Pasta carb confusion

I weighed out 56 grams/2 oz. (approx. 1/2c.) dry gemelli pasta, according to the nutri label, it is 42 carbs. Which is carb factor .75.

I cooked the pasta, reweighed at 120 grams (approx. 1c.). I then entered 'dry pasta cooked' into my Salter scale, it came up with 33 carbs. This does fit with a .28 carb factor.

So what one do I go with? I get the cooked weight vs. uncooked weight. But cooked or uncooked, aren't the carbs supposed to be the same? Does cooking reduce the carb count and if so why?

So if Joey's Mom weighs before cooked, bolues based off 42 carbs, and Lucy's Dad weighs after cooked , bolues based off 33 carbs, who's Bg will be low/high?

 

I personally NEVER weigh pasta. I use a measuring cup. Some some reason it just seems more accurate

 

so for 1/2c. uncooked pasta what would your carb count be?

 

I use shirataki pasta noodles and don't worry about carbs since they are so few. Best things I have EVER found and I can eat almost all I want since there are minimal carbs.

 

OK.

What? You are taking wet pasta and telling the scale it's dry. No-no. This is totally random.

Don't use the food database, use your label.

It gains weight in water, so the carb factor goes down. 56g to 120g, same carbs. The 120g wet is still 42 carbs.

42/56 = 0.75 dry carb factor
42/120 = 0.35 as-cooked carb factor

Use the first if people like their pasta crunchy. Otherwise, use the latter.

 

When weighed on my salter scale, dry UNCOOKED raw pasta is 42 carbs (matches label), after the same amount of pasta is cooked, dry COOKED pasta is 33 carbs.

So pasta is less carbs after it is cooked?

 

I measure it after it's cooked. 1/3 cup is 15 grams so 1/2cup would be 22/23 grams. Depending on the pasta yu may need to smoosh it down a little...

 

Some people prefer al dente, but I tend to boil the life out of my pasta, so the weights would be different for the same amount of dry pasta. I like to weight it dry so I know how many carbs are in there, then weigh it all cooked to get my carb factor - the way saxmaniac did it.

 

we use a standard 20c for a 1/2cup of pasta.. Kaylee eats rice pasta which has a bit of a different carb count, but its close enough we've always used 20c for a 1/2c even before celiac.. we use the same for rice.. it seems to work pretty good.. I confuse myself when I weigh it, so I just go with a measuring cup

 

I weigh the dry pasta by gram or ounce and use the carb information on the box. Carb factors -- don't use them unless I don't have nutritional info. In other words, home made pie made by someone else, carb factor. Pie made by me (never happens), I would add up the carbs on ingredients and divide into individual serving. Mrs. Smith's pie, nutritional information.

 

I actually just go with my Salter's Dry Cooked Pasta.

When I would use a measuring cup or measure the dry pasta and use that carb count, she would ALWAYS go low!

My Salter matches what Calorie King says - so I am pretty comfortable using that. My Salter - a cup is about 33 or 34, and Calorie King, a cup is 35.5...

 

If by "same amount" you mean same weight, then it is actually less pasta as the pasta gains weight during cooking (it absorbs water which increases the weight). So same weight ends up being less pasta once cooked and less pasta is fewer carbs. Make sense?

 

For us, the only way to get a good carb count in past is to make the whole package - count to total carbs for the package - weight the finished giant bowl of pasta - calculate carb factor for pasta cooked your way - write it down Hopefully never have to repeat.

 

For "clean" (i.e. no sauce added yet) pasta, I weight after cooking and always use .27 as a carb factor. We never had unexplainable highs or lows with it, so it seems ok for us. I find weighing before cooking is a pain you know where (although it's certainely more precise..).

For "dirty" pasta (casseroles, sauce already added, etc), I measure with 1/2 cup = 26g of carbs as a reference, I lower the # of carbs depending if there is a lot of other low-carb stuff in the mix (meat, cheese, veggies, etc).

 

I am confused. There's no such thing as "dry cooked pasta". Once you cook (boil) it, it is not dry any more, it is wet. You need a different carb factor for wet versus dry, and the carb factor has to match what you put on the scale!

If you mean that the carbs seem to go down for dry vs. cooked pasta, then you just need a better carb factor. The longer you cook pasta, the more water it absorbs, and the heavier it weighs, but the carb count does not change. This is why it's better to use the box, figure out the total carbs for the server, and then deduce your own carb factor for when it's wet. The carbs most assuredly do not change when you cook it, but the weight does.

 

I wonder if the whole "Dry" confusion stems from the distinction between "Dry" boxed pasta and "fresh" pasta either of which could be in a cooked or uncooked state.

 

Well, "fresh" pasta is not dried, it is just cold. You can boil it for a bit, but it's not going to gain massive amount of water weight like dried pasta will.

 

I believe that is the case. We cook our boxed pasta and weigh it as "dry cooked pasta" on the Salter Scale and have no problem. There is also a label of "dry uncooked pasta", so logically, there's really nothing else that "dry cooked pasta" could be, except cooked, boxed pasta. (Which is, inherently, wet.)

In case that was confusing, I was agreeing with you, Sarah.

 

The Salter scale has some confusing terminology...it has
Fresh Pasta - uncooked
Fresh Pasta - cooked
Dry Uncooked Pasta
Dry Cooked Pasta


So, that just means it is from dry pasta, not fresh pasta...

 

We have calculate pasta many times, because it is one of Jordan's favorites! We use 42c per cup for most pasta w/ a cheese sauce.