GIFSQ Tools · Module 06 — Bakery, Pasta, Breakfast Cereals & Snacks · Tool 115 of 500
Calculate the swelling index of cooked pasta: how many times its dry weight it reaches after cooking, and how much water it absorbed.
Try sample values — fills the form with the worked example below.
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Swelling index
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Water absorption (%)
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Water gained (g)
Equation: Swelling index = cooked pasta weight ÷ dry pasta weight. Water absorption (%) = (cooked weight − dry weight) ÷ dry weight × 100. Water gained = cooked weight − dry weight.
Method: Pasta swelling measurement as used in the cooking-quality assessment of AACC 66-50.01 (Pasta and Noodle Cooking Quality): cook a weighed sample, drain it, and weigh it again.
Assumptions: the pasta is drained the same way each time; surface water is shaken off before weighing.
Limitations: the index depends on cooking time and pasta shape, so compare only the same shape cooked for the same time; it does not separate water absorbed from solids lost.
Rounding: swelling index, absorption and water gained to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Method: Pasta swelling measurement as used in the cooking-quality assessment of AACC 66-50.01 (Pasta and Noodle Cooking Quality): cook a weighed sample, drain it, and weigh it again.
Assumptions: the pasta is drained the same way each time; surface water is shaken off before weighing.
Limitations: the index depends on cooking time and pasta shape, so compare only the same shape cooked for the same time; it does not separate water absorbed from solids lost.
Rounding: swelling index, absorption and water gained to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Worked example: 100 g dry pasta cooks to 260 g. Swelling index = 260 ÷ 100 = 2.60; water absorption = 160.00%; water gained = 160.00 g.
Enter values above to see results.
Typical swelling index for well-cooked pasta: 2.5–3.0. Below 2.0 the pasta is undercooked; above 3.5 it is usually overcooked. Tool 115 of 500 — GIFSQ
