Waffle: plain vs whole grain frozen USDA FDC 2708325 vs 2708317
Per 100 g, plain reports 8.3 g total sugars, while whole grain frozen reports 4.1 g total sugars.
The comparison uses two cited USDA records. Their complete source names, household portions, nutrient values, and FoodData Central links remain visible below.
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.
- Waffle, plain 373 kcal
373 kcal - Waffle, whole grain, frozen 289 kcal
289 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 · Waffle, plain | B · Waffle, whole grain, frozen | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| CaloriesMaterial difference | 373 kcal | 289 kcal | A +84 kcal |
| Protein | 8.7 g | 6.8 g | A +1.9 g |
| Total fatMaterial difference | 18.8 g | 8.4 g | A +10.4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 41.5 g | 46.7 g | B +5.2 g |
| Dietary fiberMaterial difference | 2.5 g | 4.1 g | B +1.6 g |
| Total sugarsMaterial difference | 8.3 g | 4.1 g | A +4.2 g |
| Sodium | 597 mg | 529 mg | A +68 mg |
| Saturated fatMaterial difference | 4.2 g | 1.4 g | A +2.8 g |
| Potassium | 205 mg | 156 mg | A +49 mg |
| Calcium | 242 mg | 136 mg | A +106 mg |
| Iron | 1.7 mg | 6.1 mg | B +4.4 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 3, 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 289 kcal, compared with 373 kcal in the other record—a difference of 84 kcal.
Which reports more protein?
Record A
Record A reports 8.7 g, compared with 6.8 g in the other record—a difference of 1.9 g.
Which reports more fiber?
Record B
Record B reports 4.1 g, compared with 2.5 g in the other record—a difference of 1.6 g.
Which reports less sodium?
Record B
Record B reports 529 mg, compared with 597 mg in the other record—a difference of 68 mg.
What differs in the source descriptions
The exact names carry information the numbers cannot.
USDA assigns both records to “Pancakes, waffles, French toast,” but the topic label is broad. Record A is “Waffle, plain.” Record B is “Waffle, whole grain, frozen.” 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 2 interpretable distinctions. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Source form | No matching controlled term in the source name | frozen |
| Grain wording | No matching controlled term in the source name | whole-grain or whole-wheat 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 75 g. Record B uses USDA reference amount at 80 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 miniature/bite size waffle10 g
- 1 small waffle40 g
- 1 medium waffle75 g
- 1 large waffle125 g
- 1 thick / Belgian waffle135 g
- 1 surface inch3 g
- 1 surface inch, Belgian waffle4 g
- USDA reference amount75 g
Record B measures
- 1 miniature/bite size waffle10 g
- 1 waffle40 g
- 1 thick / Belgian waffle55 g
- 1 pouch65 g
- 1 stick35 g
- USDA reference amount80 g
One shared household label
1 miniature/bite size waffle: 10 g in A vs 10 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 miniature/bite size waffle.
| Nutrient | A · 10 g | B · 10 g |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 37 kcal | 29 kcal |
| Protein | 0.9 g | 0.7 g |
| Dietary fiber | 0.3 g | 0.4 g |
| Sodium | 60 mg | 53 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 Milk, NFS, Pancakes, plain, dry mix, incomplete (includes buttermilk), Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg whole, Vegetable oil, NFS. Record B’s include Waffles, whole wheat, lowfat, frozen, ready-to-heat, Vegetable oil, NFS. Ingredient-code overlap is 14%, and normalized listed-input-weight variation is 95%.
Record A · 6 coded inputs
Waffle, plain
- Milk, NFSIngredient code 11100000 · open source index41.8% of listed input weight
- Pancakes, plain, dry mix, incomplete (includes buttermilk)Ingredient code 18291 · open source index32.5% of listed input weight
- Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg wholeIngredient code 1123 · open source index11.6% of listed input weight
- Vegetable oil, NFSIngredient code 82101000 · open source index6.5% of listed input weight
- Oil or table fat, NFSIngredient code 81200100 · open source index4.6% of listed input weight
- Sugars, granulatedIngredient code 19335 · open source index3% of listed input weight
Record B · 2 coded inputs
Waffle, whole grain, frozen
- Waffles, whole wheat, lowfat, frozen, ready-to-heatIngredient code 28304 · open source index95% of listed input weight
- Vegetable oil, NFSIngredient code 82101000 · open source index5% of listed input weight
1 shared coded input
The largest shared entries include Vegetable oil, NFS. Shared codes can still carry different listed weights.
5 A-only and 1 B-only coded inputs
A-only entries include Milk, NFS, Pancakes, plain, dry mix, incomplete (includes buttermilk), Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg whole, Oil or table fat, NFS. B-only entries include Waffles, whole wheat, lowfat, frozen, ready-to-heat.
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.
- NFS means “not further specified.” The record intentionally leaves the exact subtype, size, or preparation unresolved.
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 2 documented description dimensions, while the listed formulations show 14% ingredient-code overlap and 95% 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 Waffle, plain versus Waffle, whole grain, frozen. Links are chosen by record identity, controlled contrast, formulation input, nutrient spread, or serving context—not by loose keyword similarity.
Equal-weight result
Waffle, plain is higher in calories per 100 g
Waffle, plain reports 373 kcal versus 289 kcal for Waffle, whole grain, frozen: a 84 kcal difference when both are normalized to 100 g.
Inspect the underlying evidenceCheck the weight before comparing serving totals
Source amounts span 75–80 g
Waffle, plain uses USDA source amount (75 g), while Waffle, whole grain, frozen uses USDA source amount (80 g). Use per 100 g for equal-weight composition; use the serving column only when those named source amounts answer your question.
Record identity is part of the estimate
Distinguish “Waffle, plain” from “Waffle, whole grain, frozen”
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 Waffle, plain versus Waffle, whole grain, frozen, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.
Waffle, plain 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 Waffle, whole grainWaffle, whole grain, frozen 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 289 kcal in Waffle, whole grain, frozen to 373 kcal in Waffle, plain, all per 100 g.
Follow this evidence path Test a nearby record choice Waffle, plain vs Waffle, whole grain, reduced fatWaffle, plain is held as one side of the comparison. The explicit record-description contrast is Fat-level wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus reduced-fat wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.
Follow this evidence path A formulation detail that separates records Eggs, Grade A, Large, egg wholeUSDA input 1123 appears in 1 of 2 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 50–50 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 Milk, NFSUSDA input 11100000 appears in 1 of 2 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 180–180 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 Put the observed spread in corpus context Vitamin D: density and serving contextIn this page’s records, vitamin D runs from 0 µg in Waffle, whole grain, frozen to 1.1 µg in Waffle, plain, all per 100 g.
Follow this evidence path