Recipe scaling and batch cost calculator
Enter what a batch yields and costs, and what you need. Useful for prep sheets, catering quotes, and working out whether a batch item is actually cheaper than buying it in.
All ingredients for one full batch, yield-adjusted.
What doesn't scale linearly
Ingredients scale by weight. Several things don't, and scaling them proportionally is how a tripled recipe comes out wrong.
- Salt and strong seasoning — scale, then taste and adjust. Perception isn't linear
- Leavening — chemical leaveners often need slightly less than proportional at large volume
- Thickeners — roux and starch behave differently at depth
- Cooking time — a batch three times the size in the same vessel takes far longer than three times nothing, and reduction rates change with surface area
- Alcohol and aromatics that cook off, which reduce differently in a larger vessel
Make or buy
Cost per portion is only half the comparison. A house stock at $0.40 a portion against $1.10 bought in looks obvious until you cost the labour hour, the burner, and the walk-in space it occupies for two days.
The honest version compares delivered cost including labour against the bought-in price, and then asks whether the house version is actually better in a way a customer notices. Sometimes it is and the margin loss is worth it. Sometimes nobody can tell.
Questions
Should batch cost include labour?
Not for food cost percentage, which is food only. But do cost it separately when deciding whether to make or buy something — that's the comparison where labour decides the answer.
How do I handle a recipe that yields by weight rather than portions?
Enter portions as total yield weight divided by portion weight. If a batch yields 12 lb and you portion at 6 oz, that's 32 portions.