Help me downsize this recipe!

March 19, 2013 11:06 AM

I managed to acquire the recipe for a favorite baked food product from a local grocery store. However, the yield is 300 pounds. How do I convert the measurements to yield a more manageable 3 pounds?

I'm not great with math or ratios when it comes to baking. While I could probably eat 300 pounds of this stuff myself, I think 3 pounds would be the best amount.

67 and 1/2 lb. organic moist date pieces - break up well
75 lb. organic chunky peanut butter
33 and 3/4 lb. peanuts
67 and 1/2 lb. wildflower honey - do not heat
3 and 1 /4 cup vanilla
67 and 1/2 lb. organic rolled oats
1.56 cup sea salt

Thanks!

posted by E3 to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

Just divide by 100:

0.675 lb. organic moist date pieces - break up well
0.75 lb. organic chunky peanut butter
0.3375 lb. peanuts
0.675 lb. wildflower honey - do not heat
0.675 organic rolled oats

and then that's 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
posted by selfnoise at 11:11 AM on March 19, 2013

Divide all the numbers by 100. It looks like this was actually scaled up from a three-pound recipe by multiplying by 100. What you want is:

2/3 pound dates
3/4 pound peanut butter
1/3 pound peanuts
2/3 pound honey
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 pound oats
3/4 teaspoon sea salt

(Yes, I know, a third of a pound is kind of weird. 1/3 lb = 5 1/3 oz, 2/3 lb = 10 2/3 oz.)
posted by madcaptenor at 11:12 AM on March 19, 2013

Divide by 100. To get ounces, multiply the result by 16.

So 67.5 pounds date pieces divided by 100 is 0.675 pounds. 0.675 pounds times 16 is 10.8, which means you need about 11 ounces of dates.

12 ounces peanut butter (by weight, not by volume; I'm not sure off the top of my head if peanut butter in a jar at the store is sold by weight or by volume)
5-6 ounces peanuts
10.8 ounces honey (again this is by weight, not by volume)
0.5 ounces vanilla (which is 1.5 teaspoons)
10.8 ounces oats
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
posted by bcwinters at 11:12 AM on March 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Since everyone got to the answer before me, I'll give you a tip - you can do this calculation using Google's calculator, e.g. search for 75lb/100 in ounces (the default answer if gives you is in grams, which is why you need "in ounces").
posted by EndsOfInvention at 11:14 AM on March 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It may be easiest to convert everything to grams.

A pound is about 450 grams
A cup of liquid is about 240 grams

30375 g dates
33375 g pnut butter
15188 g peanuts
30375 g honey
840 g vanilla
30375 g oats
426 g salt

then divide by 100

304 g dates, honey and oats
8.5 g vanilla
152 g peanuts
334 g pnut butter
4.5 g salt

So basically it's
equal parts dates, honey and oats
slightly more peanut butter
half as much peanuts
not much salt
slightly more vanilla (and I'd say "to taste" here anyhow)
posted by jessamyn at 11:15 AM on March 19, 2013 [9 favorites]

It's not as simple as just dividing. Baker's Math is its own formula.
posted by Ideefixe at 11:20 AM on March 19, 2013 [4 favorites]

It's not as simple as just dividing. Baker's Math is its own formula.

While true, this is not a baked good and has no flour in it which is what baker's percentages tend to be used for.
posted by jessamyn at 11:23 AM on March 19, 2013

Bakers Percentages have no bearing in this - this recipe is of a different ilk.

You may need less salt depending upon what type of peanut butter you use - most commercial brands have salt. An all natural 100% peanut brand will need the full amount of salt.

Other variables to play with would be the type of oat - rolled, steel cut, etc. and the variety of honey. Although there is so much peanut flavor that I can't imagine the nuances of the variety of honey would really be apparent. That said I'd lean toward a darker honey since the flavor tends to be heartier.
posted by cat_link at 11:31 AM on March 19, 2013

Best answer: If you don't have a kitchen scale* you might find Online Conversion helpful for converting from weights to volume given the various densities of the ingredients.

304g of dates (ok, I had to use prunes because dates isn't on the list) is about 2 1/3 cups, for example, whereas 304g of oats is just under 2 cups.

*you should really buy one because they are super useful, and make measuring for baking faster.

This recipe is fascinating, any chance you could post the directions/general idea? Is it a bar? Everything mixed together? are the oats their own layer (crust?)
posted by sparklemotion at 11:41 AM on March 19, 2013 [2 favorites]

I second jessamyn and think the easiest thing to do is convert to grams first (note that she also converted the vanilla and salt to weight, which I would also do).

Also, can you by any chance post the baking directions? It sounds tasty. I mean...asking for a friend...
posted by General Malaise at 11:43 AM on March 19, 2013

Response by poster: Actually, it is baked. At 305 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Wasn't sure that was relevant considering there's no flour or eggs. I think the baking is just to dry it out a little and set it.
posted by E3 at 11:44 AM on March 19, 2013

Seconding sparklemotion's questions. Are they nut balls? Something like this?
posted by payoto at 12:15 PM on March 19, 2013

Response by poster: I think grams is the way to go, especially with the conversion website sparklemotion linked to. Thanks!

And for those wanting the recipe, I believe it's store-owned so I don't want to post any more info about it publicly, but if you're really interested, you can memail me :)
posted by E3 at 12:57 PM on March 19, 2013

Actually, it is baked.

Even though it's baked, it's not a baked good in the baker's-percentages sense. So fear not.
posted by redfoxtail at 1:22 PM on March 19, 2013 [1 favorite]