To convert fluid ounces of sour cream into grams, multiply by 30: one fluid ounce comes to 30 grams. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
Put next to water — 1 g per mL exactly — sour cream measures 1.0144 g per mL. That ratio, 101.4%, is what separates this page from every other ingredient in the same units, and it is measured rather than defined.
This is the pair that catches people out. A fluid ounce is a volume and an ounce is a weight, and they are only the same number for something with the density of water. One fluid ounce of sour cream weighs 1.058 oz, so the two readings differ by 5.82% — worth knowing before trusting a recipe that just says "oz".
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.417% of a cup of sour cream, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 2.083 cups, and a 1 kg pack 4.167.
What the number depends on: Thick enough that it has to be spooned and levelled, which is where the measuring error creeps in.
The formula
fluid ounces- The amount of sour cream you are converting, in fluid ounces
30- Grams per fluid ounce for sour cream, from its density of 1.0144 g/mL
grams- The equivalent quantity in grams
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in fluid ounces.
- It is multiplied by 30, the grams-per-fluid ounce figure for sour cream.
- The result appears in grams, with a second reading in oz beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
3 fl oz of sour cream in grams
Take 3 fl oz of sour cream: 3 × 30 gives 90 grams. Doubling the batch takes it to 180 grams, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
6 fl oz of sour cream in grams
6 fl oz of sour cream weighs out at 180 grams. Divide 180 by 30 and you get back to 6 fl oz, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
12 fl oz of sour cream in grams
Take 12 fl oz of sour cream: 12 × 30 gives 360 grams. Doubling the batch takes it to 720 grams, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in 1 fl oz of sour cream?
One fluid ounce of sour cream is 30 grams. Half that quantity is 15 grams and double it is 60 grams, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of sour cream not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Sour cream has a density of 1.0144 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 240 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 3.4 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?
Barely. Sour cream does not compress, so a cup of it is 240 g however it is poured — within about 1%, which is inside the accuracy of a domestic scale. This is the group where measuring by volume is defensible.
Is a fluid ounce of sour cream 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 sour cream weighs 1.058 oz, so the two readings differ by 5.82%. 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 sour cream would weigh 253.61 g instead of 240 g — 13.6 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?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 1% for sour cream — roughly 2.4 g on a 240 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How many fluid ounces of sour cream is 500 g?
500 g of sour cream is 16.667 fluid ounces — 0.0333333 fluid ounces to one gram, so 500 × 0.0333333 = 16.667. Going that way is a division by 30, or a multiplication by 0.0333333 if you prefer.
Sour cream in fluid ounces and grams
| Fluid Ounces | Grams | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 fl oz | 30 g | 30 |
| 2 fl oz | 60 g | 60 |
| 3 fl oz | 90 g | 90 |
| 4 fl oz | 120 g | 120 |
| 6 fl oz | 180 g | 180 |
| 8 fl oz | 240 g | 240 |
| 12 fl oz | 360 g | 360 |
| 16 fl oz | 480 g | 480 |
Based on 240 g per cup of sour cream. One fluid ounce of sour cream is 30 grams.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 240 g | 8.47 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 180 g | 6.35 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 160 g | 5.64 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 120 g | 4.23 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 80 g | 2.82 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 60 g | 2.12 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 15 g | 0.529 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 5 g | 0.176 oz | 4.929 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 236 g | 8.325 oz | 0.9975 |
| Heavy cream | 238 g | 8.395 oz | 1.006 |
| Vinegar | 239 g | 8.43 oz | 1.01 |
| Sour cream (this page) | 240 g | 8.466 oz | 1.014 |
| Tahini | 240 g | 8.466 oz | 1.014 |
| Half-and-half | 242 g | 8.536 oz | 1.023 |
| Egg whites | 243 g | 8.572 oz | 1.027 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.