Logging meat (raw vs cooked)

SHaase

I've seen a number of threads on how to log meat values (raw vs cooked) and in most cases the recommendation has been to log the cooked weight, unless the food entry specifies that it is raw. However, I'm seeing data that seems to contradict this.

As an example, I wanted to log chicken thighs I got from Costco. Specifically, "Kirkland Signature, Chicken Thighs, Boneless & Skinless" in the cronometer database. For a 4oz serving (presumably cooked, since it doesn't specify raw), this comes in at 130 cal/22g protein/4.5g fat. Using this as a cooked value I had to eat a LOT of thighs (far more than I would normally eat) to hit my protein target, so I started looking around.

My search led me to find "FreeBird, chicken thigh, raw, skinless, boneless, organic", which seemed like an identical item from another brand, though this one explicitly specified raw. In this case, a 4oz raw serving is listed as 131 cal/23 protein/4.1g fat. These values are close enough to the Kirkland Signature brand that I have to assume they are equivalent.

Next, I found "Chicken Thigh, Skin Removed" which is sourced from NCCDB. 4oz of this are 196 cal/31.4g protein/6.8g fat.

Based on all this, it seems like the Kirkland item is actually for raw meat, even though it's not specified, and the last item is likely for cooked. If that's the case, the cooked thighs have ~50% more cals/protein/fat per oz than the raw listings and that means I actually ate ~50% more chicken thighs than I should have last night (which feels about right, honestly)

IMO, it would make things much simpler if the items in the cronometer database were contained the info on whether they are for raw/cooked ingredients.

p0wer_lifter

I’ve noticed that USDA will show a standard weight of 3 oz. for cooked meat and 4 oz. for raw meat. I don’t know if this is just coincidence for some of the food I’ve logged or a rule they follow.

Karen_Cronometer

Hi SHaase!

We recommend using the NCCDB when logging foods in Cronometer because they provide the most nutrient data. NCCDB provides the nutrient info for prepared foods, in other words the data is for a cooked serving of meat. If you're looking for raw instead, I recommend searching for a USDA. Search for the name of the meat and add raw at the end.

There is no rule for whether they provide nutrition information for raw meat or cooked meat for brand name products, like Kirkland chicken thighs. It's up to the manufacturer to decide. More often than not. they do not indicate which they have used on the package. Log generic versions in your diary to skip the guessing game.