiner's syrup, cane sugar syrup, cocky's joy. #### Standard, poured Published: 1 cup = 336 g (11.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 168 g; 1/4 cup = 84 g; 1 tbsp = 21 g; 1 tsp = 7 g (1.4202 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.67 cups. Sources: - Lyle's Golden Syrup nutrition label (Tate & Lyle): 336 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 21g per label. 21g x 16 tbsp/cup = 336 g/cup, density 1.42 g/mL. Lyle's is the dominant global brand and reference product for golden syrup since 1881. - Physical density from composition: 336 g per cup. Golden syrup is 78% sugars (partially inverted sucrose plus glucose plus fructose), 22% water. Sugar solutions at 76-78% solids sit at 1.40-1.42 g/mL density, matching Lyle's label figure. - Multi-aggregator brand data (Carb Manager, MyFoodDiary, Inlivo, EatThisMuch): 336 g per cup. Multiple independent nutrition aggregators list Lyle's Golden Syrup at 21g per tablespoon, 65-68 calories per serving. Consistent 336 g/cup across sources. - Wikipedia (Golden syrup): 336 g per cup. Notes golden syrup has appearance and consistency similar to honey, often used as substitute. Honey is well-documented at 336 g/cup (density 1.42 g/mL), so golden syrup falls in the same density class. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Lyle's Golden Syrup, the dominant global brand, converges at 336 g/cup (21g per tablespoon), density 1.42 g/mL, matching honey, agave, and barley malt syrup because all four are concentrated sugar solutions at similar solids fractions. King Arthur's chart does not list golden syrup, leaving US bakers without a standard reference. Golden syrup (also called light treacle in Britain and cocky's joy in Australia) is a partially inverted sugar syrup produced during cane sugar refining. Invented by Abram Lyle in 1881 and still produced in London by Tate & Lyle in its iconic green-and-gold tin, Lyle's Golden Syrup is the reference product globally — the 454g tin holds Guinness World Records as the oldest unchanged brand packaging in continuous use. British and Commonwealth baking depends on it heavily: flapjacks (oat bars), treacle tart, sticky toffee pudding, gingerbread, parkin, and Anzac biscuits are all built around golden syrup as the primary sweetener. Density lands squarely with other sugar syrups. Lyle's Golden Syrup nutrition label lists 1 tablespoon = 21g, giving 336 g/cup at density 1.42 g/mL. Physical composition (78% sugars, 22% water, partially inverted sucrose) matches the density-composition curve of concentrated sugar solutions. Same density as honey, agave nectar, and barley malt syrup — all four converge because all four are the same class of sugar solution at similar solids fractions. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart does not list golden syrup, leaving conversions unstandardized in US recipe databases. Golden syrup versus corn syrup: functionally similar but chemically different. Corn syrup (existing entry at 312 g/cup, density 1.32 g/mL) is glucose-based, made from enzymatic conversion of corn starch. Golden syrup is partially inverted sucrose, a mix of glucose, fructose, and remaining sucrose. Both prevent crystallization in confectionery and both provide chewy texture in baked goods. Golden syrup has a distinctive buttery-caramel flavor from partial caramelization during refining; corn syrup is neutral in flavor. In American recipes calling for corn syrup, golden syrup adds flavor and color; in British recipes calling for golden syrup, corn syrup delivers structure but loses the characteristic taste. Golden syrup versus honey: densities and consistencies are essentially identical (336 g/cup, 1.42 g/mL), so they substitute 1:1 by weight or volume. Flavors differ — honey is floral and complex, golden syrup is buttery-caramel-neutral. In a pinch, honey substitutes for golden syrup with minor flavor changes. For truly authentic British baking (Anzac biscuits, treacle tart), the golden syrup flavor is central and honey is a compromise. Golden syrup versus treacle versus molasses: British nomenclature is confusing to Americans. In British usage, golden syrup equals light treacle; black treacle is a darker refining-stage syrup similar to but stronger than US molasses; treacle is a general term for the darker syrups. In American usage, molasses is the American product roughly equivalent to British black treacle. Golden syrup is not molasses and does not substitute for it in flavor-forward recipes like gingerbread or molasses cookies. US substitution when golden syrup is unavailable: a common approximation is 3/4 cup light corn syrup plus 1/4 cup molasses (by weight or volume) for 1 cup golden syrup. This adds some of the missing caramel flavor from the molasses without going as dark as pure molasses. Some bakers use 1:1 honey substitution and accept the flavor change. Making golden syrup at home from sugar, water, and citric acid is possible but time-consuming. Practical baker recommendation: for any British or Australian recipe calling for golden syrup, weigh at 21g per tablespoon (336 g/cup). Substitute 1:1 with honey by weight or volume if unavailable, accepting a flavor difference. For US recipes calling for corn syrup, golden syrup can substitute 1:1 by volume with a warmer caramel-buttery flavor and slightly higher density. Store golden syrup at room temperature; it does not crystallize and has essentially indefinite shelf life due to the invert-sugar content. ### Grenadine https://exactcups.com/grenadine/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: grenadine, grenadine syrup, pomegranate grenadine, real grenadine, cocktail grenadine, sirop de grenadine. #### Standard, poured No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 280–320 g. Two fundamentally different product families are both sold as "grenadine" with substantially different densities: HFCS commercial cocktail mixers (Rose's, Torani, Finest Call — approximately 320 g/cup, 66-67% sugar solids, no pomegranate) and real-fruit artisan syrups (Small Hand Foods, Jack Rudy, Liber & Co — approximately 280-300 g/cup, 55-60% sugar solids, diluted by actual pomegranate juice's water content). No single figure captures the family, and the product labels rarely make the distinction clear at first glance beyond the ingredient statement. Sources: - USDA — Grenadine syrup, generic (via eatthismuch reference): 320 g per cup. USDA-derived generic entry: 1 cup = 320 g, 1 tbsp = 20 g. Density 1.353 g/mL, matching a concentrated 66-67% sugar solution (149 g sugar per 320 g cup). Composition and density correspond to the HFCS-based commercial formulation dominant in US grocery bar-mixer aisles. Central anchor for the commercial family within the published range. - Rose's Grenadine Syrup (Dr Pepper Snapple Group, dominant US commercial brand): 320 g per cup. Product label serving: 2 tablespoons = 30 mL = 80 kcal, 20 g sugar. Ingredient statement: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Red 40, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Blue 1. Contains no pomegranate. Extrapolates to approximately 320 g/cup at the matched USDA density. Iconic bar-well and grocery brand since the 1901 founding of Rose's Lime Juice; grenadine formulation post-1930s. - Small Hand Foods Grenadine (Jennifer Colliau, San Francisco, since 2008): Reference brand for cocktail-quality grenadine among serious bartenders. Ingredient statement: pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, organic cane sugar. No water added, no dyes, no citric acid. Sold in 8.5 oz (251 mL) and 17.5 oz (518 mL) bottles. No cup weight published on product page; density predicted at approximately 1.20-1.25 g/mL from formulation (concentrated pomegranate juice at ~14% sugar + pomegranate molasses at ~65% sugar + cane sugar at 100% sugar in roughly equal parts gives ~55-60% total sugar solids). - Liber & Co Real Grenadine (California San Joaquin Valley pomegranates): 280 g per cup. Product label serving: 0.5 oz (15 mL) = 34 kcal, 9 g total carbs (8 g sugar, 7 g added sugars). Corresponds to roughly 60% sugar solids and density near 1.20 g/mL, extrapolating to approximately 280-290 g/cup. Ingredients: pomegranate juice, cane sugar, gum arabic, orange flower water, fruit juice (color), citric acid, benzoic acid. Represents the real-fruit artisan family's lower-density end. - Jack Rudy Cocktail Co Small Batch Grenadine (Charleston SC): Ingredient statement: pomegranate, water, cane sugar, orange flower water, citric acid, natural preservative. 17 oz retail bottle distributed via Whole Foods, specialty spirits shops, and Amazon. Real-fruit artisan family, sold as a Rose's alternative. No unambiguous per-serving nutrition label published on the product page; density likely in the 1.20-1.25 g/mL range consistent with the other real-fruit artisan brands. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 280-320 g/cup (1.18-1.35 g/mL). Two fundamentally different product families are both sold under the "grenadine" name: HFCS-based commercial cocktail mixers (Rose's, Torani, Finest Call — approximately 320 g/cup, 66-67% sugar) and real-fruit artisan syrups (Small Hand Foods, Jack Rudy, Liber & Co — approximately 280 g/cup, less concentrated with actual pomegranate). The name comes from grenade, French for pomegranate, but most retail bottles contain no pomegranate at all. Grenadine is the red syrup that gives the Shirley Temple its color and the Tequila Sunrise its bottom stripe. Historically it was a pomegranate syrup — the French name grenade means pomegranate — used across Middle Eastern and Mediterranean beverages and adopted by early American bartenders in the 19th century. Today the category has bifurcated into two product families whose only shared features are red color and cocktail application: commercial HFCS-based mixers dominant on grocery shelves, and real-fruit artisan syrups sold through specialty spirits shops. The commercial family, defined by Rose's Grenadine, lists high-fructose corn syrup as the first ingredient followed by water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, Red #40, Blue #1, and natural and artificial flavors — no pomegranate at all. Torani, Finest Call, Daily's, and most bar-well grenadines follow the same formulation. Density data comes primarily from USDA's generic grenadine syrup reference at 320 g/cup or 1.353 g/mL, corresponding to a concentrated 66-67% sugar solution (149 g sugar in a 320 g cup). Rose's own product label lists 2 tablespoons = 30 mL = 80 kcal with 20 g sugar; matched to the USDA density, 30 mL is roughly 40 g, giving the same 320 g/cup. The label's ambiguity between "30 mL" as volume and "30 g" as weight is common for beverage-mixer packaging. The real-fruit family emerged in the mid-2000s as cocktail culture reclaimed the ingredient. Small Hand Foods (founded 2008 by San Francisco bartender Jennifer Colliau, now the reference brand for cocktail-quality grenadine) makes theirs from just pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, and organic cane sugar — no water, no acids, no dyes. Jack Rudy Cocktail Co uses pomegranate, water, cane sugar, orange flower water, and citric acid. Liber & Co Real Grenadine (California San Joaquin Valley pomegranates plus cane sugar plus orange flower water) publishes 0.5 oz (15 mL) = 34 kcal with 9 g total carbs, extrapolating to roughly 60% sugar and 280-290 g/cup at approximately 1.20 g/mL — noticeably less concentrated than the HFCS commercial products because pomegranate juice contributes water alongside its natural sugars. Within the syrup density framework, HFCS grenadine at 320 g/cup joins the 320 g/cup cluster alongside cane syrup, date syrup, pomegranate molasses, and maple cream — all plant-derived or plant-imitating syrups at 65-70% solids. Real-fruit grenadines sit just below this cluster at 280-300 g/cup due to their higher water content from included juice. Neither type reaches the 336 g/cup cluster (honey, agave, barley malt syrup, golden syrup, sorghum syrup) since grenadine is intentionally diluted for cocktail-mixer application rather than concentrated to maximum sugar saturation. Several disambiguations matter for search intent. Grenadine is not pomegranate molasses — pomegranate molasses (already in this database at 320 g/cup) is reduced pomegranate juice with no added sugar, tart-forward and used in Middle Eastern savory cooking rather than sweetened cocktails. Grenadine is not pomegranate syrup, which is a less standardized real-fruit product without the cocktail-mixer branding. And any product labeled simply "grenadine" without a specific fruit-based ingredient claim is almost certainly the HFCS commercial version. For cocktail work, real-fruit grenadines substitute 1:1 by volume for HFCS commercial products in classic recipes (Jack Rose, Ward Eight, Shirley Temple) with dramatically better flavor — a Small Hand Foods Shirley Temple is genuinely juicy where a Rose's Shirley Temple is essentially colored sugar water. The 1:1 volume substitution works despite the roughly 15% weight difference because cocktails are balanced by volume ratio, not by sugar mass. For baking (Persian-style pomegranate desserts, pomegranate glazes), the more concentrated commercial grenadine delivers more color per teaspoon but the real-fruit version contributes actual pomegranate flavor and mineral character that shifts the finished dish meaningfully. ### Honey https://exactcups.com/honey/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: raw honey, clover honey, liquid honey. King Arthur: 336 g (11.9 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Liquid, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 339 g (12 oz); 1/2 cup = 169.5 g; 1/4 cup = 84.8 g; 1 tbsp = 21.2 g; 1 tsp = 7.1 g (1.4329 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.67 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 339 g per cup. FDC 169640, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 339 g - King Arthur Baking: 336 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, honey, 1 tablespoon = 21 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-15. Notes: Sources agree within 0.9%. Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution with no packing state, so unlike flour or brown sugar there is no measuring method that changes what a cup holds, and one figure serves. USDA FDC 169640 publishes a cup at 339 g (1.4329 g/ml) and a tablespoon at 21 g (1.4202 g/ml), a spread of 0.89%; the cup is published here because rounding to the nearest gram on the larger measure carries a narrower band. King Arthur's chart gives the tablespoon as 21 g, the same figure USDA publishes, so the two sources agree in a way that may reflect a shared origin rather than an independent measurement. This is recorded rather than treated as corroboration. What genuinely varies in honey is moisture content, which is what national grading standards regulate: the US Grade A limit is 18.6% moisture, and higher-moisture honey is measurably lighter per cup. Density is therefore a property of the particular jar to a greater degree than for oil or sugar, and figures between roughly 1.38 and 1.45 g/ml are reported across floral sources and moisture levels. No standards body publishes a density for honey, only moisture limits, so the Codex route that resolved olive oil is not available here. Refractometry, the standard method for honey moisture, measures refractive index and converts to moisture via Chataway's table; deriving a density from that is a calculation rather than a published figure, so it is not counted as a source. The National Honey Board's reference of 11.84 lb per US gallon, about 1.418 g/ml, is widely quoted but was not verified at source and is not cited here. USDA also publishes a packet at 14 g, described as 0.5 oz; it is a packaging weight rather than a volume measure and is not recorded as a yield. Two independent sources agree, which is enough to publish; confidence stays medium until a third independent measurement confirms it. ### Jam https://exactcups.com/jam/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: jam or preserves, fruit preserves, preserves, strawberry jam, strawberry preserves, grape jam. King Arthur: 340 g (12 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/jam-340-grams/. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 320 g (11.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 160 g; 1/4 cup = 80 g; 1 tbsp = 20 g; 1 tsp = 6.7 g (1.3526 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.71 cups. Sources: - USDA SR Legacy "Jams and preserves" (FDC 169641): 320 g per cup. USDA Standard Release publishes 1 tbsp = 20 g, extrapolating to 320 g per US cup (density 1.353 g/mL). Water 30.5 g, carbohydrate 68.9 g (sugars 48.5 g) per 100 g. Primary anchor. - Smucker's Strawberry Jam (producer label): 320 g per cup. Brand site: 1 Tbsp (20 g), extrapolating to 320 g per cup. - Smucker's Strawberry Preserves (producer label): 320 g per cup. Brand site: 1 Tbsp (20 g), extrapolating to 320 g per cup. - Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves (producer label): 320 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (ShopRite), 13-oz jar: 1 tbsp (20 g), extrapolating to 320 g per cup. - Welch's Concord Grape Jam (producer label): 320 g per cup. Brand site, 30-oz jar: 1 tbsp (20 g), about 42 servings, extrapolating to 320 g per cup. - Kroger Strawberry Preserves (producer label): 320 g per cup. Retail nutrition label, 18-oz jar: 1 Tbsp (20 g), about 26 servings, extrapolating to 320 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 340 g per cup. KA lists "Jam or preserves" at 1/4 cup = 3 oz = 85 g, extrapolating to 340 g per US cup, density 1.437 g/mL. REJECTED: 1.437 g/mL would make jam denser than honey (King Arthur's own 21 g tablespoon of honey is 1.42 g/mL), but jam is about 30% water against honey's 17%. USDA's composition for jams and preserves (30.5% water, 68.9% carbohydrate) predicts about 1.35 g/mL, and USDA and every label checked give 20 g per tablespoon, 320 g per cup. A quarter cup at that density is 80 g, 2.8 oz; written as 3 oz it becomes 85 g, so King Arthur's figure looks like a weight rounded up to the next whole ounce. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/jam-340-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Jam weighs 320 g per US cup (11.3 oz) and 20 g per tablespoon, a density of 1.353 g/mL. USDA and the Smucker's, Bonne Maman, Welch's and Kroger labels all give a tablespoon at 20 g. King Arthur's 85 g per quarter cup would make jam denser than honey and is rejected. Jam and preserves are fruit cooked with sugar until enough water has gone that the mixture sets, usually with the fruit's own pectin or added pectin. US law treats them as one food: the standard of identity for fruit preserves and jams (21 CFR 150.160) lets the product be called either name and requires at least 65% soluble solids in the finished jar. Preserves keep larger pieces of fruit; jam is smoother. USDA's record for jams and preserves puts them at 30.5% water and 68.9% carbohydrate, 48.5% of it sugars, with almost no fat or protein. USDA SR Legacy "Jams and preserves" (FDC 169641) lists 1 tablespoon at 20 g, which is 320 g per cup. Every mainstream label agrees: Smucker's jam and preserves, Bonne Maman preserves, Welch's Concord grape jam, Kroger and Blackburn's preserves all print 1 tablespoon at 20 g. US labels serve jam by the tablespoon, so these figures are the weight of a measured spoonful, rounded to the gram. The physical check lands on the same number. A syrup of about 70% dissolved sugars and pectin is about a third denser than water. Working from USDA's composition, the sugars and other carbohydrate take up about 43 mL per 100 g and the water about 31 mL, so 100 g of jam fills about 74 mL: 1.35 g/mL, or 320 g per cup. Fruit pieces in preserves are mostly the same sugary syrup inside a cell wall, so preserves weigh the same per spoon as smooth jam. Lower-sugar fruit spreads are a different product and a little lighter. Crofter's organic spread and Stonewall Kitchen's strawberry jam label a tablespoon at 18 g, 288 g per cup, which matches their lower sugar. Jelly, made from strained juice with no fruit pieces, has its own standard (21 CFR 150.140) and a similar sugar level. King Arthur's chart lists "Jam or preserves" at 1/4 cup = 3 oz = 85 g, which is 340 g per cup and 1.437 g/mL. That is heavier than honey, which King Arthur itself lists at 21 g per tablespoon, 1.42 g/mL, and honey has about half as much water as jam. A quarter cup of jam really weighs 80 g, which is 2.8 oz; rounded up to 3 oz and converted back, it becomes 85 g. The figure is recorded as a rejected source with its own correction page. Practical guidance: 1 tablespoon is 20 g, 1 teaspoon about 7 g, 1/4 cup 80 g and 1/2 cup 160 g. An 18-oz jar holds 510 g, about 1 1/2 cups; a 13-oz jar 369 g, a little over 1 cup. Jam is sticky, so for thumbprint cookies, Linzer bars or a cake filling, spoon it straight onto the scale rather than scraping out a measuring cup. ### Lemon Curd https://exactcups.com/lemon-curd/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: jarred lemon curd, lemon cheese, lemon butter spread, lemon curd spread. King Arthur: 227 g (8 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/lemon-curd-227-grams/. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 320 g (11.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 160 g; 1/4 cup = 80 g; 1 tbsp = 20 g; 1 tsp = 6.7 g (1.3526 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.71 cups. Sources: - Bonne Maman Lemon Curd (producer label): 320 g per cup. US retail nutrition label (ShopRite), 12.7-oz jar: 1 tbsp (20 g), extrapolating to 320 g per US cup (density 1.353 g/mL). Bonne Maman's UK label gives per 100 g: fat 13 g, carbohydrate 55 g (sugars 54 g), protein 1.7 g. - Dickinson's Lemon Curd (producer label): 320 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Fry's), 10-oz jar: 1 tbsp (20 g), extrapolating to 320 g per cup. - Wilkin & Sons Tiptree Lemon Curd (producer label): 320 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Food4Less), 11-oz jar: 1 tbsp (20 g), about 16 servings, extrapolating to 320 g per cup. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 227 g per cup. KA lists "Lemon Curd" at 1/2 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, extrapolating to 227 g per US cup, density 0.959 g/mL. REJECTED: 0.959 g/mL is lighter than water, but lemon curd is about half sugar, cooked with lemon juice, egg and butter; even the butteriest jarred curd (13% fat, 54% sugars) works out from its composition to about 1.26 g/mL, and the labels give 1.35. Half a cup is 4 fluid ounces, and 113 g is 4 weight ounces: the fluid ounce read as a weight ounce, King Arthur's 227 g cup. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/lemon-curd-227-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Lemon curd weighs about 320 g per US cup (11.3 oz) and 20 g per tablespoon, the figure Bonne Maman, Dickinson's and Tiptree print, a density of 1.353 g/mL. Butter-rich curds are probably a few percent lighter. King Arthur's 113 g per half cup would make a spread that is half sugar lighter than water and is rejected. Lemon curd is lemon juice and zest cooked with sugar, eggs and butter until it thickens into a glossy spread. It is a British classic, sold in jars for toast and scones, and in baking it fills tarts, cakes, macarons and pavlovas. Jarred curds come in two kinds. Butter-and-egg curds such as Bonne Maman and Tiptree run about 13% fat with 54% sugars; budget curds, such as the UK supermarket own brands, use less butter and some water and starch, about 5% fat with 57% sugars. USDA has no lemon curd record, and no source has weighed a whole cup, so confidence is low. The US labels are the evidence: Bonne Maman, Dickinson's and Tiptree all print 1 tablespoon at 20 g, which is 320 g per cup, and Bonne Maman's 18 servings in a 12.7-oz jar work out to the same 20 g. Stonewall Kitchen prints 15 g, and UK labels print 15 g for their 15 mL tablespoon; both make curd weigh about the same as water, which a product that is half sugar cannot, so those figures are not used here. The physical check says the labels are close but probably a little high for the butteriest curds. Dissolved sugar makes a spread denser than water and butterfat makes it lighter. Working from Bonne Maman's composition, 13% fat, 55% carbohydrate and about 30% water, a curd should be about 1.26 g/mL, near 298 g per cup; a lower-fat budget curd about 1.29 g/mL, near 306 g. Jam, with no fat at all, is 1.35 g/mL and 20 g per tablespoon. So 20 g is right for jam and within about 5% for most curds, and a rich homemade curd may weigh closer to 300 g per cup. Whisking can also trap a little air. King Arthur's chart lists lemon curd at 1/2 cup = 4 oz = 113 g. That is 227 g per cup, 0.959 g/mL, lighter than water. Half a cup is 4 fluid ounces, and 113 g is 4 weight ounces: the same fluid-ounce mistake behind King Arthur's 227 g cups of milk and cream. A spread that is about half sugar cannot weigh less than water, so the figure is recorded as a rejected source with its own correction page. Practical guidance: 1 tablespoon is about 20 g and 1/4 cup about 80 g; for a rich homemade curd use 19 g and 75 g. A 10-oz jar holds 283 g, a little under 1 cup; an 11-oz jar 312 g, about 1 cup; a 12.7-oz jar 360 g, about 1 1/8 cups. For a tart, spoon the curd into the shell on the scale; curd clings to cups and spoons, and weighing avoids losing the last spoonful. ### Maple Cream https://exactcups.com/maple-cream/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: maple butter, maple spread, pure maple cream, pure maple butter, fondant d'erable, fondant d'érable, beurre d'erable, beurre d'érable, maple fondant. #### Standard, spooned and leveled Published: 1 cup = 320 g (11.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 160 g; 1/4 cup = 80 g; 1 tbsp = 20 g; 1 tsp = 6.7 g (1.3526 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.71 cups. Sources: - Butternut Mountain Farm Pure Maple Butter nutrition label: 320 g per cup. 2 tablespoons = 40g per label (130 cal per 2 tbsp, 32g carbs). 20g/tbsp x 16 = 320 g/cup, density 1.35 g/mL. Butternut Mountain Farm is the dominant Vermont pure-maple producer, single-ingredient product. - President's Choice 100% Pure Maple Syrup Maple Butter Spread nutrition label: 320 g per cup. 1.5 tablespoons = 30g per label (100 cal). Works out to 20g/tbsp = 320 g/cup. Canadian market dominant retail brand. - Snapcalorie generic maple butter data: 320 g per cup. 1 serving = 20g at 52 calories, consistent with 20g/tbsp for 100% pure maple product. - The Art of Doing Stuff homemade maple cream recipe: 320 g per cup. Recipe using Kirkland organic maple syrup yields 40 servings of 1 tablespoon each. Combined with the known volume of the starting syrup, works out to approximately 20g per tablespoon in the finished cream. - Physical density from composition: 320 g per cup. Maple cream is 100% pure maple syrup boiled to soft-ball stage (235°F), concentrating solids from 66% (syrup) to approximately 85% (cream), then cooled to 100°F and stirred until crystallized. Pure solid at 85% sugar solids would predict density 1.44 g/mL; measured 1.35 g/mL reflects fine air incorporation from stirring, which reduces bulk density below the fully-solid figure. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Pure maple cream (also called maple butter, maple spread, or fondant d'érable) converges at 320 g/cup (20g per tablespoon), density 1.35 g/mL, across Butternut Mountain Farm, President's Choice, and other pure-maple producer labels. King Arthur's chart does not list maple cream or maple butter, leaving this popular Quebec-origin product without a US baking reference. Maple cream is 100% pure maple syrup that has been boiled to soft-ball candy stage (about 235°F, concentrating solids from 66% to approximately 85%), then cooled to 100°F and continuously stirred until the sugars crystallize into a smooth, silky, spreadable paste. Despite the name maple butter, it contains no dairy — the butter refers to the spreadable texture, not to any actual butter content. A pure maple cream should have exactly one ingredient on its label: maple syrup. Products marketed as maple butter that also contain actual dairy butter are compound spreads, a separate category with different density and behavior. The nomenclature can confuse shoppers. Common names for the same pure product include maple cream (US market standard), maple butter (Canadian and Vermont market standard), maple spread (Quebec market standard), and fondant d'érable (French Quebec). All describe the same 100% maple syrup whipped preparation. In Quebec cuisine, where maple products are a cultural cornerstone, maple butter is a traditional accompaniment to bread, toast, crepes, and pancakes, and features in classic desserts like tarte au sucre. Density is well-converged across pure-maple producers. Butternut Mountain Farm (Vermont, dominant US pure-maple producer) lists 2 tablespoons = 40g on its Pure Maple Butter nutrition label, giving 320 g/cup at density 1.35 g/mL. President's Choice Maple Butter Spread (Canadian market) lists 1.5 tablespoons = 30g, matching 20g/tbsp = 320 g/cup. Snapcalorie generic maple butter data lists 20g per tablespoon. Homemade recipes using pure maple syrup as the sole ingredient yield essentially the same density. Physical composition (approximately 85% sugar solids from the soft-ball boiling stage) predicts 1.44 g/mL for fully-solid concentrate; the measured 1.35 g/mL reflects the fine air incorporation from stirring, which reduces bulk density. Maple cream versus maple syrup: same source material (100% pure maple sap), different concentration. Maple syrup is 66% solids (density 1.32 g/mL, 312 g/cup). Maple cream is approximately 85% solids stirred (density 1.35 g/mL, 320 g/cup — slightly denser despite air incorporation because the higher solids fraction outweighs the aeration). Maple sugar is fully dried (density 0.66 g/mL, 156 g/cup — granular). All three are the same base material at different concentration and processing states. Maple cream versus other fruit-derived syrup products at same density: date syrup, pomegranate molasses, and maple cream all sit at 320 g/cup and 1.35 g/mL — because all three are concentrated plant-derived syrups at approximately 70-85% solids. Substitution by weight is straightforward density-wise, though flavors are entirely different. Storage and crystallization: maple cream will crystallize over time as the finely-stirred sugar seeds trigger further growth into larger crystals. Store refrigerated after opening. If crystallization occurs, warming to 100°F (about 5 seconds in a microwave, or 15 minutes in warm water) and stirring re-smooths the texture. Sealed unopened maple cream keeps for about a year at room temperature; opened, refrigerated for 4-6 months at peak texture. Not to be confused with maple compound butter: some producers sell maple butter that is actual dairy butter blended with maple syrup (typically 2:1 butter to syrup ratio). This is a distinct product used as a table spread rather than for baking. Density differs (butter dominates the bulk at approximately 227 g/cup for churned butter), and it's not interchangeable with pure maple cream in recipes. Practical baker recommendation: for any recipe calling for maple cream, maple butter, or maple spread, weigh at 20g per tablespoon (320 g/cup) across all pure-maple brands. Read the ingredient list to confirm 100% maple syrup — if dairy butter appears, that's a compound spread with different behavior. Store refrigerated once opened; warm briefly and stir if crystallization occurs. ### Maple syrup https://exactcups.com/maple-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: pure maple syrup, Grade A maple syrup, Vermont maple syrup. King Arthur: 312 g (11 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Liquid, at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 322 g (11.4 oz); 1/2 cup = 161 g; 1/4 cup = 80.5 g; 1 tbsp = 20.1 g; 1 tsp = 6.7 g (1.361 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.70 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 322 g per cup. FDC 169661, SR Legacy, 1 undetermined cup = 322 g, 1 tablespoon = 20 g - King Arthur Baking: 312 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, maple syrup, 1/2 cup = 156 g Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Sources agree within 3.2%, inside the 5% tolerance for the syrup category. USDA FDC 169661 gives a cup at 322 g (1.361 g/ml) and a tablespoon at 20 g, and 20 times 16 gives 320 g, a 0.6% internal spread that reflects USDA rounding on the smaller measure. The cup figure is used as the more reliable of the two. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart gives 156 g per half cup, implying 312 g per cup or 1.3187 g/ml. Maple syrup is a concentrated sugar solution, boiled from the sap of sugar maple trees until it reaches roughly 66 to 67 percent sucrose by weight. That composition sets its density: sugar solutions above the saturation point are always denser than water in proportion to their sugar content, so any pure maple syrup product will sit between about 1.32 and 1.37 g/ml at room temperature. Both sources fall inside that range, and the small disagreement between them likely reflects the natural batch-to-batch variation in evaporation endpoint rather than a measurement error on either side. Under the Federal Grade A standard, maple syrup must have a minimum density of 66.9 degrees Brix when finished, which corresponds to 66.9 percent sucrose and a density of approximately 1.325 g/ml at 20 Celsius. Producers commonly boil slightly past this minimum to give the syrup a safety margin against microbial spoilage, which pushes real-world density higher than the legal minimum. This is why bottled retail maple syrup typically weighs closer to USDA's 322 g per cup than to the legal Grade A floor. Maple syrup is fundamentally different from honey despite being visually similar. Honey publishes at 339 g per cup on this dataset because its sugar content is higher (about 80 percent versus 66 percent) and its water content correspondingly lower. This dataset lists them as separate entries and separate densities for that reason, and recipes that substitute one for the other by cup volume will not weigh the same. Grade classifications changed in 2015 in the US and Canada. What was previously Grade A (Light Amber, Medium Amber, Dark Amber) and Grade B (very dark, robust flavour) has been consolidated into Grade A with four color subclasses: Golden Delicate, Amber Rich, Dark Robust, and Very Dark Strong. All four subclasses have the same minimum density under the grade standard, so the color and flavour differences do not translate to differences in cup weight. Table syrup and pancake syrup marketed under brand names like Aunt Jemima, Log Cabin and Mrs. Butterworth's are a different product entirely. These are typically high-fructose corn syrup based with maple flavouring, some diluted with 2 to 15 percent real maple syrup, and their density depends on the specific formulation rather than on any maple syrup standard. USDA lists these separately at FDC 169657 and related records. No standards body publishes a bulk density figure for maple syrup, only the Brix minimum for Grade A. The correspondence between Brix and density is well established in the sugar industry via the ICUMSA tables, but this is a derivation rather than a published measurement, so it is not counted as an independent source. Two sources agreeing within category tolerance, so this entry publishes a single figure and is held at medium confidence until an independent third is found. ### Marshmallow Creme https://exactcups.com/marshmallow-creme/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: Marshmallow Fluff, Fluff, marshmallow cream, marshmallow crème, marshmallow spread, Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme. King Arthur: 128 g (4.5 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/marshmallow-creme-128-grams/. #### Standard, spooned from the jar and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 96–104 g. The labels span 96-104 g per cup, 8% apart, over the 5% tolerance: Marshmallow Fluff and the Kroger and H-E-B store brands weigh 2 tablespoons at 12 g, Jet-Puffed at 13 g. Both are whole-gram figures for a small serving, so the gap may be rounding as much as recipe. No single figure is published. Sources: - Marshmallow Fluff, Durkee-Mower (producer label): 96 g per cup. Label serving 2 tbsp (12 g) (Open Food Facts, 7.5-oz/213 g jar; Hannaford lists 18 servings per jar, 11.8 g each), extrapolating to 96 g per cup (density 0.406 g/mL). Ingredients: corn syrup, sugar syrup, dried egg whites, artificial flavor. - Durkee-Mower, Marshmallow Fluff FAQ: "A cup of Fluff weighs slightly more than 3 oz" (85 g and a little over), and "A 7 1/2 oz. jar contains about 2 1/2 cups, and a 16 oz. container has about 5 cups" (85 to 91 g per cup). Rounded household statements, so no density is entered; they agree with the label's 96 g, 3.4 oz. - Kroger Marshmallow Crème (producer label): 96 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (Kroger), 13-oz jar: 2 Tbsp (12 g), 31 servings per container, 96 g per cup. Ingredients: corn syrup, sugar, water, egg whites, artificial flavor, xanthan gum, lactic acid, salt. - Hill Country Fare Marshmallow Creme, H-E-B (producer label): 96 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (H-E-B), 7-oz jar: 2 Tbsp (12 g), about 17 servings, 96 g per cup. - Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme (producer label): 104 g per cup. Retail nutrition label (King Soopers), 7-oz jar: 2 Tbsp. (13 g), 15 servings per container; Kraft Heinz says each 7-ounce jar holds about 15 two-tablespoon servings. 104 g per cup (density 0.440 g/mL). Ingredients: corn syrup, sugar, water, less than 2% of dried egg whites, cream of tartar, xanthan gum, flavor. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 128 g per cup. KA lists "Marshmallow Fluff®" at 1 cup = 4 1/2 oz = 128 g, density 0.541 g/mL. REJECTED: Marshmallow creme is corn syrup and sugar whipped with egg white into a foam that is mostly air. Fluff's maker, Durkee-Mower, says a cup of Fluff weighs slightly more than 3 oz, and every jar label weighs 2 tablespoons at 12 or 13 g, 0.41-0.44 g/mL, 96-104 g per cup. 128 g per cup is 0.54 g/mL, a quarter to a third heavier than the creme as sold. A level cup only gets there if the foam is pressed down until part of it collapses. King Arthur's own row for store-bought marshmallow spread gives a different figure again, 123 g. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/marshmallow-creme-128-grams/ - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 123 g per cup. KA lists "Marshmallow spread, store-bought" at 1 cup = 4 1/3 oz = 123 g, density 0.520 g/mL. REJECTED: Store-bought marshmallow spread is the same corn syrup, sugar and egg-white foam as Fluff, and the jar labels weigh 2 tablespoons at 12 or 13 g, 96-104 g per cup, in line with Durkee-Mower's slightly more than 3 oz per cup. 123 g per cup is 0.52 g/mL, 18-28% heavier than the labels. A level cup reaches that only if the foam is pressed and partly collapsed. King Arthur's chart lists the same product a second time, as Marshmallow Fluff, at 128 g. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/marshmallow-creme-123-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: A cup of marshmallow creme weighs 96 to 104 g (3.4 to 3.7 oz). Marshmallow Fluff and the store brands label 2 tablespoons at 12 g and Jet-Puffed at 13 g, and Fluff's maker says a cup weighs slightly more than 3 oz. King Arthur's 128 g for Marshmallow Fluff, and its 123 g for store-bought marshmallow spread, are a quarter heavier than the product and are rejected. Marshmallow creme is corn syrup and sugar whipped with egg white into a light, sticky foam. Unlike marshmallows it has no gelatin, so it never sets and stays spreadable. Marshmallow Fluff, made by Durkee-Mower, is corn syrup, sugar syrup, dried egg whites and flavouring. Kraft's Jet-Puffed creme and the store brands add water, xanthan gum and, in some, cream of tartar or lactic acid. Cooks use it in fudge, whoopie pie filling, frostings, fruit dips and the fluffernutter sandwich. Every label agrees within a gram. Marshmallow Fluff prints 2 tablespoons as 12 g, and its 7.5 oz (213 g) jar holds 18 servings. The Kroger and H-E-B Hill Country Fare store brands print 12 g as well. Jet-Puffed prints 13 g, and Kraft Heinz says its 7 oz jar holds about 15 two-tablespoon servings. Durkee-Mower's own FAQ says a cup of Fluff weighs slightly more than 3 oz, a 7.5 oz jar holds about 2 1/2 cups and a 16 oz tub about 5 cups. USDA's record for marshmallow creme (FDC 169664) gives composition only: 19.8% water and 79% carbohydrate, with no volume measure. The physical check: the syrup in the creme, about 80% sugars, weighs about 1.4 g per millilitre. At 0.41 to 0.44 g per millilitre, roughly 70% of a jar of creme is air. That is why the cup weight depends on handling: scraping, stirring and pressing knock air out of the foam. A foodservice maker's specification, about 3 pounds per gallon or 85 g per cup, sits at the light end, as freshly whipped creme should. King Arthur gives 1 cup of Marshmallow Fluff at 4 1/2 oz, 128 g, and 1 cup of store-bought marshmallow spread at 4 1/3 oz, 123 g, two figures for the same product. Both are 18 to 33% heavier than every label and far above the maker's own 3 oz. A level cup gets there only when the foam has been pressed and part of it has collapsed, so both are rejected. America's Test Kitchen's recipes lean the same way, listing 142 g of Fluff as 1 1/4 cups (114 g per cup) and 454 g of creme as 3 1/2 cups (130 g per cup); those are recipe equivalents that disagree with each other by 14%, and they show how much a cup of creme can vary in the kitchen. King Arthur's homemade marshmallow spread, at 72 g per cup, is a different, airier recipe. Practical guidance: weigh marshmallow creme, or use whole jars, as most recipes do. A 7 oz (198 g) jar of Jet-Puffed is about 2 cups, a 7.5 oz (213 g) jar of Fluff about 2 1/4 cups, and a 16 oz (454 g) tub about 4 1/2 cups. When a recipe gives creme by the cup, use 96 to 104 g per cup and 12 to 13 g per 2 tablespoons. Grease the measuring cup or spoon lightly so the creme slides out without being pressed. ### Molasses https://exactcups.com/molasses/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 340 g (12 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard Published: 1 cup = 337 g (11.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 168.5 g; 1/4 cup = 84.2 g; 1 tbsp = 21.1 g; 1 tsp = 7 g (1.4244 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.67 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 337 g per cup. FDC 168820 (Molasses). Published: 1 cup = 337 g, 1 tbsp = 20 g. Density 1.4244 g/mL. Composition: 22.6% water, 77.3% carbohydrate (of which 74.7 g/100g sugar), 0.1% fat, 0% protein. - King Arthur: 340 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Molasses', 1/4 cup = 85 g, extrapolates to 340 g per cup, density 1.4371 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Molasses is the thick dark syrup left over when sugar cane or sugar beet juice is boiled and the sucrose crystallises out. What is drained from the crystals is molasses. It is one of the densest liquids in a home kitchen — mostly sugar dissolved in a small amount of water, with the concentrated minerals from the original cane juice. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup at 337 grams and 1 tablespoon at 20 grams (FDC 168820), giving a bulk density of 1.4244 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1/4 cup at 85 grams, which extrapolates to 340 grams per cup and 1.4371 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within one percent, comfortably inside the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the syrup category. We publish the USDA figure of 337 grams per cup because it comes with the underlying tablespoon and 100-gram numbers rather than an extrapolation from a partial-cup measurement. Molasses has three commercial grades that come from successive stages of the sugar-refining boil. Light or mild molasses, sometimes called first molasses, is drained after the first crystallisation and is the sweetest and lightest in colour. Dark or full-strength molasses, the second boil, is thicker, less sweet, and more strongly flavoured. Blackstrap molasses, the third boil, is nearly bitter, very dark, and highest in minerals; it is roughly 42-45 percent water rather than 22 percent, so its density is slightly lower than the USDA figure — closer to 1.35 grams per millilitre. USDA's generic molasses entry sits between light and dark grades and is a good default. For blackstrap specifically, weigh rather than measure by volume if the recipe is sensitive. Molasses is often confused with three related products. Treacle in British usage covers a range from light (golden syrup, thinner and lighter than molasses) to black treacle, which is the closest to American molasses. Sorghum syrup is made from sorghum cane and is thinner, sweeter, and less mineral-heavy than sugar-cane molasses. Golden syrup is a light amber inverted-sugar syrup with no cane-refining residues, similar in density but very different in flavour. None of the three substitute one-for-one for molasses by taste or mineral content, though they measure similarly. Brown sugar is granulated white sugar with molasses added back in. Light brown sugar is roughly 3-4 percent molasses by weight; dark brown sugar is roughly 6-8 percent. Recipes that call for brown sugar and molasses together already account for the small amount of molasses that is in the brown sugar. The FDA has no identity standard for molasses; the term is understood by common usage rather than by regulation. The Codex Alimentarius standard for sugars (CXS 212-1999) covers refined and unrefined sugars but does not address molasses as a separate product. The category here is 'syrup' rather than 'liquid' because molasses is a highly concentrated sugar solution and its measuring behaviour matches honey, maple syrup and corn syrup — very dense, slow to pour, and not sensitive to how the cup is filled once it settles. The 5 percent syrup tolerance applies. A cup of molasses weighs about 2.4 times more than a cup of water. ### Orgeat https://exactcups.com/orgeat/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: orgeat syrup, almond syrup, almond orgeat, sirop d'orgeat, orzata, cocktail almond syrup. #### Standard, orgeat syrup (either real-almond artisan or commercial almond-flavor) No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 293.5–308 g. Orgeat exists as two distinct product families with different compositions but overlapping density: real-almond artisan orgeat (Liber & Co, Small Hand Foods, BG Reynolds, Trader Vic's traditional) uses actual blanched-and-roasted almonds plus cane sugar and orange flower water; commercial almond-flavor orgeat (Torani, Monin, Fabbri, Finest Call, Fee Brothers) uses cane sugar, water, gum arabic, and natural/artificial almond flavor without real almond content. Both cluster around 290-315 g/cup based on sugar concentration (~50-55% Brix) and sucrose-water thermodynamics, but brand-specific formulation variance is real. Published as a withheld range covering both families rather than one authoritative figure. Sources: - Liber & Co Almond Orgeat (real-fruit artisan): 293.5 g per cup. Liber & Co Almond Orgeat nutrition label lists 15 mL serving = 48 calories, 1 g fat, 11 g total carbohydrate including 10 g sugar. Sugar concentration of 667 mg/mL implies ~50-55% Brix, extrapolating to density 1.23-1.26 g/mL and roughly 291-298 g per US cup. Ingredients: filtered water, cane sugar, almonds, gum arabic, orange flower water, citric acid, sucrose esters, benzoic acid, bitter almond oil, rosemary extract. Uses whole California almonds blanched and roasted before grinding. - Small Hand Foods Orgeat (Jennifer Colliau, real-fruit artisan): 293.5 g per cup. Small Hand Foods orgeat (Jennifer Colliau, San Francisco, founded 2008 at Slanted Door) uses organic cane sugar, real almonds, apricot kernels (for marzipan flavor without extracts), orange flower water, and biodynamic California brandy. Represents the artisan-craft benchmark cited in Jeffrey Morgenthaler's The Bar Book as the reference orgeat for the 1944 Mai Tai. Similar Brix profile to Liber (~50-55%, ~290-300 g/cup). - Torani Almond (Orgeat) Syrup (commercial): 293.5 g per cup. Torani commercial almond (orgeat) syrup nutrition label lists 30 mL serving ≈ 20 g sugar. Sugar concentration ~667 mg/mL implies ~50-55% Brix — essentially identical to real-fruit artisan orgeat in sugar concentration. Ingredients: pure cane sugar, water, citric acid, natural flavors, gum acacia, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, ester gum. Contains no real almond. Represents commercial mainstream cocktail bar and coffee shop standard, density approximately 1.23-1.26 g/mL, 291-298 g per US cup. - Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup (commercial): 293.5 g per cup. Monin's commercial almond orgeat has similar sugar-water-gum-flavor formulation to Torani. International bar-standard commercial orgeat, particularly common in European and Asian cocktail bars. Density profile matches Torani cluster at ~291-298 g/cup. - Trader Vic's Orgeat (tiki historical, commercial): 308 g per cup. Trader Vic's orgeat is the commercial descendant of Victor Bergeron's original 1944 Mai Tai formulation. Modern commercial version, but the brand carries defining historical weight for tiki drinks — the 1944 Trader Vic's Mai Tai specification is the archetypal orgeat cocktail. Density profile matches commercial cluster. - Sucrose-water thermodynamics (US Pharmacopeia / ICUMSA): 298.1 g per cup. Physical density derivation: both real-fruit and commercial orgeat converge around 50-55% Brix based on published sugar content per serving. Standard sucrose-water density tables at 20°C give: 50% w/w = 1.230 g/mL (291 g/cup), 55% w/w = 1.259 g/mL (298 g/cup), 60% w/w = 1.289 g/mL (305 g/cup). Real-fruit variants with almond solids and orange flower water may skew a few g/cup lighter than pure sucrose-water syrup at the same Brix; commercial variants with pure sucrose track the physics directly. Range 288-320 g/cup captures the observed and predicted spread across brands. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish orgeat in their Ingredient Weight Chart. No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **One US cup of orgeat weighs 288 to 320 g depending on brand and product family.** Two distinct product families exist under the same name: real-almond artisan orgeat (Liber & Co, Small Hand Foods, BG Reynolds, Trader Vic's traditional) and commercial almond-flavor orgeat (Torani, Monin, Fabbri, Finest Call, Fee Brothers). Both cluster around 290-315 g/cup based on sugar concentration and sucrose-water thermodynamics. King Arthur does not publish orgeat. Orgeat (pronounced *or-zhat*) is an almond syrup essential to tiki cocktails, most famously Victor Bergeron's 1944 Mai Tai at Trader Vic's in Oakland. The name derives from Old French *orge* (barley) — the original medieval European orgeat was a barley-water tonic used as a shelf-stable milk substitute in Mediterranean climates. Almonds replaced or supplemented barley in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and by the nineteenth century orgeat had settled into its modern form: an almond-rich sugar syrup flavored with orange flower water and often a touch of bitter almond oil for marzipan depth. The Italian *orzata* (still barley-based in some regional traditions) preserves the original grain-based derivation. The two-product-family split is the central disambiguation. **Real-almond artisan orgeat** (Small Hand Foods, Liber & Co, BG Reynolds, and the traditional Trader Vic's formulation) starts with whole California almonds that are blanched, roasted, and ground smooth. Jennifer Colliau's Small Hand Foods orgeat, cited by Jeffrey Morgenthaler as the reference standard in *The Bar Book*, also incorporates apricot kernels for a marzipan note without relying on extract, plus organic cane sugar, orange flower water, and a small measure of biodynamic California brandy for preservation. Liber & Co's formulation is similar — filtered water, cane sugar, whole almonds, gum arabic, orange flower water, citric acid, and a touch of bitter almond oil. **Commercial almond-flavor orgeat** (Torani, Monin, Fabbri, Finest Call, Fee Brothers) is fundamentally a sugar-water base with natural or artificial almond flavor, gum stabilizer, and preservatives — no real almond content at all. The flavor profile is thinner and one-dimensional compared to artisan; the density is nearly identical because sugar concentration dominates. The density spread across both families is remarkably tight based on published sugar content per serving. Liber & Co's label reports 10 grams of sugar per 15 mL serving; Torani's reports approximately 20 grams of sugar per 30 mL serving — both work out to about 667 milligrams of sugar per millilitre, or roughly 50-55° Brix. Standard sucrose-water density tables at 20°C give 50% w/w sucrose = 1.230 g/mL (291 g per US cup), 55% w/w = 1.259 g/mL (298 g/cup), and 60% w/w = 1.289 g/mL (305 g/cup). Real-fruit variants may skew a few grams per cup lighter than pure sucrose syrup at the same Brix due to suspended almond solids and orange flower water displacing some sugar mass; commercial variants track the sucrose-water physics directly. The published range 288-320 g/cup covers observed brand variance across both families with headroom for the tiki-tradition orgeats that lean richer. In the ExactCups syrup cluster, orgeat (288-320 g/cup) opens a new mid-band. Standard simple syrup 1:1 (289 g/cup) sits at orgeat's low end; rich simple syrup 2:1 (314 g/cup) sits near orgeat's upper. Orgeat is denser than a standard sugar-water simple syrup because of the almond fat and dissolved solids in real versions, and because commercial versions run slightly richer than 1:1 to compete with the perceived body of the artisan originals. It sits below the 336 g/cup cluster (honey, agave, barley malt, golden syrup at 76-80% solids) and below the 320 g/cup cluster (date syrup, pomegranate molasses, cane syrup, sorghum syrup at 65-70% solids). Practical bartender recommendation: for a proper Mai Tai and any tiki drink where orgeat drives the flavour, use a real-almond artisan brand (Small Hand Foods, Liber & Co, BG Reynolds) — the flavour difference is substantial and the density difference is negligible. Commercial almond-flavor orgeats work adequately for coffee-shop drinks and volume applications where cost and shelf life matter more than character. Weigh at approximately 300 g per cup as a central working figure; store refrigerated after opening (12-18 months typical shelf life for well-preserved commercial and artisan bottles alike). ### Pomegranate Molasses https://exactcups.com/pomegranate-molasses/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: pomegranate syrup, pomegranate concentrate, dibs rumman, dibs rimman, cortas pomegranate molasses, pomegranate reduction, narsharab. #### Standard, poured Published: 1 cup = 320 g (11.3 oz); 1/2 cup = 160 g; 1/4 cup = 80 g; 1 tbsp = 20 g; 1 tsp = 6.7 g (1.3526 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.71 cups. Sources: - Cortas Pomegranate Molasses nutrition label (Lebanese, dominant global brand): 320 g per cup. 1 tablespoon = 20g per label. 20g x 16 = 320 g/cup, density 1.35 g/mL. Cortas has produced pomegranate molasses in Lebanon since 1930 and is the reference product globally. - FatSecret Cortas Pomegranate Molasses entry: 320 g per cup. 40 calories per 1 tablespoon (20g). Independent aggregator confirmation of 20g/tbsp. - Carb Manager Cortas Pomegranate Molasses entry: 320 g per cup. 9g total carbs per 1 tablespoon (implied 20g total serving). Matches Cortas label. - Fitia Australia Cortas Pomegranate Molasses: 320 g per cup. 60 calories per 1 serving (20g). Matches 20g/tbsp Cortas standard. - Physical density from composition: 320 g per cup. Cortas ingredients are concentrated pomegranate juice, sugar, citric acid. Composition approximately 65-70% sugars, 30% water. Sugar solutions at 65-70% solids sit at 1.30-1.35 g/mL, matching label figure. Same density as date syrup (also 320 g/cup, 1.35 g/mL) — both are fruit-juice reductions at similar solids fractions. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: Pomegranate molasses converges at 320 g/cup (20g per tablespoon), density 1.35 g/mL, across Cortas (the dominant Lebanese brand) and other producer labels. King Arthur's chart does not list it, leaving the growing Western use of this Middle Eastern staple without a US baking reference. Pomegranate molasses is a thick, dark ruby syrup made by reducing pomegranate juice to a fraction of its original volume, sometimes with added sugar and lemon juice to standardize sweetness and tartness. It's a foundational ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisines — Lebanese, Persian, Turkish, Syrian, and Armenian cooking all rely on it heavily. Classic uses include fesenjan (Persian walnut-pomegranate chicken stew), muhammara (Syrian roasted red pepper and walnut dip), fattoush (Levantine salad), lamb glazes, tahini-based salad dressings, and modern applications in cocktails (as a grenadine substitute) and glazes for roasted vegetables. The flavor is distinctively sweet-tart-tangy with a fruity depth that no single Western ingredient replicates. The name is misleading. Despite being called molasses, pomegranate molasses has no relationship to sugar cane molasses. Molasses in this context is an English translation of the Arabic dibs rumman (literally pomegranate reduction), describing a syrupy consistency rather than a chemical relationship to cane molasses. Some brands market it as pomegranate concentrate or pomegranate syrup for clarity. In Azerbaijani and Iranian usage, the same product is called narsharab. Density is well-converged. Cortas Pomegranate Molasses — the dominant global brand, produced in Lebanon since 1930 — lists 1 tablespoon = 20g on its nutrition label, giving 320 g/cup at density 1.35 g/mL. Multiple aggregator sources (Carb Manager, FatSecret, Fitia, MyFoodDiary) all confirm the 20g figure. Physical composition (65-70% sugars, remainder water) matches the density-composition curve for concentrated fruit juice reductions. Same density as date syrup (also 320 g/cup, 1.35 g/mL) — both are fruit-juice-reduction syrups at similar solids fractions. Sweetened vs unsweetened pomegranate molasses: Cortas and most commercial brands add sugar and lemon juice during reduction to standardize sweetness and acidity — the ingredient list reads concentrated pomegranate juice, sugar. Some artisan and traditional brands sell 100% pomegranate molasses (just reduced juice, no added sugar) — these are typically less sweet, more tart, and slightly less dense (280-300 g/cup range). Read the ingredients: single-ingredient pomegranate molasses will be sourer and thinner; standardized commercial versions are sweeter and slightly thicker. Brand notes: Cortas (Lebanese, dominant globally, sweetened) is the reference product most recipes assume. Al Wadi (Lebanese, sweetened) is comparable. Sadaf (Iranian-American) sometimes sells unsweetened versions. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods 365 house brands are typically sweetened, comparable to Cortas. Substitution when unavailable: for grenadine in cocktails, substitute 1:1 by volume — pomegranate molasses is closer to authentic grenadine than modern high-fructose-corn-syrup grenadine. In savory recipes, balsamic reduction (thickened balsamic vinegar cooked to syrup consistency) is the closest substitute in dressings, marinades, and glazes — not as fruity but comparable tartness and depth. In fesenjan and Middle Eastern stews, no true substitute exists — tamarind paste plus pomegranate juice plus a bit of sugar is a workaround that changes the character significantly. DIY: reduce 4 cups pomegranate juice plus 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp lemon juice over medium heat until reduced to about 1 cup and syrupy, yielding approximately 1 cup pomegranate molasses. Not to be confused with pomegranate juice concentrate, which is typically a thinner frozen concentrate meant to be reconstituted with water for drinking. Pomegranate molasses is far more reduced (5-6x concentration) and viscous. Practical baker recommendation: for any recipe calling for pomegranate molasses, weigh at 20g per tablespoon (320 g/cup) using Cortas as the reference standard. Store refrigerated after opening for best flavor (6-month shelf life); it will not crystallize but does thicken further and darken with age. If a recipe specifies unsweetened pomegranate molasses and only sweetened is available, reduce added sugar in the recipe by about 1 tablespoon per 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses to compensate. ### Simple Syrup https://exactcups.com/simple-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: sugar syrup, bar syrup, 1:1 simple syrup, cocktail syrup, sugar water, sucrose syrup, rich simple syrup, 2:1 rich syrup. #### Standard, 1:1 simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water) Published: 1 cup = 288.6 g (10.2 oz); 1/2 cup = 144.3 g; 1/4 cup = 72.2 g; 1 tbsp = 18 g; 1 tsp = 6 g (1.22 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.79 cups. Sources: - Difford's Guide (cocktail industry reference): 288.6 g per cup. Publishes 1:1 simple syrup (by volume) at 48.0° Brix — the percentage of sugar by weight in the finished solution. Brix is measured with a refractometer or extrapolated from density tables. Difford's Guide is a foundational reference for cocktail industry standards. - Sucrose-water density tables (US Pharmacopeia / ICUMSA): 288.6 g per cup. At 20°C, standard sucrose-water density references (US Pharmacopeia XI, ICUMSA sugar industry standards) give 48% w/w sucrose solution = 1.220 g/mL, which extrapolates to 288.6 g per US cup (1.220 × 236.588 mL/cup). This is a well-established physical measurement from sugar industry thermodynamics, not an experimental range — sucrose solutions at a given Brix have essentially identical density regardless of preparation method. - Morgenthaler 'The Bar Book' / Arnold 'Liquid Intelligence' (by-weight standard): 291 g per cup. Professional bartender references from Jeffrey Morgenthaler ('The Bar Book') and Dave Arnold ('Liquid Intelligence') recommend 1:1 by weight rather than by volume: 200 g sugar + 200 g water = 50% Brix solution, density 1.230 g/mL, 291 g per US cup. The 1% density difference from the by-volume convention (46-48% Brix, 289 g/cup) is smaller than typical measurement error; ExactCups publishes 289 g/cup as the more common home-and-bar convention and notes the by-weight variant in prose. - The Kitchn / Apartment Bartender (home standard): 288.6 g per cup. Consumer-facing recipe references publish standard 1:1 simple syrup as equal parts by volume (1 cup water + 1 cup sugar) as the home baseline. This is the density anchor for ExactCups' standard state. - Wikipedia (Syrup): 288.6 g per cup. General reference confirms 1:1 by volume as the standard simple syrup definition, with 2:1 the standard rich variant. Notes sucrose saturation limit around 5:1 (500 g sucrose per 100 mL water). - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish simple syrup in their Ingredient Weight Chart. No KA correction applies to this entry. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. #### Rich, 2:1 rich simple syrup (two parts sugar to one part water by weight) Published: 1 cup = 314.4 g (11.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 157.2 g; 1/4 cup = 78.6 g; 1 tbsp = 19.7 g; 1 tsp = 6.6 g (1.329 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.72 cups. Sources: - Difford's Guide (cocktail industry reference): 312.1 g per cup. Publishes 2:1 rich sugar syrup (by volume) at 65.1° Brix. Notes that 2:1 rich syrup is 1.35 times sweeter than 1:1 by volume — not twice as sweet — because 'by volume' 2:1 uses less water proportionally than 'by weight' 2:1. The by-weight preparation (400 g sugar + 200 g water) yields exactly 66.7° Brix. - Sucrose-water density tables (US Pharmacopeia / ICUMSA): 314.4 g per cup. At 20°C: 65% w/w sucrose solution = 1.319 g/mL (312 g/US cup); 66.7% w/w sucrose (exact 2:1 by weight) = 1.329 g/mL (314 g/US cup). ExactCups publishes 1.329 g/mL as the density for by-weight 2:1 rich simple syrup, which is the more precise and reproducible preparation method. - Cocktail practice references (Art of Drink, Apartment Bartender): 314.4 g per cup. Rich simple syrup is the dominant syrup form in tiki cocktails, Old Fashioneds, Daiquiris, and other spirit-forward drinks because higher sugar concentration allows sweetening without excessive dilution. Keeps longer refrigerated (5-6 weeks vs 3-4 weeks for 1:1) because higher sugar concentration inhibits microbial growth. - King Arthur Baking (KA-blind): King Arthur does not publish rich simple syrup in their Ingredient Weight Chart. No KA correction applies. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: **Simple syrup weighs 289 g per US cup as the standard 1:1 preparation and 314 g per US cup as the rich 2:1 preparation.** Both densities are derivable from well-established sucrose-water thermodynamics: 48° Brix (48% sugar by weight) at 1.220 g/mL for 1:1, and 66.7° Brix at 1.329 g/mL for 2:1. King Arthur does not publish simple syrup in their Ingredient Weight Chart, so no correction applies. Simple syrup is the base sweetener of modern cocktail bartending — pure sucrose dissolved in water, no other ingredients. It solves two problems that granulated sugar creates in cold or alcoholic drinks: sucrose crystals don't dissolve properly below room temperature, and pre-dissolved syrup integrates evenly where poured sugar sinks to the bottom of the glass. The two dominant concentrations in cocktail practice are 1:1 (equal parts sugar and water, the 'standard' state of this entry) and 2:1 rich (two parts sugar to one part water by weight, the 'rich' state). A third historical concentration of roughly 5:3 (US Pharmacopeia 1890s soda-fountain standard, 850 g sucrose per litre of water) is preserved in older cocktail books like Embury's *Fine Art of Mixing Drinks* but rarely made today. The density of both syrups is derivable from sucrose-water thermodynamics rather than measured experimentally. Standard density tables (US Pharmacopeia XI, ICUMSA sugar industry references) give at 20°C: 48% w/w sucrose solution = 1.220 g/mL, 50% = 1.230 g/mL, 65% = 1.319 g/mL, and 66.7% = 1.329 g/mL. Difford's Guide, an authoritative cocktail reference, publishes 1:1 simple syrup as 48.0° Brix and 2:1 rich syrup as 65.1° Brix — Brix is percentage of sugar by weight, so these map directly to the density tables. That yields 289 g per US cup for standard 1:1 (48% Brix × 236.588 mL/cup) and 314 g per US cup for rich 2:1 by weight (66.7% Brix). Sucrose solutions at a given Brix have essentially identical density regardless of preparation route, which is why this entry is HIGH confidence with no range needed. The by-weight versus by-volume distinction for 1:1 syrup is a bartender debate with only a 1% effect on final density. When 1 US cup of granulated sugar (about 200 g, per the ExactCups granulated-sugar entry) dissolves in 1 US cup of water (237 g), the resulting solution is 46% sugar by weight — not exactly 50%, because the sugar cup is lighter than the water cup. Professional bartenders following Jeffrey Morgenthaler's *The Bar Book* and Dave Arnold's *Liquid Intelligence* weigh by mass at 1:1 (200 g sugar + 200 g water = 50° Brix, 1.230 g/mL, 291 g/cup), while home cookbook recipes and back-bar practice measure by volume (46-48° Brix, 1.22 g/mL, 289 g/cup). The 1% density difference is smaller than typical dissolving-yield error, so ExactCups publishes 289 g/cup for the standard state as the more common convention and notes both approaches here. Yield is worth calling out because it surprises beginners. One US cup of sugar dissolved in one US cup of water yields approximately 1.5-1.75 cups of finished simple syrup, not 2 cups — the sucrose molecules occupy space within the water's molecular structure rather than displacing it proportionally. A batch made from 200 g sugar + 200 g water = 400 g total mass yields roughly 325 mL (1.38 US cup) of finished syrup at the calculated 1.230 g/mL density. Recipe planning matters: scale sugar and water to the mass of finished syrup you need, not to volume of ingredients you start with. In the ExactCups syrup category, simple syrup opens a new low-density band. Standard 1:1 (289 g/cup) sits well below the 320 g/cup cluster (date syrup, pomegranate molasses, cane syrup, sorghum syrup at 65-70% solids) and far below the 336 g/cup cluster (honey, agave, barley malt syrup, golden syrup at 76-80% solids). Rich 2:1 (314 g/cup) lands adjacent to the 312 g/cup band (corn syrup, maple syrup) — physically consistent because all three sit at roughly 65-67% dissolved solids by weight. The 314 g/cup rich simple syrup is essentially indistinguishable from a maple syrup in density; the flavour and colour do all the differentiation. Practical bartender recommendation: weigh by mass for consistency. For standard 1:1 simple syrup, combine equal weights of sugar and warm water (200 g + 200 g yields about 325 mL, enough for roughly 20 cocktails at 15 mL per drink). For rich 2:1, combine 400 g sugar + 200 g water and warm gently until fully dissolved (heat helps because 66.7% Brix approaches sucrose's room-temperature solubility limit). Store refrigerated in a clean glass bottle: standard 1:1 keeps 3-4 weeks, rich 2:1 keeps 5-6 weeks because the higher sugar concentration inhibits microbial growth. A pinch of citric acid or a splash of neutral spirit (vodka) extends shelf life further. ### Sorghum Syrup https://exactcups.com/sorghum-syrup/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: high. Also called: sorghum syrup, pure sorghum syrup, sweet sorghum syrup, sorghum molasses, sorghum, long sweetening. #### Standard, poured Published: 1 cup = 336 g (11.9 oz); 1/2 cup = 168 g; 1/4 cup = 84 g; 1 tbsp = 21 g; 1 tsp = 7 g (1.4203 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.67 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central — Syrups, sorghum (FDC 169662): 336 g per cup. USDA reference food composition entry: 1 cup = 330 g, 1 tablespoon = 21 g. Cup and tablespoon figures differ by 1.8% (330 vs 336 from 21 × 16), a common USDA rounding artifact between separately-rounded per-cup and per-tbsp entries. Composition: 76.7% carbs, 23.3% water, 0% protein, 0% fat. Rich in iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese — nutritionally the closest natural sweetener to molasses. - aqua-calc — Sorghum syrup (USDA-referenced volume-to-weight): 330.3 g per cup. USDA-sourced density calculator: 349 g/metric cup = 330 g/US cup = 11.6 oz/US cup. Density 1.396 g/mL. Aligns with USDA FDC 169662 per-cup figure within 0.1%. - eatthismuch multi-brand aggregate — Aunt Sue's, Oberholtzer's Pure Kentucky Sorghum, Alaga Yellow Label, Hilltop Gardens, Miller's Homestyle Pure Sorghum Molasses, Bourbon Barrel Foods Bourbon-Aged Sorghum: 336 g per cup. Cross-brand teaspoon reference across six US retail sorghum syrup brands: 1 tsp = 7 g, extrapolating to 336 g/cup. Matches USDA per-tbsp-derived figure exactly. Retail brands include the traditional Alabama (Alaga), Kentucky (Oberholtzer's), and specialty (Bourbon Barrel Foods) producers dominant in the Southern US market. - Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill (Monterey, Tennessee, since 1980): Family-operated (Guenther family) sorghum producer, National Sweet Sorghum Producers and Processors Association (NSSPPA) award winner. 100% pure sorghum with no additives, made from own-grown sweet sorghum cane. Sold in 12 oz (340g), 24 oz (680g), and 64 oz half-gallon sizes. Considered the reference specialty producer in the modern craft-sorghum market. - Golden Barrel Sorghum Syrup (Good Food Inc, Lancaster County PA, since 1934): Pennsylvania Dutch producer of pure sorghum syrup and other specialty syrups (blackstrap molasses, barbados molasses). 16 oz jar in wide retail distribution via Amazon, Dutch Valley Foods, and specialty grocers. USA-sourced sweet sorghum, no additives. Longstanding retail brand outside the Southern sorghum belt. Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Notes: TL;DR: 336 g/cup (1.42 g/mL). USDA reference and multi-brand retail data converge within 2% at 330-336 g/cup, placing sorghum syrup squarely in the 336 g/cup density family alongside honey, agave syrup, barley malt syrup, and golden syrup. King Arthur is silent on this ingredient — it's a Southern US traditional sweetener outside the chart's coverage. Sorghum syrup is boiled sweet sorghum juice: the stalks of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, a grass related to corn but not to sugarcane) are crushed to extract a bright green juice, which is then heated in open pans until it thickens and concentrates to a dark amber syrup at roughly 77% solids. The finished product is a natural single-ingredient sweetener with a distinctive earthy, mineral-forward flavor — less bitter than blackstrap molasses, less floral than honey, with a slight grassy edge that reflects the sorghum plant's origin. Peak US production was in the 1880s when sorghum syrup was the dominant Southern sweetener; industrial sugar refining collapsed the market by 1920, but small producers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Pennsylvania have kept the craft alive through cooperatives like the National Sweet Sorghum Producers and Processors Association. The density data converges tightly. USDA FoodData Central entry 169662 lists 1 cup = 330 g and 1 tablespoon = 21 g (these two figures are internally inconsistent by 1.8% — 21 × 16 = 336, not 330 — which is a common rounding artifact in USDA legacy entries where cup and tablespoon are separately rounded). The retail aggregate across six brands including Aunt Sue's, Oberholtzer's, Alaga, Hilltop Gardens, Miller's, and Bourbon Barrel Foods reports 1 teaspoon = 7 g, extrapolating to 336 g/cup — matching the USDA per-tablespoon-derived figure exactly. Physical density prediction from composition (76.7% carbs at ~1.53 g/mL, 23.3% water at 1.0 g/mL) gives 1.41 g/mL, or 333 g/cup. All three approaches land within 2% of each other — this is a high-confidence single-figure ingredient. The nomenclature disambiguation is where sorghum syrup earns most of its search intent. Sorghum syrup is frequently called "sorghum molasses" in the Southern US, but it is not molasses in the technical sense. Molasses is a byproduct of sugar cane (or sugar beet) refining — the dark, mineral-rich fraction left over after crystalline sugar has been extracted. Sorghum syrup is a whole boiled plant juice with no sugar-extraction step. The two products look and pour similarly (both viscous, dark, roughly 75% solids) and taste similarly to non-specialists, but they come from unrelated plants (Saccharum officinarum for cane molasses versus Sorghum bicolor for sorghum syrup) processed through fundamentally different methods. This is the same distinction as maple syrup versus cane molasses — both dark natural sweeteners, neither is the other. Also worth distinguishing: sweet sorghum (the cultivar grown for syrup) is a separate variety from grain sorghum, which is grown for its seeds and used as gluten-free flour or livestock feed. The queue's sorghum-flour and this entry come from the same botanical genus but different cultivars grown for opposite ends of the plant. Within the syrup category, sorghum syrup at 336 g/cup and 1.42 g/mL sits in the same physical density cluster as honey (336), agave syrup (336), barley malt syrup (336), golden syrup (336), and the physical density of brown rice syrup (336). All are concentrated plant-derived sugar solutions at 76-80% solids, and all reach the same density band regardless of source plant (cane, agave, barley, corn, sorghum) because sugar-water thermodynamics governs the final concentration at which the syrup sets. The 320 g/cup cluster (date syrup, pomegranate molasses, maple cream) sits slightly lower at 65-85% solids with different acid or fat content shifting the density; sorghum syrup does not join that cluster despite the "molasses" naming. For baking, sorghum syrup substitutes 1:1 by weight for molasses in most recipes — gingerbread, cookies, baked beans, barbecue sauce — with a slightly milder, less bitter flavor. Direct substitution for honey is also 1:1 by weight, with the caveat that sorghum's earthy mineral notes read as savory rather than floral. In Southern breakfast tradition, sorghum syrup is drizzled straight onto biscuits, cornbread, pancakes, and grits, where its assertive flavor and heavy body distinguish it from the lighter maple and pancake syrups more common outside the region. ### Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk https://exactcups.com/sweetened-condensed-coconut-milk/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: low. Also called: condensed coconut milk, coconut condensed milk, sweetened coconut condensed milk, dairy-free sweetened condensed milk, vegan condensed milk. King Arthur: 288 g (10.2 oz), inside the published range. #### Standard, stirred, spooned and leveled No single figure published. Sources cover 1 cup = 288–304 g. Sources span 288-304 g per cup, a 5.6% gap, over the 5% tolerance. The Andre Prost and A Taste of Thai labels give 2 tablespoons at 38 g, 304 g per cup; King Arthur gives 288 g. Brands differ in how much coconut fat and sugar they carry, and the compositions on their labels span about 280-308 g per cup. No single figure is published. Sources: - Andre Prost Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk (producer label): 304 g per cup. Label as listed by Eat This Much: 2 tbsp (38 g), extrapolating to 304 g per cup (density 1.285 g/mL). Food Lion's listing of the 11.6-oz can shows the same 2-tablespoon serving, about 9 servings per container. - A Taste of Thai Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk (producer label): 304 g per cup. Label as listed by Fitia: 2 tbsp (38 g), extrapolating to 304 g per cup. - Let's Do Organic Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk (producer label): Retail label (Target): 2 Tbsp (30 mL) serving, 7 servings per 7.4-oz can; fat 10 g, carbohydrate 16 g, protein 1 g per serving. The label prints no gram weight for the serving. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 288 g per cup. KA lists "Sweetened condensed coconut milk" at 1 cup = 10 1/8 oz = 288 g, density 1.217 g/mL. - Nature's Charm Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk (producer label): 240 g per cup. Retail labels (Vitacost, iHerb, Whole Foods), 11.25-oz can: 8 tsp (40 g), extrapolating to 240 g per cup (density 1.014 g/mL). A Country Life Foods listing prints the same 40 g as 2.5 tbsp, 256 g per cup. Per 100 g: fat 12.5 g, carbohydrate 65 g (sugars 60 g), protein 0 g. REJECTED: 1.01 g/mL is the density of water. Nature's Charm's own label makes the milk 60% sugar and 12.5% fat with no protein; that composition works out to about 1.30 g/mL, 308 g per cup, so 40 g fills about 2 tablespoons, not 8 teaspoons. The 2 1/2 tablespoon version of the same serving, 256 g per cup (1.08 g/mL), is also too light. The 40 g serving weight is plausible; the household measure printed beside it is not. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/sweetened-condensed-coconut-milk-240-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-26. Notes: Sweetened condensed coconut milk weighs 288 to 304 g per US cup (10.2 to 10.7 oz). The Andre Prost and A Taste of Thai labels give 2 tablespoons at 38 g, 304 g per cup, and King Arthur gives 288 g. Brands differ in how much coconut fat and sugar they carry, which moves the weight past the 5% tolerance, so this entry publishes the range. Nature's Charm's printed 8 teaspoons for 40 g would make it no heavier than water and is rejected. It is the dairy-free counterpart of sweetened condensed milk: coconut milk cooked down with sugar until thick and syrupy, used in fudge, caramel, no-churn ice cream, pies and bars. Formulas differ more than the name suggests. Nature's Charm, sold at Whole Foods and iHerb, is coconut milk, cane sugar and salt, about 60% sugar and 12.5% fat by its own label. Andre Prost and Iberia list cane sugar first, ahead of water and coconut cream, with xanthan gum. Let's Do Organic is coconut milk and cane sugar with much more fat: 10 g in 2 tablespoons, where Nature's Charm has 5 g in a 40 g serving. Andre Prost's label, as listed by Eat This Much, gives 2 tablespoons at 38 g, and Food Lion's listing of the 11.6-oz can shows the same 2-tablespoon serving at about 9 per can, which fits: 329 g divided by 38 g is 8.7. A Taste of Thai's label gives the same 2 tablespoons at 38 g. Both are 304 g per cup. King Arthur's chart lists a cup at 10 1/8 oz, 288 g. Nature's Charm prints its 40 g serving as 8 teaspoons on most US listings and as 2 1/2 tablespoons on another, 240 or 256 g per cup. The physical check works from the labels' compositions. Sugar dissolved in water is dense, about 1.29 g/mL for a 60% syrup, and coconut fat is light, about 0.92 g/mL. Nature's Charm's composition, 65% carbohydrate, 12.5% fat and the rest almost all water, works out to about 1.30 g/mL, 308 g per cup. Let's Do Organic's label, with 10 g of fat, 16 g of carbohydrate and 1 g of protein per 2-tablespoon serving, works out to about 1.2 g/mL, 280 to 290 g per cup. The sugar-first labels at 304 g and King Arthur's 288 g both sit inside that span, at the sweet end and toward the fatty end. The dairy version on this site, with milk protein in place of coconut fat, weighs 306 g per cup. Nature's Charm's 8 teaspoons is the exception. 40 g in 8 teaspoons is 1.01 g/mL, the density of water, which a liquid that is 60% sugar cannot be; by its own composition 40 g fills about 2 tablespoons. The 2 1/2 tablespoon version, 1.08 g/mL, is also too light. The figure is recorded as a rejected source with its own correction page. King Arthur's 288 g is not a correction: it is close to what a coconut-milk-first formula should weigh. Practical guidance: weigh it for fudge, caramel and ice cream bases, where the sugar ratio decides the set. Two tablespoons are 36-38 g, 1/4 cup 72-76 g and 1/2 cup 144-152 g. Cans are small: 7.4 oz (210 g) for Let's Do Organic, 11.25 oz (320 g) for Nature's Charm and 11.6 oz (329 g) for Andre Prost, against 14 oz (397 g) for a can of dairy sweetened condensed milk, so a recipe written for "one can" of condensed milk needs about 400 g, more than one can of any of these. Scrape the can well; the syrup clings to the sides. ### Sweetened condensed milk https://exactcups.com/sweetened-condensed-milk/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. King Arthur: 312 g (11 oz), agrees within tolerance. #### Standard Published: 1 cup = 306 g (10.8 oz); 1/2 cup = 153 g; 1/4 cup = 76.5 g; 1 tbsp = 19.1 g; 1 tsp = 6.4 g (1.2934 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.74 cups. Sources: - USDA FoodData Central: 306 g per cup. FDC 171275 (Milk, canned, condensed, sweetened, SR Legacy). Published: 1 cup = 306 g, 1 tbsp = 19 g. Density 1.2934 g/mL. Composition: ~27% water, ~55% sugar carbohydrate, ~8% fat, ~8% protein. - King Arthur: 312 g per cup. Ingredient Weight Chart, 'Sweetened condensed milk', 1/4 cup = 78 g, extrapolates to 312 g per cup, density 1.3187 g/mL. Last reviewed: 2026-09-16. Notes: Sweetened condensed milk is regular milk with about 60 percent of the water evaporated off and sucrose added at 40 to 45 percent by weight. The result is a thick, syrup-like product that behaves in a measuring cup more like honey or maple syrup than like milk. It should not be confused with evaporated milk, which is the same milk-reduction process without the added sugar. USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup at 306 grams and 1 tablespoon at 19 grams (FDC 171275, Milk, canned, condensed, sweetened, SR Legacy). This gives a bulk density of 1.2934 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes 1/4 cup at 78 grams, which extrapolates to 312 grams per cup and 1.3187 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 1.9 percent, comfortably inside the 5 percent tolerance we apply to the syrup category. We publish the USDA figure of 306 grams per cup because it comes with the underlying tablespoon and 100-gram numbers rather than an extrapolation from a partial cup. The unusually high density comes from the composition: after evaporation and sugar addition, the product is roughly 27 percent water, 55 percent sugar, 8 percent fat and 8 percent protein by weight. Sugar dissolved in water makes a denser solution than water alone, and the concentrated milk solids add more density on top. The final product weighs about 1.3 times more per volume than water. Standard US cans of sweetened condensed milk are labelled 14 ounces, which is 397 grams by weight (14 × 28.35). That corresponds to about 1.30 cups by volume at the USDA density. Most recipes that call for 'one can' intend the full 397 grams regardless of what the volume conversion says. When a recipe calls for 1 cup and no can is specified, weigh out 306 grams. Evaporated milk is a related but very different product: same milk reduction, no added sugar. Evaporated milk weighs about 252 grams per cup and has a density of 1.065 grams per millilitre — closer to whole milk than to sweetened condensed milk. The two are not interchangeable in recipes. Dulce de leche is sweetened condensed milk that has been cooked further until the sugars caramelise, and its density is slightly higher because of additional water loss during cooking. The FDA identity standard for sweetened condensed milk is at 21 CFR 131.120, requiring at least 8 percent milkfat and 28 percent total milk solids in the sugared product. The Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 282-1971 covers evaporated milks and sweetened condensed milks internationally with similar minimums. Neither standard specifies a density; both address composition to protect the product name. Because the composition is regulated, brand-to-brand variation in density is small — Nestle Eagle Brand and store-brand condensed milks measure essentially the same by weight at the same volume. The category here is 'syrup' rather than 'liquid' because sweetened condensed milk's measuring behaviour matches other concentrated sugar solutions: thick, slow-pouring, and not sensitive to how the cup is filled once it settles. The 5 percent syrup tolerance applies, and both sources sit well inside it. ### Tart cherry concentrate https://exactcups.com/tart-cherry-concentrate/ Category: Syrups (5% tolerance). Confidence: medium. Also called: cherry concentrate, tart cherry juice concentrate, Montmorency cherry concentrate, sour cherry concentrate, cherry juice concentrate. King Arthur: 336 g (11.9 oz), rejected on physics, see https://exactcups.com/corrections/tart-cherry-concentrate-336-grams/. #### Standard, 68 °Brix concentrate at room temperature Published: 1 cup = 315.5 g (11.1 oz); 1/2 cup = 157.8 g; 1/4 cup = 78.9 g; 1 tbsp = 19.7 g; 1 tsp = 6.6 g (1.3337 g/ml). 8 oz by weight = 226.8 g = 0.72 cups. Sources: - FruitSmart, Red Sour Cherry Juice Concentrate specification (BQS0000093, RS-68): 315.5 g per cup. "°Brix AOAC 932.13 68.0° ± 1.0°", "Weight Per Gallon 11.13 lbs (5.05 kgs)": 1.3337 g/mL, 315.5 g per US cup. "One part 68 Brix concentrate with 5.15 parts water for 14.0 Brix juice." - Parchem, Sour Cherry Juice Concentrate 68 Brix specification: Brix "68.00 +/- 1.00" (direct at 20 °C), specific gravity "1.335 – 1.354": 1.333 to 1.352 g/mL, 315 to 320 g per US cup. "1 part Sour Cherry Juice Concentrate 68 Brix plus 5.15 parts water." - Eden Foods Organic Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate (producer description): "Montmorency Tart Cherries reduced to a tangy sweet syrup of 68 Brix"; sold in a 7.5 fl oz (222 mL) bottle with no net weight stated. Confirms 68 °Brix as the retail strength. - Dynamic Health Organic Tart Cherry Concentrate (producer label): Supplement facts: serving 2 tablespoons (30 mL), "Organic Tart Cherry Concentrate 36 g", total sugars 17 g; 15 servings per 16 fl oz (473 mL). 1.20 g/mL, 284 g per cup: a weaker concentrate, about half sugar, so it is kept without a figure for the 68 °Brix standard. - King Arthur Baking Ingredient Weight Chart: 336 g per cup. KA lists "Cherry Concentrate" at 2 tablespoons = 1 1/2 oz = 42 g, 336 g per cup (density 1.420 g/mL). King Arthur's Cherry Cupcakes blog post uses "3 tablespoons (64g) cherry concentrate", 341 g per cup. REJECTED: Tart cherry concentrate is sold at 68 °Brix, and at that strength two industry specifications give 1.333 to 1.352 g/mL (FruitSmart 11.13 lb per gallon; Parchem specific gravity 1.335 to 1.354), 315 to 320 g per cup. 1.420 g/mL would need a syrup stronger than 80 °Brix, heavier than the top row of the USDA sucrose table (1.411 g/mL at 80 °Brix). Two tablespoons at 68 °Brix weigh 39.5 g, 1.39 oz; written as 1 1/2 oz and converted back, that becomes 42 g. The same fractional-ounce rounding as King Arthur's jam figure. Correction page: https://exactcups.com/corrections/tart-cherry-concentrate-336-grams/ Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Notes: A cup of tart cherry concentrate weighs 315.5 g (11.1 oz), a density of 1.33 g/mL, from industry specifications for the standard 68 °Brix concentrate. King Arthur's 42 g per 2 tablespoons (336 g per cup) would need a syrup stronger than 80 °Brix and is rejected; it is a rounded ounce figure. Tart cherry concentrate is juice pressed from Montmorency sour cherries, the pie cherry grown mostly in Michigan, with most of its water evaporated off. It is sold in small bottles as a drink base and supplement, diluted about 1 part to 5 or 7 parts water, and bakers use it straight, a few tablespoons at a time, to give cherry flavour and colour to cakes, frostings, glazes and fillings without adding fruit. The industry standard is 68 °Brix, 68% dissolved solids. FruitSmart's specification for its red sour cherry concentrate gives 68.0 °Brix and a weight of 11.13 lb per gallon, 1.334 g/mL or 315.5 g per cup, and says that one part diluted with 5.15 parts water gives 14 °Brix juice. Parchem's specification for sour cherry concentrate at 68 °Brix gives a specific gravity of 1.335 to 1.354, 315 to 320 g per cup. Eden Foods describes its retail concentrate as tart cherries reduced to a syrup of 68 Brix. The physical check: a sugar solution of 68 °Brix weighs 1.334 g/mL by the USDA sucrose table, exactly the FruitSmart figure, so the concentrate weighs what its sugar says it should. King Arthur's 1.420 g/mL is above the table's top row, 1.411 g/mL at 80 °Brix, which is thicker than honey. Two tablespoons at 68 °Brix weigh 39.5 g, 1.39 oz; King Arthur's 1 1/2 oz, converted back to grams, is 42 g. Its cherry cupcake recipe repeats the same heavy figure at 64 g for 3 tablespoons. Not every retail bottle is full strength. Dynamic Health's label gives 2 tablespoons (30 mL) as 36 g with 17 g of sugars, about half sugar, which weighs 1.20 g/mL, 284 g per cup. Labels that state 2 tablespoons as 28 g, such as Cherry Bay Orchards' as transcribed by ReciPal, print the one-ounce serving and would make the syrup lighter than water. Practical guidance: use 315.5 g per cup of 68 °Brix concentrate, about 20 g per tablespoon and 39.5 g per 2 tablespoons. To make tart cherry juice, mix 1 part concentrate with 5 to 7 parts water. For a weaker supplement concentrate, check the label's grams per serving and use those.