Sources and method
Where the numbers come from
Every weight on this site comes from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy dataset), the US government’s food composition database. It is in the public domain (CC0). The USDA weighed real food for standard portions: one cup, one tablespoon, one teaspoon.
Each ingredient page names the exact USDA record (its FDC number) and the date we last checked it, so you can look it up yourself.
Measured, calculated or estimated
The sign ≈ also appears for units that vary by themselves, such as the old German “Tasse”.
- Measured by the USDA: the USDA weighed this exact unit (a US cup, a US tablespoon or a US teaspoon). The figure is used as it is.
- Calculated from USDA data: for any other unit (a metric cup, a 15 ml tablespoon, millilitres…) we take the ingredient’s density from the largest portion the USDA weighed and apply it to the volume of your unit. It is plain scaling, not a guess, but it assumes the ingredient packs the same way in every container.
- Rough estimate: only when the USDA gives no portion weight at all and we rely on a general density.
Unit sizes we use
A cup or a tablespoon is not the same size everywhere. These are the values the converter uses:
| Unit | Exact volume (ml) |
|---|---|
| US cup (236.6 ml) | 236.588 |
| metric cup (250 ml) | 250 |
| cup (240 ml) | 240 |
| Japanese cup (200 ml) | 200 |
| German "Tasse" (old recipes, about 125 ml) | 125 |
| US tablespoon (14.8 ml) | 14.787 |
| tablespoon (15 ml) | 15 |
| Australian tablespoon (20 ml) | 20 |
| US teaspoon (4.9 ml) | 4.929 |
| teaspoon (5 ml) | 5 |
A tablespoon is 14.8 ml in the US, 15 ml in countries that use the metric system and 20 ml in Australia. The Japanese cup is 200 ml. In older German recipes a “Tasse” often means about 125 ml (an eighth of a litre), which is why that unit is marked as approximate.
Why websites disagree
You will see 120 g, 125 g or even 140 g quoted for one cup of all-purpose flour. The difference is how the flour sits in the cup: spooned and levelled, scooped straight from the bag, or sifted first. Scooping can pack a fifth more flour into the cup, or more.
We show the USDA figure and, when the data allows it, separate variants (for example packed and loosely packed brown sugar).
Limits
Conversions by volume are estimates. Flour type, humidity, brand and the way you fill the cup all change the weight. For baking where precision matters, a kitchen scale is more reliable than any table.
Names such as US all-purpose flour, French T55 and German Type 405 are close but not identical: each ingredient page explains the closest equivalent.
Corrections
Found a mistake or a missing ingredient? Write to contact@niftyant.com.