How to Convert Turkish Water-Glass and Tea-Glass Measures to Grams

Traditional Turkish 200 ml water-glass and 65 ml tea-glass measures correspond to different weights depending on the ingredient, so an ingredient-by-ingredient table gives more accurate results than relying on a fixed conversion. One 200 ml water-glass measure of flour weighs about 130 grams, while one 200 ml water-glass measure of sugar weighs about 200 grams. Liquids are simpler: one water-glass measure of water or milk is about 200 milliliters, while one tea-glass measure is about 65 milliliters. For solid and powdered ingredients, particle structure directly affects weight, so flour and rice weigh different amounts even at the same volume; this difference should not be overlooked in recipes that require precision.

How do you measure flour and sugar with a 200 ml water-glass measure?
One 200 ml water-glass measure of sifted flour weighs about 130 grams, while granulated sugar measured without packing weighs about 200 grams; pressing flour into the glass can increase this amount by about 20–30 grams. For an accurate result, loosely spoon the flour into the glass and level the top with the back of a knife. Confectioners’ sugar is lighter than granulated sugar, so the same volume weighs about 120 grams.

How do you convert liquid ingredients?
One water-glass measure of liquid (water, milk, or yogurt) is about 200 milliliters, while one tea-glass measure is about 65 milliliters; these values apply to liquids with a density close to water. With denser liquids such as olive oil, the volume stays the same but the weight is a little higher: one 200 ml water-glass measure of olive oil weighs about 180 grams. For thick ingredients such as honey and grape molasses (pekmez), a 15 ml measure may be more practical because it can be difficult to fill the glass completely.

How do you convert tablespoons (15 ml measures) and 5 ml measures to grams?
One tablespoon (15 ml measure) of flour weighs about 9 grams, one 15 ml measure of sugar about 12.5 grams, and one 5 ml measure is about two-thirds of those amounts. Whether a spoon is heaped or level makes a noticeable difference, so use level spoonfuls unless the recipe says otherwise. For liquids, one 15 ml measure is about 15 milliliters.

How can you avoid measuring errors?
For recipes that require precision, such as cakes and pastries, using a kitchen scale instead of a glass measure removes differences caused by how ingredients are packed. If you do not have a scale, using the same glass and the same filling technique every time improves consistency across recipes. Glasses from different brands can vary by a few milliliters, so it is useful to set aside a glass that has been measured once and marked as a fixed measuring cup.

What are the advantages of a digital scale?
A digital kitchen scale removes differences caused by packing and filling with glass measures, giving the most consistent results for precision recipes such as bread and cakes; a scale accurate to 1 gram is sufficient for most home recipes. The tare function lets you weigh several ingredients in sequence without changing bowls. Even without a scale, using the gram-weight table in this article once and noting the result makes it easier to use the same glass confidently next time.