Dried pineapple

One US cup of dried pineapple weighs between 142 and 160 grams, depending on how the cup is filled and which source measured it. That range is the answer; a single number would not be. Every figure behind it is below, with the method each source used.

Also called sweetened dried pineapple, dried pineapple pieces, dried pineapple chunks, candied pineapple, dried ananas comosus.

Two sources 12.68 percent apart, outside the 10 percent milled tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central lists Pineapple, dried under FNDDS code 62120100 at 1 cup = 160 g, implying a density of 0.6763 g/mL. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Pineapple (dried)' at 1/2 cup = 71 g, extrapolating to 142 g per cup and 0.6003 g/mL. The USDA figure comes with an important sourcing caveat: USDA's SR Legacy and Foundation Foods databases do not include a dedicated dried pineapple record. The 160 g figure is drawn from USDA FNDDS, a standardized dietary-survey measure used for national intake studies rather than a direct laboratory portion. FNDDS is authoritative USDA data but its portions are standardized estimates.

The gap between the two sources may reflect a real difference in product state rather than measurement noise. The FNDDS record shows approximately 84 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, which is unusually high for pure fruit and suggests the record covers sweetened commercial dried pineapple (the dominant form in the US market, with added cane sugar or fruit juice concentrate). King Arthur's entry does not specify sweetened versus unsweetened. If FNDDS measures sweetened and King Arthur measures unsweetened or generic, the added-sugar mass in the sweetened form would account for a density difference of roughly this magnitude. Alternatively, both sources may measure the same sweetened product and the gap reflects fill-technique variation similar to what appears for other dense sticky dried fruits on this site. Without documented filling methods and without a clean state-matched pair of sources, the two figures cannot be reconciled cleanly and this entry publishes the range.

Dried pineapple at 142 to 160 g per cup (density 0.60 to 0.68) packs at the upper end of the dried-fruit cluster on this site. Dried figs publish at 149 g per cup (0.63), dried apricot halves at 130 (0.55), dried apple dice at 86 (0.36), and currants at 144 (0.61). Pineapple's high density despite similar fresh water content to apples (both around 85 percent water fresh) reflects the structural difference in fruit flesh. Apple cells contain more intercellular air and collapse into puffy, aerated pieces during drying. Pineapple's fibrous flesh with tightly-packed juice sacs collapses more completely on drying, producing denser pieces with less internal air. This is the same physical mechanism that separates dried figs (dense, seed-rich) from dried apricots (less dense, pure flesh) discussed elsewhere on this site.

Product variants: sweetened versus unsweetened dried pineapple differ substantially. Sweetened pineapple is treated with cane sugar or juice concentrate before drying and can carry 30 to 50 percent added sugar by weight, which increases both mass and density. Unsweetened natural dried pineapple retains the fruit's own sugars only and packs lighter. Freeze-dried pineapple, which preserves nearly all of the piece's internal air structure, packs at approximately 0.15 to 0.20 g/mL (comparable to freeze-dried apples) and is a distinct product not covered by this entry. Sulfured versus unsulfured pineapple differs in browning-preservation method but has essentially no density impact.

Dried pineapple is placed in the milled category alongside other dried-fruit pieces on this site (dried apricots, dried figs, dried apples, chopped dates). 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 12.68 percent observed gap is a genuine physical disagreement rooted in state ambiguity rather than a measurement error in either source.

No standards body publishes a bulk density for dried pineapple. Codex Alimentarius has commodity standards for canned and juice pineapple but not for dried products. Two authoritative sources with an over-tolerance gap, USDA sourcing weaker than direct SR Legacy measurement, and unresolved state ambiguity, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published until USDA SR Legacy or Foundation Foods publishes a direct dried-pineapple portion, or until a matching state-specified pair of sources can arbitrate the gap.