How much is a cup, really?

A cup of flour and a cup of honey don't weigh the same — not even close. CupScale converts by ingredient, not just by volume, so your baking actually turns out the way it should.

Converts to

100% of a level cup
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Cup-to-gram reference

The full table, for when you just need the number.

Ingredient 1 cup 1 tbsp Type
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Why doesn't a cup just weigh one thing?

Because volume and weight measure different properties

A cup measures space — how much room something takes up. A gram measures mass. Flour is light and full of air pockets, so a cup of it weighs little. Honey is dense and clings together, so a cup of it weighs nearly three times as much. Same cup, very different ingredient.

Why do recipes still use cups, then?

Cups are fast and don't need a scale. For forgiving recipes — soups, sautés, most everyday cooking — that's fine. For baking, where ratios matter more, weight is more reliable, which is why European and professional recipes lean on grams.

Is a "packed" cup different from a "level" cup?

Yes — packing (common with brown sugar) presses out the air pockets, so a packed cup weighs noticeably more than a loosely spooned one. The values here assume standard preparation for each ingredient — packed for brown sugar, sifted-then-spooned for flour, level for most others.