Tips for downsizing recipes | Kitchen aide

2 hours ago 7

Any tips for downsizing recipes to serve one? Dividing by the number of servings doesn’t always work.
Melanie, by email
“It’s often just common sense,” says Kitty Coles, author of Make More With Less, plus a little maths – though, as Melanie so wisely points out, you can’t always simply divide the ingredients and be done with it.

First, you need to consider your cookware: “It’s really worth investing in smaller pans and a smaller skillet,” says Alexina Anatole, who is behind the Small Wins Substack. A tiny amount of liquid in a large pan, say, will get too much exposure to heat, so it’s very likely you’ll under- or overcook its contents. As Shelina Permalloo, author of What to Cook When Everyone’s Hungry, says, “The absorption method for rice is a nightmare if you’re using a wrong-sized pan.”

As a general rule, Anatole scales to the lowest common denominator – “It’s hard to split an egg or a whole chicken, after all” – though it’s often worth skipping the maths altogether in favour of frontloading the work. “When cooking for yourself, sometimes it’s about making one big thing and using it in different ways throughout the week. If it’s a whole roast chicken, for instance, have a roast dinner on Sunday, shred some leftover breast and use that in soup the next day, then have the rest with pasta the evening after.” The likes of soups and stews, meanwhile, freeze brilliantly, so it’s just good sense to make the entire quantity dictated by the recipe, then store the excess in individual portions and make future dinners a breeze. While you’re at it, get some base ingredients in the freezer, too: “Frozen chopped onions and soffritto are lifesavers,” Permallo says, “plus using a quarter of a carrot for a bolognese for one feels rather labour-intensive.”

But back to the question in hand. Downscaling can also fall foul when it comes to seasonings such as salt, pepper, spices and lemon juice. “If a recipe serves four and uses a tablespoon of ground cumin, for example, you can’t simply divide that,” Permalloo says. Instead, she suggests going in gently, and layering those flavours according to taste. Essentially, trust your instincts, which will also see you right when it comes to cooking times: “By reducing the volume, things often cook faster,” Permalloo says, so check and check again.

That said, some recipes seem almost designed to lend themselves to scaling down. Take en papillote (in paper parcels), which just so happens to be one of Anatole’s favourite cooking methods. “Put a salmon fillet, sliced shiitake mushrooms and sliced spring onions on a piece of baking paper, pour over equal parts sake, soy and mirin, then wrap up.” Pop the parcel in a hot oven for 15 minutes, then serve with brown rice and greens. That’s a minimal clean-up job to boot.

Of course, things get more complicated with baking, which we all know is more science than art. “It pains me to say it, but when scaling down cake and cookie recipes, it’s probably a time when AI is to our benefit,” Cole says. Otherwise, this is another occasion when your freezer’s a godsend: “Bake the whole cake, eat some and freeze leftovers in slices,” Permalloo says. After all, no one ever complained about a freezer full of cake.