Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
shortening
versus
brown sugar
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in shortening and brown sugar:
Both brown sugar and shortening are high in calories. Shortening has 133% more calories than brown sugar - brown sugar has 380 calories per 100 grams and shortening has 884 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, shortening is much lighter in carbs, much heavier in fat and similar to brown sugar for protein. Shortening has a macronutrient ratio of 0:0:100 and for brown sugar, 0:100:0 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Shortening | Brown Sugar | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | ~ | ~ |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 100% |
| Fat | 100% | ~ |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Brown sugar is high in carbohydrates and shortening has less carbohydrates than brown sugar - brown sugar has 98.1g of total carbs per 100 grams and shortening does not contain significant amounts.
Brown sugar is high in sugar and shortening has less sugar than brown sugar - brown sugar has 97g of sugar per 100 grams and shortening does not contain significant amounts.
Brown sugar and shortening contain similar amounts of protein - brown sugar has 0.12g of protein per 100 grams and shortening does not contain significant amounts.
Shortening is high in saturated fat and brown sugar has less saturated fat than shortening - shortening has 25g of saturated fat per 100 grams and brown sugar does not contain significant amounts.
Shortening is high in trans fat and brown sugar has less trans fat than shortening - shortening has 13.2g of trans fat per 100 grams and brown sugar does not contain significant amounts.
Shortening has signficantly more Vitamin E than brown sugar - shortening has 6.1mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and brown sugar does not contain significant amounts.
Shortening has more Vitamin K than brown sugar - shortening has 53.2ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and brown sugar does not contain significant amounts.
Shortening has more thiamin and pantothenic acid, however, brown sugar contains more niacin and Vitamin B6.
| Shortening | Brown Sugar | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.02 MG | ~ |
| Niacin | ~ | 0.11 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.68 MG | 0.132 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.001 MG | 0.041 MG |
| Folate | ~ | 1 UG |
Brown sugar is an excellent source of calcium and it has 82 times more calcium than shortening - brown sugar has 83mg of calcium per 100 grams and shortening has 1mg of calcium.
Brown sugar has 914% more iron than shortening - brown sugar has 0.71mg of iron per 100 grams and shortening has 0.07mg of iron.
Brown sugar has more potassium than shortening - brown sugar has 133mg of potassium per 100 grams and shortening does not contain significant amounts.
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Shortening (Shortening, vegetable, household, composite) and Brown Sugar (Sugar, brown) .
Shortening g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Brown Sugar g
()
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
| MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||