How to Scale Recipes to Save Money and Reduce Waste

You've introduced a new lunchtime soup, but you didn't anticipate how popular it would be. Now, you need to make twice the amount to satisfy customer demand. On the flip side, you discover a stew that was once popular during lunch is lagging in sales and you need to reduce the amount you're making.

The popularity of dish on the menu is always ebbing and flowing, leaving restaurants to figure out how much of any recipe is just the right amount to make. Too little and you risk losing customers who don't get their orders. Too much and food is wasted.

That's why it's important to know how to scale recipe ingredients.

Scaling a recipe refers to either increasing or decreasing its yield. Of course, chefs need to know how to scale recipes up, but there are also instances where scaling down is just as important.

In this article, we'll discuss how to scale recipes, which recipes scale well (and which don't), and the importance of conversion factors.