Standardized Recipes

1. Standardized Recipes An Introduction

2. Objectives • Demonstrate the ability to read and execute a selected written recipe • Identify importance of standardized recipes to a successful foodservice operation • Identify components of standardized recipe • Correctly describe the limitations of a standardized recipe • Correctly convert recipe yields

3. Importance of standardized recipes • Group Activity • In your groups brainstorm reasons you think standardized recipes are important, and why. • Have one person write your reasons on the white board. • You will have five minutes to complete this activity. • Have another person ready to explain why your group felt they were important when your group is called on.

4. Importance of standardized recipes • Cost • Consistency • Customer satisfaction • Customer expectations • Planning and purchasing • Over- and underproduction

5. Components of a standardized recipe • Ingredient list • Amounts of ingredients required • Units of measurement • Method of ingredient preparation • Ingredient combination and sub-assembly instructions, as needed • Cooking methods, times and temperatures • Ingredient or sub-assembly holding requirements, as needed • Holding requirements for finished product, as needed • Yield in weight or volume • Portion or serving size • Yield in portions

6. Limitations of standardized recipes • Ingredient substitutions • Other factors • Employee experience and training • Equipment and facilities • Financial constraints • Learning the rules • Breaking the rules

7. Converting Recipes • Converting total yield • If portion size remains constant, then the following two-step method can be used • Divide the new yield by the old yield to obtain the conversion factor: • New Yield / Old Yield = Conversion Factor

8. Converting Recipes (cont.) • Multiply each recipe ingredient by the conversion factor to obtain the new quantity to calculate the new yield: • Old ingredient quantity x Conversion factor = New quantity

9. Example • The chef needs to convert a recipe for beef stew from 1.5 gallons to .75 gallons. First, determine the conversion factor: • .75 gallons / 1.5 gallons • =.50

10. Example • The problem with this simple conversion is that the recipe ingredients are not normally indicated in gallons but in ounces. A more effective approach would be to convert gallons to ounces to accommodate the recipe: • 96 ounces / 192 ounces = .50 • Although the conversion factor is the same, yields in ounces become more uniform to deal with. It is important to remember that if you are dealing with a factor of less than one, you are reducing the original yield. When dealing with factors greater than one, you are increasing the yield. All units of measurement must be the same (pounds, ounces, cups, etc.) must be changed to a common unit of measurement.

11. Group Activity 2 • Choose a recipe from our current recipes for the bistro, or from your professional cooking book. • Once you have selected your recipe calculate the ingredients needed if you wanted to reduce the quantity to four servings. • Then calculate the ingredients needed if you wanted to change the yield to fifty servings • All members of the group should write the conversions in their notes. • Create one additional copy and turn it in