Measuring Pasta

mustnothrowcantelopes
mustnothrowcantelopes Posts: 116 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi!

I'm really new to measuring food . I'm wondering if : 1) it's better to measure pasta dry or cooked? and 2) How do I accurately measure 2 oz ( 1 cup) dry? Is it better to use a measuring cup or put it in a bowl and weigh it?

Replies

  • mustnothrowcantelopes
    mustnothrowcantelopes Posts: 116 Member
    UPDATE: I put 4oz dry to cook, which is 2 servings. I figure I'd spill out , into a measuring cup, however much would come out to 1 cup , but when I weighed it on the scale it was 5.8 oz. I'm really confused! HEEEELLP!!!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,392 Member
    edited September 2019
    Use the entries in the database that are the same as your packaging. The packages will give 2 ounces (56g) as a serving for pasta. That will be 170-200 calories. That is UNcooked.

    Cooked - the weights will vary.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    To accurately weigh pasta, it should be weighed uncooked. Get a digital food scale and weigh it on there--easy, peasy.
  • mustnothrowcantelopes
    mustnothrowcantelopes Posts: 116 Member
    @snowflake954 - I did but then how do I divide it evenly ? I made enough for 2 servings .
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    I weigh raw in a bowl.

    If it's more than one serving cooked, I don't measure it again. I eyeball into two bowls.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    mustnothrowcantelopes wrote: »
    @snowflake954 - I did but then how do I divide it evenly ? I made enough for 2 servings .

    Since you only have to divide it in half--I'd just do that. I make pasta almost everyday for 4 to 7 people. I live in Italy. Do as Wilson suggested if you need to be 100% accurate, however, I'd eyeball as Lynda suggested.
  • mustnothrowcantelopes
    mustnothrowcantelopes Posts: 116 Member
    @wilson10102018 - A most excellent response, good sir!
  • Womona
    Womona Posts: 1,755 Member
    edited September 2019
    You mean I’ve been doing this wrong??? I’ve been weighing 2 oz COOKED. It’s supposed to be weighed raw??? That makes a huge difference in portion size-for the better! Yay!

    The only problem is that when making a whole box, I’d have to boil the pasta separately from my family’s so I get an accurate measurement.

    Here is my pitiful 2 oz of cooked pasta from the other day :

    gkaqglazc4gg.jpeg
  • JessAndreia
    JessAndreia Posts: 540 Member
    Womona wrote: »
    You mean I’ve been doing this wrong??? I’ve been weighing 2 oz COOKED. It’s supposed to be weighed raw??? That makes a huge difference in portion size-for the better! Yay!

    The only problem is that when making a whole box, I’d have to boil the pasta separately from my family’s so I get an accurate measurement.

    Yes. It's supposed to be weighed raw. You can cook it separately just once to find out how much 2 ounces raw are cooked, and then keep weighing cooked.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    JessAndreia wrote: »
    Womona wrote: »
    You mean I’ve been doing this wrong??? I’ve been weighing 2 oz COOKED. It’s supposed to be weighed raw??? That makes a huge difference in portion size-for the better! Yay!

    The only problem is that when making a whole box, I’d have to boil the pasta separately from my family’s so I get an accurate measurement.

    Yes. It's supposed to be weighed raw. You can cook it separately just once to find out how much 2 ounces raw are cooked, and then keep weighing cooked.

    This or, perhaps, weigh out 8 oz raw and then take 1/4 of the cooked weight, whatever it is.
  • poisonesse
    poisonesse Posts: 573 Member
    Oh my goodness... weights for weighing pasta are DRY weights!!! I'm a pasta fanatic, and actually find that one portion is MORE than enough to satisfy and FILL me! And no, if you want a correct measurement, do NOT use cups to measure it out! Use your food scale, it's the only way to get a true portion size. And yes, when I have pasta (at least a few nights a week) I boil two pots of water... one for the family, and one for my weighed out 2oz of pasta. (Though if I can fit it in my calorie goals, I'll often have 2.5 oz, just cause I love it so much!) Personally, I think it's way (weigh! LOL) easier than cooking it, weighing the entire mess, then trying to divide it equally. Measure once and be done with it. BUT... I am a lazy cook, I admit it. ;-)
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    mustnothrowcantelopes wrote: »
    @snowflake954 - I did but then how do I divide it evenly ? I made enough for 2 servings .

    You must count the pieces after cooking: one for you, two for me, and so on... :p

    Seriously, this is a harder problem than people are giving credit. First, I like pasta. Second: I don't always cook it myself.

    So, you do some experimenting with weighing dry pasta a few times to calibrate your eyeballs. A 2oz (dry) serving is pretty small-- about what you can cram into a cup once cooked (which is a quick way to approximate a serving).

    Getting good at eyeballing the serving is essential if you are going to eat it regularly. It is served everywhere and easy to over-eat. Also, I count it as a healthy carb.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    I just eyeball the servings after cooking (always weigh in grams before) - either 2 or 3 for nearly everything I cook. Close enough for me. But I have to be aware of OCD behavior, so I work at being comfortable with inexactness. I might have a different attitude if I wasn't losing.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    boldknee wrote: »
    I just eyeball the servings after cooking (always weigh in grams before) - either 2 or 3 for nearly everything I cook. Close enough for me. But I have to be aware of OCD behavior, so I work at being comfortable with inexactness. I might have a different attitude if I wasn't losing.

    This is what I did too. If I'm dividing it up and see the different servings all together it's easy to get it close enough.

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