Weighing pasta

iowalinda
iowalinda Posts: 357 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you weigh pasta dry (prior to cooking) or after it's cooked?

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    The nutrition information on the box should be for the dry weight (unless it specifies otherwise) so that's how I weigh mine. If you want/need to weigh it after cooking that should be fine as long as you find an accurate entry in the database that specifies it's for the cooked weight.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    edited February 2018
    Since we're always cooking for a family, I have to weigh mine cooked (or boil it separately which just isn't happening!) I use the general rule of thumb that one serving (2 oz dry) should weigh about 4.5 oz cooked. Not exact, but I don't eat pasta often enough for it to bother me. Weighing dry is definitely more accurate, if you can.
  • rockymir
    rockymir Posts: 497 Member
    Consider that pasta will absorb more or less water depending on how much you cook it. And how much you cook it depends on how firm or soft you like it, so if you weight it cooked you may be weighting a lot of water as if it was pasta. Definitely not convenient, always weight it dry.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    log dry, weigh dry

    log cooked, weigh cooked

    I weigh dry and then cook it.
  • SolotoCEO
    SolotoCEO Posts: 293 Member
    For accuracy pasta should ALWAYS be weighed in it's dry state. The reason - depending on how al dente you like it, it can soak up more or less water giving you an absolute inaccurate measurement.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I weigh dry because it's more accurate unless I'm not the one cooking, then I weigh prepared and used the "cooked" entry.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    Always dry. Besides, I adjust the amount of pasta (potatoes, rice, etc) based on how many calories are left in a dish. Si I might take a few grams more or less.
  • Angierae75
    Angierae75 Posts: 417 Member
    I do the approximations because if I'm cooking for the family, I'm not cooking my pasta separate. There's enough going on in the kitchen.
  • Falklang
    Falklang Posts: 220 Member
    Dry, don't forget it expands quite a lot.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Dry is best, but I often consider 120g cooked a serving because it's always been close to that in my experience.
  • SpanishFusion
    SpanishFusion Posts: 261 Member
    Angierae75 wrote: »
    I do the approximations because if I'm cooking for the family, I'm not cooking my pasta separate. There's enough going on in the kitchen.

    Real Life.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    Angierae75 wrote: »
    I do the approximations because if I'm cooking for the family, I'm not cooking my pasta separate. There's enough going on in the kitchen.

    Yes, I get the feeling several responders here are accustomed to cooking for one. Family meals are manageable, but sometimes you have to be willing to exchange some small degree of accuracy for practicality.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I can’t weigh mine dry. I cook for my whole family at once. One time I entered a recipe for pasta. I weighed it dry, boiled it and the weighed it cooked and entered that weight in for the number of servings.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    edited February 2018
    OMG do you guys remember this hoot session?

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10614219/the-sad-truth-about-pasta/p1

    OP: package serving size is typically dry but this is also a great way of doing it if you have to:
    hesn92 wrote: »
    I can’t weigh mine dry. I cook for my whole family at once. One time I entered a recipe for pasta. I weighed it dry, boiled it and the weighed it cooked and entered that weight in for the number of servings.

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