Which is the most caloric, edible, single ingredient by weight?
There is a lot of articles among the Internet talking about the most caloric meals you can eat, but just out of curiosity, I would like to know which is the most caloric single ingredient you can add to you recipes.
At first I thought about sugar, but Wolfram Alpha gives an average result of 378 kcal/100 gr. So I tried with some other options and the winner so far is the extra virgin olive oil (very well known in my country, Spain), with an average result of 884 kcal/100 gr(1). Other similar products are sunflower oil, palm oil, and I suppose any similar oil.
So, is this the most caloric, edible ingredient? Or does anybody know of a more caloric one(2)?
(1) WA miscalculates the amount of fat in extra virgin olive oil, I don't know why. It says that there are 107 grams of fat in 100 grams of product, so I had to do a correction.
(2) According to the calculations in SZCZERZO KŁY's answer and following a clue given by MSalters's comment, lard has a bit more calories (902 kcal) per 100 grams of product. That should be (almost) the limit. These values seem to be taken from the National Nutrient Database made by the United States Department of Agriculture (olive oil, lard).
Best Answer
Your question goes near the answer. As you can read on those nifty tables on products, calories come from mainly three sources: Fats, sugars and protein. There are also fibres, alcohol (that are not counted as carbs) like ethanol and organic acids but the first three is packed with them.
So fat have 9 kcal/g, carbs 4kcal/g and proteins also 4 kcal/g (ethanol have 7 kcal/g but you can't consume it in large quantity like fat).
And from simple math you can deduce that clean fat, like olive oil, is the most caloric, edible ingredient".
PS. Wolfram made a slight change to your question changing the "100 grams" to "107 grams" so that's why it's not "900 kcal/100 g"
Edit: I think the kcal of 1 gram of fat is not exactly 9. It may be around 9,0132 or something like that. That's why WA recalculate the amount and round up, and that's why lard seems to have more. Generally we say that fat is 9cal/gram
Lard can be considered "cleaner" fat as it is processed fat. So it's not contaminated with all those vitamins and micro and macro elements like olive oil.
Pictures about "Which is the most caloric, edible, single ingredient by weight?"
Quick Answer about "Which is the most caloric, edible, single ingredient by weight?"
There is a lot of articles among the Internet talking about the most caloric meals you can eat, but just out of curiosity, I would like to know which is the most caloric single ingredient you can add to you recipes. At first I thought about sugar, but Wolfram Alpha gives an average result of 378 kcal/100 gr.What is the highest calorie ingredient?
Of the three major calorie sources (fat, protein and carbohydrate), fats have the most calories per gram making fat-rich foods the most common calorie-dense foods. Overconsumption of calorie-dense foods can easily cause weight gain so intake should be carefully monitored by those trying to manage a healthy weight.What edible thing has the most calories?
#1: Homemade GranolaCalories per CupCalories per 100g597 calories489 caloriesApr 23, 2022What is the most calorie dense food by weight?
High-calorie-density foods to limit- Candy and chips. Candy and chips tend to be high in sugar and fat, making them very calorie-dense and easy to overeat.
- Pastries and cakes. ...
- Fast foods. ...
- Oils. ...
- High-fat dairy. ...
- Fatty meats. ...
- Nuts. ...
- High-fat condiments.
20 Best Healthy Foods for Gain Weight Fast
More answers regarding which is the most caloric, edible, single ingredient by weight?
Answer 2
I don't know about it being the most caloric ingredient, but arctic explorers eat butter to help provide the roughly 9000Cal per day that they need.
I assume this is a trade-off across a number of factors, such as energy content, ease of carrying, ease of portioning, behaviour in cold weather and so on. For example, pure oils probably have higher energy content but it's inconvenient to deal with something that's a liquid at room temperature and a solid at low temperatures.
Answer 3
Lard (which is pure animal fat) is 902 calories per 100 grams.
Answer 4
As mentioned, you are near the limit at 884 calories per 100g.
However, ghee, clarified butter, a common ingredient of Indian cookery, has 900 calories per 100g. I don't know of anything more calorific than this.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: SHVETS production, Klaus Nielsen, Skylar Kang, Any Lane