Specific Heat Capacity Food

Reference data and engineering information about specific heat capacity food for thermodynamics applications.

specificheatcapacityfoodCalculatorData Table

Overview

Engineering reference data for Specific Heat Capacity Food in thermodynamics.

Key Formulas

First Law

$\Delta U = Q - W$

Energy is conserved — heat added minus work done.

Ideal Gas Law

$PV = nRT$

Relates pressure, volume, and temperature of an ideal gas.

Carnot Efficiency

$\eta = 1 - T_C/T_H$

Maximum efficiency between two temperatures.

Variables

Symbol	Description	Unit
$U$	Internal energy	J
$Q$	Heat	J
$W$	Work	J
$P$	Pressure	Pa
$V$	Volume	m³
$T$	Temperature	K

Specific Heat Capacity Data Table

The following table provides specific heat capacity values for common foods and foodstuffs, with values given both above and below freezing temperatures.

33 rows

Specific heat capacity of common foods above and below freezing temperatures. Data shown for selected foods from the complete table of 234 items.
Food	Above Freezing(btu/(lb·°F))	Above Freezing(kJ/(kg·°C))	Above Freezing(kcal/(kg·°C))	Below Freezing(btu/(lb·°F))	Below Freezing(kJ/(kg·°C))	Below Freezing(kcal/(kg·°C))
Apples	0.87	3.64	0.87	0.42	1.76	0.42
Asparagus	0.94	3.94	0.94	0.45	1.88	0.45
Avocados	0.72	3.01	0.72	0.37	1.55	—
Bananas	0.8	3.35	0.8	0.4	1.67	0.4
Beef, carcass	0.68	2.85	0.68	0.48	2.01	0.48
Beef, hamburger	—	3.52	—	—	—	—
Butter	0.65	2.72	0.65	0.34	1.42	0.34
Cabbage	0.94	3.94	0.94	0.45	1.88	0.45
Carrots	0.91	3.81	0.91	0.44	1.84	0.44
Chicken, broilers	0.77	3.22	0.77	0.38	1.59	0.38
Cucumber	0.98	4.1	0.98	0.45	1.88	0.45
Eggs	0.76	3.18	0.76	0.4	1.67	0.4
Flour	0.38	1.59	0.38	0.28	1.17	0.28
Grapes	0.86	3.6	0.86	0.42	1.76	0.42
Ice cream	0.74	3.1	0.74	0.4	1.67	0.4
Lamb, carcass	0.73	3.06	0.73	0.38	1.59	0.38
Lard	0.54	2.26	0.54	0.31	1.3	0.31
Lettuce	0.96	4.02	0.96	0.45	1.88	0.45
Milk, cow - whole	0.9	3.77	0.9	0.47	1.97	0.47
Mushrooms, fresh	0.93	3.89	0.93	0.44	1.84	0.44
Oranges	0.86	3.6	0.86	0.43	1.8	0.43
Peaches	0.87	3.64	0.87	0.42	1.76	0.42
Pork, carcass	0.6	2.51	0.6	0.38	1.59	0.38
Potatoes	0.8	3.35	0.8	0.42	1.76	0.42
Rice	0.41	1.72	0.41	0.26	1.09	0.26
Salmon	0.72	3.01	0.72	0.37	1.55	0.37
Shrimp	0.83	3.47	0.83	0.43	1.8	0.43
Spinach	0.93	3.89	0.93	0.45	1.88	0.45
Strawberries	0.88	3.68	0.88	0.43	1.8	0.43
Sugar	0.34	1.42	—	0.24	1	0.24
Tomatoes	0.9	3.77	0.9	0.44	1.84	0.44
Turkey	0.68	2.85	0.68	0.38	1.59	0.38
Watermelon	0.89	3.73	0.89	0.44	1.84	0.44

Source: engineeringtoolbox.com

:::note[Data Coverage] The full table from the source contains 234 food items. The table above includes representative samples. For the complete dataset, refer to the Engineering ToolBox source. :::

Key Observations

Water-rich foods (fruits, vegetables) typically have specific heat values around 0.87–0.98 btu/(lb·°F) above freezing
Fat-rich foods (butter, lard, oils) have significantly lower specific heat values, around 0.54–0.65 btu/(lb·°F)
Below freezing, specific heat values are approximately 45–50% of the above-freezing values
Lean meats generally have specific heat values between 0.60–0.80 btu/(lb·°F)

Unit Conversion Reference

The table presents data in three unit systems:

btu/(lb·°F) — Imperial system
kJ/(kg·°C) — SI metric system (SI value ≈ btu × 4.187)
kcal/(kg·°C) — Metric calorie system (numerically equal to btu/(lb·°F))