what weight to use when weighing pasta for dieting purposes?
I presume that, ceteris paribus, the same amount of pasta cooked is significantly heavier than the same amount uncooked.
So what is the standard?
Best Answer
There is no standard. (Btw. this also applies to rice)
Any source (calorie table, diet plan, recipe..) should specify what they are talking about when giving values.
That said, for recipes, the context should clarify. If it includes a full cooking step, assume dried. If it calls for precooked, is usually mentioned.
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How do you weigh pasta when counting calories?
If you're watching your weight, it's always useful to weigh pasta in its dried form as it does gain weight with water when boiled. This doesn't however affect the number of calories in pasta there are once cooked.Should I weigh my pasta before or after cooking for calories?
Now, the calories don't change when food is cooked. 100g of dry, uncooked pasta won't 'gain' any calories as it's cooked, but it will increase in weight (pasta generally doubles in weight when cooked).Do you measure pasta by weight?
If you need to work out the weight of pasta for the purpose of counting calories, then you should use the pre-cooked weight because as pasta is cooked, it increases in water weight. Most recipes will also use the pre-cooked weight unless stated otherwise.How do you weigh out pasta?
According to the USDA, the proper pasta portion is 2 ounces. If you're making longer noodles (think spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine), you can measure the right amount by holding the pasta up to a quarter. Once a bunch of noodles equals the diameter of the coin, you have the recommended 2 ounces.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Pixabay, Mikhail Nilov, Andres Ayrton, Mikhail Nilov