Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I'm very new here.

I make homemade pasta - almost never buy dried. Recipes usually call for a
specific amount of pasta, vs. sauce. That is to say, a recipe will make a
certain amount of sauce, then say, for instance, "pour over 1/2 pound of
pasta". When I use homemade, I never seem to get the amount of pasta vs
sauce correct. I know I could make up a huge pot of sauce, then use as much
or as little as I want. But I'd like to be able to judge how much pasta to
make when a recipe calls for a certain measure of dried - we don't like
leftover pasta so I want to get it as close as possible.

When I make pasta, I measure it out in cups of flour. I know how many cups
to use when making pasta for 2, or 4, etc. Can anyone tell me, or point me
in the right direction to find out what that equivalency is to dried? Is
1/2 pound dried linguine, say, equivalent to making a 1 cup homemade recipe?

I will be very grateful for any help.

AG in Maryland

"grossbea" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I'm very new here.
>
> I make homemade pasta - almost never buy dried. Recipes usually call for
> a specific amount of pasta, vs. sauce. That is to say, a recipe will make
> a certain amount of sauce, then say, for instance, "pour over 1/2 pound of
> pasta". When I use homemade, I never seem to get the amount of pasta vs
> sauce correct. I know I could make up a huge pot of sauce, then use as
> much or as little as I want. But I'd like to be able to judge how much
> pasta to make when a recipe calls for a certain measure of dried - we
> don't like leftover pasta so I want to get it as close as possible.
>
> When I make pasta, I measure it out in cups of flour. I know how many
> cups to use when making pasta for 2, or 4, etc. Can anyone tell me, or
> point me in the right direction to find out what that equivalency is to
> dried? Is 1/2 pound dried linguine, say, equivalent to making a 1 cup
> homemade recipe?
>
> I will be very grateful for any help.
>
> AG in Maryland

Here's how you can do it.

If you are making spaghetti, or whatever type of pasta you are making or
make most frequently, buy some dried, see how many it says it serves, cook
it, measure it after it's been cooked, use a measured amount of sauce.
Then make some of your own pasta, cook it and measure how much you have, use
a measured amount of sauce.
You will become the expert. You probably already are, not many make their
own pasta.

I love left-over dried pasta. I don't think you will be disappointed in
using up your dried pasta that you experimented with.
Dee Dee

grossbea wrote:
> Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I'm very new here.
>
> I make homemade pasta - almost never buy dried. Recipes usually call for a
> specific amount of pasta, vs. sauce. That is to say, a recipe will make a
> certain amount of sauce, then say, for instance, "pour over 1/2 pound of
> pasta". When I use homemade, I never seem to get the amount of pasta vs
> sauce correct. I know I could make up a huge pot of sauce, then use as much
> or as little as I want. But I'd like to be able to judge how much pasta to
> make when a recipe calls for a certain measure of dried - we don't like
> leftover pasta so I want to get it as close as possible.
>
> When I make pasta, I measure it out in cups of flour. I know how many cups
> to use when making pasta for 2, or 4, etc. Can anyone tell me, or point me
> in the right direction to find out what that equivalency is to dried? Is
> 1/2 pound dried linguine, say, equivalent to making a 1 cup homemade recipe?
>
> I will be very grateful for any help.
>
> AG in Maryland
>
>

Dried pasta has (virtually) no water. So I suspect the dry weight of the
flour you use would roughly be the same as the wight of dry pasta. If
you are using eggs in your pasta, you could weigh the egg + your flour
together. This methods isn't 100% accurate, but it should be close enough.

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 15:51:15 -0500, grossbea wrote:

> Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I'm very new here.
>
Not a problem. We're here to help (and analyze your every move).

> I make homemade pasta - almost never buy dried. Recipes usually call for a
> specific amount of pasta, vs. sauce. That is to say, a recipe will make a
> certain amount of sauce, then say, for instance, "pour over 1/2 pound of
> pasta". When I use homemade, I never seem to get the amount of pasta vs
> sauce correct. I know I could make up a huge pot of sauce, then use as much
> or as little as I want. But I'd like to be able to judge how much pasta to
> make when a recipe calls for a certain measure of dried - we don't like
> leftover pasta so I want to get it as close as possible.
>
Your main problem is how to gauge the amount of pasta you need to make
and only experience will do that for you. Your second problem is your
pasta to sauce ratio.... remember: a recipe is only a suggestion. Try
it their way once and adjust it to your taste after that.

> When I make pasta, I measure it out in cups of flour. I know how many cups
> to use when making pasta for 2, or 4, etc. Can anyone tell me, or point me
> in the right direction to find out what that equivalency is to dried? Is
> 1/2 pound dried linguine, say, equivalent to making a 1 cup homemade recipe?
>
Dried pasta doubles (approximately) when cooked. Did that help?

Please remember that recipes are just a suggestion.... my routine is
to make recipes as written (unless there is something glaring that I
want to change initially).... then I tweak them. I usually prefer
less sauce.
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.