Understanding Soup Can Weights
When cooking with canned foods like soups, knowing the can weight can help you understand portion sizes and make better nutritional calculations.
Typical Weights of Full Soup Cans
The most common standard sizes for full, unopened soup cans are:
- 10.5 ounce can - weighs about 1 pound
- 1416 ounce can - weighs about 1.1 pounds
- 19 ounce can - weighs about 1.25 pounds
However, container weights can vary between brands and recipes based on factors like ingredients, canning liquid, and packaging.
Weights of Canned Condensed Soup
Condensed canned soups are cooked down to remove excess liquid, so they typically weigh less than regular ready-to-eat soups. Common condensed soup can sizes include:
- 10.5 ounce can - weighs about 8 ounces
- 10.75 ounce can - weighs 10 ounces
Again, check the labels of specific products for the most accurate weight.
Reasons to Know Soup Can Weights
Here are a few reasons why the weight of canned soup is useful information to know:
Portion Control for Weight Loss
If you're following a diet for weight loss or health reasons, tracking your food portions is key. Instead of vague "servings", measuring soup by weight provides a precise way to monitor portions.
Nutrition Label Accuracy
Nutrition labels on cans list info per serving and entire container. Checking the exact can weight helps you determine total calories and nutrients more accurately.
Recipes and Meal Prep
Many recipes call for canned ingredients by weight ounces or pounds rather than subjective volumes. Knowing precise can weights helps ensure your soup recipe turns out right.
Comparing Brands
Checking weights makes it easier to truly compare the amount of food you get from different brands or soup varieties to make the best selection.
Tips for Weighing Canned Soup
If you want to find out the exact weight of a particular canned soup, here are some tips:
Check the Can Labels
Carefully read all sides of the soup can label for any weight information provided by the manufacturer.
Use a Food Scale
Place the unopened soup can on a food scale and note the weight displayed. Tare or zero the scale first for accuracy.
Weigh Before and After
For the most precision, weigh the can before opening, then weigh the empty can afterward. Subtract the difference to determine exact soup weight.
Account for Canning Liquid
Remember that liquid packing broth accounts for some of the total weight. Weigh soup solids separately after draining to get their specific weight.
Common Questions
When determining soup container weights, here are answers to some frequently asked questions:
Does soup type affect weight?
Yes, ingredients like dense beans, meat, rice, etc. can make canned soup weigh more than broth-based vegetable soups per volume.
Do larger cans weigh more?
As a rule, yes. For example, a 19 ounce Campbell's soup weighs about 1.25 pounds or 20 ounces. While their 10.75 ounce soup weighs 10 ounces. So larger volume = more weight.
Is condensed soup lighter?
Condensed soups have excess liquid removed during processing. So condensed canned soup is typically lighter than ready-to-eat canned soups at the same volume.
Does Soup Can Weight Change After Opening?
Once you open a soup can and cook or store the contents, checking the weight can also provide useful information over time.
Immediately After Opening
If you weigh a soup can immediately after opening, but before pouring out the contents, it will weigh the same as unopened.
After Pouring Out Contents
An empty soup can will weigh approximately 1 to 2 ounces less than the original filled weight, depending on can size and material thickness.
Storage Over Time
If weighing cans of homemade soup over storage days, some liquid evaporation is normal. If weight drops drastically it likely means the soup spoiled due to things like mold, bacteria, or yeast growth.
Understanding Weight Loss Soup Diets
Monitoring can weights ties into popular weight loss diets involving soup.
Potential Benefits
Drinking vegetable soup can potentially aid weight loss because:
- Broths contain few calories
- Low energy density foods improve satiety
- Water-rich soups hydrate and reduce hunger
- Nutritious ingredients like veggies promote health
Considerations
However, there are also drawbacks to soup-focused diets like:
- Very low calories can slow metabolism
- Lack of protein, fat risks muscle loss, nutrient deficiency
- Fast weight loss often regained after diet ends
- Boredom and lack of variety makes soup diets hard to sustain
Weighing canned soup helps quantify nutrition, but extreme diets should be followed cautiously.
Conclusion
Knowing the typical empty weights of canned soups makes portion control, cooking, and nutrition tracking much easier. However, actually weighing cans is the best way to determine accurate serving sizes.
FAQs
How much does a full 10.5 oz can of soup weigh?
A standard 10.5 oz soup can typically weighs about 1 pound when full.
Do condensed soup cans weigh less?
Yes, an unopened condensed soup can weighs less than regular canned soup with the same volume. For example, a 10.5 oz condensed soup can weighs around 8 oz rather than 1 full pound.
Why is knowing the exact weight of canned soup useful?
Knowing precise soup can weights in ounces or pounds helps with: portion control for dieting, calculating nutrition info, measuring for recipes, comparing soup brands and varieties, and more.
Does an empty soup can weigh less?
Yes, an empty soup can will weigh around 1-2 oz lighter than the original filled weight since only the can itself remains. This estimate varies slightly depending on can size and metal thickness.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.
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