How can you measure calories?

[Lefty]

I'm just eating a boxed pasta salad for lunch. It's 200g, has pasta in a tomato sauce with lots of feta, sunblush tomatoes, peppers and olives. It's bloody good

The box says it's only 280 calories which really doesn't seem very much for something that's really quite tasty and is full of cheese and olives.

Is there a way to verify how many calories are really in it?

[Puggit]

http://www.exo.net/~pauld/activities/food/burnapea...

[Noger]

Put the pasta, and a Mars bar in front of the nearest Salad Dodger and ask them to choose ?

[mattdaniels]

I was going to say - isn't this something to do with middle school science lessons and burning a peanut over a bunsen burner then I clicked on puggits link.

[OdramaSwimLaden]

Lefty said:

I'm just eating a boxed pasta salad for lunch. It's 200g, has pasta in a tomato sauce with lots of feta, sunblush tomatoes, peppers and olives. It's bloody good

The box says it's only 280 calories which really doesn't seem very much for something that's really quite tasty and is full of cheese and olives.

Is there a way to verify how many calories are really in it?

The box should be your best guide. My Ex's Mum used to be incharge of Tesco's "calorie people" and they were heavily looked at and scrutinised independently.

[Simpo Two]

You burn them to destruction in a 'bomb calorimeter' and measure the heat output.

What I don't understand is how the daily rate is 3,000 calories etc yet all food is raten in kilocalories...

[davepoth]

Technically speaking, calorie and Calorie are different things, Calorie being equal to a kilocalorie. Blame the French, I usually do.