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Weighing before or after cooking?

ljmus1
ljmus1 Posts: 29 Member
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Do you weigh food for logging purposes before or after cooking? For example I baked a potato for lunch. Raw, it was 190g, and after cooking it was 130. Obviously it's just water evaporating, but are the database entries for cooked or raw food? Boiling potatoes increases their weight, for example.

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    You could do both but I think weighing before is more accurate. When you boil potatoes, for instance, they will be heavier after cooking.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    it really doesn't matter as long as you choose the correct entry.

    Example Potato raw vs Potato boiled, chicken breast raw vs chicken breast roasted.

    I can weigh raw as I cook for more than one person.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Good database entries will specify raw or cooked. (For example, the USDA -- see https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods.)

    Packages are usually pre cooked unless they specify.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Weigh raw, use the USDA entries when possible.
This discussion has been closed.

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