Understanding and Using Culinary Math and Recipes

How is math used in culinary arts? In recipes In calculating food costs In determining yields

Recipe A written record of ingredients and preparation steps needed to make a particular dish.

Standardized recipe A recipe used in a professional kitchen. Standardized recipes help to: Ensure consistent quality and quantity Reduce costs by eliminating waste Give exact information about a dish

Where do recipes come from? Recipes can be collected from many sources. Magazines Cookbooks Newspapers Internet People Recipes can be arranged by region, ethnic type, main ingredient, type of dish, type of meal, or cooking method.

Types of Measurements Count: ingredients are listed as whole item….example: eggs Volume: liquids and small amounts of dry ingredients….example: spices, baking powder Weight: measures more accurately than volume…example: flour

Measuring Techniques Dry Volume Overfill the cup or spoon Scrape off excess Liquid Volume Set container on flat surface. Fill to correct mark. Inspect with eye level at mark. Adjust as needed. Weight Set the tare: weight of the container Place food in container on scale. Read weight and add or remove food. Demonstrate how to measure flour, sugar, brown sugar, liquids. Show difference between sifted and unsifted flour. 1 C of sifted flour weighs 92-120 g 1 C of unsifted flour weighs as much as 150 g Why would weighing ingredients be more accurate than using measuring cups?

Measurement Systems Customary used in US T or Tbsp: tablespoon - pt.: pint tsp or t: teaspoon - qt.: quart Fl. Oz.: fluid ounce - oz.: ounce C: cup - gal.: gallon Lb or #.: pound Metric system used in most parts of the world Milliliter: ml - liter: l Milligram: mg - gram: g Kilogram: kg

Standardized recipe includes: Yield: total number of portions Portion: serving size for 1 person Ingredient list Equip information Preparation method

How to read a recipe effectively Read the entire recipe. Determine the yield. Determine ingredients needed. Determine equipment needed. Determine preparation techniques used? (do you understand them?) Determine time needed for preparation.

Converting Recipes Scale: to change the amount of ingredients to get a new yield RCF: Recipe conversion factor Used to help change the yield in a recipe RCF= yield you want yield of the original recipe To change the ingredient amount take the original ingredient amount X RCF Assignment: scale a recipe for a new yield