Dried figs

One US cup of dried figs weighs 149 grams. Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.67 cups.

Also called dried mission figs, dried calimyrna figs, chopped dried figs, whole dried figs, dried ficus carica.

Two sources agree exactly, an unusually clean case on this site. USDA FoodData Central publishes Figs, dried, uncooked (SR Legacy) at 1 cup = 149 g, implying a density of 0.6298 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Figs (dried, chopped)' at 1 cup = 149 g, implying the same 0.6298 g/mL. Both sources land on the identical figure without specifying a filling method, so this entry publishes 149 g per cup with medium confidence.

USDA does not specify chopped versus whole in its cup portion for dried figs, while King Arthur specifies chopped. That the two figures nonetheless coincide follows the same pattern documented on this site for dried apricots, where USDA halves and King Arthur diced converge on essentially the same density: sticky dried fruit is dominated by clumping rather than by piece geometry, so whether the pieces are whole, halved, or chopped does not meaningfully change the cup mass. Dried fig pieces do not slide freely into settled arrangements. They adhere to each other and to the cup surface, forming irregular masses with similar overall air content regardless of size.

At 0.6298 g/mL, dried figs pack noticeably denser than dried apricots at 0.55 g/mL, even though the two fruits have similar macronutrient composition (both roughly 249 kcal per 100 g, 63 g carbohydrate, 30 g water). The likely explanation is the seed content: dried figs contain many small hard seeds embedded in the flesh, often several dozen per fig, that contribute mass without proportionally contributing volume. Apricot pits are removed before drying, so apricot pieces are essentially pure fruit flesh. This is why figs land in a different density band than apricots despite similar bulk composition, and why fig cup weights are more stable across sources: the seed mass anchors the figure and reduces the state-dependent variability that appears elsewhere.

Product variants: Black Mission and Calimyrna are the two dominant commercial dried fig varieties in the United States. Mission figs are smaller, darker and slightly denser per fig; Calimyrna are lighter-colored, larger and more delicate. Both trade under USDA data at essentially the same cup weight. Turkish Smyrna figs and Greek Kalamata figs are traded in Europe with similar cup masses. Sweetened or infused dried figs, sometimes marketed as 'soft' or 'plumped' figs, contain added glycerin or fruit juice that increases moisture and density and would earn separate entries if a second authoritative source becomes available. Fig paste, jam or spread is a fundamentally different product with continuous fruit flesh and no air gaps; its density approaches 1.3 to 1.4 g/mL similar to other preserves, and does not belong in this dried-fig entry.

Dried figs are placed in the milled category alongside other dried-fruit pieces and chopped dates on this site. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior: irregular semi-rigid pieces pack by scoop with air gaps in the same way as whole grains and nuts. The 10 percent category tolerance applies here, and the exact agreement between sources sits comfortably inside it.

No standards body publishes a bulk density for dried figs. Codex Alimentarius has a standard for dried figs covering moisture content, defect tolerances and sulfur dioxide limits but not physical density. Two independent authoritative sources agree exactly, so this entry is held at medium confidence. A third independent source, such as a professional culinary reference or a producer's laboratory measurement, matching within tolerance would move it to high confidence.