# Conversions between grams and teaspoons/tablespoons/cups for dry spices **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880 "2018-07-31T17:45:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/1 "2018-07-31T17:45:53Z")
I am contemplating a recipe that calls for: 10 gr ground black pepper, 20 gr table salt, and 100 gr mustard powder. I guess I could weigh those out. But since I have measuring spoons and cups in the normal US sizes, can anyone help me convert grams to US measurements for these ingredients? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/2 "2018-07-31T17:50:28Z")
[This](https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html) seems to be a good site for that. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/3 "2018-07-31T17:57:43Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > [This](https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html) seems to be a good site for that. Does one size fit all? I was wondering if a gram of mustard powder might occupy a slightly different volume than a gram of table salt and a gram of ground black pepper. Or is it slightly different, but not enough to matter? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/4 "2018-07-31T17:58:34Z")
Not enough to matter. It’s far more critical when you’re talking cups of ingredients like sugar and flour. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/5 "2018-07-31T18:26:32Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Does one size fit all? I was wondering if a gram of mustard powder might occupy a slightly different volume than a gram of table salt and a gram of ground black pepper. Or is it slightly different, but not enough to matter? It will be somewhat different. I just weighed out 20g of Morton kosher salt, and that’s about 4 teaspoons. So that should translate into about 3 teaspoons-ish of regular grained table salt if the online conversion charts are to be believed. 100 gr of mustard powder is going to be quite a bit. After carefully measuring out a quarter cup using 4 tablespoons, I’m getting a weight of 30 grams for a quarter cup of powdered mustard, so that should be about 13 tablespoons and a teaspoon, or somewhere between 3/4 and 7/8 of a cup. Pepper I only have freshly ground, so I don’t feel like weighing it out, but I suspect amount should be similar to salt weight by volume. ---
**Author:** ![Batano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@Batano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batano)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/6 "2018-08-01T04:12:23Z")
I disagree with the above posters. You really can’t expect different spices to weigh the same. Even salt varies by as much as 50% between plain table salt and kosher. Dill weed is incredibly light. as are leafy herbs like thyme and oregano. Ground spices will be heavier. You could g to [Penzeys.com](http://Penzeys.com) and look at the weight of 1/4 cup jars and do the math. A 1/4 cup is 4TBSP ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/7 "2018-08-01T05:41:06Z")
Salt is easy. Look on the package. I have Morton’s, and the “nutrition facts” panel says “serving size 1/4 tsp = 1.5 gm”. So 3 1/3 tsp = 20 gm. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/8 "2018-08-01T06:31:04Z")
The reason it’s given in grams is that it’s accurate every time that way. Why mess with it? Grams are becoming the normal US measurement for cooking, because they work reliably. But if you don’t have a scale, I agree you have to do something. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/9 "2018-08-01T07:16:18Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I guess I could weigh those out. This implies you _do_ have a scale. If you do, use that, it’s better to do so. Quicker, too, than looking up conversion tables. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/10 "2018-08-01T15:28:15Z")
The challenge is that you want to convert weight/mass to volume. Weight and mass are measured in grams, pounds, and oz. Volume is measured in tsp, tbsp, FLUID OZ, cups, quarts, gallons, and liters. This dual use of ounces is what finally turned me toward metric. And I like engineering notation. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conversions-between-grams-and-teaspoons-tablespoons-cups-for-dry-spices/818880/11 "2018-08-02T01:35:56Z")
It so happens I have a small electronic scale precise to 0.1 grams that I use for measuring out seasonings in sausage making. I’ve done the measurements before for a variety of herbs and spices and I found approximately… 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (the kind that comes finely ground, not coarse ground from your pepper mill) =\> 2.5 grams, so 10 grams is 4 teaspoons 1 teaspoon mustard powder =\> 2 grams, so 100 grams is 50 teaspoons (1.04 cups). This quantity doesn’t seem proportionate to the other seasonings. 1 teaspoon regular table salt (not kosher salt) =\> 6 grams so 20 grams is 3.33 teaspoons. I assume that by “gr” the recipe mean grams. If it’s an old-timey recipe, I suppose “gr” might refer to grains. There are about 15.4 grains in a gram.