Scale Your Recipe
Enter original servings (e.g., 4 people) and ingredient list. Set new servings (e.g., 50 for catering). Calculator multiplies all ingredients by scale factor: 50/4 = 12.5x. Original: 200g flour -> Scaled: 2,500g flour. Works for any scaling direction: recipe for 10 servings -> scale down to 2 servings. Handles metric (grams, liters), imperial (cups, tablespoons, pounds), and mixed measurements. Cloud kitchens: scale daily recipe (4 servings) up to 100 servings. Tiffin services: scale weekly menu by 10-20x. Keeps ingredient ratios perfect - essential for consistent taste across different batch sizes.
Tips for Scaling (What Doesn't Scale Linearly)
Spices do not scale 1:1. Doubling a recipe does not mean double the salt/chili. Rule: scale spices to 75-85% of calculated amount. Test taste. Example: original uses 1 tsp salt for 4 servings. Scaled to 10 servings = 2.5 tsps x 0.8 = 2 tsps (not 2.5). Cooking time changes slightly: 2xbatch might take only 1.3-1.5x time (heat distributes differently). Baking is sensitive - use weight (grams) not volume (cups) for scaling (cups vary by packing). Liquids in sauces: reduce when scaling up (evaporation less in bigger batches). Rising time for dough: same time, not scaled. Garlic/ginger: use 80% of calculated amount (potency concentrates). Test scaled recipes with small batch first before commercial production.
Metric to Imperial Converter
1 kg = 35.27 oz = 2.2 lbs. 1 liter = 1,000 ml = 33.8 oz = 4.2 cups. 1 gram = 0.035 oz. Common conversions: 500g flour = 3.3 cups (but weigh instead), 250ml milk = 1 cup, 15ml = 1 tablespoon, 5ml = 1 teaspoon, 100g paneer = 3.5 oz. Most professional recipes use grams (more accurate). Home recipes use cups (approximate). Scaling is easier in metric: 200g -> 2,000g (multiply by 10) vs 1.5 cups -> ? cups (confusing). Convert old recipes to grams for consistency. Kitchen scales: invest in digital scale (₹200-500), saves time and improves accuracy. Gram measurements are repeatable; cups vary by compaction method.
Batch Cooking Guide
Cloud kitchens: prepare 2-4 batches of key items (dal, rice, meat) in morning. Scale-up example: 10 servings biryani -> prepare 3 batches = 30 servings ready. Reduce cooking time waste. Tiffin services: daily workflow: scale weekly recipe for 50 customers, prepare 5-6 components in assembly line, batch cook each component (rice in bulk pot, dal in separate pot, vegetables together). Freezing: cooked food (curries) freezes well 2+ weeks. Parboil rice to 80%, complete cooking to order (saves final cooking time, improves consistency). Mise en place: prep (chop, measure) all ingredients before cooking (saves time, prevents mistakes during scaled production). Batch size: optimal batch = equipment capacity (large pot fills 70%, allows stirring). Small batches (10 servings) every 2 hours beats one 100-serving batch.
FAQ
Can I scale up baking recipes? Yes, but use weight (grams) not volume. Baking is chemistry - scaling changes oven distribution. Test with 1.5x first. What if scaled quantity is weird (e.g., 0.3 grams)? Round to nearest practical measure. 0.3g of salt is impossible - round to 1/4 teaspoon. Do cooking times change? Yes, slightly. 1xbatch = 20 min cooking, 5xbatch = 25-30 min (not 100 min). Use thermometer to check doneness, not time. Should I scale salt/spices less? Yes, start at 75-80%. Taste test before serving. Do I scale water? Not exactly. Large batches need slightly less water (less evaporation). Start at 90% calculated water. Do I scale yeast/baking powder? Yes, but loosely (scale to 90%). Too much leavening causes overflow. Should I test recipes before scaling? Always. Test at 1.5x scale before going commercial (50x).