Hey guys, so I'm confused as to how many calories I'm consuming when drinking freshly squeezed orange juice. Here's an example:
I just juiced 5 florida oranges. They were 2-11/16" in diameter. I used a Breville citrus juicer, which gets every last bit of juice out. I mean the only thing left over is a couple of seeds and the membranes. That yielded exactly two cups of juice.
I entered that into Cronometer using the "Orange juice, raw" entry, which yielded 223.2 calories.
Then I entered the equivalent in oranges, instead of orange juice. I used the "Oranges, Raw, Florida" item, and entered in the matching size and number of oranges. I would think that the calorie amount would have been fairly close, as I'm basically consuming the portion of the fruit that has all the calories. As far as I know, the rind and membranes don't have enough calorie content to make a huge difference. But that entry yielded 347.3 calories.
That's a 43.5 percent difference. That's a very large discrepancy.
To make matters worse, then I put in another entry, still using the "Orange juice, raw" entry, but this time, instead of using "cups", I used the "fruit yields" setting. That yields 193.5 calories for a whopping 56.8 percent difference between the highest number.
That discrepancy is really multiplied, as I often consume up to 20 oranges a day. That's a possible 600 calorie gray area.
I've done this comparison with different types of oranges, and the difference is very large every time. Definitely much larger than what the absence of pulp would account for.
What do you guys think: having consumed the juice of 5 oranges, did I consume 193 calories, 223 calories, or 347?
Replies
I always use weight for measuring calories. It's the most accurate. I don't use any other unit of measurement. The amount of calories in an orange can be way different depending on ripeness and even the tiniest size difference. I have held a ripe orange in one hand and an unripe one in the other and have noticed that ripe ones are usually twice the weight. In an unripe orange you will yield much less juice than a ripe one as well. There will always be a small amount of discrepancy based on ripeness but measuring your edible portion by weight is the most accurate way find out how many calories you are eating. I use grams.
So, when consuming freshly squeezed OJ, you would weigh the juice? Why do you think that would be more reliable than going with volume (like cups or fluid ounces)?
I use weight because it works for all fruits. I don't see a problem with using volume for liquids like oj, but solids like a banana for instance, can't be measured reliably that way since density is a factor (like how tight you want to pack a measuring cup full).
Are you trying to stay under a certain amount? If not, why not go with the lower amount? I have this problem with different varieties of dates.
Picking a method based on which one gives me more favorable numbers instead of based on which one is more correct seems wrong to me.