The long and short of measuring pasta

Q: When an ingredient list calls for “2 cups” of pasta, to what does that refer? Two cups of cooked pasta is enough, but being listed on the ingredient list causes me to think the recipe is calling for two cups of uncooked pasta. If so, how do you measure two cups of uncooked pasta? For instance, I wanted to use vermicelli as my pasta. What’s two cups of dry vermicelli?

— Vince Romano, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.

A: When a recipe lists 2 cups of pasta, mostly likely it means dry pasta.

With our recipes, if we want you to use cooked pasta we would list it as “2 cups cooked pasta.” If we want you to use dry pasta, usually we’d list it as 2 cups (or 8 ounces or 1 pound, whichever amount is needed) pasta. We also would provide instructions for cooking the pasta or say “cooked according to package directions.” Also, if instructions for fully cooking the pasta are listed, it means dry pasta is used.

Measuring short pasta (bow-tie, rigatoni and elbow) is easy enough. But when it comes to spaghetti and vermicelli, half of a 1pound box is about 2 cups. You can also do it by weight. Generally 8 ounces of short pasta (like macaroni) is about 2 cups.

Having said all that, what’s generally listed on the packages/boxes of most dry pasta as the serving size is 2 ounces. What does that look like? It will definitely depend on the size and shape. But generally, 2 ounces of dry pasta like penne or bow tie is about ½ cup. Once cooked, that amount yields 1 to 1 ¼ cups. Again, it depends on the size. When it comes to long strands of pasta, 2 ounces is typically 2 inches or just a smidgen more in circumference depending on the size of the noodle. That circumference yields about 1 cup of cooked pasta as listed at www.barilla.com. So a 1-pound box of dry pasta cooks up to about 8 cups.

Another question that comes up often when cooking pasta is whether the water should be salted or not. The answer is a resounding yes. How much salt to use? I always think of Mario Batali, who says you should add enough salt so the water tastes salty. It’s recommended that for every 1 pound dry pasta you should use 6 quarts water and 3 tablespoons kosher salt, adding the salt to the water once it comes to a full boil.

Why salt the water? The advantage is simple: It seasons the pasta, adding flavour. Also, it’s always recommended to reserve some of the pasta cooking water to add to, if using, a sauce. That reserved pasta water will all help season the sauce and because the water has starch from the pasta, it will also help thicken the sauce if need be.