Grams, specifically 100 grams, are a measurement of weight often used for baking or cooking.
Using weight to measure out ingredients can often make baking more accurate, which in return results in a better final dish.
Grams can also be useful for other small household measurements.
Measuring with a small scale is the simplest, fastest, and most accurate method for weighing 100 grams.
However, if you don’t have a scale handy, you can measure out 100 grams using a few other methods.
Use a Measuring Cup
Even if you don’t have a scale, you can still use a measuring cup to get very close or even exactly to 100 grams.
Many medium or large measuring cups have grams printed on the side.
Grams are used to measure weight, but because the metric system was designed to be simple to use and easy to convert, volume measurements such as milliliters can often be converted directly to grams.
For example, 1 milliliter of water is equal to 1 gram of water.
However, items of different densities weigh different amounts, so volume to mass conversions, such as milliliters to grams, won’t always be as accurate if you’re measuring something other than room temperature water.
If you need to measure flour, for example, 100 grams of flour will weigh less than 100 grams of water, so filling a container to the 100-milliliter mark won’t work as well or be nearly as accurate.
Similarly, denser ingredients such as molasses or honey will weigh more than 100 milliliters of water.
Using milliliters to estimate weights can still be helpful, though, especially if you use it in conjunction with other measuring methods.
Convert from Another Measurement
Even if you don’t have a scale, you may know how much of an item or ingredient you have in another measurement.
For example, if you bought 1 pound of flour, you can convert a pound into grams.
One pound of flour is equal to 453.6 grams. This means that 100 grams is just over 1/4 of the bag of flour.
This isn’t an exact measurement, but it can help you get started.
It’s also a good way to measure out ingredients before narrowing down the weight by using a comparison.
If your ingredients are measured in ounces, you can also convert to grams.
One United States ounce is equal to about 28.3 grams.
That means you would need about 3.5 ounces of an ingredient to equal 100 grams.
Use Paper Clips as an Estimate
There are many household items that weigh a very specific, uniform amount, and using these items to compare to grams can help you measure out 100 grams without a scale.
Regular paper clips, for example, all weigh almost exactly 1 gram each. If you have a box of 100 paper clips, you can use it to estimate with relative accuracy how much 100 grams of something else is.
For example, you can compare the weight of 100 paper clips to sugar, adding or subtracting sugar until the weight of the sugar and the paper clips feel the same.
Remember that using medium or regular paper clips is key.
Jumbo paper clips weigh a bit more, usually around 1.5 grams each.
You can also use other household items to compare to 100 grams.
Thumbtacks also weigh about 1 gram each, so you could use a box of 100 tacks to compare weights.
United States nickels, on the other hand, weigh exactly 5 grams each.
This means that 20 nickels should weigh almost, if not exactly, 100 grams.
Pennies weigh half of what a nickel does, with one penny weighing exactly 2.5 grams.
This means that 40 pennies will weigh exactly 100 grams, with only very slight differences in weight due to wear to or buildup on the coins.
Coins are often one of the best ways to get a good estimate and feel for a specific weight because their own weights need to be so exact.
Even some ingredients can add up to 100 grams.
A single raisin, for example, usually weighs around 1 gram. This means that 100 raisins weigh about 100 grams.
If you need 100 grams of raisins, you can simply count them out.
You can also use the weight of these dried fruits to compare to other ingredients or items in order to weigh out 100 grams without a scale.
A single almond also weighs about 1 gram.
Other ingredients, such as butter, can also be used to measure 100 grams without a scale.
A tablespoon of butter usually weighs about 14 grams, although there will be some slight weight fluctuations depending on the type of butter.
This means, though, that about 7 tablespoons of butter weigh just under 100 grams, so you can use this to measure out 100 grams of butter or use the weight to compare to other ingredients.
