Help with food scale?

Torxa

I've just now ordered a food scale and I am stuck.

How do I calculate deep fried foods made at home? Specifically onion rings in this example, but I also make other things like tempura vegetables, cream cheese stuffed jalapenos, and stuffed mushrooms. Currently I am successfully losing weight eating all this stuff and making guesses (using restaurant foods that are similar), but I'm down to 132lbs at 5'3" and I know if I want to get to 120lbs I have to be much more accurate.

Here is where I am stuck.

If I am making the batter myself, dipping the raw onion rings in it, discarding leftover batter, and then frying the coated onion rings in peanut oil, I just don't understand how to calculate this at all. This is how it's happening in my head.

1. Start with weighing my raw onion after I've chopped it into rings.
   
2. Then weigh the batter.
   
3. Dip the onions into the batter.
   
4. Then weigh the batter again. The difference between the original weight and the new weight is the batter that actually made it onto the onions. This is a whole calculation in itself as I'd have to work out the original calorie count of the batter, then math out how much batter I actually used?
   
5. Then I fry them in peanut oil.

Now what?

I could weigh the fried rings. I would have a total weight of the completed rings, and know the calories of the onion and batter. Then I could weigh just my portion, say it's 2 rings. Now it's another math problem to work out how much that is.

And all that doesn't even include the peanut oil they were fried in. I don't even know where to start with that.

I have tried to Google this, but Google does not understand what I am searching for or else I am bungling my search phrases. Can someone please explain this step-by-step, or link me to a blog that does? And also, however dumb you think I am for asking this question, answer me like I am even dumber than that, please. I'm so intimidated by not understanding this.

puffbrat

It's a pain in the butt and I don't do it very often.

For the oil, measure the oil before and after. The difference is amount that should be added to your recipe as what actually made it into the food.

For batter I usually just keep all of it in the recipe unless there is a lot left over. One way to do it:
Track all ingredients in batter
Weigh batter before and after
Calculate proportion used
Enter each ingredient in recipe builder based on proportion
Enter oil in same recipe using difference from before and after

pinuplove

I don't eat deep fried foods very often, so when I do I just guess. If I had to do all that, I'd probably eat them never

quiksylver296

I don't deep-fry anything. No clue.

If I had to, I'd find a restaurant that had a comparable item, and just log that.

cmriverside

I would just use the restaurant guesses.

firefoxxie

You almost got it.

1. Weigh raw onion. [Lets say that's 95g = 40cals]
2. Weigh batter before dipping. [Assuming you know calories per gram already..lets say its 150g = 400cal]
3. Weigh batter after dipping. [Lets say you're left with 50g = 134 cals. So you used 100g = 266 cals]
4. Weigh pot of oil before frying and heating. [216g(1cup) = 1910 cals]
5. Weigh pot of oil after frying. [Lets say it's 116g left. You used 100g = 884 cals]

That totals to 1,190 calories for the onion, batter, and oil.

6. Take the weight of the onions after this whole process. Lets say it ends up being 295 grams in total for 1,190 calories.

That's 403 calories per 100g. (Note: All weight measurements above were picked at random for example purposes.) You can then re-weigh the portion you are going to eat from there.

Note: I don't fry my foods. No reason in particular. I just put steps I think I would do personally. That being said, if anyone has a better and easier way, please share. Also, feel free to correct anything I said above.

MsBaz2018

I don't usually deep fry because I don't know how to log. PITA, probably not a good use of my daily calories.

I have often seen online recipes for fried stuff estimate calories based on 10% absorption of the oil used in the recipe.

I'll try to use the tip of weighing oil before and after if I ever feel like frying.

earlnabby

I use info from restaurants that make them similar (batter or breaded, haystack or true rings, etc)

bigbandjohn

Weigh as you make. Measure oil before and after cooking to determine amount absorbed. Easiest way.

But that would be for the whole batch. Remember that if you let some cook too long, it will absorb more oil than ones you pull out early/on time.

Torxa

Thanks for the help!

I didn't think weighing the oil before and after would be right, due to evaporation, but it seems that is the most accurate way to handle it. I will do that, then compare my calculations to similar deep fried foods offered at restaurants and if I'm way off, well, I'll re-think that if it happens.