Potato salad: with egg vs with light USDA FDC 2709536 vs 2709548
Per 100 g, with egg reports 7.9 g total fat, while with light reports 2.5 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 2709536
Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing
Check this record in FoodData Central ↗Record B · FDC 2709548
Potato salad, made with light creamy dressing
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.
-
142 kcal -
95 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.
| Nutrient | A · Potato salad with egg, made with creamy… | B · Potato salad, made with light creamy… | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| CaloriesMaterial difference | 142 kcal | 95 kcal | A +47 kcal |
| Protein | 2.9 g | 1.6 g | A +1.3 g |
| Total fatMaterial difference | 7.9 g | 2.5 g | A +5.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 14.9 g | 17 g | B +2.1 g |
| Dietary fiber | 1.3 g | 1.5 g | B +0.2 g |
| Total sugars | 1.5 g | 1.8 g | B +0.2 g |
| Sodium | 188 mg | 203 mg | B +15 mg |
| Saturated fatMaterial difference | 1.4 g | 0.4 g | A +1.1 g |
| Potassium | 259 mg | 272 mg | B +13 mg |
| Calcium | 18 mg | 9 mg | A +9 mg |
| Iron | 0.4 mg | 0.3 mg | A +0.1 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
Every material primary-nutrient difference on this page is numerically higher in A (2 of 2).
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 95 kcal, compared with 142 kcal in the other record—a difference of 47 kcal.
Which reports more protein?
Record A
Record A reports 2.9 g, compared with 1.6 g in the other record—a difference of 1.3 g.
Which reports more fiber?
Record B
Record B reports 1.5 g, compared with 1.3 g in the other record—a difference of 0.2 g.
Which reports less sodium?
Record A
Record A reports 188 mg, compared with 203 mg in the other record—a difference of 15 mg.
What differs in the source descriptions
The exact names carry information the numbers cannot.
USDA assigns both records to “Mashed potatoes and white potato mixtures,” but the topic label is broad. Record A is “Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing.” Record B is “Potato salad, made with light creamy dressing.” Feast paired them because their contrast-neutral food identities are closely related (80% token overlap after controlled modifiers are set aside), not merely because they share a generic category.
The controlled name parser found 1 interpretable distinction. These labels organize wording already present in the names; they do not establish that a distinction caused a nutrient difference.
| Description dimension | Record A | Record B |
|---|---|---|
| Light wording | No matching controlled term in the source name | light wording |
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 138 g. Record B uses USDA reference amount at 138 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 cup275 g
- USDA reference amount138 g
Record B measures
- 1 cup275 g
- USDA reference amount138 g
One shared household label
1 cup: 275 g in A vs 275 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 cup.
| Nutrient | A · 275 g | B · 275 g |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 391 kcal | 261 kcal |
| Protein | 8.1 g | 4.5 g |
| Dietary fiber | 3.6 g | 4.1 g |
| Sodium | 517 mg | 558 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 Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without salt, Salad dressing, ranch dressing, regular, Egg, whole, cooked, hard-boiled, Celery, raw. Record B’s include Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without salt, Creamy dressing, made with sour cream and/or buttermilk and oil, reduced calorie, Celery, raw, Onions, raw. Ingredient-code overlap is 57%, and normalized listed-input-weight variation is 27%.
Record A · 6 coded inputs
Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing
- Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without saltIngredient code 11367 · open source index68.1% of listed input weight
- Salad dressing, ranch dressing, regularIngredient code 4639 · open source index14.7% of listed input weight
- Egg, whole, cooked, hard-boiledIngredient code 1129 · open source index12.2% of listed input weight
- Celery, rawIngredient code 11143 · open source index3.3% of listed input weight
- Onions, rawIngredient code 11282 · open source index1.6% of listed input weight
- Salt, tableIngredient code 2047 · open source index0.1% of listed input weight
Record B · 5 coded inputs
Potato salad, made with light creamy dressing
- Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without saltIngredient code 11367 · open source index77.3% of listed input weight
- Creamy dressing, made with sour cream and/or buttermilk and oil, reduced calorieIngredient code 42116 · open source index17% of listed input weight
- Celery, rawIngredient code 11143 · open source index3.7% of listed input weight
- Onions, rawIngredient code 11282 · open source index1.9% of listed input weight
- Salt, tableIngredient code 2047 · open source index0.1% of listed input weight
4 shared coded inputs
The largest shared entries include Potatoes, boiled, cooked without skin, flesh, without salt, Celery, raw, Onions, raw, Salt, table. Shared codes can still carry different listed weights.
2 A-only and 1 B-only coded inputs
A-only entries include Salad dressing, ranch dressing, regular, Egg, whole, cooked, hard-boiled. B-only entries include Creamy dressing, made with sour cream and/or buttermilk and oil, reduced calorie.
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.
Choosing the closer record
Match context first; scale second.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 1 documented description dimension, while the listed formulations show 57% ingredient-code overlap and 27% 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 salad with egg, made with creamy dressing versus Potato salad, made with light creamy dressing. Links are chosen by record identity, controlled contrast, formulation input, nutrient spread, or serving context—not by loose keyword similarity.
Equal-weight result
Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing is higher in calories per 100 g
Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing reports 142 kcal versus 95 kcal for Potato salad, made with light creamy dressing: a 47 kcal difference when both are normalized to 100 g.
Inspect the underlying evidenceThese listed servings have equal weights
2 listed servings each weigh 138 g
The 2 records with a listed serving weight on this page each use 138 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 salad with egg, made with creamy dressing” from “Potato salad, made with light creamy dressing”
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 evidenceContextual knowledge graph
Follow the relationship that matches your question
For Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing versus Potato salad, made with light creamy dressing, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.
Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing is explicitly linked in this guide, which separates direct name matches from contextual variants.
Follow this evidence path Best next guide for this exact record Potato saladPotato salad, made with light creamy dressing is 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 contextIn this page’s records, calories runs from 95 kcal in Potato salad, made with light creamy dressing to 142 kcal in Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing, all per 100 g.
Follow this evidence path A formulation detail that separates records Creamy dressing, made with sour cream and/or buttermilk and oil, reduced calorieUSDA input 42116 appears in 1 of 2 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 183.8–183.8 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 Egg, whole, cooked, hard-boiledUSDA input 1129 appears in 1 of 2 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 150–150 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 Test a nearby record choice Potato salad, made with creamy dressing vs Potato salad, made with light creamy dressingPotato salad, made with light creamy dressing is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Light wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus light wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.
Follow this evidence path Test a nearby record choice Potato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing vs Potato salad with egg, made with light creamy dressingPotato salad with egg, made with creamy dressing is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Light wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus light wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.
Follow this evidence path