Coconut (sweetened, shredded)

One US cup of coconut (sweetened, shredded) weighs 93 grams. Going the other way, 100 grams is about 1.08 cups.

Also called sweetened shredded coconut, sweetened coconut, shredded coconut sweetened, Baker's Angel Flake coconut, coconut flakes sweetened.

Sweetened shredded coconut publishes at 93 grams per cup, with two authoritative sources in acceptable agreement at 9.4% (just inside the 10% milled tolerance). USDA SR Legacy record 168586 measures the standard commercial product, the sugar-coated shredded coconut sold under names like Baker's Angel Flake, at 93 g/cup. King Arthur publishes 85 g/cup for the same nominal state. The gap sits at the edge of tolerance and likely reflects differences in fill method between the two measurement standards, plus real variance across commercial brands that use different sugar-to-coconut ratios.

Sweetened shredded coconut is one entry point into a broader coconut cluster on the site where the density story is unusually rich. King Arthur's chart alone lists five distinct dried coconut forms, and the cup weights vary widely between them: sweetened shredded and unsweetened desiccated and toasted all sit at 85 g/cup, unsweetened large flakes at 60 g/cup, and unsweetened shredded at 53 g/cup. The physics behind these differences comes down to two independent variables acting together. Particle geometry drives one axis: desiccated coconut is very finely ground into small dense particles that pack tightly, shredded unsweetened coconut is long stringy fibers that tangle with substantial air gaps, and large flakes are broad flat pieces that stack loosely but with less air than shredded fibers. Sugar coating drives the other axis: adding sugar to shredded coconut nearly doubles the density (53 g/cup unsweetened to 85 g/cup sweetened) because the sugar coating fills interstitial gaps between the fibers and adds direct mass.

The USDA and King Arthur agreement on sweetened shredded at 93 versus 85 g/cup is a two-source agreement even though it sits at the tolerance edge. Bakers should treat the published figure (USDA's 93 g/cup) as reasonable for standard commercial sweetened shredded coconut, and expect somewhat lower weight if using less densely coated brands.

Compared to the site's other coconut entries already in the database, this sweetened shredded coconut is much less dense than coconut flour (128 g/cup, dry powdered coconut meat that packs very tightly) but similar in density behavior to the general dried-shredded family. Coconut oil at 218 g/cup (fat category) is far denser because it's pure fat with no air, and coconut milk at 240 g/cup (liquid) is water-based. This entry will be joined by unsweetened desiccated and unsweetened shredded companions later this session, allowing bakers to disambiguate the five KA coconut states with confidence.

Category assignment is milled rather than sugar because sweetened shredded coconut is fundamentally fibrous plant material similar to wheat bran or flax meal. The sugar coating adds mass and changes flavor but does not change the fundamental packing behavior from fibrous-to-crystalline. The sugar category is reserved for granulated sugars, salts, chocolate chips, and small dried fruits like raisins and currants, all of which pack as small hard particulate solids. Shredded coconut, even when sweetened, retains its fibrous strand character.

Confidence is medium. Two authoritative sources agree within tolerance, the USDA record provides direct portion data with a clear analytical trail, and the physical mechanism is well-understood. The main source of remaining variance is brand-level: different manufacturers use different sugar-coating ratios, different shred lengths, and different moisture content in their finished product. Bakers using recipes that specify a particular brand should trust that recipe's implicit density; bakers substituting brands should weigh their coconut when precision matters.