Dried Coconut

part of: Coconut

Desiccated coconut is the white flesh of mature coconuts that has been shredded or grated and then dried to remove nearly all its moisture. It has a mild, sweet coconut flavour and a fine, dry texture that rehydrates quickly when mixed into batters or simmered in liquid.

It’s a pantry staple in Australia, used extensively in lamingtons, coconut slice, Anzac biscuits, and curries. Desiccated coconut comes in various grades — fine, medium, and coarse — with fine being the most common for baking. It also appears in South-East Asian sambals, Indian chutneys, and as a coating for sweets and confectionery.

Desiccated coconut retains a good amount of the natural coconut oil, so it can turn rancid if stored in warm conditions for too long. Keep it sealed in a cool, dark place.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Mature coconuts are cracked open and the white flesh is pried from the shell. The thin brown skin (testa) is pared off to leave pure white meat, which is then grated or shredded to the desired fineness. The grated flesh is dried in hot-air dryers at controlled temperatures until the moisture content drops below a few percent, producing the dry, shelf-stable product.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 664kcal
Protein 6.9g
Carbs 7.3g
Fat 65.4g
Fibre 15.4g Sugar 6.6g
Mass Distribution

1 oz is about 28.35 g — roughly 190 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈1.09kg
Freshwater ≈9186.87L
Land ≈29.09m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

sweet baking and garnish

Goes well with
chocolate lime pineapple rum vanilla
Classic dishes
  • Lamingtons
  • Coconut Macaroons
  • Ambrosia Salad
  • Bounty Bar

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

FSANZ + USDA

How it was calculated

Analysed

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromCoconut, flesh goes well withlime goes well withpineapple goes well withrum goes well withvanilla shares a sourceCoconut Flour shares a sourceCoconut Meat shares a sourceCoconut Milk & Cream shares a sourceCoconut Milk (Beverage) shares a sourceCoconut Oil shares a sourceCoconut Sugar & Nectar shares a sourceCoconut Sweets & Pantry shares a sourceCoconut Water
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