How to Adjust Recipe Amounts

IsMs

Editor

posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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If your recipe indicates that it serves 4, but you need it to feed 6, how do you adjust it? Alternatively, how do you decrease the amount a recipe will make? Known as scaling, adjusting a recipe is sometimes necessary but it's not just a matter of adding or decreasing the amount of each ingredient. But don't worry, it's easy to adjust recipe amounts.

Steps

Increase the Yield of a Recipe

Read the recipe. Before shopping for the ingredients, read through the recipe. Most main dish recipes will double or triple easily, but baking generally doesn't scale well due to the precise ingredient measurements needed to create the chemical reaction required for baking to turn out properly. Determine how many times you'll need to multiple the recipe in order to gain your required serving amount.

Make the conversions. If possible, make your recipe amount conversions in pencil beside the actual recipe. If a recipe calls for 1 cup (240 ml) of flour, then you should write in 2 cups (480 ml) flour. Continue this through the whole list of ingredients and amounts, except for spices. You can round an item up. If the recipe calls for 1 egg and you're multiplying your recipe by 1.5 then you'd end up with 1 1/2 eggs; round this up to 2 eggs. When doubling a recipe that includes spices and alcohol, only multiple these ingredients by 1.5 or you risk overpowering the recipe with their assertive flavors.

Make a list. Scaling a recipe up means that you need extra ingredients. This holds true for the main ingredients such as proteins, vegetables and starches. Make a list of the amounts of each ingredient you need after scaling the recipe. Don't worry about buying exact amounts of spices; dried spices will keep quiet well in a kitchen pantry for months.

Go shopping for your ingredients.

Make your recipe. Prepare the recipe. The directions will remain the same but cooking times may need to be adjusted to allow for a larger batch. Anything prepared for the oven will take additional time. Check frequently to ensure you're not overcooking the recipe.

Decrease the Yield of a Recipe

Read the recipe. Reducing the amount produced by a recipe is handled in much the same way as increasing it, only you're working with lesser amounts of each ingredient. First read the recipe through and figure out by how much you need to reduce the recipe. If the recipe produces enough for 4 and you only want sufficient for 2, then you'd cut it in half, and so on.

Make the conversions. If possible, make your recipe amount conversions in pencil beside the actual recipe. If a recipe calls for 1 cup (240 ml) of flour, then you should write in 1/2 cup (120 ml) flour. Continue this through the whole list of ingredients and amounts including spices. If the recipe calls for 1 egg and you're dividing your recipe in half, still use 1 egg. Lower the amount of other liquid in the recipe by 2 tbsp. (30 ml) for each half egg that you're rounding up.

Make a list. Scaling a recipe down means that you will need fewer ingredients. This holds true for the main ingredients such as proteins, vegetables and starches. Make a list of the amounts of each ingredient you need after scaling the recipe.

Go shopping for your ingredients.

Make your recipe. Prepare the recipe. The directions will remain the same but cooking times may need to be adjusted to allow for a smaller batch. Anything prepared for the oven will take less time. If dividing your recipe in half, also cut the cooking time in half. Check frequently to ensure you're not overcooking the recipe.