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Measuring Pasta
mustnothrowcantelopes
Posts: 116 Member
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?
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?
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Replies
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56g (2 ounces) raw cooks up to about 150g (1 cup) ...so I weigh it raw, on my food scale, available at any large store or on Amazon for about $15.5
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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!!!
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mustnothrowcantelopes wrote: »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!!!
It doesn't matter how much it weighs cooked. Weigh the entire batch now that it is cooked, (the two servings) and divide by 2 to get one serving.
The pasta just absorbs water, and there is no "set" amount of water it absorbs.8 -
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.3 -
To accurately weigh pasta, it should be weighed uncooked. Get a digital food scale and weigh it on there--easy, peasy.4
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@snowflake954 - I did but then how do I divide it evenly ? I made enough for 2 servings .1
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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.2 -
Weigh it dry (raw) to get the calories. Weigh it again cooked to divide it into two equal servings.7
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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.2 -
I like measuring stuff. I weigh the cat every day.7
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@wilson10102018 - A most excellent response, good sir!0
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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 :
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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.1 -
JessAndreia 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.1 -
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. ;-)0
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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...
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.0 -
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.1
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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.0
This discussion has been closed.
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