grated coconut / desiccated coconut: what's the difference?

Desiccated coconut is dried. Grated coconut could be fresh.

(I think)

this is what I got when I copied and pasted your question into google: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081209062007AAeea2D

so if a recipie says grated coconut, could you use desiccated?

Depends what the recipe is. If it's a cake, then yes probably.

If it's something else then you might want to rehydrate it (soak it in water or coconut milk), so it's a bit wetter (and make sure it's not sweetened desiccated coconut)

it is a cake but think i will try and rehydrate it a ittle anyhow...

One is grated and the other is dessicated, obviously.
Although I believe you can also get dessicated coconut cream, which is a different beast altogether.

Unless of course it means coconut that you have just grated personally?

Dessicated coconut does look like it has been grated though

exactly

Maybe it has. Grating & desiccation are hardly mutually exclusive. Something can be grated or desiccated, or grated & desiccated, or even desiccated & grated.

In answer to the OP - the difference is that you can easily rehydrate desiccated coconut, whereas it's a right old faff trying to stick a grated coconut back together.

Hope that helps.

I know... I just wanted to roll my eyes back at snarky selamlar

Dessicated coconut is very dangerous to birds, fresh grated coconut isn't.

LOL

Tenuous spam

Awww.