measuring food

This is probably a dumb question, but when I measure my cooked spaghetti and on my food diary it indicates 1 cup, do I measure my spaghetti in a measuring cup or on my scale. Thanks

Replies

  • AdGalicia
    AdGalicia Posts: 84 Member
    i normally weigh pasta and weigh it raw
  • Duckz1
    Duckz1 Posts: 145 Member
    I never trust the volume measurements for anything...always weigh. It should say the number of grams per serving on the box.
  • imchicbad
    imchicbad Posts: 1,650 Member
    if the pasta is soaked, its going to weigh more- so I stick with the measuring cup for pasta.
  • btk71789
    btk71789 Posts: 6 Member
    I weigh as many things as I can. I used to measure by volume, and had started to plateau when I bought my food scale. After buying my food scale, I realized I was measuring out too much, and immediately got through that plateau.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    Pasta will weigh more or less and take up more or less room depending on the cooking time. If its cooked less, it absorbs less water and will weigh less. Cook it longer and it will be heavier due to more water absorbed. Same thing goes for amount of space it fills (though, less of a difference)

    Always weigh food prior to cooking. Pasta, grains, oats, and rice for this reason. Proteins, fruits, and veggies for the opposite (they lose water and will weigh less after cooking).

    And, if possible, weigh in grams over ounces, especially with grains and the like, it will be the closest to accurate as you'll be getting.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Weigh everything, and note whether the calorie count given is for dry or cooked pasta.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I measure my pasta in a cup or half cup after it's cooked.
  • After I cooked my pasta I put it in a measuring 1 cup, then I put the spaghetti on the scale and it was only 4oz, so of course I perfer to use the scale, but how does a person know what to use????? I know that 2oz dry is one cup, but when I make pasta I usually use 12oz dry for the family. I think what I will do next time is just cook 2oz dry then see how much that yeilds wet. Thanks for all your input.
  • Laddiegirl
    Laddiegirl Posts: 382 Member
    I just take note whether the serving size is dry or wet and measure it dry or cooked due to what the package says.
  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
    Cooking pasta in water doe not add calories, so it will not matter if you weigh it before or after. just be consistant. Put what you think is a healthy serving on a plate (cooked), then weigh it, work out the caloires for that, see if it fits with in your needs, add some or take some away. It's not rocket science.
  • beekuzz
    beekuzz Posts: 428 Member
    After I cooked my pasta I put it in a measuring 1 cup, then I put the spaghetti on the scale and it was only 4oz, so of course I perfer to use the scale, but how does a person know what to use????? I know that 2oz dry is one cup, but when I make pasta I usually use 12oz dry for the family. I think what I will do next time is just cook 2oz dry then see how much that yeilds wet. Thanks for all your input.

    This is what we've been doing since we were wasting it by cooking it. It's so amazing that we do not know what true serving sizes look like anymore.
  • I would select an option that offers weight instead. In Australia our packets of spagetti are usually 500grams, so if you have 1/5 of a packet (whether dry or cooked) it is measured as 100gram serve.