Understanding ounces on food labels

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LaurenGiannelli
LaurenGiannelli Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay so today I had pasta....the box said 2oz would be 200 calories. Correct me if I am wrong but isn't 2oz 1/4 cup? When I was searching the brand type of food one popped up that 2oz was 1 cup cooked. It has me all confused can someone help me??

Replies

  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
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    I think 2 oz is a cup generally speaking. However, I just weigh it dry and go by grams or ounces.
  • bethrs
    bethrs Posts: 664 Member
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    Well, some pasta expands as it cooks as well, but there is a substantial difference in fluid ounces (measured by cups etc.) and weight ounces.

    So...yeah, you'd need to weigh it essentially. Maybe 2 ounces comes out to 1/4 cup, I'm not sure.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Yes, according to my measuring cup, 2oz is 1/4 cup. That's for dry pasta, cooked pasta isn't as accurate because it depends on the amount of water it absorbs.
  • BandMom2
    BandMom2 Posts: 64
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    Yes, 2oz of most things would be about 1/4 cup. I am pretty sure it is talking about 2oz dry pasta which when cooked is about 1 cup. Hope that helps =)
  • LillysGranny
    LillysGranny Posts: 431
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    Your best bet will be to buy a scale. You can get a pretty nice digital scale for under $20. Worth every penny to know you're eating exactly what you thought you were eating!
  • CallejaFairey
    CallejaFairey Posts: 391 Member
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    usually, unless otherwise stated on the box, the serving measurements mean pre cooked for dry things like pasta and rice. so it is possible that the 2oz is 1/4 cup, and that when that pasta is cooked, it's size goes up to 1cup.

    it'a always better to weight things anyways, that is the most accurate.
  • julsofdenial
    julsofdenial Posts: 225 Member
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    I made the mistake of cooking rotini and weighing it before I ate it. I ate 4 oz cooked but have no idea what to count it as since the bag goes by dry weight. I didn't measure the cooked in cups. Just ounces. I can't find info on how many dry ounces that might have been, so I'm on the same boat as you, sorry!
  • LaurenGiannelli
    LaurenGiannelli Posts: 8
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    Okay great thank you so much that makes a little more sense with dry compared to cooked. It is difficult to find fluid ounces compared to dry ounces. I appreciate all the comments they helped :)
  • bmontgomery87
    bmontgomery87 Posts: 1,260 Member
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    I always go by the dry/precooked measurements.
  • mhoch
    mhoch Posts: 50
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    Yea the oz on the package is weight not liquid ounces.

    What I do for pasta (also rice and quinoa) is to measure out 4 servings using the dry weight. Then when the food is cooked, I weigh it all together to get the total weight cooked. Then I just divide that amount by 4 ( or how ever many servings you weighed dry) to figure out how much one serving will be.

    Seems to be working for me. That way I know I wont be over estimating.
  • a_stronger_steph
    a_stronger_steph Posts: 434 Member
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    Abolish the ounce! Use grams and litres! ;)
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
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    Abolish the ounce! Use grams and litres! ;)

    +1

    and I am in the US.
  • NoPyForYou
    NoPyForYou Posts: 44 Member
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    Yea the oz on the package is weight not liquid ounces.

    What I do for pasta (also rice and quinoa) is to measure out 4 servings using the dry weight. Then when the food is cooked, I weigh it all together to get the total weight cooked. Then I just divide that amount by 4 ( or how ever many servings you weighed dry) to figure out how much one serving will be.

    This is 100% correct.
  • marisa_munches
    marisa_munches Posts: 30
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    The confusing thing is that an ounce is a measure of both weight and volume and the two are NOT equal.

    An ounce of liquid (volume) = in this case, yes 1 cup = 8 oz so 1/4 cup = 2 oz
    An ounce (weight) = I think this is most likely what your pasta box is referring to, not volume. Therefore, you really can't equate a weight measurement to a volume measurement like 1/4 cup. You have to weigh the pasta on a food scale to know how many servings you're having.

    Hope this helps!

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