Do food database values include bones?

therobinator
therobinator Posts: 832 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
When I search the food database for items that contain bones....such as ribs or shortribs....do the nutritional values that I am given includes bone weight? I.e. if I say I my recipe calls for 5 pounds of shortribs, am I supposed to cut the meat off the bones and then weigh it, or should I weigh it *on* the bones?

Replies

  • BlessedMomX2
    BlessedMomX2 Posts: 241 Member
    Thanks for asking this quesion. I was wondering the same thing.....4 oz of chicken leg is thats on or off the bone?
  • maaalloryy
    maaalloryy Posts: 65 Member
    No... you weigh just the meat.
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
    If it is prepared and served with the bone then the weight includes the bone. If it is "thigh meat" from a chicken then it is not the bone. Ribs, in my experience, are served with the bone so that is included in the weight.
  • menchi
    menchi Posts: 297 Member
    I try to pick database entries that include a lot of detail like "Grilled chicken breast- skinless, with bone, no salt". It is clear to me that the bone will change the food weight, but it wasn't obvious to me that 6 oz of raw meat does not give you 6 oz of cooked meat (Gyah, I'm a chemist! I should know these things!) so you really have to be careful with the details and assumptions.

    Then I check the nutritional details to see if the numbers look funny. For the above example, it should have a small amount of fat, a little sodium (all meat naturally have a little), and plenty protein. If things look odd or I just need to check, I look up the self nutritional data website (http://nutritiondata.self.com) or compare to other similar entries on the MFP database.

    Over time I've developed a sense of how many cals should be in different types of food. Some still surprise me and I like that I'm learning to account for my food w/o the help of MFP. I'm still mostly dependent on MFP to keep track of my calorie intake, but I'm going to be independent someday! =)
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
    I try to pick database entries that include a lot of detail like "Grilled chicken breast- skinless, with bone, no salt". It is clear to me that the bone will change the food weight, but it wasn't obvious to me that 6 oz of raw meat does not give you 6 oz of cooked meat
    The only problem with this approach is that for shortribs (the specific item in my recipe), the MFP database doesn't say "with bone included" or "without bone included." :(
  • robertf57
    robertf57 Posts: 560 Member
    If it is prepared and served with the bone then the weight includes the bone. If it is "thigh meat" from a chicken then it is not the bone. Ribs, in my experience, are served with the bone so that is included in the weight.

    Correct. In addition, the database entry may tell you . Like "Chicken thigh skin on without bone"
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
    If it is prepared and served with the bone then the weight includes the bone. If it is "thigh meat" from a chicken then it is not the bone. Ribs, in my experience, are served with the bone so that is included in the weight.

    Correct. In addition, the database entry may tell you . Like "Chicken thigh skin on without bone"
    I thank you all for your input, but I am bumping this up to the top, because I don't think there has been a definitve answer to the question yet. (No offense to anyone who was so gracious to try and help.)

    The entries on MFP for shortribs say:

    * "Beef - Rib, shortribs, lean and fat, raw"
    * "Beef - Rib, shortribs, lean only, raw"
    * "Beef - Rib, shortribs, lean and fat, cooked, braised"
    * "Beef - Rib, shortribs, lean only, cooked, braised."

    Nowhere for shortribs does MFP mention with or without bones. Same for regular ribs, i.e. not "short" ribs.

    So, am I to assume that if bones are not mentioned in the item, that MFP means bones are not included? Or am I to assume that because these items are traditionally served on the bone that the MFP means bones *are* included? But again, who's to say what's traditional and in what countries.

    In any case, with my recipe, I included the bones with the weight.....so if I am wrong at least I have over-estimated the calories rather than under-estimated them.
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