Shredded cheddar cheese

One US cup of shredded cheddar cheese weighs 113 grams (4 ounces). Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.88 cups.

Shredded, grated and crumbled cheese compared: cup weights side by side, the source behind each, and why they differ.

Shredded cheddar packs at 113 g per US cup with unusually strong convergence — USDA, King Arthur, and every major producer label (Kraft, Great Value, Kroger, Giant, American Heritage, Fresh & Easy) all report the same figure within 1-2 g/cup.

Cheddar is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese with moisture around 37% and solid density near 1.08 g/mL. Shredded on a standard box grater or machine-shredded for retail bags, its cup density is dominated by air space between shreds. Unlike parmesan (which spans 57-120 g/cup across grate techniques from Microplane fine to shaker canister), shredded cheddar shows exceptionally tight cross-source agreement.

USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, cheddar" (FDC 173414) publishes 1 cup shredded = 113 g, density 0.478 g/mL. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart lists "Cheese (grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss)" at 1 cup = 4 oz = 113 g, converging exactly with USDA. Every major producer label examined reports 1/4 cup = 28 g, extrapolating to 112 g/cup. ChefSolver's measured density (0.48 g/mL) gives 114 g/cup. This is a rare case of textbook cross-source convergence — the range across USDA, KA, and every retail producer label is 112-114 g/cup (1.8% spread).

The uniformity reflects two factors specific to shredded cheddar. First, cheddar is too soft to Microplane productively (it clogs the fine holes and warms), so essentially all "shredded" cheddar comes from a box grater or a commercial machine shred, both producing similarly-sized 1-2 mm ribbons. Second, retail pre-shredded cheddar dominates the US market, and pre-shredded bags are the reference for most home cooking; FDA nutrition-label convention treats 28 g as the standard 1-oz serving with an implied 1/4-cup volume, which becomes self-reinforcing across brands.

The one deliberate distinction worth noting is "finely shredded" versus "standard shred" packaging. Kraft, Great Value, and Kroger all sell both formats and label them identically at 28 g per 1/4 cup — the finely-shredded product uses smaller-gauge dies but the additional cellulose or potato starch anti-caking agent (2-4% by weight in nearly all pre-shredded bags) roughly compensates for the tighter particle packing. Home-shredded cheddar (freshly grated from a block on a home box grater) typically shows the same 110-115 g/cup range without the anti-caking additive.

For validation and internal consistency, this entry publishes 113 g/cup as a high-confidence single figure. USDA, King Arthur, and multi-producer convergence within 2% supports this position without a range publish.

Practical guidance: for cheese-heavy dishes (macaroni and cheese, quesadillas, cheese biscuits, quiche), 1 cup shredded cheddar equals roughly 4 oz or 113 g — the labels are correct, no correction needed. When a recipe calls for a specific weight of cheddar without specifying shredded or block, weigh from the block; shredded cheese weighs less per cup than block cheese by roughly 2.5x because shredding introduces air (ChefSolver measures block cheddar at approximately 265 g/cup versus shredded at 113). For very fine microplaned cheddar (uncommon in home practice), the same technique that reduces parmesan to 57 g/cup applies, but cheddar's softness makes this technique rare.

King Arthur is not a correction target here — the KA figure at 113 g/cup converges exactly with USDA. The convergence across USDA, KA, and all retail producer labels represents a rare consensus benchmark.