Chopped dates

One US cup of chopped dates weighs 147 grams. Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.68 cups.

Also called chopped medjool dates, chopped deglet noor dates, pitted chopped dates, dates (chopped), khajoor.

Two sources agree within tolerance. USDA FDC 171726 (Dates, Deglet Noor, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup chopped at 147 g, implying a density of 0.6214 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Dates (chopped)' at 149 g per cup, implying 0.6298 g/mL. The gap between them is 1.36%, well inside the 10% milled tolerance for chopped fruit, so this entry publishes USDA's figure of 147 g per cup and names both sources.

King Arthur does not distinguish between varieties. USDA maintains separate records for the two commercially significant varieties: Dates, Deglet Noor at FDC 171726 (with the cup-chopped portion cited above) and Medjool Dates at FDC 168191 (which publishes per-date weight only, at 24 g per pitted date, with no cup portion). Deglet Noor are firmer and drier, common in bulk retail and Middle Eastern markets. Medjool are larger, softer and caramel-sweet, dominant in US grocery stores today. Chopped, the density difference between them is small because chopping breaks the fruit into similar-sized pieces that pack similarly, so this entry covers both varieties and uses the USDA Deglet Noor cup portion as the reference.

Whole Medjool dates weigh substantially more per date (approximately 24 g pitted) than whole Deglet Noor (approximately 7 g pitted), a 3-to-1 ratio driven by physical size rather than density. Recipes calling for a specific number of dates should specify the variety for consistency. Whole dates are not covered by this entry; a separate whole-date entry would need per-date weight data by variety and a distinct sourcing pathway.

The measurement is sensitive to pressing. Chopped dates are sticky, and pressing them into a measuring cup can add 20% or more to the mass over a loose-fill measurement. USDA's 147 g and King Arthur's 149 g both reflect a filled-and-settled cup, not a packed one. Home bakers using dates as a whole-food sweetener in energy balls, date paste, or no-bake bars should weigh rather than measure by volume: a firmly pressed cup can weigh 180-200 g, which meaningfully changes sweetness and moisture in the finished product.

Chopped dates sit in the milled category alongside chopped nuts. The category rule assigns chunks that pack by scoop with air gaps to milled, which fits chopped dates despite their stickiness: the pieces still leave irregular voids in a measuring cup rather than self-levelling as liquids do. The 10% category tolerance applies here, and the observed 1.36% agreement between sources is well inside it.

Related products not covered by this entry: whole Medjool dates (per-date weight documented at FDC 168191, cup-scale sourcing deferred), whole Deglet Noor dates (same status at FDC 171727 range), date paste (a puree, would sit in the liquid category with different sourcing), and date syrup (a concentrated sweetener, would sit in the syrup category). Dried dates coated with sugar or oats for anti-clumping are common in retail packages; the coating adds mass and the entry does not cover those variants.

No standards body publishes a bulk density for chopped dates. Codex Alimentarius CXS 143-1985 covers dates but specifies moisture content, defect tolerances and grading rather than physical density. Two authoritative sources agreeing within tolerance, both from independent publishers, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source (a professional culinary reference or an industry bench measurement) matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence.