Measuring rice and pasta - before or after cooking?

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zyxst
zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
in Food and Nutrition
It dawned on me last night that I'm probably wrongly measuring my pasta and rice servings. I usually measure them before cooking, then dish out half between my husband and myself. Am I supposed to measure after cooking?
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Replies

  • GroupXZ
    GroupXZ Posts: 196 Member
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    I usually measure after cooking.
  • Hollybot
    Hollybot Posts: 108 Member
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    Before. Most packages say dry, which means before adding the water and cooking it. 1/4 cup dry rice, 2 oz dry pasta. Hope this helps!
  • picassoadagio
    picassoadagio Posts: 407 Member
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    Before. Most packages say dry, which means before adding the water and cooking it. 1/4 cup dry rice, 2 oz dry pasta. Hope this helps!

    This. When cooked you are including water weight too.
  • choirgirl1130
    choirgirl1130 Posts: 80 Member
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    if you are making multiple serving of a food item, measure after cooking for the most accurate intake. mfp has info for both dry and cooked meausurments of pasta, rice, etc. make sure you choose accordingly :)
  • REET420
    REET420 Posts: 160 Member
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    I measure it dry. There is no calories in water
  • TimWilkinson101
    TimWilkinson101 Posts: 163 Member
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    Recipe amounts are shown before cooking. No idea about what people on MFP have put in their database, but it is usual to use the "before" amount. For instance, for 2 people I would cook 8 oz of rice in 1 1/2 pints of water.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Thanks! At least I'm not alone in measuring before.

    I will measure after cooking when I have guests over. It reminds me of my old job as a dietary aide. :P
  • androde
    androde Posts: 96 Member
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    I measure before as well, not sure what the equivalent is, but 1 cup of dry pasta is too much for me
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 3,019 Member
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    when cooking rice the box is dry.. eg) minute rice is 1/2 cup dry = 1 cup cooked.... and is so many calories. So i always go by that, i will measure 1 cup when cooked and then place on my plate.
  • mfp_1
    mfp_1 Posts: 516 Member
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    Ways to be more accurate with pasta:
    1. Measure before cooking. If you measure after cooking, you're measuring a variable amount of water.
    2. Measure weight not volume. Cups are the devils measure and he'll slip in extra calories.

    Do you have digital scales?
  • pandabear1102
    pandabear1102 Posts: 1
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    You know...I thought my portions were extra small, but I never used to weigh my food before and just thought I was completely over indulging... Good to know!
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    I will measure after cooking when I have guests over. It reminds me of my old job as a dietary aide. :P
    Then you'll be wrong. The values on the package refer to the dry weight. You'll be cheating yourself out of half your food this way.
  • prettygirlhoward
    prettygirlhoward Posts: 338 Member
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    I usually measure after cooking.

    ***This
  • taylorblues
    taylorblues Posts: 49 Member
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    if you are making multiple serving of a food item, measure after cooking for the most accurate intake. mfp has info for both dry and cooked meausurments of pasta, rice, etc. make sure you choose accordingly :)


    I do the same as this..............dry weight if it's just for me and cooked weight if it's for the family.
  • ladyfingers39
    ladyfingers39 Posts: 335
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    You can do it either way, just make sure you know it's the calories for dry or cooked. I measure cooked because I never make just one serving when i have a family to cook for also.

    For example this morning I made a pot of brown rice.

    1/4 cup dry is 160 calories
    1 cup cooked is 208
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    I weigh it before cooking.
  • AmmyP
    AmmyP Posts: 33 Member
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    You should measure dry weight as cooked measurements can vary according to how you could your pasta...soft, aldente, etc....having a vary amound to water weight.
  • mfp_1
    mfp_1 Posts: 516 Member
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    ladyfingers39 wrote:
    1/4 cup dry is 160 calories
    1 cup cooked is 208

    Cups are the devil's measure. Do you have digital scales?
  • Ibarra951
    Ibarra951 Posts: 19 Member
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    You can do it either way, just make sure you know it's the calories for dry or cooked. I measure cooked because I never make just one serving when i have a family to cook for also.

    For example this morning I made a pot of brown rice.

    1/4 cup dry is 160 calories
    1 cup cooked is 208

    This confuses me, do you cook it with added oils or butter?

    Typically I cook brown rice w/ water, and last I checked water has no calories. The only difference between cooked and uncooked should be volume and weight, not calories. If it was 1/4 cup dry in, cooked w/ water and became 1 cup out, the calories should stay the same unless you added something.
  • CynthiaHartung
    CynthiaHartung Posts: 1 Member
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    It doesn't work for me to measure before because I am making a whole box of pasta and then trying to eat one serving. However, most often I cannot find the cooked weights on my fitness pal. Any suggestions?

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