Trying to correctly portion pasta for those you’re feeding is like trying to mathematically solve love. There is no “right” answer. A 4-ounce (quarter-pound) serving to one person will feel like a woefully insufficient 2 ounces to a voracious eater. Some guides recommend one-third pound (precooked) per person for a main course, a volume that may make the carb-conscious pass out. But there’s one thing about pasta cooking that I think most of us out here in the home-kitchen trenches can agree on: Recipes that call for only 10 to 12 ounces—many of them, as any home cook can attest—instead of the whole 16-ounce box seem designed to drive us crazy.

The 12-ounce-pasta problem is indeed one of the internet’s great food gripes, and to add insult to injury, recipe writers are keenly aware of their sins. Megan Ginsberg, over at America’s Test Kitchen, wrote dismissively about the situation a few years ago:

I have come to learn that it is infuriating to some people when recipes don’t call for an entire 1-pound box of dried pasta. They get seriously bent out of shape about it. Are you one of those people? If so, I have to ask, what is so wrong about having partial boxes of pasta hanging around?

Well, here’s the issue: These boxes aren’t just partially empty; they’re almost fully empty. Ten- and 12-ounce recipes leave an annoying remnant of noodles in the box. It’s a pain-in-the-ass amount of pasta—enough to awkwardly rattle around the now unsealed package, barely enough to make a meal. What’s more, if said opened box is not closed properly, sometimes those stiff strands or shapes spill out in tight cabinets, creating a mess and bringing curses down upon the haughty recipe writer.