Scaling a recipe Doubling or Halving

• adjusting the ingredient

quantities for a different
amount of servings.
Did You Know?
Because of the chemistry involved in
baking (how the ingredients interact
with one another), super-sizing these
recipes can lead to disaster --
especially when it comes to cakes,
yeast bread, custard or soufflé. That's
because these ingredients need to be
in exact proportions to interact
properly. Of course, you can still
multiply the ingredients to simplify
your shopping list. Just remember to
mix them in small batches according to
the original recipe size when you get
back to your kitchen.
 Determine the Conversion Factor
• Note the yield of the recipe that is to be adjusted. The
number of portions is usually included at the top of
the recipe (or formulation) or at the bottom of the
recipe. This is the information that you HAVE.
• Decide what yield is required. This is the information
you NEED.
• Obtain the conversion factor by dividing the required
yield (from Step 2) by the old yield (from Step 1). That
is, conversion factor = (required yield)/(recipe yield) or
conversion factor = what you NEED ÷ what you HAVE.
 Determine the Conversion Factor
• The conversion factor is a number to use to
convert all the quantities.

Desired Servings Conversion Factor

Original Servings
 To find the conversion factor needed to
adjust
• A recipe that produces 25 portions to produce
60 portions, these are steps you would take:
1. Recipe yield = 25 portions
2. Required yield = 60 portions
3. Conversion factor
= (required yield) ÷ (recipe yield)
= 60 portions ÷ 25 portions
= 2.4
Scale a 10-serving recipe down to six portions:
Divide 6 (desired servings) by 10 (original
servings), which gives you a conversion factor of
0.6.
 Applying the Conversion Factor
• determine the conversion factor, to multiply
each ingredient measurement by this number.

– Recipe calls for 2 quarts of chicken stock.

Multiply 2 quarts by conversion factor of 0.6:
• 2 quarts × 0.6 = 1.2 quarts chicken stock
Converting the Measurements