I see a lot of online descriptions of calories in beef, but none of these say whether the beef is uncooked or cooked. Should I assume they are talking about raw, uncooked beef, or is it just random useless information about which I can make no assumptions?
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The page you linked to actually does specify (under "nutrition summary") that the information presented there is referring to "cooked, shredded beef". At least, that's the option that is selected for me when I follow your link. Under serving sizes you can choose other options. If you just choose "100 g" then it doesn't say cooked or uncooked, but my guess is they only specify when it is cooked, i.e. the default would be uncooked.– Ruben van BergenFeb 7 at 11:21
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Even cooked, the weight will vary depending on how well you drain it of the juices given off, and both he weight and calorie content will depend on how well you drain the fat, so it's going to be quite uncertain– Chris HFeb 7 at 16:26
1 Answer
If they really don't tell you whether it is for cooked or uncooked, then you indeed can't know it.
I would be rather surprised at finding such unlabeled data though. It is rare, and if you, for some reason, happen to find a site so bad that it doesn't define what it measures, then just use a different site. For example, the site you linked lets you pick which calories you want to see, and with the link you gave, it is for cooked beef. You can switch to uncooked, if you wish (and to a weight measurement, which makes it more comparable).
Also, beef is a natural product, not an engineered food with a standardized manufacturing process. The numbers presented on nutrition labels are an average created after multiple measurements of the same food. The difference between two different batches of beef can easily be larger than the difference between the number published for cooked and uncooked beef.
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2I'd say with beef there can also be major differences depending on which cut it is. The proportion of fat varies significantly and I would assume that results in quite different calory counts.– quaragueFeb 6 at 18:22