is the nutrition information on foods really accurate??

Okay, you will probably think I'm crazy, but I've noticed something strange lately since I've started cooking more often..
I use pesto for my pasta, and it says on the nutrition information that one serving is 1 tbsp and it is 100 calories and there are 22 servings. Well, I've used about 10 tbps and the whole jar is gone!! There is no way there are 22 servings in there...
This has happened with several other foods also, for example with hummus, it said there are 14 servings of 1 tbsp, and I measure it exactly, but it was gone after 7 tablespoons...
Okay, sorry for the completely random thread lol but this really has me sooo confused...and worried because I usually approximate how many calories are in the foods I cook, and if this is inaccurate then my calorie approximation is inaccurate too...

BTW I use one of these to measure 1 tbsp with:

I always check the grams on the serving size.. 28 grams = one dry oz ... My guess is you have never taken a cooking class... It is a level spoon usually..

of course my set is marked 1 TBS is 15 ml which is a liquid measure and would throw off some dry measures

I would check the grams but I don't have a digital kitchen scale so I just go by measuring cups..
I just assumed that on something dry, when it says 1 tbps on the package, it is already adjusted to whatever dry weight that would be ...is it not that way???
I do level it..
And no I've never taken a cooking class lol I didn't even know such a thing existed..

I read somewhere (and forgive me, I don't remember where) that the labels are not completely accurate. Some of the snack products, in particular, were under-evaluated for the calorie and/or fat content particularly. That the amount of calories and fat in some of the products are way too low for what's really in the product.

There are dry measurers and wet measurers. I have both. If you use a completely level tablespoon of something and you use that as your measurer, you should be fairly close.

My kids gave me a nutritional scale several years ago as part of my Christmas present (I had requested it). My scale shows the weight in both ounces and grams, the calorie count, protein, cholesterol, etc. It's really nice and I use it every day, especially when making a salad. I love the TARE function because it zeros out after every ingredient, making it easier to calculate each food. I also use it for dry pasta and even frozen vegetables. It came with a book that has tons of food items, each listed according to a 3-digit number. Put the food on the scale, enter the number and you will have the information you need. For example, I know that exactly 4.0 ounces of frozen blueberries will cost me 64.8 calories, rounding up to 65 calories. An apple that weighs 4.7 ounces will cost me 79.6 calories. I write that in my food diary, rounding the figure up to 80 calories.

I used it last night to weigh my chicken breast for chicken piccata. And for my sugar snap peas. DH and I shared a microwaved baked potato last night; 3.6 ounces of the potato was 115 calories. I'll take a nutritional scale over measuring utensils.

However, with packaged products, like pesto, I see where you're coming from. With your pesto, did you make sure that your tablespoon was completely leveled off? It's important to put the food in the tablespoon, then take a knife to level the spoon. I never eyeball anything anymore. That being said, I have taken notice that some of the products that I use aren't correct with the stated serving sizes. It's frustrating the whole way around.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

I would check the grams but I don't have a digital kitchen scale so I just go by measuring cups..
I just assumed that on something dry, when it says 1 tbps on the package, it is already adjusted to whatever dry weight that would be ...is it not that way???
I do level it..
And no I've never taken a cooking class lol I didn't even know such a thing existed..

Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablespoon fun read
most nutritional info s have it right next to the tbsp..

Example my instant mocha( not the greatest for you but about 1/10 th cost of the coffee house)...
says about 17 servings of 3 tbsp( 27 grams well 28.31 grams is approx a dry oz and the package is 16 oz or a lb or 453 gram).. I figured out it was Actually talking 3 teaspoons which = roughly 1 tablespoon.. If I did 3 tablespoons I would have far fewer servings..

garlic juice serving size 1 tsp =5ml

soup 1 cup , 8 oz or 240 ml

A nutritional scale sounds really nice!!
I am so confused now, I thought that a cup of milk is the same in volume as a cup of cereal, I mean obviously they are not the same weight, but I thought that on the label, when it says 1 cup, for the milk that means 8 fluid oz but for the cereal it means in the case of my cereal 55 g and on yogurt I just noticed it says 1 cup is 227 g in that same measuring cup that would have 8 oz of milk or water..
I didn't know there were dry and wet measuring cups and I just can't understand why that would be necessary, because regardless of weight or what's in it, the amount of volume held in one cup is always going to be the same.

Right ... think dry cat food most of it Fills the volume of 8oz cup but weighs between 3-5 oz

Originally Posted by sharky

Right ... think dry cat food most of it Fills the volume of 8oz cup but weighs between 3-5 oz

Click to expand...

okay...I am not confused anymore lol, I think I understand the wet measurers are just there so that the amount is more accurate since there is a line the liquid is not supposed to cross..

Sorry for the blonde moment.. I thought there were different "cups" but when I googled it I noticed that by a wet measurement all they mean is this

I don't really trust what any labels say.

I was talking to a man who owns a company that produces supplements. I asked him if the supplements contained sugar (they are very sweet). He said the amount of sugar in each tablet is just under what the FDA requires that you list on the label. He said his tablets were larger at first and he had to list the sugar. Now with smaller tablets, he doesn't have to.

I know that when using flour, many of my cookbooks are now including the weights of ingredients, not just the measurements. The reason is that flour, especially flour, but other ingredients too, will measure differently, depending on the weather and humidity. A cup of flour might weigh anywhere from just a few ounces to a lot more, simply because it's more humid outside. Or if the flour is or isn't sifted.

King Arthur, for example, is big on accuracy, using weights as well as measurements. Their recipes will say "2 2/3 cup (11 ounces) flour" as an ingredient listing. Other cookbooks are starting to do the same thing. I just use my scale now, whenever I can, because it's more exact.