Have you ever wondered where your juicy 200g chicken breast disappeared to after coming out of the pan? Suddenly it looks extremely tiny! Don't worry, it's not just you. Use our Food Converter to calculate the exact nutritional value of your cooked meat.
The Secret is Water
Raw meat consists of 70-75% water. Once heat is applied, muscle fibers contract and squeeze water out of the meat. The longer and hotter you cook the chicken, the more water (and thus weight) it loses.
On average, chicken breast loses about 25% to 30% of its weight during cooking. A piece that weighed 200g raw will usually weigh around 140g to 150g after pan-frying.
Does it lose protein too?
Fortunately, no! The protein and fat content remains completely identical. A 200g raw piece provides about 46g of protein. After frying, it weighs 140g – and still provides exactly 46g of protein. If you want to know how much daily protein you actually need, check our Protein Calculator.
How to Calculate Correctly
Since the nutrients stay the same, you have to be careful when weighing cooked chicken. 100g of *cooked* chicken contains significantly more calories (about 165 kcal) and protein (about 31g) than 100g of *raw* chicken (about 110 kcal and 23g protein).
Don't make it harder than it has to be. Use our free tool to do the math for you!