Penne pasta problem

jackartack
jackartack Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Still a bit confused on this:

The package says allow 100g dry per person, and proceed to cook that 100g of pasta.

I have now cooked it and of course it’s grown in size to 203g of cooked pasta.
The calories per 100g cooked as directed pasta is 156kcal.

Does this mean that the the portion size suggested is aligned with the cooked as directed calories? Or does it mean 100g weighed out from the pasta after cooking?

I have attached images of the packaging and cooking instructions. Sorry if I’m being a complete doofus, I’d like to get the macros right, thank you.

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Replies

  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 632 Member
    The way I understand this label is for 100g if pasta weighed out from after cooking.

    FYI in my neck of the woods most pasta varieties including penne recommend to allow 70g dry per person and I routinely do 55-60g instead.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    The "cooked as directed" implies 100g cooked, but then that "allow 100g per person" is stupid because how do you know what that is dry before you cook it?

    Pasta is about 200 cals per 2oz dry (so 56g) - your box is saying 156 cals for 100g cooked.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,940 Member
    Most labels in countries other than the U.S. use 100g as the standard on labels.

    I use 50g dry (uncooked) as a portion for myself. That would be 156 calories, because it would be half of the listed 100g and therefore half of the calories.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,107 Member
    edited May 2020
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Most labels in countries other than the U.S. use 100g as the standard on labels.

    And they give the values for the uncooked product (and occasionally they add cooked values alongside). I would be super annoyed at only getting the cooked values (if you boil it a bit longer or shorter than mentioned on the package, or even drain the pasta more or less thoroughly, accuracy of the calories per weight of cooked product is compromised).

    In theory:
    If 100gr uncooked yields 203gr cooked, multiply all the values on the label for the cooked product by 2.03 and you will have the calories and macros for 100 uncooked product.
    In this case that would mean 317kcal per 100gr uncooked pasta. Which seems a bit low to me (and brings me back to my first comment about not stating the values for the raw product :tongue: )
  • eryn0x
    eryn0x Posts: 138 Member
    edited May 2020
    You could take this to mean 100 grams (dry), cooked as directed.... but based on the calorie count, it’s all out of whack
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
    See if you find a suitable dry calorie weight. Calories of pasta should not be so different across different brands and should probable be arund 356-370 calories per 100gr dry
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,400 Member
    edited May 2020
    Yup--as many of the above posters said: a regular portion of pasta (here in Italy) is 100g dry. Your box and instructions are confusing things and are not accurate. They then give you calories for about 50g of pasta. Cooking that 100g doubles it because it absorbs water. There is a big difference in weight between 100g dry and 100g cooked--rice is the same, as are meats raw or cooked. So, weigh your pasta dry. 100g of pasta is around 359 calories (I got it off my box), so if you want less calories adjust the amount. Enjoy your pasta. I make it almost everyday.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited May 2020
    It's definitely cooked, or the calories would make no sense, and it also specifically says 100 g cooked for the cals.

    In the US, the box serving size is 2 oz (56 g), which IMO is plenty with a sauce with protein and veg.

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