Dehydrated / reduced weight food calories

Disabed77
Disabed77 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I wonder how you weigh food that changes its weigh after processing to get accurate calories - weight raw or after thermal processing?

Yesterday I was using my newly bought air fryer to do french fries. Fries lost approximately half weight after air frying. Which weight shouldwe be using to not cheat on calories?

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,976 Member
    For some foods you can find database entries for cooked/grilled/etc. where you would weigh the prepared food.
    But the most accurate will be weighing the raw food and using a raw food entry.

    Cooking changes the moisture content of foods: potatoes will lose moisture when air fried, but it will still be the same amount of calories as when the fries were raw. They have just lost weight (becoming more calorie dense - the calories are spread over a smaller weight).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited December 2021
    The calories don't change from uncooked to cooked weight. When cooked, food items just lose water...they don't lose calories.

    I'm a homemade jerky maker and work with 2 Lbs of jerky meat from eye of round roast. That 2 Lbs is around 1,100 calories. Once dehydrated I weigh the entire amount again...the whole package is still 1,100 calories, but weighs far less...usually around 1 Lb depending on how much I've dehydrated the meat and about 70 calories per 1 oz dried vs about 35 calories for 1 oz raw.

    In general, you would want to use the raw weight for determining your portion and calories unless otherwise specified on the packaging (see most bacon packaging). Alternatively, if you use a cooked weight, make sure you select an entry that is also for said item cooked.
  • Disabed77
    Disabed77 Posts: 2 Member
    Yeah I know calories are the same in the volume, but calories density changes, thats why its important which weight we use in app to calculate consumed calories.

    Raw weight it is, thanks.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    Raw weight is fine for grains and vegetables but does not work for foods that render fat upon heating. Fat logs in at 9 calories per gram, so even a tablespoon of chicken fat in the bottom of the pan means 100 calories.

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