How many calories and how much sugar are in longan, fresh, dried and freeze-dried?
Fresh longan has about 60 kcal and 12 g of natural sugar per 100 g. Freeze-dried longan has 340 kcal and 70 g of sugar per 100 g, not because anything was added, but because the water is gone: one kilogram is made from 8–9.5 kg of whole fresh fruit. Per serving the picture is simpler. A 30 g handful of freeze-dried longan carries the fruit of about 18–24 fresh longans, one per crisp ball, with 102 kcal, no added sugar, no fat to speak of and 450 mg of potassium. That serving, not the 100 g column, is what your label and your marketing will sell.
How does longan compare fresh, dried and freeze-dried?
Same fruit, three water contents. The less water, the more of everything else in each 100 g.
| Per 100 g | Fresh longan | Traditional dried longan | Freeze-dried longan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | About 83% | About 18% | ≤4% |
| Energy | 60 kcal | 286 kcal | 340 kcal |
| Total carbohydrate | 15 g | 74 g | 85 g |
| Sugars | About 12 g | About 60 g | 70 g (0 g added) |
| Dietary fibre | 1 g | Not declared on most packs | 6 g |
| Protein | 1.3 g | 4.9 g | 7 g |
| Fat | 0.1 g | 0.4 g | 0.5 g |
| Potassium | 266 mg | 658 mg | 1,500 mg |
| Sulfite | None | Often fumigated | <10 mg/kg on every lot COA |
Freeze-dried longan sits highest per 100 g on every row, because it holds the least water. What that table hides is the serving size. Nobody eats 100 g of a product this light: a 100 g bag of whole balls holds 60–80 fruits.
What does a real serving look like?
A snack pouch or a topping portion is 15–40 g, so build the panel and the pack story around that.
| Freeze-dried longan | 15 g topping | 30 g snack serving | 40 g (US reference amount for dried fruit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh fruit equivalent | 9–12 fresh longans | 18–24 fresh longans | 24–32 fresh longans |
| Energy | 51 kcal | 102 kcal | 136 kcal |
| Sugars (all naturally occurring) | 10.5 g | 21 g | 28 g |
| Dietary fibre | 0.9 g | 1.8 g | 2.4 g |
| Potassium | 225 mg | 450 mg | 600 mg |
| Protein | 1.1 g | 2.1 g | 2.8 g |
The pack story writes itself: “the fruit of 18–24 fresh longans in every 30 g, nothing added”. It is true, it is easy to picture, and it gives a shopper a reason to pay for a light bag.
Is longan high in calories and sugar?
Fresh longan is a low-calorie fruit at about 60 kcal per 100 g. Freeze-dried longan is energy-dense per 100 g because it is concentrated, but a 30 g serving lands at 102 kcal, about the same as a medium banana. The sugar is the fruit’s own: drying removes water, not sweetness, so nothing needs to be added to make it taste sweet.
That is the honest positioning. Freeze-dried longan is a naturally sweet fruit snack, and it works best where it replaces added sugar in a recipe or a snack occasion, not where a brand is chasing a low-sugar claim.
Is longan keto friendly?
No. A 30 g serving carries about 25 g of carbohydrate, most of it natural sugar, which is more than a strict keto day allows. For low-sugar and keto-adjacent lines, the better fit is a small portion used for flavour: 10–15 g of whole balls on a yogurt bowl or a sugar-free granola adds the floral sweetness of longan with 7–10 g of natural sugar, and lets the brand drop added sweetener elsewhere in the recipe.
Which nutrition claims can a freeze-dried longan pack carry?
Three claims are within reach on typical values. Confirm each on the lot nutrition panel before artwork goes to print.
| Claim | EU (per 100 g) | US (per 40 g reference amount) | Freeze-dried longan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potassium | “High in potassium” needs ≥600 mg (30% NRV) | “Good source of potassium” needs 10–19% DV (470–893 mg) | 1,500 mg / 100 g → qualifies (EU); 600 mg / 40 g = 13% DV → qualifies (US) |
| Fibre | “High fibre” needs ≥6 g; “source of fibre” ≥3 g | “Good source of fiber” needs ≥2.8 g | 6 g / 100 g → “source of fibre” safe, “high fibre” right at the line; 2.4 g / 40 g → no US fibre claim |
| Sugar | “No added sugars” allowed; add “contains naturally occurring sugars” | “No added sugar” allowed when FDA’s conditions are met, with “not a low calorie food” | EU: qualifies. US: ingredient line is longan only; have your label reviewer confirm FDA’s conditions for dried fruit |
Avoid “low sugar” and “sugar free”: they do not fit a fruit that is 70% natural sugar, and a reviewer will spot it on the panel. The strongest true line on a front of pack is usually “100% longan, no added sugar, unsulfured”.
What about vitamin C and the wellness story?
Fresh longan carries about 84 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, more than an orange. Freeze-drying runs at low temperature under vacuum, so it keeps far more of it than heat drying does. The finished number varies with fruit and season, so FruitBuys measures it on your lot panel rather than printing a typical value.
The wider story is cultural, and it sells. Longan has been steeped for generations in Asian evening teas with red dates and goji, a caffeine-free cup sweetened by the fruit itself. In a Western wellness or botanical line, freeze-dried longan brings that ritual with a clean ingredient line: one fruit, no added sugar, no sulfites. Keep the copy on taste, tradition and ingredients; health claims beyond the approved nutrition claims above do not belong on the pack.
How do typical values become a printed label?
Use the typical values in this article to design formulations, cost recipes and draft artwork now. For the printed label, FruitBuys runs an independent nutrition panel on your commercial lot at an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory, in US Nutrition Facts or EU per-100 g format, so the numbers on your pack come from the fruit in your bags.
| Stage | What you use |
|---|---|
| R&D and costing | Typical values from this article |
| Draft artwork | Typical values, claims marked “to confirm” |
| Final artwork | Lot nutrition panel from your first commercial lot |
| Repeat orders | Same panel; re-test when you change season, grade or a new market asks |
Typical values for 100% freeze-dried longan; values typically move within ±5–10% with season, origin and ripeness. Lot nutrition panel available for label artwork.
If your product needs a strict low-sugar profile, freeze-dried longan works best as an accent at 10–15 g, or as freeze-dried longan powder blended for flavour in a drink base, rather than as the main ingredient. How freeze-dried longan compares with traditional dried longan on taste, sulfite and shelf life is in what is dried longan, and when does freeze-dried sell better; why a kilogram takes 8–9.5 kg of fresh fruit is in how many kilos of fresh longan make 1 kg of freeze-dried longan. The full specification sits on the freeze-dried longan product page. The label route and the other lines a firm quote needs are in the freeze-dried longan RFQ checklist.
FAQ
Is longan high in calories?
Fresh longan is not: about 60 kcal per 100 g. Freeze-dried longan is 340 kcal per 100 g because the water is removed, and a 30 g serving is 102 kcal.
How much sugar is in longan?
About 12 g per 100 g fresh, around 60 g in traditional dried longan and 70 g in freeze-dried longan. In FruitBuys freeze-dried longan all of it is natural fruit sugar; none is added.
Is longan keto friendly?
No. A 30 g serving has about 25 g of carbohydrate. In low-sugar products, use 10–15 g as a flavour accent.
Is longan healthy?
It is a fat-free, naturally sweet fruit with potassium and fibre, eaten for generations in caffeine-free Asian teas. Freeze-dried longan keeps that profile with no added sugar or sulfites.
How many calories are in 30 g of freeze-dried longan?
102 kcal, with 21 g of natural sugar, 1.8 g of fibre and 450 mg of potassium.
Can I print “high in potassium” on the pack?
In the EU, yes on typical values: 1,500 mg per 100 g is well above the 600 mg threshold. In the US, 600 mg per 40 g reference amount supports “good source of potassium”. Confirm on the lot panel before printing.
Does freeze-dried longan keep its vitamin C?
Much more than heat-dried longan, because drying runs cold under vacuum. FruitBuys measures the finished value on your lot panel.
Where do the label numbers come from?
Typical values for formulation and draft artwork; an independent lot nutrition panel on your commercial lot for the printed label.
