How to work out calories of chicken breast

heiliskrimsli

PAV8888 wrote: »

I find the argument above about raw vs frozen and the approximate weight interesting and at first glance a chicken that is raw and then frozen won't have any changes (actually the likelihood would be to lose water in the freezing process and thus have more calories for a given weight)

My point all along has been that the statement regarding the raw weight not being applicable to a frozen piece of raw chicken is factually incorrect.

heiliskrimsli

fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »

A_Rene86 wrote: »

LaauraLoses wrote: »

Yeah the calories are the same it doesn't change after cooking it

Of course the calories don't change, but the weight does, which in turn affects the calories if you're using the package's calorie count, which is based on raw meat. For example, I have a 5 oz piece of raw chicken breast, which after cooking, now weighs 3.2 oz. If I log 3.2 oz raw chicken, that's incorrect and I'm entering less calories than I consumed. I should be logging 5 oz of raw meat.

As long as you're using cooked entries, this isn't a problem, but plenty of people are using the raw nutrition facts for their cooked meat and this can result in an inaccurate count.

Exactly. The point of all this should be - if you weigh it raw, then log it as raw weight. If you weigh it cooked, then log the cooked weight.

Sheesh.

If it is frozen and not cooked it is .... raw. And you can in fact weigh it and use the raw weight entry.

PAV8888

heiliskrimsli wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

I find the argument above about raw vs frozen and the approximate weight interesting and at first glance a chicken that is raw and then frozen won't have any changes (actually the likelihood would be to lose water in the freezing process and thus have more calories for a given weight)

My point all along has been that the statement regarding the raw weight not being applicable to a frozen piece of raw chicken is factually incorrect.

Well, factually, 24 hours after entering my freezer, my frozen banana slices weight approximately 5% less than the raw banana slices I put in there.

I cannot speak to your chicken ;-)

ConnieT1030

I once tested this for chicken, because I saw someone say that freezing does not add weight, and I wanted to see for myself. (high school physics was a LONG time ago!)
I put a chunk of raw chicken in a ziploc baggie, weighed it, and then popped it in the freezer. Once frozen (the next day i think), i took it to the scale and weighed it again. Exact same weight.
Maybe the banana wasn't frozen in air/water tight packaging.

Out_of_Bubblegum

TL:DR - Measure your chicken while frozen.

Freezing meat causes water to form ice crystals.. which cause cell walls to burst, which then leak out their liquid during the thawing process... this the pinkish liquid on the plate left and is mostly water.

If you take raw (never frozen chicken), weigh it, then freeze it, thaw it, and weigh it again (minus the excess liquid) - the thawed chicken will weigh less because it lost liquid due to the freeze/thaw process... but will still have the same calorie content as it did before thawing it out.

In other words: Freezing your chicken does not magically reduce it's calorie count... if you want to measure raw and your chicken is frozen... best to measure it BEFORE thawing.

NOTE: This is also the reason that previously frozen foods taste a little different and have a different texture than never-frozen foods.

NOTE 2: Most "fresh/never frozen" poultry has been frozen at least once.. in the US, "fresh" is stored at 26 F, which is well below the freezing temperature of water.. There is still some cell damage, just not as much as with "frozen"
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/487e1e26-1421-4ac1-a86c-c8e65f6ce885/Poultry_Label_Says_Fresh.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

PAV8888

ConnieT1030 wrote: »

Maybe the banana wasn't frozen in air/water tight packaging.

You're absolutely correct. The bananas were sliced and frozen on an open tray so that they could be easily used. Hence the 5% loss of moisture

livingleanlivingclean

bwmalone wrote: »

TL:DR - Measure your chicken while frozen.

Freezing meat causes water to form ice crystals.. which cause cell walls to burst, which then leak out their liquid during the thawing process... this the pinkish liquid on the plate left and is mostly water.

If you take raw (never frozen chicken), weigh it, then freeze it, thaw it, and weigh it again (minus the excess liquid) - the thawed chicken will weigh less because it lost liquid due to the freeze/thaw process... but will still have the same calorie content as it did before thawing it out.

In other words: Freezing your chicken does not magically reduce it's calorie count... if you want to measure raw and your chicken is frozen... best to measure it BEFORE thawing.

NOTE: This is also the reason that previously frozen foods taste a little different and have a different texture than never-frozen foods.

NOTE 2: Most "fresh/never frozen" poultry has been frozen at least once.. in the US, "fresh" is stored at 26 F, which is well below the freezing temperature of water.. There is still some cell damage, just not as much as with "frozen"
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/487e1e26-1421-4ac1-a86c-c8e65f6ce885/Poultry_Label_Says_Fresh.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

We buy chicken, weigh it in to whatever portions we need, freeze it, then cook it - sometimes from frozen, sometimes thawed.

The weight of the frozen is the same as the raw weight. Some liquid comes out when it's thawed, but it's minimal. (this might depend on the quality of the chicken - I guess some may have the weight bumped up with extra water!)

If you're cooking frozen chicken, use a raw weight entry.