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Sauce, Duck, Ready-To-Serve
Duck sauce — also called plum sauce — is a sweet, thick Chinese-American dipping condiment made from plums, apricots, sugar, vinegar, and ginger. At 1.116 g/ml, its density is driven by the high sugar and dissolved fruit solids content. A tablespoon weighs approximately 16.5 g; a cup weighs approximately 264 g. Consistency ranges from a thick jam to a pourable glaze depending on the brand. Used as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, wontons, and fried appetizers, and as a glaze for roasted duck and pork.
What is Sauce, Duck, Ready-To-Serve?
Duck sauce — also called plum sauce — is a sweet, thick Chinese-American dipping condiment made from plums, apricots, sugar, vinegar, and ginger. At 1.116 g/ml, its density is driven by the high sugar and dissolved fruit solids content. A tablespoon weighs approximately 16.5 g; a cup weighs approximately 264 g. Consistency ranges from a thick jam to a pourable glaze depending on the brand. Used as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, wontons, and fried appetizers, and as a glaze for roasted duck and pork.
Volume measurements can drift because settling, packing, and texture change the amount of ingredient inside the same spoon or cup. When gram values look surprising, structure is usually the reason rather than an error. Use the same fill method each time and verify by weight.
Chef note:Chef-level consistency starts when one reference cup is matched to a gram baseline.
Quick convert
- US cup = 236.588 mL
- 1 tbsp = 14.787 mL
- 1 tsp = 4.929 mL
Kitchen Conversion Chart
Cups, tbsp, tsp, mL and oz — all in one printable reference for oils, liquids, dairy and sauces.
Condiments
Viscous condiments like ketchup, BBQ sauce, or dips tend to cling stubbornly to measuring cups. This leads to waste and messy cleanup. Weighing directly into your dish or pan is the professional, clean, and accurate method.
FAQ
- Is duck sauce the same as plum sauce, and do they have the same density?
- Duck sauce and plum sauce are closely related products — both are sweet, fruit-based dipping condiments common in Chinese-American restaurants. They have similar density ranges (approximately 1.10–1.15 g/ml) because their ingredients are similar. The USDA value (1.116 g/ml) covers the typical ready-to-serve formulation. Branded products vary slightly.
- How does duck sauce density compare to hoisin sauce?
- Duck sauce (1.116 g/ml, ~264 g/cup) is slightly denser than hoisin sauce (1.082 g/ml, ~256 g/cup), despite hoisin being noticeably thicker in texture. Density is not always correlated with viscosity — hoisin's thick paste structure traps more air, while duck sauce's smooth, jam-like consistency fills measuring vessels more uniformly.