What is a protein score or protein quality?

Protein score or amino acid score is a measure of the protein quality found in foods.  Higher scores suggest foods that have a more complete set of essential amino acids, or a higher protein quality. Foods with higher protein quality are more usable in the body for general growth, maintenance and repair.

The Protein Quality report in The Food Processor compares ratioed amino acids from the recipe or ingredients to an ideal amino acid ratio. From this comparison, the limiting amino acid (that with the lowest percentage) determines the protein quality score. 

Ideal Ratio:

For Food Processor and general nutrient recommendations, the ideal ratio comes from the 2002 DRI Macronutrient report.

For more detail and background information on protein, please see the National Academies Press website www.nap.edu, and publications:
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10490&page=590