The cleanest way to measure sticky ingredients is by weight: 1 tbsp of honey is about 21 g, and 1/2 cup of peanut butter is about 135 g. Set your bowl on a scale, press tare, and pour or spoon until you hit the number. If you've been wondering how to measure honey without leaving a sticky film in the spoon, that's the whole trick.
| Amount | Honey | Peanut butter |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 tsp | 3.5 g | 2.8 g |
| 1 tsp | 7.0 g | 5.6 g |
| 1 tbsp | 21.0 g | 16.9 g |
| 1/4 cup | 84 g | 68 g |
| 1/2 cup | 168 g | 135 g |
| 1 cup | 336 g | 270 g |
How to measure honey with the tare method
The tare button zeroes the scale, so you can add ingredient after ingredient into one bowl without doing any math.
- Put your mixing bowl on the scale.
- Press tare so the display reads zero.
- Pour honey straight from the jar until you reach the weight you need, say 42 g for 2 tbsp.
- Press tare again.
- Spoon in the peanut butter until you hit its number.
Nothing gets measured in a spoon or cup, so nothing gets left behind. Fewer dishes, too.
Weigh straight from the jar
This version is great when you're adding honey to a pan or a cup of tea instead of a bowl. Put the whole honey jar on the scale and press tare. Now spoon or pour out what you need. The display goes below zero and shows how much you've taken out. When it reads the amount you want as a negative number, you're done.
It works for peanut butter, molasses, maple syrup and anything else that clings to a measuring cup.
Why sticky ingredients go wrong by volume
Two things trip people up. First, some always stays behind. A tablespoon of honey that leaves a coat on the spoon might only deliver part of what you measured. Second, peanut butter is easy to heap or leave air pockets in, so one cup of it can be very different from the next.
Weight also explains why recipes can surprise you. A US tablespoon holds about 14.79 ml, so a tablespoon of water weighs about 14.8 g, but a tablespoon of honey weighs about 21 g because honey is much denser. King Arthur Baking lists other sticky ones too: about 85 g for 1/4 cup of molasses and about 156 g for 1/2 cup of maple syrup.
If you only have spoons and cups
You can still make it a lot less messy:
- Grease the spoon first. A thin film of oil or a quick spray of cooking spray helps honey slide right off.
- Measure the oil first. If a recipe has both oil and honey, measure the oil in the spoon first, then the honey.
- Warm stiff honey. Set the jar in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes so it pours more easily.
- Pack peanut butter firmly. Press it into a dry measuring cup with a spatula, level it off, then scrape it out completely.
- Stir natural peanut butter. Mix the oil back in before measuring so you're not scooping just the dry part.
For spoon sized amounts, a MeasureMate digital measuring spoon saves a step. It scoops and weighs in one step, so you can scoop a tablespoon of peanut butter and see the grams right away, with the display reading in 0.1 g steps. The removable spoon head comes off for washing, which matters when the ingredient is this sticky.
Quick questions
How many grams is a tablespoon of honey?
About 21 g, based on King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart. A teaspoon is about 7 g.
How do I keep honey from sticking to the spoon?
Lightly oil the spoon, or skip the spoon and weigh the honey straight into your bowl using tare.
How much does a cup of peanut butter weigh?
About 270 g, working from King Arthur Baking's figure of 135 g per 1/2 cup. Brands vary a little, so weigh it if the recipe gives grams.
Weights based on King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart and NIST volume conversions.