How to convert the raw and cooked weights of food? The weights of food recommended by the New Dietary Pagoda are all raw weights.

On April 26, the long-awaited 2022 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents was finally released. Major media outlets rushed to report on it, and many health self-media also made detailed interpretations.

Many friends are already familiar with the main content. The new version of the dietary guidelines has 8 core principles, which are:

1. Diverse food and reasonable combination

2. Balance eating and exercise, maintain healthy weight

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables, milk, whole grains, and soy

4 Eat fish, poultry, eggs, and lean meat in moderation

5. Less salt, less oil, control sugar and limit alcohol

6. Eat regularly and drink plenty of water

7. Know how to cook, choose and read labels

8. Shared chopsticks to avoid waste

Among them, the two new items "eat regularly and drink enough water" and "know how to cook, choose and read labels" were added, the importance of using public chopsticks to share meals was clarified, and "mainly cereals" was changed to "reasonable combination".

The intake of various types of food has also been re-labeled in the dietary pyramid.

You should eat 200 to 300 grams of grains every day, including 50 to 150 grams of whole grains and beans; in addition, you should eat 50 to 100 grams of potato foods.

Vegetables are 300~500 grams, and fruits are 200~350 grams, which are exactly the same as previous recommendations.

Animal foods, including fish, poultry, eggs and lean meat, should be consumed in an average of 120-200 grams per day. Assuming that an egg weighs 50 grams, the total amount of fish + meat = 70-150 grams.

Eat 1 egg a day, eat fish at least 2 times a week; eat 300-500 grams of lean meat per week, an average of 43-72 grams per day. In short, you don't have to eat fish and meat every meal, but don't skip them for a long time. It's best to eat small amounts and multiple times, and control the total amount.

The recommended amount of milk has been increased from 300 grams to 300-500 grams because recent studies have confirmed the health benefits of yogurt and milk.

With the same total calories, consuming 1-2 cups of milk can help reduce the risk of obesity and all-cause mortality, and has no harm to cardiovascular health, diabetes prevention, and bone health.

The amount of water you drink is 1500~1700 ml, which is equivalent to 7~8 cups of water. Remember to drink water without oil, salt or sugar. For example, boiled water, mineral water, sugar-free lemonade, light tea, etc. Try to stay away from milk tea and sweet drinks.

The salt limit has been raised from 6 grams to 5 grams, in line with the World Health Organization's recommendations.

The alcohol limit for both men and women has been lowered to 15 grams of alcohol. This is because more and more studies have found that drinking a small amount of alcohol, such as more than ten grams of alcohol a day, is harmful rather than beneficial. (The two or three grams of alcohol consumed from fruits or fermented glutinous rice soup is too little and is not within the scope of discussion.)

I think I have explained it quite clearly. However, some friends still raised their hands and asked questions: I still don’t quite understand...

Are the weights of the various foods recommended in the Food Pagoda raw or cooked? How do we convert raw and cooked? How do we count bones, skins, and cores?

Here I will give you a detailed answer.

The weights of various foods mentioned in the Dietary Pagoda are all raw weight, raw weight, raw weight!

This is because, after cooking, the weight and volume of food will change greatly.

When cooking rice, if you add more or less water, the volume of the cooked rice will change. If you cook it into porridge or paste, the weight change will be even greater.

When raw meat becomes cooked meat, its volume and weight will shrink significantly.

The "shrinkage" of green leafy vegetables is even more obvious after being fried. A pound of raw spinach may seem like a large bowl, but when it becomes cooked, it becomes just a plate.

Therefore, if the cooked weight is recommended, the error is too large and the guiding significance will be greatly reduced. Unless otherwise specified, all food weights recommended by nutritionists are raw weights.

Moreover, the weight of food mentioned here refers to the weight of the "edible part". Any part thrown into the trash, such as egg shells, apple cores, chicken bones, and fish bones, are not counted.

But some friends also said: But I don’t cook, so what I buy are cooked rice and cooked meat?

Here I will provide you with some common data and key points for understanding the conversion of raw and cooked food (isn’t it very considerate~)

1 Rice and cooked rice

When cooking according to standard cooking procedures (common cooking plans in canteens and restaurants), the error in the raw-to-cooked ratio is smaller.

100 grams of indica rice (long-grain rice such as Thai rice) will yield about 250 grams of steamed cooked rice.

100 grams of japonica rice (short-grain rice such as Northeastern rice) steamed to produce about 230 grams of cooked rice.

100 grams of glutinous rice (short-grain glutinous rice) will produce about 200 grams of cooked rice.

Generally speaking, the higher the amylopectin content and the stickier the rice, the less it will yield after steaming. Each rice variety has a different type of starch, so the yield of cooked rice will vary slightly when the same amount of water is added and the same cooking method is used, but the difference is not too big.

100 grams of brown rice/buckwheat/millet/oatmeal grains, soak to absorb water first, then cook in a rice cooker, the cooked rice will be about 200 grams.

Because whole grains are cooked with their seed coats, the dense structure of the seed coat limits the water absorption and expansion of the rice grains.

However, the amount of grains cooked into rice depends on the variety, the amount of water added, and the soaking and cooking time. If they are soaked in advance and fully absorb water, the amount of rice cooked will be slightly larger. Long cooking time or pressure cooking can also allow more water to enter the grains, so that the cooked rice absorbs more water and increases its weight.

The amount of rice after cooking it into porridge depends on how much water you add. 100 grams of rice can be cooked into 400 grams of thick porridge, and if you add more water, you can even cook it into 1000 grams of thin porridge...

So, if you tell the nutritionist that you "drank two bowls of porridge", she/he may be confused because she/he doesn't know how thick the porridge is and how much dry goods you actually consumed.

The same goes for pastes and slurries. You should look at how much rice is added to the soymilk maker or wall-breaking machine, not how many milliliters of paste are produced in the end. What is the volume and weight of the paste? For the same dry goods, the more water you add, the larger the volume of the paste.

Finally, I want to emphasize a common sense:

The "two liang rice" mentioned in canteens and restaurants is 100 grams of raw rice, not 100 grams of cooked rice! Otherwise, it is a disguised price increase and stealing your money. No chef will just throw some rice into the pot and then weigh the cooked rice. They weigh the raw rice before putting it into the pot, and then add water according to the weight of the raw rice to cook the rice!

2 Flour and pasta

Flour, rice, millet, etc. can all be replaced in equal amounts. However, the moisture content of various noodle products made from flour varies greatly and cannot be replaced in equal amounts.

Noodles are made after drying, and the water content is equivalent to that of flour, so 100g flour ≈ 100g dry noodles. However, if other ingredients such as salt and alkali are added, the weight of noodles will be slightly higher than that of flour, but the error is within 10%.

100 grams of flour, after adding about 50% water, can be made into dough, which can be made into steamed buns, flower rolls, bread, noodles, pancakes and other noodle products.

100 grams of flour can make about 150 grams of steamed buns, dumpling wrappers, wet noodles, pancake dough, etc.

Of course, the specific amount will vary depending on the hardness of the dough, the amount of fat added, and the amount of water evaporated during baking. In addition, salt, yeast and other ingredients can be added to the dough, which will bring a few grams of error range.

The softness of the noodles also has an impact on the quality of the noodles. If the noodles are cooked softer, the water content will increase.

After baking, bread has a moisture content of about 35%, which is lower than steamed bread and pancakes. If the fat content is high, the moisture content will drop further.

If sugar is added, the amount of carbohydrates will increase, so you can't just use flour to convert it, you have to take the amount of sugar into account. If you convert from the amount of carbohydrates, 100 grams of sugar ≈ 133 grams of flour.

3. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams and other tubers

The moisture content of potato foods is between 70% and 80%. Varieties with high starch content have less moisture, while varieties with low starch content have higher moisture content.

There is a big difference in weight between steaming and baking.

Steamed potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, etc., have little change in weight between raw and cooked because there is no water loss or water gain. When cooked, if they are chopped, they will absorb some water and their weight will increase slightly.

When baked, the weight decreases due to evaporation of water on the surface. For example, 100 grams of raw sweet potatoes can be made into 70-80 grams of baked sweet potatoes.

4 Lean meat, fish and shrimp

Consider the stewing, braising and stir-frying procedures, excluding stir-frying and deep-frying.

After 100 grams of lean beef is cooked into braised beef, it weighs about 60 grams.

After 100 grams of lean pork is cooked, it weighs about 60 grams.

This is just an approximate number, called the "yield rate". Yield rate = (cooked meat weight/raw meat weight) × 100%.

The specific amount of cooked meat depends on the tenderness of the meat, cooking time, cooking method, amount of salt added, amount of seasoning added, whether alkali treatment is added, whether phosphate treatment is added, etc.

If the meat is high in fat, after a long cooking time, the fat will dissolve into the water, causing the weight of the cooked meat to decrease.

The cooking temperature should be lower, below boiling temperature, and simmered over low heat. This will cause less moisture to evaporate from the meat, less protein to polymerize and lose less water, and the weight loss of lean meat will be smaller.

Adding starch to coat and thicken the food will help reduce the water loss of meat protein, and will also reduce the weight loss of cooked meat when frying it.

Measures such as adding more salt, adding alkali, and adding phosphates can improve the hydration properties of protein, allowing it to "retain" more water after cooking, thereby increasing the weight of cooked meat and improving the "yield rate."

For fish and shrimp, the "yield rate" of fish fillets depends on the specific fish species, moisture content, and cooking method, and cannot be generalized.

For example, the super-high water content of basa fish, which has a protein content of only about 10%, shrinks severely after cooking. However, if you use sea bass, which has a protein content of about 18%, the shrinkage of the fish meat is not that serious.

For example, when grilling fish, the volume and weight shrink more seriously because water evaporates; but when steaming fish, there is almost no water loss, so the weight loss is relatively small.

In addition, the effect of added ingredients is the same. Adding alkali treatment and adding phosphates will increase the preservation rate of fish weight.

Finally, I would like to emphasize a common sense: fat is not counted as the amount of meat, but the amount of fat!

100 grams of fatty meat ≈ 90 grams of fat.

Therefore, the "lean meat" mentioned in the dietary guidelines does not include fat! Of course, it does not include the weight of bones and skin.

5. Milk

The amount of milk is calculated based on the amount of whole pasteurized milk.

250 ml pasteurized milk = 250 ml boxed pure milk.

Plain yogurt has about 7% more sugar than milk, and other changes are less than 1% (such as adding a few tenths of a percent of thickener). But after all, it is only 7%, so plain yogurt and milk can basically be replaced in equal amounts.

Flavored yogurt and formula milk can be added with no more than 20% of other ingredients, and the protein and calcium content is slightly reduced, so it can be converted to 80%.

250g fruit yogurt ≈ 200g plain yogurt

250g breakfast milk ≈ 200g pure milk

The conversion between milk powder and milk depends on the type of milk and its protein content.

Pure milk powder, formally known as "milk powder", cannot contain any ingredients other than milk.

Generally speaking, 7 to 8 kg of whole milk can produce 1 kg of pure whole milk powder.

In other words, 40 grams of milk powder ≈ 300 grams of milk.

But there is also a series of "modulated milk powder" in milk powder, which means that the ingredients can be adjusted and no more than 30% of other ingredients can be added. They are more complicated. When buying, you should carefully read the "product category" on the back of the outer packaging, and then carefully read the "nutritional ingredient table".

For example, 100 grams of a certain formula milk powder contains 18.6 grams of protein, while 100 grams of milk contains 3.1 grams of protein, then 18.6÷3.1 = 6, that is, 40 grams of milk powder ≈ 240 grams of milk.

6. Fruits and vegetables

There is no issue with the raw-to-ripe ratio of fruits. Just calculate according to the weight of the edible part.

However, the edible portion of each fruit varies greatly. The proportions in the food composition table are all measured many years ago and do not cover all varieties currently on the market, so there may be some discrepancies with the actual situation.

For example, some watermelons have thick rinds, while others have thin rinds. The thickness of the rind varies greatly. For another example, some lychees and longans have large cores, while others have small cores. Some people peel apples, while others do not.

Although these will cause errors, since the fruit intake range is 200-350 grams, the tolerance is very large, so the small error caused by the skin and core can be ignored. In general, you can make up for the weight of the skin and core, as well as the local loss caused by bumps, etc. by about 25%.

That is to say, if you plan to eat 320 grams of fruit pulp, then on average, you can buy 400 grams of fruit.

The edible parts of vegetables also vary greatly, because everyone throws away different amounts. For example, when I wash vegetables, I throw away very little, and I want to make full use of every leaf, while my family members throw away more...

The weight after cooking is closely related to the cooking method, and everyone's cooking is different, so it is meaningless to say the cooked weight of vegetables.

Generally speaking, the difference between the weight after steaming and the raw weight is small, but after cooking, baking and other processes, the weight shrinks significantly due to evaporation.

7. Grease

All kinds of clear and transparent cooking oils, whether soybean oil, peanut oil, olive oil, rapeseed oil, etc., almost all contain 99.9% fat. Therefore, all kinds of cooking oils can be converted into equal amounts.

The fat content of refined lard is also over 99%, so it can be converted into cooking oil on an equal basis.

But butter is different. There are various types, with different fat and water contents, so read the nutrition facts carefully.

For example, if the fat content of a butter product used for spreading on bread is marked as 88% per 100 grams, then the conversion between it and cooking oil is the weight of the butter × 0.88.

8. Salt

The amount of salt is more complicated, because the goal of salt control is to control sodium intake, so all kinds of sodium-containing condiments must be taken into account.

1 gram of MSG ≈ 0.3 grams of salt

1g chicken stock ≈ 0.5g salt

1 gram of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) ≈ 0.8 grams of salt

1 gram of soda ash (sodium carbonate) ≈ 1.1 grams of salt

How much salt soy sauce is equivalent to depends on its sodium content. The sodium content of each product is different and can vary by more than 50%.

For example, a soy sauce label says that 1 serving (10 ml) contains 580 mg of sodium.

580 mg sodium = 1460 mg salt = 1.46 g table salt

10 ml is about one tablespoon. So, 1 tablespoon of this soy sauce ≈ 1.5 grams of salt

However, some soy sauces are labeled as 15 ml per serving, or directly label the sodium content in 100 ml. This requires conversion for different products.

The simple way is to choose the soy sauce with the lowest sodium content among similar products. Low saltiness and strong umami flavor are the most ideal seasoning products.

However, as the sodium content decreases, the ability to inhibit microorganisms will decrease, and a little preservatives need to be added to help, such as potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, sodium dehydroacetate, etc. Don't be afraid of them, because compared with the harm of eating too much salt, the health risk of adding a small amount of preservatives is minimal.

If the soy sauce you buy has a high sodium content, dilute it with water before using.

Okay, now everyone has a clearer idea of ​​how to convert food quantities.

There is a lot of knowledge in the dietary guidelines! I will continue to discuss other related knowledge in future articles, so stay tuned.

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