which is heaviest, a cup of brown sugar, powered sugar or granulated sugar?

Answer 1

A *cup* is a unit of volume, *not* a measure of mass/weight. So you are right that a cup of one type of sugar can weigh more than another.

A cup is 8 fluid ounces - *not* dry ingredients. This means that if you fill it with water, you will have put in exactly 8 ounces of water. If you fill the same volume with other items, or dry ingredients (like another poster said - sand, or marshmallow fluff) they will not weigh the same, despite taking up the same space.

Think of the packages you buy in the shops -- a 500g package of brown sugar is smaller (more dense) than a 500g packet of granulated, caster sugar, or powdered sugar. Same weights, different volumes.

Here's a way to solve your weighing problem (I've assumed you are cooking with an American recipe and need to know how to convert it to weight rather than volume):

Find a large tea cup or smallish beaker or tupperware container. Put it on the scale and zero it. Then fill it with water until it weighs 8 ounces. Notice how full it is -- the exact place where the water stops is the top of your "cup". If you can find a cup / container in which 8 ounces of water goes exactly to the brim - that's perfect for future use!

Tip out the water, and now you have a "cup" to use. No matter what dry ingredient you use, fill to that same line that the water reached.

Tips:

1. For brown sugar, recipes usually assume you will "pack" it into the cup. Be sure to push down with your spoon as you fill it -- another reason that "a cup of brown sugar" will weigh more!

2. If you are using an American recipe that calls for "sugar", it will assume you will use granulated sugar, and *not* caster, unless it says otherwise.

Good luck!

Answer 2

The brown sugar would be the heaviest, then the granulated, then the powdered. If you asked which would be the heaviest out of a pound of brown, powdered, or granulated sugar, obviously, the answer would be: they all weigh the same!

Answer 3

Just because they are one cup, does not mean they weigh the same. Would one cup of sand weigh the same as one cup of marshmallow fluff?

So I think the brown sugar would be the heaviest, then the white, then the powdered. But it would be best to actually measure them out and weigh them on a food scale if you are truly interested.

Answer 4

Brown sugar is because of the molasses that's been put in the granulated sugar! Powdered sugar is sugar ground to a powder and is lightest.

Answer 5

I would say the brown sugar because the one pound bags of brown sugar are smaller than the one pound bags of ganulated sugar. Powdered sugar is just really light.

Answer 6

According to my favourite cookbook:

a cup of brown sugar weighs 220g if firmly packed or 150g if loosely packed;

a cup of palm sugar 270g;

a cup of pure icing sugar 160g; and

a cup of white/castor sugar 220g.

This assumes you're using an Australian cup (250ml) rather than an American cup (237ml) or British cup (284ml).

Don't you think there'd be better global understanding if we all had the same cup sizes?

Answer 7

I would guess the powdered sugar because it's denser. Brown sugar is rather fluffy unless it's compressed, and granulated sugar is fluffier than powdered

Answer 8

I would probably say brown sugar as it is not as dry as the other sugars therefore it has a greater density.

Answer 9

They each weigh 8 ounces. If you want to know the density of the sugar that is something different.

Answer 10

Brown sugar, because it's packed.