I have a quick question I have been pondering, and wonder if someone can give me a correct answer?

In order to obtain the calorie content of meats we eat, should we base it on the cooked or raw weight? A piece of meat will shrink considerably during cooking and therefore the weight (and calorie count) will vary quite a bit.

Which is the correct way to measure this, raw or cooked?

I appreciate any advice.

Thanks
Kim

I'm pretty sure its cooked first before you weigh it Kim.

From your subject line I thought your question would be one of the bathroom scale questions. LOL

The yield on cooked meat will obviously vary depending on the fat and water content.

1lb Ground beef (no bone) for example could end up as 12oz cooked.

But how do you take account of bones and shells is still an estimation.

5lb capon will produce approx 2 1/4lbs cooked
1lb crab will produce 6-7oz meat
2lbs pork loin with bone will produce just over 1lb cooked meat

Fitday has the option for selecting either raw or cooked ... and under the cooked option, you can select based on the RAW weight, including bone/fat if any .. and it will calculate the resulting yield of edible portion for you.

From way back in my Weight Watchers days ... we were given this standard "rule of thumb":

• 25% shrinkage factor for water/fat, plus additional 25% waste for bone. So, an 8 oz. boneless chop would yield 6 oz cooked portion. And 8 oz chop with bone-in, would yield 4 oz cooked edible portion.

Poultry's a bit of a harder guess depending on the part, since the leg quarter has a much higher ratio of bone-to-meat as compared to the breast.

BACON is one that reduces drastically from raw to cooked yield. 3 slices raw have over 300 calories and 30g fat. When cooked and the grease drained away, those 3 slices have only 109 calories and 9g fat .. similar count in fact, to one ounce (30g) cheddar or swiss cheese

Doreen