Cups to grams for the recipe in front of you

Use the ingredient's weight

Choose the ingredient in the converter and enter the amount your recipe gives in cups. The table above uses grams per US cup. Match the description, too: packed brown sugar and powdered sugar have different weights, even though both are sugar.

For grams to cups, divide the grams you have by that ingredient's weight per cup. Keep the ingredient the same in both directions. A water conversion won't tell you how much flour to put in a cake.

Two conversions you can cook with

For a recipe calling for 2 cups of all-purpose flour, multiply 2 by 125 g. You need about 250 g of flour. Set your bowl on the scale, press tare to return it to zero, then add the flour.

For 3/4 cup of granulated sugar, multiply 0.75 by 200 g. Weigh out 150 g. Going the other way, 300 g of granulated sugar divided by 200 gives you 1 1/2 US cups. These calculations use granulated sugar; packed brown sugar needs its own conversion.

Changing the number of portions as well? Use the recipe scaler to adjust the amounts, then convert each ingredient to grams.

Check which cup the recipe means

A US cup is 236.6 ml. A metric cup is 250 ml, used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many modern UK recipes. A Japanese cup is 200 ml. If the recipe names a cup size, use that size; the numbers here assume a US cup.

Spoons vary, too. A US tablespoon is 14.8 ml, or 3 teaspoons. An Australian tablespoon is 20 ml, or 4 teaspoons. A US teaspoon is 4.9 ml. Check the recipe's origin before treating every tablespoon as the same amount.

How you fill the cup changes the weight

For flour, spoon it into the measuring cup and level the top without pressing it down. Scooping straight from the bag can pack in more flour, with a difference of 20-30 g per cup. That extra flour can leave a cake dry or a dough stiff.

The USDA figure of about 125 g is for spooned all-purpose flour. Some bakers use 120 g. If the recipe's author supplies a gram weight, follow that weight. Brown sugar in US recipes is usually packed, about 220 g per cup; the powdered sugar figure is unsifted, about 120 g per cup.

Reach for a scale when you bake

A scale avoids the differences between loosely filled and tightly packed cups. It's especially helpful for flour and for small batches, where a little extra has more effect. For soups and stir-fries, cup measures are usually fine.

Keep weight ounces separate from fluid ounces. One ounce by weight is 28.35 g; one US fluid ounce is 29.6 ml. A label marked fl oz tells you volume, so you still need the ingredient to work out its weight.