Advice on calculating calories for a recipe

Roobyzooby
Roobyzooby Posts: 189 Member
in Recipes
Hi folks, I am planning to slow cook and then roast a glazed ham. I will weigh and calculate theca!ories in the ham and the calories in the glaze, but I will be soaking the ham in apple juice and cooking slowly in a slow cooker first. The apple juice will be discarded after the slow cooking, but some will be absorbed by the ham. Any advice on how to calculate the calories for that?

Replies

  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    edited October 2017
    I have no clue; perhaps someone else will know better. I have seen packaging of chicken labeled with up to 10 percent saline; I would assume that was injected intramuscular. I would guess that soaking or cooking any raw meat in a liquid would take up no more than about 5% of the liquid and any nutrients in the liquid; so I would suggest logging about 5% of the apple juice.
  • DaintyWhisper
    DaintyWhisper Posts: 221 Member
    edited October 2017
    If not too difficult, you could weigh the apple juice before and after the roast is done. The difference would be roughly the amount that the ham absorbed. Depending on how much apple juice is used to start, especially if it's only like a cup or two, I would just estimate roughly a fourth of a cup was absorbed and leave it at that.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    DaintyWhisper wrote: »
    If not too difficult, you could weigh the apple juice before and after the roast is done. The difference would be roughly the amount that the ham absorbed. Depending on how much apple juice is used to start, especially if it's only like a cup or two, I would just estimate roughly a fourth of a cup was absorbed and leave it at that.

    You will likely get some seepage from the ham while in the slow cooker so weighing before/after might not necessarily work. Evaporation would also trigger a pre/post difference though this isn't a huge concern in a slow cooker.

    In reality, mot much 'juice' gets soaked up by the meat during a braise. The braising liquid doesn't make a ton of difference if you will not be turning it into a sauce for the final dish.

    If you want to be really conservative assume something like 1/2 cup is absorbed by the ham. This would only add 50 calories or thereabouts to the entire thing.
  • Roobyzooby
    Roobyzooby Posts: 189 Member
    Thanks everyone, I did just add a small amount of apple juice calories in the end. I think sometimes I over complicate things when I don't need too.

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