Food weight vs volume dilemma

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jswigart
jswigart Posts: 167 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am a real believer in weighing my foods to track calorie content.
I don't understand the discrepancies I have encountered.
For example: a can of manderine oranges may say a serving is 1/2 cup or 122g. When I weigh out 122g it is far more than 1/2 cup in volume.
The can says there are 3.5 1/2 cup servings, but the 122g us about half the can.
Which measurement should I trust?
Does anyone else see this?
Does anyone have any insight as to why this is?
J

Replies

  • mkraizel
    mkraizel Posts: 22 Member
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    Maybe the 1/2 cup serving includes some of the juice? That's All I can think of.
  • amyr271
    amyr271 Posts: 343 Member
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    Companies do not have to be 100% accurate with their portion sizes. That is why you weigh food in grams.

    Go with the gram measurement
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Go with the weight. You weigh yourself on a scale for accuracy don't you?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I go with the weight. For something like mandarin oranges, I would scoop out a mix of oranges and juice. I do that with grapefruit slices.

    The only thing I measure by volume is pure liquids (as opposed to the liquid/solid mixture above.)
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    amyr271 wrote: »
    Companies do not have to be 100% accurate with their portion sizes. That is why you weigh food in grams.

    Go with the gram measurement

    thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis
    exactly.

    same with bread- I find bread to be one of the worst offenders.
  • angelique_redhead
    angelique_redhead Posts: 782 Member
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    Another one that's weird is greens or spinach. Weight and volume don't seem to match up so I weigh it.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    Always use weight when it matters
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Just wondering, does the can really say 1/2 c or 122 g as a serving, or is it 1/2 c or 125 mL as a serving? I'm in Canada and all of the canned fruits and veggies are listed with mL and not grams. Yes, there is liquid but a mandarin orange is not liquid (ignore what the fruit bat says).

    I go with weight, either grams or cups (ounces).
  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
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    If the package does not specifically say "1/2 cup, drained" or "122g, drained" then measure undrained.
  • jswigart
    jswigart Posts: 167 Member
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    Thanks to all who gave me advice on this. I will just trust the weight and not volume measurements.

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