Most recipes can be worked with to increase or decrease the amount you are making of an item. There are a few guidelines to follow to be successful when scaling a recipe. Recipes for some food items adjust more successfully than others. Scaling will affect the ingredients you use, the pan size, the cooking temperature and cooking time. The following information is a brief overview on how to go about adjusting recipes.  Feel free to email me specific questions about changing a recipe that you want to make office@889JOYFM.com.

-The simplest way to increase or decrease a recipe is by an even number. This will help the ingredient amounts be closer to standard measurements. You can scale proportionately but you may end up with uncommon measurements, making it harder to get the amounts measured accurately.

-When changing a recipe, be sure to write the new measurements in a column next to the original amounts or rewrite the recipe so that you do not forget to change one of the ingredients when you are measuring them.  

-When adjusting a savory recipe, the seasonings such as salt and pepper should be added according to taste and not simply by measurement.  Remember you can always add more seasonings, but cannot remove them if too much is added.  

-When baking, the success of the recipe depends more on the precise quantity of ingredients. Ingredients, such as flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and yeast are not recommended for scaling. If you want to double a recipe that contains these ingredients, it is best to do it by making two separate batches. 

-Changing a recipe will generally mean adjusting the pan size you will use. When reducing, a smaller pan should be used and when increasing a recipe, a larger pan will need to be used. When selecting a pan for the scaled recipe, select one that will keep the depth of the ingredients approximately the same as the original recipe.

-When scaling a recipe, you will generally have to adjust the cooking time and maybe even the cooking temperature. Reducing the recipe will mean you are cooking less in a pan and will generally have to reduce the cooking time and possibly the cooking temperature so that the food does not over cook. Increasing the recipe may require increased cooking time. 

-Check doneness for smaller portions at least 5 to 10 minutes before the original recipe's suggested time.

-Keep notes about what works and what doesn't.

The following recipe is easily increased or decreased: 

Toffee Dip w/ Fresh Fruit

Yield: 2 c dip 

¾ c packed brown sugar
½ c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ c milk 

¾ c toffee bits (found in the baking isle) 

3 c chunked fresh fruit of choice 

Blend the sugars, vanilla and cream cheese in a food processor.  Thin with the milk.  Stir in toffee bits.  Serve with fresh fruit, pretzel sticks, etc.

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