Cups vs. ounces

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shmoony
shmoony Posts: 237 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone else noticed that foods, particularly vegetables are often listed in the database by volume and not weight. This seems ridiculous to me since there is so much variance in the calories of a cup of an irregularly shaped and sized food. How can a "cup" of broccoli be quantified? A cup of spinach, really. I can easily turn 2 cups of spinach into 1 with a little squishing. A scale is precise regardless if the shape/size and should be the predominant unit of measurement. Am I being way too anal, or has anyone else experienced this same frustration.

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  • macdiver
    macdiver Posts: 145 Member
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    I agree. A lot of the database does not allow for a scale. Somethings are listed as 1 serving with no quantification to let you know what that means.
  • Gracerrr
    Gracerrr Posts: 141
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    So research the calories on your own and create a new entry. My understanding of the database is that it is simply what other people have recorded as public in the past. It's simply a tool. If you don't like it, don't use it. And no, I don't mean this to be snippy at all, so I hope you don't take it that way.
  • BamBam125
    BamBam125 Posts: 229 Member
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    I'm the reverse. I hate when a database entry only shows weight or oz instead of cups, tbs, teas, etc. After all, when would I carry a scale around with me? Heck, I rarely use the scale at my home kitchen even! It's too much of a hassle.

    It's so much easier to use volume measurements, plus since I've cooked ever since I was little I can estimate with a fair degree of accuracy when I don't have my measuring spoons or cups with me. I know about how bid a cup is in relationship to my palm or fist. Likewise I know about how big a tablespoon is compared to my eating spoons as well, but that's from practice over many years of helping out in the kitchen when I was growing up. When in doubt, I try to "round up" in my estimates.

    Most things shouldn't be squished to weigh them. Brown sugar being one exception in that it's often listed as 1 cup "packed".

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