One gram of ground cumin is 0.47524752 teaspoons, so converting grams of ground cumin to teaspoons means multiplying by 0.47524752. That factor is specific to this ingredient — it comes from its density, not from any relationship between the two units.
Water is the yardstick: 1 mL of it weighs 1 g. Ground cumin comes in at 0.4269 g per mL, or 42.69% of water, which is why a cup of it is 101 g rather than 236.6 g. Volume and weight only line up for water, and only in metric.
A level teaspoon of ground cumin weighs 2.104 g. A kitchen scale that reads to the nearest gram is therefore working at roughly 47.5% resolution on a single spoonful, which is why measuring spoons beat scales below about 5 g and lose to them above it. Three teaspoons make a tablespoon, so the same spoonful is 6.313 g if the recipe scales up.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.99% of a cup of ground cumin, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 4.95 cups, and a 1 kg pack 9.901.
The condition this weight assumes: One of the lighter ground spices. Whole seeds measure quite differently, so a recipe that says ground means ground.
The formula
grams- The amount of ground cumin you are converting, in grams
0.475247524752- Teaspoons per gram for ground cumin, from its density of 0.4269 g/mL
teaspoons- The equivalent quantity in teaspoons
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 0.475247524752, the teaspoons-per-gram figure for ground cumin.
- The result appears in teaspoons, with a second reading in mL beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
50 g of ground cumin in teaspoons
A recipe calling for 50 g of ground cumin needs 23.7624 teaspoons on the scale. The arithmetic is 50 × 0.47524752 = 23.762376, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 11.8812 teaspoons.
150 g of ground cumin in teaspoons
150 g of ground cumin weighs out at 71.2871 teaspoons. Divide 71.2871 by 0.47524752 and you get back to 150 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
500 g of ground cumin in teaspoons
500 g of ground cumin weighs out at 237.624 teaspoons. Divide 237.624 by 0.47524752 and you get back to 500 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many teaspoons are in 1 g of ground cumin?
One gram of ground cumin is 0.47524752 teaspoons. Half that quantity is 0.237624 teaspoons and double it is 0.950495 teaspoons, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of ground cumin not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Ground cumin has a density of 0.4269 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 101 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 135.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Handling changes the weight of a cup of ground cumin by roughly 20% — about 10.1 g either side of 101 g — because one of the lighter ground spices. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of ground cumin the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of ground cumin weighs 0.4453 oz, so the two readings differ by 55.5%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of ground cumin would weigh 106.73 g instead of 101 g — 5.73 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
At this size the spoon wins. One teaspoon of ground cumin is 2.104 g, and a scale reading to the nearest gram is working at 47.5% resolution on that — a measuring spoon is the more accurate instrument below about 5 g, which is why spice quantities are still written in spoons.
How much does 2 tsp of ground cumin weigh?
2 tsp of ground cumin comes to 4.2083 g, or 4.2083 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the teaspoons-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Ground cumin in grams and teaspoons
| Grams | Teaspoons | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 2.37624 tsp | 2.376237624 |
| 10 g | 4.75248 tsp | 4.752475248 |
| 25 g | 11.8812 tsp | 11.88118812 |
| 50 g | 23.7624 tsp | 23.76237624 |
| 100 g | 47.5248 tsp | 47.52475248 |
| 125 g | 59.4059 tsp | 59.40594059 |
| 150 g | 71.2871 tsp | 71.28712871 |
| 200 g | 95.0495 tsp | 95.04950495 |
| 250 g | 118.812 tsp | 118.8118812 |
| 300 g | 142.574 tsp | 142.5742574 |
| 500 g | 237.624 tsp | 237.6237624 |
| 1000 g | 475.248 tsp | 475.2475248 |
Based on 101 g per cup of ground cumin. One gram of ground cumin is 0.47524752 teaspoons.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 101 g | 3.56 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 6.312 g | 0.223 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 4.208 g | 0.148 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 2.104 g | 0.0742 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 1.578 g | 0.0557 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 1.052 g | 0.0371 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 0.526 g | 0.0186 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.263 g | 0.00928 oz | 0.6161 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dried oregano | 48 g | 1.693 oz | 0.2029 |
| Ground ginger | 86 g | 3.034 oz | 0.3635 |
| Ground cardamom | 96 g | 3.386 oz | 0.4058 |
| Ground cumin (this page) | 101 g | 3.563 oz | 0.4269 |
| Ground cloves | 101 g | 3.563 oz | 0.4269 |
| Ground nutmeg | 106 g | 3.739 oz | 0.448 |
| Ground black pepper | 110 g | 3.88 oz | 0.4649 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.