French fries and other fried white potatoes100 g vs 100 gTwo cited FDC recordsUpdated

Potato, french fries: fast food vs frozen baked USDA FDC 2709461 vs 2709460

Per 100 g, fast food reports 14.7 g total fat, while frozen baked reports 5.5 g total fat.

The comparison uses two cited USDA records. Their complete source names, household portions, nutrient values, and FoodData Central links remain visible below.

Record A · FDC 2709461

Potato, french fries, fast food

Check this record in FoodData Central ↗

Record B · FDC 2709460

Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked

Check this record in FoodData Central ↗

Highlighted difference

Calories at the same 100-gram weight

Bar length shows the two cited values on one shared denominator. It does not rank either food or establish why they differ.

  1. 312 kcal
  2. 158 kcal

Shared basis: 100 g · kcal

Equal-weight evidence

Nutrition per 100 grams

Both columns use the same mass, which compares nutrient concentration without allowing the two representative source amounts to change the denominator. “A +” or “B +” reports the arithmetic difference between the cited values; it is not a quality score.

On smaller screens, focus a comparison table and scroll horizontally to read every column.

Per-100-gram nutrient comparison for Potato, french fries, fast food and Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked
NutrientA · Potato, french fries, fast foodB · Potato, french fries, from frozen, bakedDifference
CaloriesMaterial difference 312 kcal 158 kcal A +154 kcal
Protein 3.4 g 2.8 g A +0.7 g
Total fatMaterial difference 14.7 g 5.5 g A +9.2 g
CarbohydrateMaterial difference 41.4 g 25.6 g A +15.8 g
Dietary fiberMaterial difference 3.8 g 2 g A +1.8 g
Total sugars 0.3 g 0.4 g B +0.1 g
SodiumMaterial difference 210 mg 324 mg B +114 mg
Saturated fatMaterial difference 2.3 g 0.8 g A +1.5 g
Potassium 579 mg 478 mg A +101 mg
Calcium 18 mg 12 mg A +6 mg
Iron 0.8 mg 0.6 mg A +0.2 mg

Values come from the two cited USDA FoodData Central Survey Foods records. Feast does not average records, impute missing values, or infer a nutrient from the food name.

Read the table by question

The material primary-nutrient differences run in both directions: A is higher on 4, while B is higher on 1.

These answers describe concentration per 100 grams. “More” and “less” identify the arithmetic direction only; they do not decide which record is a better match or which food is better for a person.

Which reports fewer calories?

Record B

Record B reports 158 kcal, compared with 312 kcal in the other record—a difference of 154 kcal.

Which reports more protein?

Record A

Record A reports 3.4 g, compared with 2.8 g in the other record—a difference of 0.7 g.

Which reports more fiber?

Record A

Record A reports 3.8 g, compared with 2 g in the other record—a difference of 1.8 g.

Which reports less sodium?

Record A

Record A reports 210 mg, compared with 324 mg in the other record—a difference of 114 mg.

What differs in the source descriptions

The exact names carry information the numbers cannot.

USDA assigns both records to “French fries and other fried white potatoes,” but the topic label is broad. Record A is “Potato, french fries, fast food.” Record B is “Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked.” Feast paired them because their contrast-neutral food identities are an exact match, not merely because they share a generic category.

The controlled name parser found 3 interpretable distinctions. These labels organize wording already present in the names; they do not establish that a distinction caused a nutrient difference.

Controlled wording distinctions
Description dimensionRecord ARecord B
Preparation wordingNo matching controlled term in the source namebaked, roasted, or broiled
Source formNo matching controlled term in the source namefrozen
Source contextrestaurant or fast foodNo matching controlled term in the source name

Even a clean name contrast can carry hidden companions. A fried record may also include coating; a restaurant record can use a different recipe; a reduced-sodium description can differ in more than salt; and a source amount can reflect a different reporting convention. That is why this page reports the complete pair rather than treating one word as an intervention.

Portion context

A representative source amount is not a shared “serving.”

Record A uses USDA reference amount at 110 g. Record B uses USDA reference amount at 110 g. Those labels and gram weights come from their respective records. They are useful for scaling the chosen profile, but they are not recommendations and need not describe equal amounts.

The representative amounts do not cross Feast’s material portion-difference threshold of both 15 grams and 20%. They are still separate source measures, so the 100-gram table remains the appropriate place for an equal-weight comparison.

A cup, piece, slice, sandwich, fillet, or fluid ounce can have different gram weights across records. A matching label is not enough: check the listed grams. If accuracy matters more than convenience, weighing the food or using a current package label can be more specific than a generic survey-food measure.

Record A measures

  • 1 kids meal order70 g
  • 1 value/dollar menu order85 g
  • 1 small fast food order110 g
  • 1 medium fast food order145 g
  • 1 large fast food order180 g
  • 1 fry, NS as to shape5 g
  • 1 shoestring2 g
  • 1 straight cut5 g
Scale record A →

Record B measures

  • 1 fry, NS as to shape5 g
  • 1 shoestring2 g
  • 1 straight cut5 g
  • 1 spiral or curly8 g
  • 1 waffle8 g
  • 1 wedge9 g
  • 1 crinkle cut5 g
  • 1 cup60 g
Scale record B →

One shared household label

1 shoestring: 2 g in A vs 2 g in B

Here the household label and listed gram weight match at displayed precision, so this particular table is also an equal-mass comparison. The values remain specific to these two source records, not a universal weight for every 1 shoestring.

Nutrition for one 1 shoestring using each record’s own source gram weight
NutrientA · 2 gB · 2 g
Calories6 kcal3 kcal
Protein0.1 g0.1 g
Dietary fiber0.1 g0 g
Sodium4 mg6 mg

USDA source formulation evidence

The listed inputs provide another way to audit the match.

FNDDS includes input-food rows behind each standardized survey-food record. Record A’s leading listed inputs include Fast foods, potato, french fried in vegetable oil. Record B’s include Potatoes, french fried, all types, salt added in processing, frozen, home-prepared, oven heated. Ingredient-code overlap is 0%, and normalized listed-input-weight variation is 100%.

0 shared coded inputs

The two listed formulations do not share an ingredient code in this source extract. Shared codes can still carry different listed weights.

1 A-only and 1 B-only coded inputs

A-only entries include Fast foods, potato, french fried in vegetable oil. B-only entries include Potatoes, french fried, all types, salt added in processing, frozen, home-prepared, oven heated.

Important: repeated rows carrying the same ingredient code are combined before the shares and overlap are calculated. These weights belong to USDA’s source formulation: they are not a reconstructed plate, final cooked yield, visitor serving, ingredient declaration, or estimate of what is visible in a photo. USDA’s FNDDS documentation explains that these calculation recipes can represent multiple variants, may include retention or moisture adjustments, and are not product-label ingredient lists.

USDA shorthand in this evidence
  • NS as to… means “not specified as to…” the detail that follows. It preserves an unknown distinction; it does not mean the ingredient or characteristic is absent.

Choosing the closer record

Match context first; scale second.

  1. 01

    Read both names literally

    Compare cooking method, coating, edible skin or peel, sauce, additions, venue, source form, and food subtype. For this pair, the full A and B descriptions above are the evidence—not shortened search labels.

  2. 02

    Use listed inputs as a check

    If the name still leaves ambiguity, compare the leading and unique source inputs. They can reveal that two near names refer to meaningfully different standardized formulations, but they do not reconstruct your dish.

  3. 03

    Choose an amount for that record

    After choosing A or B, use its own named measure and gram weight. Do not transfer a cup, slice, or “typical amount” from the other record as if the measures were interchangeable.

  4. 04

    Account for missing details

    Brand, current restaurant recipe, cooking oil, drained weight, toppings, substitutions, and unfinished portions may not be captured. A label or weighed recipe can supersede a generic reference when it better matches the actual food.

Limits and responsible interpretation

This is a comparison of records, not a causal study.

The two records come from 2021–2023 FoodData Central Survey Foods data. The nutrient table faithfully compares their published values on the same weight basis. It does not measure two plates prepared at the same time, isolate one ingredient, or estimate the uncertainty around either value.

For this pair, the source names differ across 3 documented description dimensions, while the listed formulations show 0% ingredient-code overlap and 100% normalized listed-weight variation. Moisture, ingredient proportions, preparation, and record construction can therefore move together. The page can describe the combined record difference; it cannot isolate the effect of one word.

A higher or lower number is not an overall verdict. Protein, fiber, sodium, energy, fat, micronutrients, preferences, allergies, budget, portion, and an individual’s goals answer different questions. Feast therefore reports directions and magnitudes without applying a universal “healthier” label.

This page is educational and does not diagnose a condition, prescribe a target, or replace advice from a qualified professional. For an allergy, medically directed diet, or strict ingredient limit, use verified ingredient information and guidance appropriate to that situation.

How this page qualified

A page is published only when the pair clears materiality and diversity gates.

Both records must occupy the same USDA survey-food topic and share a close food identity after a controlled vocabulary separates preparation, edible-part, source, claim, crust, and sauce wording. Exact contrast-neutral identities receive priority. Close ingredient or form substitutions can qualify when name overlap remains high and the numerical evidence is material.

For primary nutrients, Feast requires both an absolute and relative difference: at least 20 kcal and 12% for energy; 2 g and 18% for protein or fat; 5 g and 15% for carbohydrate; 1 g and 20% for fiber; 4 g and 20% for sugars; or 100 mg and 20% for sodium. A focused one-nutrient pair also needs a material representative-amount or formulation distinction. Rounding-only pairs are not published.

Unordered FDC IDs define a canonical pair, so reversing A and B cannot create another page. Each source record can appear twice at most, each USDA topic contributes no more than 40 pages, and closely repeated identity families are capped. Those rules produced a selective comparison library rather than every mathematical combination in the corpus.

Read the complete nutrition-page methodology for import, nutrient mapping, portion scaling, Daily Value, and uncertainty rules.

Decision support from the exact records on this page

Turn source data into a better next decision

These conclusions and reading paths are computed from 2 exact records behind Potato, french fries, fast food versus Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked. Links are chosen by record identity, controlled contrast, formulation input, nutrient spread, or serving context—not by loose keyword similarity.

Equal-weight result

Potato, french fries, fast food is higher in calories per 100 g

Potato, french fries, fast food reports 312 kcal versus 158 kcal for Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked: a 154 kcal difference when both are normalized to 100 g.

Inspect the underlying evidence

These listed servings have equal weights

2 listed servings each weigh 110 g

The 2 records with a listed serving weight on this page each use 110 g. Their serving totals therefore compare equal weights, even if the household labels differ. Match the preparation and adjust the weight to the amount you eat.

Record identity is part of the estimate

Distinguish “Potato, french fries, fast food” from “Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked”

These are separate USDA records with separate formulations or survey descriptions. Match preparation, additions, and the named household amount before borrowing either record’s nutrients.

Inspect the underlying evidence

Contextual knowledge graph

Follow the relationship that matches your question

For Potato, french fries, fast food versus Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.

Best next guide for this exact record Potato, french fries

Potato, french fries, fast food and Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked are explicitly linked in this guide, which separates direct name matches from contextual variants.

Follow this evidence path
Put the observed spread in corpus context Calories: density and serving context

In this page’s records, calories runs from 158 kcal in Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked to 312 kcal in Potato, french fries, fast food, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path
Test a nearby record choice Potato, french fries, fast food vs Potato, french fries, from fresh, baked

Potato, french fries, fast food is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Preparation wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus baked, roasted, or broiled; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.

Follow this evidence path
Test a nearby record choice Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked vs Potato, french fries, with cheese, school

Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Preparation wording: baked, roasted, or broiled versus No matching controlled term in the source name; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.

Follow this evidence path
2 exact records carried forward Potato

Potato, french fries, fast food and Potato, french fries, from frozen, baked are explicitly linked in this guide, which separates direct name matches from contextual variants.

Follow this evidence path
A formulation detail that separates records Fast foods, potato, french fried in vegetable oil

USDA input 21138 appears in 1 of 2 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 100–100 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.

Follow this evidence path
A formulation detail that separates records Potatoes, french fried, all types, salt added in processing, frozen, home-prepared, oven heated

USDA input 11403 appears in 1 of 2 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 100–100 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.

Follow this evidence path