Recipe Scaling
Using Ratios and Proportions to
adjust recipe size.
Recipe Scaling is all
about using your
favorite recipe:
For 200 rather than the 4 it was
written for:
And still having it turn out!
Like a Champ!
You Already Know How to do this!
• How would doubling a recipe be done?
• How would that look on paper?
• Multiply all of the ingredients by 2.
• Or if a recipe yielded 4 portions and you needed
it for 8 portions: 8/4 = 2
• Here the recipe is increasing in size so you need
to multiply it by a number bigger than 1.
Let’s try it a different direction:
• How about halving a recipe?
• And how would this look on paper?
• Divide ingredients by 2, or multiply by 0.5.
• If the recipe yields 6 portions and you need 3:
3/6 = ½ or 0.5
• Here the recipe is decreasing in size so you need
to multiply it by a number smaller than 1.
• You have just used ratios
NewYield
OldYield

NewIngredi entAmt
OldIngredi entAmt
NewYield
OldYield

NewIngredi entAmt .
OldIngredi entAmt .
25
6

x
1
12
Arrive at a ratio:
• Now that you understand what a proportion is
let’s arrive at a ratio that will be easier to work
with in the kitchen:
• If you solve, or reduce the fraction: NewYield
OldYield
• Then you can multiply this result by your old
recipe’s ingredients’ quantities
• To arrive at the new recipe’s ingredients’
quantities.
• Example: 4/2 = 2 = doubling
• Or: 3/6 = 0.5 (1/2) = halving
NewYield
OldYield
NewYield
OldYield

18
4
 4 .5
Let’s work a recipe:
• Recipe yields 4 portions and we want 10:
10
• New Yield/Old Yield = NewYield

 2 .5
• 10/4 =
OldYield
4
• 2.5 = Conversion Factor = CF
• Ingredients:
Old Qty: CF:
New Qty:
• Flour
2 cups
x 2.5 =
______
• Water
8 floz.
x 2.5 =
______
• Egg
2 each
x 2.5 =
______
• Baking Powder 1 tsp.
x 2.5 =
______
• Cinnamon
2 tsp.
x 2.5 =
______
It
turned
out!
Bon
Appétit