Gravy

Food · Pantry & Condiment · Food, Typed Supps

Almost no calories, almost no nutrients, and a great deal of salt.

Stage by stage

Mostly water (The jug): Around 95% water once made up, which is why the calories are so low.
Ladle serves (Stomach): Poured by the ladle, not the teaspoon — so the concentration figure is honest here.
Sodium (Circulation): 502 mg per 100 g; roughly 300 mg on a plate, from something counted as free.
Nothing else (Systemic): Essentially no protein, fat, vitamins or minerals — the salt is the whole product.

Timing

Nothing to time. The dilution and the size of the pour are the only two things that change the outcome.

Time to effect

2–4 weeks: Blood pressure response to a reduction in sodium intake.
Per serve: Around 300 mg of sodium in a 60 g ladle.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. May contain: Celery, Gluten, Milk, Soya. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Keto. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP, Gluten-free.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Sodium

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 26
Protein: 0.7g
Carbohydrate: 4.5g
Fat: 0.5g
of which saturated: 0.2g
Sodium: 502mg

Food vs. supplement

Gravy is the best argument in this batch that calories and sodium are unrelated axes. At 26 calories per 100 g it passes every mental test for harmless, while delivering more sodium per plate than most of the condiments people do watch.

Kitchen tip

Use more water than the packet says. The sodium falls in exact proportion, and the difference is smaller than you expect.

Common myth

“Gravy’s fine — it’s barely any calories.” In reality: It is barely any calories, and that is the trap. At 502 mg of sodium per 100 g and poured by the ladle, a normal serve carries around 300 mg — about 15% of the daily target — from something nobody counts. Making it more dilute than the packet says cuts the sodium in exact proportion, and pan juices from the roast do the job with only the salt you put in yourself.