Article Contents
Introduction
Some recipes have ingredients by volume, but you might purchase and count most of your food ingredients by weight.
For example, a recipe calls for an amount of an ingredient in cups, but the item is ordered and inventoried in either lbs, kgs, full units etc.
By using batches, you can set how much of an ingredient is contained in a cup, tablespoon, teaspoon etc.
You'll then be able to select these conversions when adding the ingredients to the POS Item. By setting up these conversions, your costing will be more accurate.
While weight to volume is the most common conversation, WISK supports the follow conversions:
Conversion - Weight to Volume
In this example, we’ll take bread flour which is purchased in kilograms (a weight measurement) and convert it into cups (a volume measurement). We’ll then use that converted value in another batched item.
Note: Once you've created the conversion from weight to volume, you can use any volume measurement when adding that batch to a recipe.
Creating the Conversion
From the “Batches” page, click “Actions” > “Create New Batch”
Give the conversion a name, and set the quantity and unit of measurement of the yield (In this case, 1 cup).
Note: The “Cup” unit of measurement is in US customary units (1 Cup = 8 fluid oz or 236.588ml). If using another measurement system (for example, metric), you can create its equivalent by entering the yield amount in either oz or ml (250ml for metric)
Click "Save"
Click into the “Search for ingredient” field to find the item you want to convert
Click the item in the search results that appear. In this example, “Bread Flour”
Next, add the amount in a weight measurement that is equivalent to 1 cup. In this example, we’ll say that 130g of bread flour is equal to one cup. Then click the “Add” button
Note: When setting up your conversions, please refer to your venue’s conversions standards or consult a measurement converting resource. If consulting multiple resources, you may see variation between them. There are a lot of factors that can affect the density of an item (brand, type etc). Use an average to account for any variations.
The amount of the ingredient is added to the conversion, and displays the cost of the item. In the example below, 1 cup of our Bread flour is $0.16.
Using in a Recipe or Batch
Now that you've created this conversion, you can use it in POS Items or other batches. Even though we created the conversion using a cup, we can now use any volume-based measurement (teaspoons, tablespoons, etc) and it calculates the correct cost.
The cup of bread flour is a building block for a number of other batched items that we prepare in the venue. In this example, we’ll add the converted cup of bread flour to our hamburger bun recipe.
Find the POS Item or Batch on it’s corresponding page and click the “Ingredients” column
In this example, we have another batch called “Hamburger Buns” that yields 12 buns (units). Click into the “Search for ingredient” field and type the name of the conversion (in this case, “Cup of Bread Flour”)
Click the matching item in the search results (“Cup of Bread Flour)
Enter the amount in the “Quantity” field, and select the unit of measurement. In this example, we have put 3.5 in the quantity field, and could select either “Unit” or “Cup” as the unit of measurement
Note: We can select “Unit” because the batch “Cup of Bread Flour” is already measured in cups
Click “Add”
The converted ingredient is added to the batch. The cost reflects the amount of the ingredient used based on the conversion. You can then add the rest of your ingredients
In this example, our 20kg bag of flour costs $25. The amount used in 1 cup (130g) is equal to $0.16. We used 3.5 cups in the batch, which equals $0.57 (due to rounding).
Want to see another example? Learn more about converting spices here:
Conversion - Volume to Weight
In this example, we’ll take extra virgin olive oil, which is purchased in litres (a volume measurement) and convert it to grams (a weight measurement). We’ll then use that converted value in another batched item.
Note: Once you've created the conversion from volume to weight, you can use any weight measurement when adding that batch to a recipe.
Creating the Conversion
From the “Batches” page, click “Actions” > “Create New Batch”
Give the conversion a name, and set the quantity and unit of measurement of the yield.
In this example, since we're converting from volume to weight, pick a volume measurement and use that to determine the yield. In this case we'll say 1 US cup (1 cup = 8 fluid oz or 236.588ml) , and set the yield to the appropriate amount in a weight measurement.
For this example, we'll say 1 US cup is equal to 213 grams of extra virgin olive oil.
Note: When setting up your conversions, please refer to your venue’s conversions standards or consult a measurement converting resource. If consulting multiple resources, you may see variation between them. There are a lot of factors that can affect the density of an item (brand, type etc). Use an average to account for any variations.
Click "Save"
Click into the “Search for ingredient” field to find the item you want to convert
Click the item in the results that appear. In this example, “Extra Virgin Olive OIl”
Next, add the amount in a volume measurement that's equal to the yield weight. In this example, we decided earlier that we're converting 1 US cup. We'll select that amount then click the “Add” button
The amount of the ingredient is added to the conversion, and displays the cost of the item. In the example below, based on the venue's item cost, 1 US cup of extra virgin olive oil is $2.76
Using in a Recipe or Batch
Now that you've created this conversion, you can use it in POS Items or other batches. Even though we said that 1 cup of olive oil is equal to 213g, we can now use any weight-based measurement and it calculates the correct cost.
In this example, we'll add the converted olive oil to a pizza dough batch:
Find the POS Item or Batch on it’s corresponding page and click the “Ingredients” column
Click the “Search for ingredient” field and type the name of the ingredient and you'll see the conversion (in this case, “Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Weight Conversion)”). Click it.
Enter the amount in the “Quantity” field, and select the unit of measurement. In this example, we have put 45 grams as the measurement. Click "Add"
The converted ingredient is added to the batch. The cost reflects the amount of the ingredient used based on the conversion. You can then add other ingredients as needed
In this example, our 3L bottle of olive oil costs $35. The amount used in 1 cup (213g) is equal to $2.76. We used 45g in the recipe, which equals $0.583.
Conversion - Units to Weight/Volume
In some cases, you may purchase items as full units, but your recipes require a specific weight or volume measurement. In this example, we’ll take an avocado, and convert it into its weight after it has been peeled and the pit removed.
In this example, we’re converting the units, and setting a yield to reflect that the item has been modified (peeled and pitted).
Creating the Conversion
From the “Batches” page, click “Actions” > “Create New Batch”
Give the conversion a name, and set the quantity and yield. In this example, we’ll put “Prepared Avocado” and set the yield in a weight-based unit of measurement. We put 136g, but you could also use ozs (roughly 5oz), or any other weight-based measurement
Note: The value we set for the yield is the amount you'd get from an average avocado that is peeled and the pit removed. For this costing you need to use averages because the weight is variable.
Click “Save"
Click into the “Search for ingredient” field to find the item you want to convert. Click the matching item. In this example, we’ll select “Avocado”
Add the amount of the ingredient that is used to produce the yield. In this example, we’ll select 1 unit of Avocado. Then click the “Add” button
The amount of the ingredient is added to the conversion, and it displays the cost of the item. In this example, our Avocado is $1 per unit, making 136g of avocado $1 as well
Using in a Recipe or Batch
Now that you've created this conversion, you can use it in POS Items or other batches. In this case, we can now use the prepared avocado as any weight-based unit of measurement. In this example, we’ll add the prepared avocado to a guacamole batch.
Find the POS Item or Batch on it’s corresponding page and click the “Ingredients” column
In this example, we have another batch called “Guacamole” that yields 1kg. Click into the “Search for ingredient” field and type the name of the conversion. Click the matching item to add it (Prepared Avocado)
Enter the amount in the “Quantity” field, and select the unit of measurement. In this example, we need 800g of Prepared Avocado, however, since we have made the conversion, we could add any weight-based unit (lbs, oz, kg etc.). Then click “Add”
The converted ingredient is added to the batch. The cost reflects the amount of the ingredient used based on the conversion. You can then add the rest of your ingredients
In this example, 136g of Prepared Avocado is $1. The cost of 800g is $5.88. If the price of avocados were to change, this value would update automatically.
If you were to add the amount of Prepared Avocado in ounces, it would calculate the value as well. For example, if we used 28oz of Prepared Avocado, it would be $5.84.