Volume units do not have ingredient weights built in
A US cup is a volume of 236 milliliters. That statement is true for water, flour, honey, and oil, but it does not mean each one weighs 236 grams. The ingredient's density determines its weight.
For same-dimension conversions, use exact unit factors. For a cup-to-gram conversion, choose the ingredient first.
Common recipe unit relationships
| Measure | Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 US cup | 236 ml |
| 1 metric cup | 250 ml |
| 1 US cup | 16 tbsp |
| 1 tbsp | 3 tsp |
| 1 US fluid ounce | 29.57 ml |
| 1 ounce by weight | 28.35 g |
| 1 pound | 453.59 g |
Fluid ounces measure volume; ounces without the word fluid usually measure weight. This is a frequent source of recipe errors. A fluid ounce of flour occupies volume but does not weigh one ounce.
Cups to grams by ingredient
These kitchen approximations use one US cup of 236 ml:
| Ingredient | 1 cup | 1/2 cup |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g | 60 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 100 g |
| Brown sugar, packed | 213 g | 106.5 g |
| Butter | 227 g | 113.5 g |
| Milk | 244 g | 122 g |
| Honey | 340 g | 170 g |
| Long-grain white rice | 185 g | 92.5 g |
Why the same cup can be wrong twice
Flour settles and compacts. Scooping directly from a bag can produce a meaningfully heavier cup than spooning flour into the measure and leveling it. Brown sugar is usually packed, while cocoa and oats are not. A converter can supply a reference density, but the measuring method still matters.
For repeatable baking, use a scale and work in grams. For everyday cooking, a small variation is usually acceptable. The distinction is not arbitrary: cakes, breads, and delicate pastries are more sensitive to hydration and structure than soups and sautés.
Converting a whole recipe
Do not convert every ingredient with the same cups-to-grams number. Group the recipe by ingredient, convert volume to weight where the density is known, then scale the quantities to the target serving count. If a recipe already provides grams, preserve those weights and scale them directly.
The Recipe Converter includes a live volume-to-weight converter and ingredient-specific cup-to-gram hints.
Use the recipe converterRelated recipe tools
- Recipe Scaling Calculator for serving multipliers.
- Convert Recipe to Metric for metric recipe adaptation.
- Cups to Grams for a fuller density reference.
- Oven Temperature Converter for fan and conventional heat.