Granulated sugar, often referred to as white sugar, table sugar, or refined sugar, is more than just a sweetener in the world of baking; it's a multi-functional workhorse. It's a cornerstone ingredient that contributes significantly to the texture, color, moisture, and shelf life of our favorite baked goods. While granulated sugar is generally more consistent when measured by volume compared to flour, understanding its weight equivalents and its chemical roles can elevate your baking from good to great.

The Multifaceted Role of Granulated Sugar in Baking:

Beyond providing sweetness, granulated sugar performs several critical functions:

• Sweetness: This is its most obvious contribution, balancing other flavors and making treats enjoyable.
• Texture and Crumb Structure: Sugar interacts with fats, eggs, and flour in complex ways. In the creaming method (beating butter and sugar), the sharp edges of sugar crystals cut into the fat, creating tiny air pockets. These air pockets expand during baking, contributing to a lighter, more tender crumb in cakes and cookies. It also tenderizes by interfering with gluten development and protein coagulation.
• Moisture Retention (Hygroscopic Nature): Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts and holds onto water molecules. This property helps to keep baked goods moist for longer periods, extending their freshness and preventing them from drying out too quickly.
• Browning and Flavor Development (Maillard Reaction & Caramelization): When heated, sugar undergoes chemical changes that are vital for appearance and flavor. It participates in the Maillard reaction (a reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars) and caramelization (the browning of sugar itself). These processes are responsible for the appealing golden-brown color of crusts, as well as the development of rich, complex flavor notes.
• Leavening (Indirectly): As mentioned, sugar aids in aeration during the creaming process. It also provides food for yeast in bread making, though yeast can also metabolize starches from flour.
• Stability: In meringues and some icings, sugar helps to stabilize whipped egg whites by interacting with their protein structure.

Measuring Granulated Sugar: The Case for Volume and Weight

Granulated sugar crystals are relatively uniform in size and do not compact as readily as flour. This makes measuring granulated sugar by volume (using standard measuring cups and spoons) generally more reliable and consistent than measuring flour by volume. For most home baking recipes, a carefully leveled cup of granulated sugar will provide good results.

However, for bakers seeking the utmost precision, or when working with recipes that provide measurements by weight (common in professional and international baking), knowing the standard weight conversions for granulated sugar is highly beneficial:

• 1 US Cup (approx. 237ml) of Granulated Sugar: Approximately 200 grams (which is about 7.05 ounces). This is a widely accepted standard.
• 1 Metric Cup (250ml) of Granulated Sugar: Approximately 208-210 grams (which is about 7.3-7.4 ounces). Some charts may round this to 200g or 220g, but 208-210g is a more precise conversion based on density.
• 1 US Tablespoon (1/16 of a US Cup) of Granulated Sugar: Approximately 12.5 grams.

It's important to note that these weights are for standard granulated white sugar. Other types of sugar, such as powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar) or brown sugar, have different densities and will weigh differently per cup. See our guides on powdered sugar and brown sugar for their specific conversions.

Variations in Granulated Sugar: Caster, Superfine, and Sanding Sugar

While "granulated sugar" is the common term, you might encounter variations based on crystal size:

• Standard Granulated Sugar: The everyday sugar found in most kitchens.
• Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar in the US): Has smaller crystals than standard granulated sugar. It dissolves more quickly, making it ideal for meringues, syrups, cocktails, and delicate cakes where a smooth texture is desired. Its weight per cup is very similar to standard granulated sugar.
• Sanding Sugar (Coarse Sugar): Has large crystals that don't dissolve easily. It's primarily used for decorating, adding sparkle and crunch to cookies, muffins, and scones. It would weigh more per cup due to larger crystals and less air space if measured volumetrically, but it's rarely used as a primary sweetener within a batter.

When Weight Measurements for Sugar Are Most Advantageous:

• Professional Baking & Recipe Development: Ensures exact replicability and allows for precise adjustments to formulas.
• Candy Making: In recipes for caramels, toffees, fudges, and other confections, the precise ratio of sugar to other ingredients (especially liquids) is critical for achieving the correct texture and set.
• Very Large Batch Baking: Weighing is often quicker and more accurate than measuring many cups of sugar when scaling recipes significantly up.
• Following International Recipes: Many European and other international baking recipes provide all ingredient quantities in grams. Weighing is the only way to follow these accurately.

Our KitchenCalculator.app conversion charts provide a quick and reliable reference for these sugar weights:

Printable Granulated Sugar: US Cups/tbsp to Grams & Ounces Chart

Printable Granulated Sugar: Metric Cups/tbsp to Grams & Ounces Chart

While careful volume measurements for granulated sugar are often acceptable for everyday home baking, understanding its weight and its multifaceted roles in the "sweet science" of baking can help you fine-tune your recipes, troubleshoot issues, and confidently tackle a wider range of culinary challenges. Using a kitchen scale for sugar, as with flour, is a step towards greater baking mastery.