Recipe – a written record of the ingredients and preparation steps needed to make a particular dish.
Standardized Recipe – these recipes are written in a format for institutional use. It lists the ingredients
first, in the order they are to be used, followed by assembly directions.
A standardized recipe is important for controlling costs, quality, and consistency of product. Consistent
production of good food is the result of following a clear standardized recipe.
In commercial recipes, it is important to give measurements of an ingredient instead of saying “1 onion”,
or “one small bell pepper”.
Other terms to know:
Yield: This is the number of servings or the amount the recipe makes. Yield is a crucial thing to know
when determining the cost of producing a recipe.
Portion size: This is the individual amount that serves a person
Temperature, time, and equipment: This includes size and type of pans and other equipment needed,
the oven temperature, cooking time, and any preheating instructions.
Step by step directions: This is how and when to combine the ingredients.
Nutritional information: this isn’t necessary but useful. May include amounts of fat, carbohydrates,
protein, fiber, sodium, vitamins, and minerals.
When going into the kitchen to cook always:
1) Read the recipe completely first!
2) Gather and mise en place all ingredients as specified in the recipe. Mise en place is French for
“to put in place”. It means the preparation and assembly of ingredients, pans, utensils, and
equipment or serving pieces needed for a particular dish.
3) Measure carefully
4) Follow the instructions for preparation.
Converting a recipe
NEW YIELD / OLD YIELD = Conversion Factor or NY/OY=CF
Make sure you convert everything to pounds to ounces before multiplying by the conversion factor.
Example: New or desired Yield = 250
Old Yield = 96
Conversion Factor : 250/96=2.6
Now multiply 2.6 by every ingredient in your recipe. Make sure you change pounds to ounces before
multiplying.
Ingredients:
Unsweetened chocolate
1 lb = 16 oz
x 2.6
=
41.6 oz = 2 lb 10 oz
Butter
1 lb 8 oz=24 oz x 2.6
=
62.4 oz=3 lb 14 oz
Eggs
1 lb 8 oz = 24 oz x 2.6
=
62.4 oz = 3 lb 14 oz
Sugar
3 lb = 48 oz
x 2.6
=
124.8 oz =7 lb 13 oz
Vanilla
2 tbsp
x 2.6
=
5.2 tbsp
Cake flour
1 lb = 16 oz
x 2.6
=
41.6 oz=2 lb 10 oz
Baking soda
1.5 tsp
=
4 tsp
x 2.6
Measurements: Volume vs Weight
Measurement refers to how much of something is being used in a recipe. Ingredients can be measured
in several ways. Most ingredients are measured by volume.
Volume – the amount of space an ingredient takes up. Most ingredients are measured by volume.
Volume, however, is not as accurate as weight, particularly for solids because the character of the item
creates major variations in the amount of space an item occupies. Example: 1 Cup of water weighs 8
ounces but 1 Cup of flour weighs 3.5-4 ounces, depending on whether or not it has been packed.
Volume measurement is best for liquids. Fluid ounce is a volume measurement. Liquid measuring cups
are see through and have measurement markings on the side.
Measuring dry ingredients – make sure they are leveled off at the rim using a straight edged utensil. A
heaping measurement isn’t leveled off. (Show example)
Weight- the measurement of an item’s resistance to gravity. Weight is expressed in ounces or pounds.
Do you think one cup of popcorn weighs the same as one cup of water? You would use a kitchen scale
and not a measuring cup to find the measurement.
In most professional baking recipes, the dry measurements are given in weight instead of volume
(cups) since it is more accurate. You must weigh these items instead of using measuring cups if the
recipe is given in weight such as ounces.
Scales – a food scale is helpful for measuring ingredients and for portion control. In this class we will
either use a portion scale or a digital scale.
When using a food scale:
Decide in what container to weigh the food.
Place the empty container on the scale
Adjust the scale until it reads zero. This is called Taring the scale.
Add the food to the container until the scale shows the desired amount.
Measuring Fat:
Fat, such as butter or shortening can be measured in several ways.
1) Stick method – the wrapper of the butter is marked in tablespoon and in fractions of a cup.
Simply cut off the amount needed.
2) Dry measuring cup method – pack the fat down in the measuring cup and level off.
3) Water displacement method – don’t worry about this.
Measuring Tips:
Some recipes call for sifting ingredients such as flour, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar. Sifting
removes lumps and gives a smoother texture. Sift before measuring. (See demo)
*Advanced Class only see below*
EP/AP amounts
Most vegetables have to be trimmed and cut before being used in recipes. Because of this, cooks must
calculate the correct edible portion (EP) amount from the untrimmed as purchased (AP) amount. Look
at page 255 for common percentage yields of produce.
Some products can be purchased in EP form but cost more. However, it saves labor cost.
To determing how much of an item is needed to yield an AP amount, divide the edible portion (EP)
amount needed by the yield percentage. If a pasta salad recipe calls for 4 pounds of cauliflower,
we see that cauliflower has a 55 percent yield. Divide the desired EP by the yield percentage:
4 pounds/.55=7.27 pounds
Another example: if the chef has 10 pounds of untrimmed cauliflower, which has a 55 percent yield:
what is his Edible Portion?
10 pounds x .55 = 5.5 pounds trimmed cauliflower
Figuring the EP can have a huge impact on food cost percentage especially when it comes to meat.
There is also a conversion chart that has that shows the average amount of shrinkage from AP to EP
amount. Most shrinkage occurs when you trim a meat product. This includes deboning and removing fat
and gristle. Cooking also contributes to shrinkage.
Look at page 257