Fruit Equivalency Calculator
Convert fresh fruit to freeze-dried fruit and back. Useful for recipe writers, ingredient formulators, and brand teams sizing pack content.
Assumptions
- Fresh-fruit water content is the category USDA average; specific cultivars vary.
- Freeze-dried product is assumed to finish at ~3% residual moisture (typical premium target).
- Volume conversions assume loose-pack density; pressed or chopped product fits differently.
- 1 cup ≈ 236.6 mL; 1 ounce ≈ 28.35 g.
How freeze-dried equivalency works
Freeze-drying removes nearly all the water from fresh fruit without applying high heat. The remaining dry-matter mass is small — usually 8–20% of the starting fresh weight, depending on the fruit's natural water content. Volume falls less than mass, because the porous structure left behind by sublimated ice keeps the pieces near their original shape.
The calculator uses three inputs per fruit: fresh-fruit water content, the typical loose-pack density of the fresh prepared fruit, and the typical loose-pack density of the finished freeze-dried product. The result is a usable estimate — not a guarantee — for converting recipe quantities or pack-content targets.
For more on what these numbers mean in practice, see water activity vs. moisture content, moisture control, and the full guide to reading fruit-equivalent claims on labels.