September 19, 2024

Recipes by the Slice: Tips and Tools to Perfect Your Portions

Categories: Kitchen Mastery

We’ve all found the perfect recipe only to find it serves four when you’re only cooking for two. Cutting down your recipes to match how many people are eating is a great way to reduce food waste. It’s time to dust off those measuring cups from the back of the drawer and put them into your Unwasters toolkit. Here are our top tips for shrinking recipes and measuring up!

These tools and tips will help you create the right amount of food without any waste.

First up

Grab your measure-up toolkit

Before you start, find those scales in the back of the cupboard, dust them off and start getting in the habit of measuring up.

Tool 1

Must-Have Measuring Cups & Spoons

You’ll be surprised how much you’ll unwaste by accurately measuring ingredients. Use them to ensure precision. You don’t need the fancy gear – even your favourite mug or hole in the pasta spoon can become a reliable unwasting tool if it helps you get the right serving size for your household. Dry measuring cups are your go-to for things like for rice, flour and grains, while liquid measuring cups make sure you’re pouring just the right amount of water, stock, or oil. With both on hand, you’ll avoid overdoing it and keep your recipes right on track.

Tool 2

Weigh It Up Kitchen Scales

Perfect for weighing ingredients and taking out the guesswork, your scales are great unwasters – because precision is delicious. A kitchen scale is your go-to for measuring up oddly shaped ingredients like potatoes for mash, or random pasta shapes. Weighing up is also a game-changer for portioning ingredients like meat or cheese for multiple meals. Measuring by weight gives you the best chance of full stomachs and empty plates!

A person slicing fruit on a wooden cutting board in a warmly lit kitchen

Next

Tips to scaling down those recipes

Learn to easily scale down your recipes to match the number of people eating with these tips:

Tip 1

Online Recipe Converters

Some great recipe websites help do this for you so you can automatically adjust ingredient quantities based on the number of servings you need. Try the serving slider on RecipeTin Eats. To scale down any recipe, there are lots of apps and sites to help – even AI – Just input the original recipe and how many people are eating to take the hard work out of any tricky calculations.

Tip 2

Start with Simple Fractions

Halve or Quarter Recipes: For easy scaling, start with basic fractions like halving or quartering the recipe. This works well for straightforward adjustments and helps keep the process simple.

Tip 3

Adjust Cooking Times

When scaling down, remember to also adjust cooking times. Smaller portions may cook faster, so keep an eye on your dish to avoid overcooking.

Tip 4

Smaller Baking Dishes

Use your smaller pans or baking dishes when scaling down recipes. This helps maintain even cooking.

Tip 5

Practice Makes Perfect

Experiment with Adjustments: Start by practicing with smaller adjustments to get a feel for scaling recipes. Over time, you’ll become more comfortable with adjusting ingredients and cooking times.