How do restaurants determine the caloric content of their foods?!
How do restaurants determine the caloric content of their foods?
Answers:
Typically by a process called calorimetry, where a certain weight of food is combusted and that heat is transfered to a controlled measure of water. Depending on how much temperature the water raises, that is the caloric content of the food. Of course it varries depending on preparation, but in general this is a good ballpark representation.
(recall that a calorie is a unit of measure that represents how much energy it takes to raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree C)
I believe they simply add up the calories of the raw ingredients that they use in their prepared foods.
I am a former chef in Canada, I not sure unless they sell prepacked meals and have had a lab do caloric, cholestoral. nutritive content and fat grams analysis.
I never worried or even considered the calorie issues or fat content, you generally know by the menu description if something is high or low calorie, and most places now will accomadate the lesser, if you want something with lite dressing, no sauce or salt and most of the major chains now offer lower calorie menu items and choices.