How to use the recipe converter

Using the Recipe Converter to scale or resize recipes

The recipe converter can be used to quickly and easily scale or change the size of your recipes. Follow the steps below to get started.

Steps to use the recipe converter

1. Enter the title of the recipe. (optional)

2. Type in or copy and paste the ingredients section of a recipe into the ingredient list text area.

Note: The copy and paste feature may not work properly for certain recipe sites or food blogs due to the way the site formats their webpage. The copy and paste feature may also not work properly for certain mobile browsers or devices. If copy and paste does not work properly, the ingredients can be typed in or the pasted content can be edited to follow the proper format. See the steps below for proper formatting.
3. Edit the recipe so that each ingredient line is on a new line. (New lines are created by pressing enter.)

Note: If each ingredient line is not separated on a new line, the converter will not convert the recipe properly.
4. If necessary, edit each ingredient line so that it follows the standard recipe format. The standard recipe format for ingredients starts with the quantity, followed by the unit measure, and ends with the ingredient. Each word or number should be separated by a space.

1 quart milk


5. The recipe converter will only scale the first number on each ingredient line as part of the conversion. If there are other numbers in the recipe you wish to scale as part of the conversion, you can use the "##" operator. Place a "##" in front of any other numbers in the ingredient list you wish to scale as part of the conversion.

Note: Not all numbers in a recipe are meant to be converted. Use the "##" operator wisely. (See How to use the scale operators for details)
6. Check the "Round conversion to nearest cooking fraction" box if you want the converted ingredient quantities to be rounded to the nearest cooking fraction. (Checked by default)

Note: For better accuracy, uncheck this box to get the decimal values.
7. Check the "Include original recipe in conversion" box if you want to include the original recipe in the converted recipe text area. (Unchecked by default)

8. Click on the tab to choose between converting by portion or converting by multiplier/divider.

9. Enter a multiplier/divider if converting by multiplier or divider. Enter an original size(serving/yield) and a desired size(serving/yield) if converting by portion.
10. Press the multiply, divide, or portion button and the converted recipe will be displayed in the converted recipe text area.
Note: Only numbers placed at the beginning of each line in the ingredient list will be automatically converted. To convert other numbers that are on the same line, use the ## operator to indicate that you would like that number to be converted. To use the ## operator, place a ## in front of each number you would like to convert while leaving a space after that number. The ## operator can be placed in front of a number that is in decimal or fraction format.

1 1/4 cup banana (about ##3 bananas)
3/4 cup butter (##1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup sugar (##200 g)
Between ##3 to ##5 eggs
6 - ##7 cups flour
1 pound ##2 ounces flour
1/4 cup plus ##2 tablespoons sugar


For more tips on how to use the ## operator, visit our How to use the scale operators section. See below comments for other details.

11. Always check the converted recipe for correctness. If necessary, the converted recipe can be manually edited.
12. You can add the recipe directions, additional steps, comments, or other text to the converted recipe text area.
13. The converted recipe can be printed or copied and pasted into a document for saving.

Comments:

1. Fractions can be entered as a quantity. When using fractions, separate whole numbers from fractions with a space.

One-third = "1/3", one and one-half = "1 1/2".

2. Make sure to remove any bullet points or extra spaces that may appear before the quantity or at the start of each line.
3. Some ingredients do not require a unit measure.

1 watermelon = "1 watermelon".

4. Ingredients that have a quantity range will not convert properly. (To convert a quantity range, use the ## operator. See the How to use the scale operators section for details.)

"3 to 4 cups bananas" (multiplied by 2) will incorrectly be converted to: "6 to 4 cups bananas"
Type in "3 to ##4 cups bananas" instead to get the correct conversion: "6 to 8 bananas"
"3-4 cups bananas" (multiplied by 2) will not convert and will display the original text.
Type in "3 - ##4 cups bananas" instead to get the correct conversion: "6 - 8 bananas"


5. Always check the converted recipe for correctness.
6. Check to make sure the cooking/baking instructions or other information are updated as a result of the conversion.