Measuring Food

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thinjude
thinjude Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Are measurements eg rice and pasta, cooked or uncooked weights?

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  • Christizzzle
    Christizzzle Posts: 454 Member
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    I believe it is cooked. But I'm curious what others will say.
  • thingal12
    thingal12 Posts: 302 Member
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    please buy a food scale. changed my life! before i had one (i got it off amazon, very cheap) I used to measure 1 cup for rice/pasta when in fact it would be over 1 cup.
  • DeMarraDontStop
    DeMarraDontStop Posts: 342 Member
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    I've always gone with cooked...
  • pcotter54
    pcotter54 Posts: 707 Member
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    My memory is that some labels will give one, some the other, and some both. Not TOO confusing!
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
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    I go with the ones that specifically say cooked or dry!
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    typically labels are for dry - and always use a food scale :) way more accurate.
    there are entries in the database here for cooked as well, but there could be a lot of difference. if you cook your pasta longer, it will absorb more water and change the weight, etc.
    i always use the dry weight
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    Yeah, I just basically measure what goes in.

    If I'm making oatmeal, for example, I count 1/2c dry oatmeal, 8oz of almond milk. Done. Measuring after doesn't make sense to me..
  • sprintto50
    sprintto50 Posts: 410 Member
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    Most things given are cooked measurements, but if you want raw, often that is there if you ask.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    The serving size on the box for most dry items (rice, pasta, oats) is going to be the dry measurement.
  • mylifemynow
    mylifemynow Posts: 55 Member
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    Pasta serving sizes are uncooked measurements
  • thinjude
    thinjude Posts: 4 Member
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    Thank you all - I was referring to the weights used in the MFP food database... I do measure using scales - but wasn't sure which MFP use...... All the very best to you all!!
  • amperl8
    amperl8 Posts: 36 Member
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    I bought a food scale about a month ago and I am confused about something....for example kashi cereal say for 3/4 cup but I measure out 4oz. which i believe is only a half a cup and it seems like it is way more than a half a cup. am I measuring wrong???
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    There are two different measures called ounce. One is weight, the other is volume (fluid ounce). 4 fluid ounces of cereal (1/2 cup) will not correlate to 4 ounces of cereal. It is close for water (16 fluid ounces will weigh 16.7 ounce).

    There are 8 fluid ounces in one cup.

    There are 16 ounces in one pound.

    If you are using the food scale, you are measuring the weight. Since you are in the US, the box should have the serving size weight listed in grams as well.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Thank you all - I was referring to the weights used in the MFP food database... I do measure using scales - but wasn't sure which MFP use...... All the very best to you all!!

    Often. Even the MFP entry will specify.
  • amperl8
    amperl8 Posts: 36 Member
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    Wow I have been way over eating from my food scale then. so only liquid I should be measuring in ounces and everyting else I should be using grams. Is that correct?
  • RadioactivePirate
    RadioactivePirate Posts: 212
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    Wow I have been way over eating from my food scale then. so only liquid I should be measuring in ounces and everyting else I should be using grams. Is that correct?

    Not exactly.... you can measure in grams or ounces on your scale. You are measuring weight. You cannot measure FLUID ounces on your scale, that is a volume measurement.

    So if you're having a 3 ounce serving of cooked chicken, you can use the scale to measure that ounce. But a 6oz serving of juice you would NOT use the scale, that is a volume measurement.

    edited to add: it should specify fl oz or oz on the nutrition information, so you know what to use.
  • amperl8
    amperl8 Posts: 36 Member
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    thanks I'm glad I asked. I do measure my meats in ounces but I always thought that my cereal was way too much. Glad i didn't continue with what I was doing. I guess I will read my label a little closer.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    Wow I have been way over eating from my food scale then. so only liquid I should be measuring in ounces and everyting else I should be using grams. Is that correct?

    edit: Radioactivepirate has the right idea, put a bit more succintly :laugh:

    Not necessarily :wink: It's just important to remember there are two measure called ounce that are COMPLETELY different. One is a measure of weight, the other is a measure of volume. Fluid ounces are commonly called just ounces, so therein lies the confusion.

    Your food scale measures weight.* A measuring cup measures volume. If the serving size is given in cups and you convert it to ounces (like you did with the cereal), that is fluid ounces. E.g. one cup of flour = 8 fluid ounces of flour but does not equal 8 ounces of flour.

    If you are measuring weight, measure in whatever the given unit is. All non liquid foods should have a serving size listed, with the weight in grams of that serving. If the serving size is given by volume (such as 3/4 of a cup) or quantity, use the weight listed in grams when using the food scale.. However, if the measuring something like meat or cheese which is usually given a serving size in weight by ounces (cheese serving is typically one ounce, meat is typically 4 ounces raw), you can go ahead and use ounces.

    Liquid serving sizes given in ounces are always fluid ounces. Use a measuring cup to measure fluid ounces. A food scale is not measuring fluid ounces.*

    *Note: Some food scales will "measure" cups and fluid ounces by measuring the weight, but it has to know what you are measuring for this to work.

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