Shredded Gruyère Cheese

One US cup of shredded Gruyère cheese weighs 108 grams (3.8 ounces). Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.93 cups.

Also called Gruyère, shredded Gruyere, Gruyere cheese, grated Gruyère, Le Gruyère, Gruyère AOP.

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

Shredded Gruyère weighs 108 g per US cup (3.8 oz), a density of 0.457 g/mL. USDA's measurement is the anchor; the Murray's labels give 112 g, within tolerance, so this is a single figure at medium confidence.

Gruyère is a hard Alpine cow's-milk cheese from western Switzerland, protected there as Le Gruyère AOP, and also made in France and, under the generic name, in the United States. It is aged for at least five months and often more than a year, which drives water out: USDA puts it at 33% water, against about 37% for cheddar and 41% for Monterey Jack, with 32% fat and 30% protein. It is the classic cheese for French onion soup, gratins, croque monsieur and fondue.

USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, gruyere" (FDC 171242) publishes 1 cup shredded at 108 g and 1 cup diced at 132 g. Murray's shredded Gruyère, in 3.5-oz and 4-oz packs, labels a quarter cup at 28 g, which is 112 g per cup. That 28 g is the one-ounce serving written as a quarter cup, printed on shredded cheeses whatever their real weight, so it supports USDA here without deciding anything. Emmi's shredded Le Gruyère gives its serving by weight only, 1 oz, with no volume.

King Arthur's chart has no Gruyère row. Its grouped figure for "grated cheddar, jack, mozzarella, or Swiss" is 113 g, and the shredded Swiss entry on this site, at 108 g from USDA, already shows that the drier Alpine cheeses come in a few grams lighter than cheddar and Jack. Gruyère lands on exactly the same figure as Swiss.

Why lighter? Solid Gruyère is about as dense as water, so the difference is in how the shreds stack, not in the cheese. A drier, firmer cheese makes stiffer shreds that hold their shape and bridge across each other, leaving more air in the cup; softer, moister cheeses such as Jack slump into the gaps. USDA's diced figure is the control: cubes of Gruyère weigh 132 g per cup, the same as USDA's cubes of Swiss and Monterey Jack, because cubes pack the same way whatever the cheese. Only the shredded figure moves, and only by a few percent.

Practical guidance: a 3.5-oz bag is 99 g, a little under 1 cup; a 4-oz bag is 113 g, just over. For French onion soup, 1/2 cup is 54 g; for a gratin calling for 2 cups, use 216 g. Gruyère shreds cleanly on a box grater. Grated finely on a rasp it fluffs up and a cup weighs much less, so weigh it for fondue and soufflés, where the amount of cheese sets the texture.

The shredded cheese comparison page shows Gruyère beside Swiss, cheddar, Jack and the other shredded and crumbled cheeses.