question about accounting for oils in cooking food

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helaurin
helaurin Posts: 157 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How should I account for oils used to sear food in a pan?

Example: for lunch, I put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, and seared 6 ounces of sea scallops.

Olive oil (generic) comes in at 120 calories per tablespoon, which is nearly 10% of my total daily calorie goal, so it's significant to me. (It also happens to be about the same number of calories in a Chobani yogurt, that just occurred to me...)

I absolutely know that I did not actually EAT the ENTIRE tablespoon of oil, because there was plenty left in the pan (as an experiment, after the leftover oil cooled down, I easily poured off one-and-one-half teaspoons, which is the same as half a tablespoon....and there was still a good coating left in the pan even then).

In the interest of accuracy - would I record the difference between what I put in the pan and what easily poured off? Or do I estimate what was still coating the pan and that I didn't have the patience to wait for to measure as I drained off the oil?

If I count ALL the oil put in the pan, that's 120 calories against me for today;
If I count the difference between what was put in the pan and what EASILY drained off, then it's 60 calories;
If I figure that another 1/2 teaspoon was left in the pan, then I would only count 40 calories against my limit for today.

Thoughts? (Yeah, I get that it might seem petty, but it's also a way for me to develop a framework on how to be accurate in this journey).

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • kam26001
    kam26001 Posts: 2,799 Member
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    What about the liquid from the scallops? Might be some remnants left in the pan. I would lean towards 60.
  • Wendyanneroberts
    Wendyanneroberts Posts: 270 Member
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    As you have realised, it's all these "little things" that add up. That's why it's important (for accuracy) to measure/weigh absolutely everything. These so called "hidden calories" will effect your weight. So this is an important question, not so easy to give an accurate answer.

    As cam said; the oil that is left in the pan (after searing), will have had water from the scallops mixed with it during the process. It would be impossible to be exact, on how much. On this occasion, maybe 60 calories would be closer.

    In future, (if/when possible) try limiting oil added to the pan, in the beginning. For example, on this occasion, would it have been possible to add only half a tablespoon, if that was how much you actually needed? Then logging that amount, would be closer for accuracy.
  • vaman
    vaman Posts: 253 Member
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    Inexpensive spray bottles available at Walmart and most dollar stores, work great for dispensing very small quantities of oil. A single small spray is all that usually needed for many cooking tasks. Simply fill the spray bottle with canola or any other mild tasting oil. Works nearly as well as Pam and costs just pennies. It's not easy to measure the oil per spray, but I would estimate maybe 1/4 of a tsp.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
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    id track it all.
  • helaurin
    helaurin Posts: 157 Member
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    Wendyanneroberts wrote: »
    As you have realised, it's all these "little things" that add up. That's why it's important (for accuracy) to measure/weigh absolutely everything. These so called "hidden calories" will effect your weight. So this is an important question, not so easy to give an accurate answer.

    As cam said; the oil that is left in the pan (after searing), will have had water from the scallops mixed with it during the process. It would be impossible to be exact, on how much. On this occasion, maybe 60 calories would be closer.

    In future, (if/when possible) try limiting oil added to the pan, in the beginning. For example, on this occasion, would it have been possible to add only half a tablespoon, if that was how much you actually needed? Then logging that amount, would be closer for accuracy.

    Good point about limiting the amount of oil. The package directions actually called for FOUR (4) Tablespoons of oil, but I felt that one tablespoon should be enough (and it definitely was more than enough - lesson learned for this particular item, at least.

    I also weighed the scallops both before and after cooking - 6 ounces before cooking turned into 4.5 ounces after cooking. (Of course, I used the pre-cooked 6 ounce weight in my calculation for my food diary).

    Thanks - I'm thinking I might try going with 1/2 of the amount I put in the pan for this. It definitely was oil (oil and water don't really mix, and it was definitely oil that poured off into the measuring spoons).
  • RenaTX
    RenaTX Posts: 345 Member
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    Since you brought up that there was still oil in the pan, maybe weigh what you put in the pan and then weigh a paper towel, wipe up the remaining oil and weigh the paper towel again?
    Or just pour out the remaining oil and subtract the difference?

    Try and use less oil than you normally would maybe another option so the difference is really marginal to you.

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