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Cooking encyclopedia Lessons

Scaling a recipe up or down

Also called doubling a recipe

Quantities scale. Times, pans and seasoning do not.

What it is

Multiply the ingredients. Then reconsider the pan, the heat and the timing separately, and season by taste rather than by arithmetic.

Why it works

Cooking time is governed by thickness and by how fast heat reaches the centre, not by total mass — a double batch in the same pan is deeper, and takes far longer than twice as long, while a double batch spread across two pans takes about the same time as one. Evaporation scales with surface area, not volume, so a doubled sauce in a wider pan reduces faster than expected. Salt, chilli and strong aromatics are usually noticeably strong at exact double.

When to use it

Any recipe cooked for a different number of people, and any dish being made ahead in bulk.

What goes wrong

Doubling everything including the time; keeping the same pan and wondering why the middle is raw; doubling salt and spice on paper; doubling a baking recipe where the rise depends on the tin.

Meridian cooking encyclopedia — Watchman Productions

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