Portion Master

Welcome to the Portion Master documentation!

Here you will find all the information you need to know about using this tool.

The Challenge

Manual Puzzle

Most recipes provide ingredient amounts for a single portion or batch, leaving anyone who needs a different quantity to manually calculate proportional adjustments. This challenge arises in various contexts, from cooking and crafting to professional scenarios where precision and speed are essential.

Scaling recipes often involves complex mathematical calculations. For many, adjusting ingredient quantities is a common hurdle that demands precision and careful consideration. Whenever a non-standard portion is required, creators typically resort to pen, paper, and a calculator to manually determine the adjusted quantities. This process is not only time-consuming and tedious but also prone to errors, which can lead to costly mistakes.

The situation becomes even more complicated if too much of one ingredient is accidentally added, necessitating on-the-fly adjustments to the others. Doing this manually while racing against the clock can be stressful, especially since many mixtures are reactive and can change consistency over time — often hardening if not managed properly.

A Smarter Way

The Portion Master was designed to address these challenges associated with recipe scaling. It offers an automated solution for defining proportions, adjusting ingredient amounts, and recalculating recipes quickly and accurately. By handling complex mathematical tasks, the tool allows users to focus on creativity and execution rather than manual calculations, making recipe scaling efficient and error-free for anyone working with recipes.

The Idea

If you’re here, you’re likely looking to scale a recipe. Adjusting quantities for larger or smaller batches can be tricky. Let’s break it down.

Understanding Recipe Proportions

At its core, a recipe is a specification of proportions between ingredients. While standard recipes list quantities for one portion or butch, the real concept revolves around the relationships between the ingredients. In any recipe, one ingredient can serve as the basis for calculating the required amounts of the others — the Key Ingredient.

You can choose any ingredient in a recipe to be the Key Ingredient, while the other ingredients become Proportional Ingredients. Since all ingredients are proportionally related, you can establish ratios between the Proportional Ingredients and the Key Ingredient.

From this point onward, you can choose any new amount of the Key Ingredient, and all Proportional Ingredients can be easily recalculated by multiplying the Key Ingredient value by the corresponding proportional ingredient ratio. In this way, the Key Ingredient leads the scaling process and the Proportional Ingredients follow.

Portion Master Essence

This is essentially how the Portion Master tool operates. First, you enter a single-portion recipe. The Portion Master internally calculates the ratios between the Proportional Ingredients and the Key Ingredient. From there, scaling becomes straightforward — either adjust the Key Ingredient directly or use a Batch Size. The other ingredients will automatically adjust based on the defined proportions of your single-portion recipe. To summarize:

1. Input a Single-Portion Recipe: Enter your Key Ingredient along with the corresponding Proportional Ingredients.
2. Modify the Key Ingredient Value to Scale: Adjust this value to scale your entire recipe.

Butter Sandwich

For example, in the recipe for a 🥪 Butter Sandwich, you might need 100g of 🍞 bread, 11g of 🧈 butter, and 2% of bread weight of 🧂 salt. Suppose you have 34g of butter. How much bread and salt would you need?

To solve this, you can define 🧈 butter as the Key Ingredient and calculate the initial recipe ratios:

• Bread-to-butter ratio → 100g / 11g = ~ 9.09

• Salt-to-butter ratio → (2% of 100g bread = 2g) → 2g / 11g = ~ 0.18

Now, for 34g of butter, calculate the amounts of bread and salt:

• Bread → 34g × 9.09 = ~ 310g

• Salt → 34g × 0.18 = ~ 6g

While you might expect bread to be the Key Ingredient in this recipe, it doesn’t matter which ingredient you choose. Any ingredient can be "promoted" to the Key Ingredient because all ingredients are proportionally related, no matter the selection.

This concept of defining a Key Ingredient, a set of Proportional Ingredients, establishing ratios between them, and then scaling a whole recipe based on the Key Ingredient amount is the foundation of how the Portion Master works. You define a Key Ingredient and fill in your recipe as it is. The Portion Master then calculates the ratios automatically and binds all Proportional Ingredients to the Key Ingredient using these ratios. Finally, you can adjust the Key Ingredient amount as needed, and the Portion Master will recalculate the Proportional Ingredients automatically in real-time.

The Portion Master is a free online recipe scaling tool designed for seamless portion adjustments. It’s a recipe proportion calculator, an ingredients ratios calculator, and a batch adjuster. It supports both Metric and Imperial mass and volume units.

Beyond Cooking

The Portion Master is not limited to cooking recipes. It’s a tool for anyone who needs to adjust ingredient amounts in any type of recipe — where the recipe is a proportionally defined mix of substances. Examples include:

• Recipes for homemade soap

• Proportions of ingredients in a cosmetic cream

• The right mix of molding silicone and hardener

• Blends of oils and waxes for making candles

• The amount of gypsum plaster retarder for a given amount of gypsum powder

• Mixing proportions for cement and aggregate in construction projects

• Proper ratios of chemicals in cleaning solutions

• The mix of paint and thinner for a specific finish

You name it, the Portion Master can help!

Why Choose Portion Master

You might be thinking, “I can do this in Google Sheets.” While it’s true that tools like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers can create a spreadsheet solution, they require significant setup—crafting formulas, managing variables, and manually cleaning up or duplicating tables for new recipes. This process is time-consuming and prone to errors. If you don’t frequently scale recipes, it may not be worth the hassle, leading you back to pen and paper.

The Portion Master has got you covered from paperwork and manual math. It is a ready-to-use, free online automated recipe scaling tool that requires no effort on your part. It’s always accessible, it has an intuitive interface that adapts to any screen size and includes built-in unit systems (Metric <--> Imperial) conversion features. The Portion Master is designed to simplify recipe scaling, saving you time and effort so you can focus on what really matters—enjoying your cooking!

How to Use

To better demonstrate how to use Portion Master, let's walk through several practical examples. For each case, we'll first look at the traditional manual calculation approach - pen, paper, and math. Then, I'll show you how to solve the same problem with Portion Master in just a few simple steps. This way, you'll understand the math "under the hood" while seeing how easily these calculations can be automated.

While doubling or halving a recipe is simple math, real-world scaling often presents more complex challenges. Let's look at some practical examples where traditional calculations get tricky, and see how Portion Master handles these same tasks effortlessly.

Example 1: Basic Recipe Scaling

The Challenge: Pizza Dough

Take a simple pizza dough recipe. For 2.5 cups of bread flour, you need 1 cup of warm water. Now, if you want to use 3 cups of flour instead of 2.5, how much water would you need? Any guesses?

Manual Solution

Well, let's do the math:

• The ratio of flour to water is 2.5 / 1.

• To maintain the same ratio, divide 1 cup of water by 2.5 to find the amount of water per cup of flour (1 ÷ 2.5 = 0.4 cups per cup of flour).

• Then, multiply 0.4 by 3 to find the required amount of water (0.4 × 3 = 1.2 cups).

Alternatively, you can simplify the formula: 3 × (1 ÷ 2.5) = 1.2.

This formula is simpler, but it's still not entirely clear what to divide by what, and what to multiply by what especially in a hurry. And, well, not everyone is a mathematician, right?

So, for 3 cups of flour, you'd need 1.2 cups of water. Not as simple as it first seemed, right?

You might think you're done, but what about yeast, sugar, olive oil, salt...? You have to apply the same math to each of them, over and over again.

Portion Master Solution

1. Clean the current recipe by pressing the Clear Recipe button on the top right.

2. In the Key Ingredient section, enter Bread flour as the name, 2.5 as the value, and Cup as the unit.

3. Use the + Add Ingredient button in the Proportional Ingredients section.

4. In the newly created Proportional Ingredient, enter Warm water as the name, 1 as the value, and Cup as the unit. By doing this, you "tell" Portion Master how the warm water is proportionally related, e.k.a bonded to the bread flour.

5. Finally, return to the Key Ingredient section and change the value to 3 for the bread flour.

The Portion Master will instantly calculate the required amount of warm water as 1.2 cups.

You can easily add other Proportional Ingredients to your recipe, such as yeast, sugar, olive oil, salt, or anything else your recipe requires. Start by setting the Key Ingredient value to 2.5 for your original single-portion recipe, then add all your desired Proportional Ingredients. Once your recipe is complete, simply update the Key Ingredient value to 3, and Portion Master will automatically recalculate precise amounts for all Proportional Ingredients in your recipe required for this new amount of Key Ingredient. Scaling is instant and effortless, no matter how many ingredients involved.

Example 2: Working with Percentage-Based Ingredients

The Challenge: Cosmetic Butter

Now, let's look at an example where ingredient amounts are given as percentages.

For a cosmetic "Butter," if you're using 200 grams of shea oil, you need to add 30% almond oil and 10% apricot oil. How much is that?

Manual Solution

• To calculate 30% of shea oil for almond oil: 200 grams × 30% or 200 × 0.3 = 60 grams.

• To calculate 10% of shea oil for apricot oil: 200 grams × 10% or 200 × 0.1 = 20 grams.

While the math isn't overly complex, it becomes tedious when working with multiple ingredients. This challenge escalates quickly if you've already calculated for a desired portion and then discover you don't have the required amount of ingredients — or if you receive more orders and need to prepare a larger batch. In such cases, you'd have to recalculate everything for the new amount of shea oil again.

Portion Master Solution

1. Clean the current recipe by pressing the Clear Recipe button on the top right.

2. Make sure you choose a Metric measurement Measurement System, since the default Measurement System is US Imperial.

3. In the Key Ingredient section, enter Shea oil as the name, 200 as the value, and Gram as the unit.

4. Press the + Add Ingredient button in the Proportional Ingredients section to add a new Proportional Ingredient.

5. In the newly created Proportional Ingredient, enter Almond oil as the name, skip the value field, set Gram as the unit, and enter 30 as the "% of Key Value".

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for Apricot oil, entering 10 as the percentage.

When you enter the percentages for each Proportional Ingredient, Portion Master instantly and automatically calculates their correct amounts in real time. It treats the Key Ingredient value as 100% and calculates the Proportional Ingredients values based on this.

Example 3: Converting Recipe Units from Imperial to Metric

The Challenge: DIY Bubble Solution

You found a cool Bubble's recipe and are ready to start some fun: For 1 Gallon of distilled water, you need 4 ounces of liquid dish soap and 2 tablespoons of glycerin.

Well, that’s great, but hold on – it uses Imperial cups and spoons instead of metric units. What if you naturally think in metric? Converting ounces to liters isn’t too tricky, but what about cups or teaspoons? Are they the same?

Manual Solution

Well, let's solve it.

1. Convert 1 gallon of distilled water to liters:

   • 1 gallon is 3.78541 liters
   • 1 gallon × 3.78541 = 3.78541 liters

2. Convert 4 ounces of liquid dish soap to milliliters:

   Keep in mind, there are two types of ounces in the imperial system. The mass - just "ounces", and the volume - "fluid ounces". Since soap is liquid, we have to use Fluid Ounces or "fl oz" for short.

   • 1 fl oz is 29.5735 mL
   • 4 fl oz × 29.5735 = 118.294 mL

3. Convert 2 US tablespoons of glycerin to metric tablespoons:

   • 1 US tablespoon is 14.7868 mL
   • 1 metric tablespoon is 15 mL
   • 2 US tablespoons is 14.7868 * 2 = 29.5736 mL
   • 29.5736 mL ÷ 15 = 1.972 metric tablespoons

While the math is bearable, frequent conversions can be tedious and error-prone, especially if you're scaling recipes with lot of ingredients and for different batch sizes.

Portion Master Solution

1. Clean the current recipe by pressing the Clear Recipe button on the top right.

2. Make sure that the Measurement System is set to US Imperial (the default).

3. In the Key Ingredient section, enter Distilled water as the name, 1 as the value, and Gallon as the unit.

4. Add the other ingredients as Proportional Ingredients:

   • Dish soap: Value = 4, Unit = Fluid Ounce
   • Glycerin: Value = 2, Unit = Tablespoon

5. Once all ingredients are entered, switch the Measurement System from US Imperial to Metric.

The Portion Master will instantly convert all ingredient measurements to metric:

• Distilled water: 3.785 Liters
• Dish soap: 118.294 Milliliters
• Glycerin: 1.972 (metric) Tablespoons

Much simpler, right? With Portion Master, switching between Imperial and Metric units is as simple as selecting from a drop-down menu. All your current recipe values and units will be automatically converted to your chosen system in an instant. There's no need to worry about the math, so you can focus on crafting instead of calculating, while the tool does all the heavy lifting for you.

General

This section is the starting point for creating your recipe and the first thing you’ll see when using the tool. It includes general features like naming the whole recipe, selecting the unit measurement system, and resetting the recipe to begin fresh.

Measurement System

The Measurement System selector lets you choose between Metric, US Imperial, and UK Imperial systems. It affects both the displayed units and internal calculations. In Portion Master, the selected system determines how values are handled internally. Switching between systems automatically converts all ingredient values and units seamlessly — just select your preferred system from the drop-down menu.

System Rules:

• Selecting a system restricts ingredient units to those specific to the chosen system (e.g., grams for Metric, or ounces for Imperial). Mixing units from different systems is not allowed.
• Switching systems after ingredients are entered automatically converts all ingredient values and units to the selected system.

Smart Conversion:

Portion Master ensures seamless system transitions with intelligent conversions:

• Closest Matching Units: The app selects the most appropriate unit for readability. For example, if a value in the Metric system was in whole kilograms, it will convert to pounds in Imperial. If the Metric value is less than 1 kilogram, it converts to ounces instead.
• Shared-Name Units: Units existing in all three systems, such as drops, teaspoons, and tablespoons, remain consistent during conversion. For example, tablespoons in Metric remain tablespoons in Imperial US or UK.

Not Just for Scaling:

While Portion Master is primarily a recipe scaling tool, its system conversion feature makes it a fully functional online recipe unit converter. You can use it to convert recipes of any size — even without scaling.

Whether you're converting grams to ounces or milliliters to fluid ounces, Portion Master handles it all automatically, saving you from manual calculations.

Recipe Title

The Recipe Title field allows you to name your recipe for easy identification. While optional and not affecting any calculations, the title provides a convenient way to reference and organize your work. It is displayed prominently at the top of the tool to remind you of what the recipe is about.

Clear Recipe

The Clear Recipe button clears all fields and resets the tool to a blank state:

• Removes all data from the Key Ingredient and Proportional Ingredients sections.
• Unlocks the Batch Size Lock if it was engaged.
• Keeps the Batch Size value unchanged.
• Leave the current Measurement System setting unchanged.

To avoid accidental data loss from an unintended click, Portion Master displays a clear confirmation dialog when you attempt to reset. This ensures you won’t miss the action.

This feature is ideal for starting fresh with a new recipe. However, be sure to save any cleaned-up recipe details beforehand, as all entered data will be permanently erased.

Key Ingredient

The Key Ingredient section is the foundation of your recipe scaling. This is where you define the primary ingredient's details, including its quantity and unit of measurement. All proportional calculations for other ingredients are based on the values you set here.

To avoid repeating the concept of a Key Ingredient, please refer to the The Idea section in general and the Butter Sandwich example in particular. Either / or check out the How to Use section and the Basic Recipe Scaling example.

Batch Size: Recipe Scale Multiplier

The Batch Size is technically a Key Value multiplier that allows you to scale the entire recipe with all Proportional Ingredients accordingly by multiplying the Key Value. Instead of entering a quantity directly into the Key Ingredient, you can multiply it by the Batch Size to scale the recipe as a whole.

When you modify the Batch Size, the Key Value updates automatically, and all Proportional Ingredients are recalculated to maintain their proportions relative to the multiplied Key Ingredient value.

Why use the Batch Size when you can simply adjust the Key Ingredient directly? Let's see. For instance, if your Key Ingredient value is set to 100 grams and you want to prepare 5 portions, you can easily calculate the required amount in your mind and change the Key Ingredient to 500 grams to achieve exactly that result. But what if the value is 0.334556 or if the required multiplier is 3.53456? Would you calculate that in your mind?

The Batch Size simplifies this process, allowing you to scale your recipe without the hassle of manual calculations. This feature is also very useful when you need to scale the same recipe for different batch sizes.

Batch Size Binding: Toggle Batch Size Multiplier Effect On/Off

The Batch Size Binding button, represented by a horizontal link icon between the Key Ingredient and the Batch Size controls whether the Batch Size affects the Key Value.

• When enabled (bound), the Key Value is multiplied by the Batch Size, and both the Key Value and Key Unit become fixed and uneditable.
• When disabled (unbound), the Key Value can be adjusted manually, without being affected by the Batch Size.

To scale the entire recipe, you have two options:

• Enable Batch Size Binding and set the desired Batch Size multiplier to adjust the Key Value indirectly—by multiplying its current value by the Batch Size.
• Disable Batch Size Binding to manually adjust the Key Value directly, without relying on the multiplier.

In both cases, all Proportional Ingredients — which are strictly bound to the Key Value — will automatically adjust accordingly.

Key Value

The Key Value field represents the amount or quantity of the primary ingredient in your recipe. This value serves as the baseline for scaling and proportional adjustments. When you change the Key Value, all Proportional Ingredients update automatically to maintain their relative amounts.

For example, if your Key Ingredient is 100 grams and you change it to 200 grams, all other ingredients in the recipe will double accordingly.

Key Units

The Key Units field lets you specify the unit of measurement for the Key Ingredient, such as grams, ounces, liters, or cups, depending on the selected Measurement System. Changing the Key Units will automatically update the Proportional Ingredients to reflect the new base unit, ensuring consistency across the recipe.

For instance, if the unit is changed from grams to kilograms, the Key Value remains visually the same but recalculates internally to reflect the new unit, since it now represents a quantity 1000 times larger. All Proportional Ingredients adjust accordingly to maintain their correct proportions.

If you change the Key Units type, the Proportional Ingredients will retain their current values, but their bindings to the Key Value will be recalculated.

For example, if you change the Key Units from grams (mass) to liters (volume), the Key Value transitions from a mass type to a volume type, and all associated bindings adjust accordingly.

Cost

The Cost field is optional and only available if the Ingredients Pricing section is enabled. This field automatically calculates the estimated cost of the Key Ingredient based on its pricing and the ingredient amount in the recipe.

The process is fully automated — if you adjust the Key Ingredient value, change its unit, or modify the Batch Size, the Cost updates instantly.

Proportional Ingredients

The Proportional Ingredients section lists all additional (to the Key Ingredient) ingredients in your recipe, each scaled proportionally to the Key Ingredient. Every row includes fields for the ingredient's Name, Value, Unit, and % of Key Value.

Ingredient Binding: Bound between Proportional Ingredients and Key Ingredient

The Ingredient Binding button, represented by a vertical link icon between the Key Ingredient and the Proportional Ingredients, controls whether all Proportional Ingredients remain linked to the Key Ingredient.

• When enabled (bound), all Proportional Ingredients automatically scale with changes made to the Key Ingredient.
• When disabled (unbound), all Proportional Ingredients become independent from the Key Ingredient, allowing for separate adjustments. All current internal ingredient bindings are discarded.

Re-enabling the Ingredient Binding recalculates the relationships between the Key Ingredient and Proportional Ingredients based on their current values. When the Ingredient Binding is active, any changes to the Key Ingredient will proportionally update the Proportional Ingredients according to the new ratios (a.k.a. bindings).

Options Toggle: Hidden Controls

The Options toggle reveals additional controls for managing the ingredients list. When enabled, you can reorder and delete ingredients. The main idea of Options is to keep the UI simple by default and only show these extra controls when needed.

+ Add Ingredient

The + Add Ingredient button allows you to add new proportional ingredients to your recipe. Each new ingredient starts with empty data for the Name, Value, and % of Key Value fields, but shares the same Unit as the Key Ingredient. Once added, you can fill in ingredient details as needed.

The binding between the new ingredient and the Key Ingredient is automatically re-established each time you set new or change the existed ingredient Value.

Value

The Value field specifies the quantity of a proportional ingredient. Changing this value directly recalculates its binding to the Key Ingredient, updating its proportional relationship. You can set the Value directly or indirectly through the % of Key Value field.

Units

The Unit field defines the measurement unit for a proportional ingredient, such as grams, ounces, liters, or cups, depending on current Measurement System. Changing the Unit recalculates its binding to the Key Ingredient, ensuring consistent proportional relationships.

In Portion Master, there are two types of units: mass and volume. When switching between unit types (e.g., mass to volume), bindings are recalculated, but ingredient values remain consistent.

% of Key Value: Percentage of Key Ingredient Value

The % of Key Value field shows the proportional ingredient's value as a percentage of the Key Ingredient value. This field is editable when the unit type matches that of the Key Ingredient. Adjusting the percentage recalculates the ingredient's Value and its binding to the Key Ingredient.

If the unit type differs from the Key Ingredient, this field is greyed out and displays a note such as "Not volume" (if the Key Ingredient is volume and the current ingredient is mass) or "Not mass" (if the Key Ingredient is mass and the current ingredient is volume).

The title % of Key Value may seem a bit confusing but serves as a concise shortener for its full form: "Percentage of Key Ingredient Value."

The Key Ingredient value is always considered 100%, regardless of whether it is larger or smaller than the Proportional Ingredients values. The Key Ingredient acts as the 100% starting point (internally used to define a value of 1%) for all percentage calculations in the % of Key Value fields.

Cost

The Cost field is optional and only available if the Ingredients Pricing section is enabled. It automatically calculates the estimated cost of the current Proportional Ingredient based on its pricing and the ingredient amount in the recipe.

The process is fully automated—if you adjust the Proportional Ingredient value, change its unit, modify the Key Ingredient, or apply the Batch Size multiplier, the Cost updates instantly.

Recipe Summary

The Recipe Summary provides an overview of essential totals for your recipe, including mass, volume, and most notably, the estimated total recipe cost. These values update automatically whenever you adjust ingredients, change units, or apply the Batch Size, requiring no manual actions.

Total Mass

The Total Mass represents the total weight of all mass-based ingredients in the recipe. It is displayed in the most suitable unit based on the selected Measurement System.

For instance, if the Measurement System is set to "Metric" and Total Mass is 999 grams, it will be displayed as 999 grams. If Total Mass is 1000 grams or more, it will be displayed as 1 kilogram, and so on.

Volume-based ingredients are not included in this calculation — only mass-type ingredients contribute to Total Mass.

• If any mass-based ingredient has no value or a value of 0, Total Mass displays a warning.
• If the recipe contains no mass-based ingredients, the Total Mass does not show up in Recipe Summary.

Total Volume

The Total Volume represents the total amount of all volume-based ingredients in the recipe. Like Total Mass, it is displayed in the most suitable unit based on the selected Measurement System.

Mass-based ingredients are not included in this calculation — only volume-type ingredients contribute to Total Volume.

• If any volume-based ingredient has no value or a value of 0, Total Volume displays a warning.
• If the recipe contains no volume-based ingredients, the Total Volume does not show up in Recipe Summary.

Total Cost

The Total Cost is the sum of all ingredient costs — both mass-based and volume-based. It represents the total estimated cost of the entire recipe.

This value is only available if the Ingredients Pricing section is enabled and all ingredients have valid pricing data.

• If any required inputs (such as ingredient amounts or pricing data) are missing, Total Cost will display a warning.

This metric is one of the most useful features of Portion Master, turning it into not just a recipe scaler but a full-fledged cost calculator for substance mixtures. For example, a craftsman making gypsum decor can struggle to calculate the product's self-price, but with Portion Master, it’s as simple as filling out a few fields, and the tool does the rest.

Portion Master can even be used solely as a price calculator for those who need to calculate a recipe's cost. By adjusting ingredient amounts and instantly seeing the cost estimate, you can easily assess profitability. For example, a candle maker can test different fragrances or waxes, each with varying costs, and quickly determine how changes impact the candle's final price.

Ingredients Pricing

The Ingredients Pricing section is hidden by default since not all use cases require pricing. This helps keep the UI clean and uncluttered. Instead, you’ll see the + Add Ingredients Pricing button, which allows you to enable Ingredients Pricing for your recipe.

+ Add Ingredients Pricing

Clicking + Add Ingredients Pricing initializes the Ingredients Pricing section based on your current ingredients. Each ingredient gets its own row in the Ingredients Pricing section, with empty Container Size and Price / Container inputs. The Container Units will match the Unit of the corresponding ingredient.

Options Toggle: Hidden Controls

The Options toggle reveals additional controls for managing pricing. When enabled, two additional options appear: the Currency input and the Clear Pricing button.

Currency

A free-text input for specifying the currency. By default, USD is used. You can enter any preferred currency as a letter abbreviation (EUR, GBP, etc.) or as a symbol ($, €, £, etc.). This value does not affect calculations but improves UI clarity by displaying familiar currency symbols instead of abstract pricing numbers.

Clear Pricing

The Clear Pricing button removes the Ingredients Pricing section entirely, replacing it with the + Add Ingredients Pricing button.

To prevent accidental data loss, Portion Master asks for confirmation before clearing pricing data.

Ingredient

A read-only field displaying the name of the corresponding ingredient.

Price: Shelf Price

This field intended represents the shelf price of an ingredient in the packaging it is typically sold in. If the ingredient is measured by mass, it is usually sold in a package such as a cardboard box or plastic bag. If measured by volume, it is typically contained in a bottle, can, or similar container.

By default, this field should reflect the price of a single package or container of the ingredient. However, since it is a flexible field, you can choose any quantity you prefer to price.

Size: Package Size

This field specifies the typical size of an ingredient as sold in stores. Instead of requiring you to manually calculate a "price per unit of measure" (e.g., per kilogram or per gallon), Portion Master simplifies pricing by asking for real-world package sizes and their shelf prices. The app then automatically calculates the price per measurement unit based on that data.

Here are some examples:

1. Salt is sold in 1 kg bags for $2.50.

   • Size: 1, Unit: Kilogram, Price (USD): 2.50
   • Computed Price / G (USD): 0.0025

2. Dry Gypsum is sold in 40 kg paper bags for $30.

   • Size: 40, Unit: Kilogram, Price (USD): 30
   • Computed Price / G (USD): 0.00075

3. Wine is sold in 750 ml bottles for $12.

   • Size: 750, Unit: Milliliter, Price (USD): 12
   • Computed Price / ML (USD): 0.016

4. Water is sold in 1-liter bottles for $1.

   • Size: 1, Unit: Liter, Price (USD): 1
   • Computed Price / ML (USD): 0.001

You get the idea.

By default, this field should reflect the size of a single package or container of the ingredient. However, since it is a flexible field, you can choose any quantity you prefer to specify.

Units: Package Measurement Units

A drop-down selector for choosing the unit of measurement for the ingredient's package or container.

The Units drop-down is locked to either mass or volume, depending on the ingredient type. However, if you change an ingredient’s unit type (e.g., from mass to volume or vice versa) after the price is set, the pricing unit will no longer match. In this case:

• The dropdown will temporarily allow both mass and volume units.
• The Units field will display a warning, prompting you to select a valid unit.
• You’ll need to update Size accordingly, as its previous value was based on the old unit type.

Price / Unit: Price Per Measurement Unit

A read-only field that Portion Master automatically calculates for you based on the ingredient package size and it's price. It represents the price of a single base unit of measure of the package.

By base unit of measure we mean:

• Mass-measured ingredients: Price per gram (metric) or ounce (imperial).
• Volume-measured ingredients: Price per milliliter (metric) or fluid ounce (imperial).

If required information is missing, this field displays a warning message.

Recipe Data

The Recipe Data section allows you to efficiently manage your recipes. You can import recipes from files to revisit your favorites or export your current recipe data for backup or sharing. Reuse your recipes, import them as needed, and share them easily with others, either as a file or via a link.

Import Recipe

The Import feature allows you to load recipe data from a locally saved file, providing the flexibility to revisit and reuse your favorite recipes. This functionality ensures you're not limited to just one recipe, enabling you to save and load multiple recipes as needed.

When you click the Import button, a standard file dialog will open, allowing you to select a .recipe.json file containing your recipe data.

Additionally, you can drag and drop a .recipe.json file directly onto any area within the Recipe Data section of the Portion Master. When dragging over, a pink dotted border will appear around the section, indicating that you can drop the file there.

The Portion Master performs validation on the input data before use. If the file contains invalid data, it will not be imported, and an error message will be displayed while the current recipe remains unchanged.

Export Recipe

The Export feature enables you to save your current recipe data as a .recipe.json file. This makes it easy to share recipes with others or back up your work for future use.

The Portion Master automatically uses your recipe title as the file name. If no title is set, the file will default to "untitled.recipe.json".

Download Recipe as PDF File

Easily save your recipe as a PDF file for offline use, sharing, or printing.

The PDF format is a single page of A4 size with a following structure:

• Recipe Title: Displayed prominently at the top.
• Ingredients Table: A neatly organized table showing ingredient names, quantities, and units.
• QR Code: A QR code linking back to the Portion Master page with your recipe data.

When you click the Download PDF button, the file will be saved with the name "Your Cool Title.recipe.pdf", based on your recipe title. If no title is provided, the file will default to "untitled.recipe.pdf".

Download Recipe as TXT File

You can download your current recipe data as a plain text file. The Portion Master formats your recipe ingredients into a clean, well-structured table, making it easy to read, share, or print.

This format is especially versatile for referencing your recipe without the need for specialized software. You can open the file in any text editor, copy the table into emails or notes, or print it directly for convenient offline use while crafting based on the recipe.

The downloaded file will be named "Recipe Title.recipe.txt", where "Recipe Title" corresponds to the title of your recipe. If no title is specified, the file will default to "untitled.recipe.txt".

Download Recipe as CSV File

Easily download your current recipe data as a CSV file, formatted as comma-separated values. This versatile format can be imported into various software applications or used for further analysis.

The downloaded file will be named "Recipe Title.recipe.csv", where "Recipe Title" corresponds to the title of your recipe. If no title is specified, the file will default to "untitled.recipe.csv".

It's particularly useful for integrating with spreadsheets like Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers. For example, in Google Sheets:

1. Download current recipe as *.recipe.csv file.
2. Navigate to File > Import > Upload, and select your downloaded CSV file.
3. Set Separator Type to Detect Automatically, then click Import Data.

Your recipe will now appear as a structured spreadsheet table.

Alternatively, you can open the CSV file in a text editor, copy its content to the clipboard, and paste it directly into your preferred spreadsheet software for quick access.

Copy Recipe as Shareable Link

Use the Shareable Link feature to create a unique link that contains your current recipe data. This link can be copied and shared with others so that they can view the recipe form data exactly as you entered it. Click the Shareable Link button to copy the link to the clipboard. Then paste it into an email, chat, or any other communication channel to share your recipe. When the recipient opens the link, they'll see a recipe form filled with your details, ready to use or make further adjustments.

The link appears as follows:

https://rendersnail.com/tools/portion-master/?recipe=eJw9jcsKwkAMRX9...

In this example, recipe is a search parameter, and eJw9jcsKwkAMRX9... represents the encoded recipe data. This seemingly random string is a compressed and encoded version of your recipe data, which the Portion Master decodes and decompresses to restore your recipe form.

The data is encoded to make it "URL-friendly" and to compress the data by up to 50% of its original size, enhancing sharing efficiency.

After data from a link is used, the Portion Master will clean up the recipe data from the URL to maintain a clean address.

Copy Recipe as Plain Text

Use the Copy Plain Text feature to copy the recipe data as plain text directly to your clipboard. This data is identical to that described in theDownload Recipe as TXT File section, but instead of being saved to a file, it is immediately available for pasting.

Copy Recipe as CSV Text

Take advantage of the Copy CSV Text feature to copy the recipe data as CSV (TSV) values directly to your clipboard. This is the same data outlined in the Download Recipe as CSV File section, but here, it is ready for immediate use rather than being saved as a file.

This feature is especially beneficial for quickly pasting recipe data into a spreadsheet applications.

Technical

Precision

The Portion Master internally processes initial values in their raw form, but presents results in the user interface (UI) with enhanced readability by rounding to 3 decimal places.

Rounding Behavior

A value like 1.23456 will be displayed as 1.235. The sufficient for majority cases precision is maintained while preventing cluttered UI fields.

For extremely small quantities with three or more leading decimal zeros (e.g., 0.000003434343), the rounding mechanism is suspended. This approach prevents the unintended reduction of near-zero values to simple zeros.

The Challenge of Floating-Point Arithmetic

Digital computing presents inherent challenges in decimal mathematics. While in the user interface computers appear to use decimal numbers, technically they operate in binary systems for all calculations, which can lead to technically correct, but unexpected results for the user.

A classic illustration is the multiplication of 0.8 and 0.1:

• Expected result: 0.08
• Actual computed result: 0.08000000000000002

Such minute variations highlight the critical role of rounding. By implementing intelligent rounding, Portion Master ensures that displayed results are both accurate and understandable, bridging the gap between computational complexity and user-friendly presentation.

Numeric Fields

Numeric fields, such as Key Value, Value, and % of Key Value, are restricted to positive numbers, including both integers and decimals. Both "." and "," are accepted as decimal separators.

All recipe-related calculations are triggered only when you leave the field or press Enter, rather than during typing. This design choice enhances overall application performance and UI responsiveness.

Input Calculator

Each numeric field features an Input Calculator. By default, the input field displays only a number. But, when focused, a blue Input Calculator icon appears on the right side of the field. Clicking this icon opens a Input Calculator interface.

The Input Calculator is linked to the field from which it is opened. If the field already contains a number, the calculator pre-fills it as the left operand. After performing a calculation, you can apply the result to the linked field by clicking the Apply Result as Value button at the bottom right of the calculator. This button is enabled only when the result is a valid, non-zero positive number.

This feature was developed in response to user feedback requesting quick calculations directly in the field without the need to switch to a separate calculator application.

While operating systems include built-in calculators as a standalone app, the Input Calculator offers enhanced convenience. Using a system calculator involves switching apps, manually entering numbers, performing calculations, copying results, returning to this page, and pasting them as a new values. The embedded calculator streamlines this process, especially on mobile devices where multitasking can be challenging.

The Input Calculator supports basic operations: addition "+", subtraction "-", multiplication "×", division "÷", and percentages "%". While it does not replace a full-featured calculator, it includes copy/paste functionality with keyboard shortcuts, so it pretty capable of covering most recipe related needs. Using copy/paste flexibility allows you not only to set a new value to a linked field but also to copy and paste results into other fields as needed.

Feedback and Suggestions are Welcome!

As a new tool, Portion Master has yet to be "battle tested" through years of practical use. While I’ve done my best as a developer to test it with numerous recipes and settings, it's conceivable that there are still problems or inconsistencies. This is particularly true in areas that require complex calculations, such as unit conversions and scaling. Even if the software functions as I initially designed, the underlying conversion formulas or logic itself may need further refinement.

If you're working with expensive ingredients and a mistake could cost you, please double-check the results produced by Portion Master. First, have a look at the output to make sure everything seems right to you in general. Second, check a few ingredients manually to make sure the tool is doing what you expect. Once you're happy that everything is working well, you can use Portion Master without having to repeat this step each time.

In short, use it with a bit of caution when you're first trying it out until you're sure it's doing what you want.

Please Reach Out, Your Contribution Matters

If you encounter bugs, notice unexpected behavior, or have ideas for new features that would enhance your workflow, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Use the contact section on the website to share your thoughts. I’m eager to help and committed to improving the tool to better meet your needs.

Your feedback will not only help to improve Portion Master, but will also ensure that it becomes a more reliable and valuable resource not only for everyone, but for you in a first place.

Thank you for in advance for helping to shape Portion Master into the best tool it can be!

Testing Approach: Happy Path

I’ve primarily tested Portion Master following the happy path. This means I’ve focused on typical use cases using the tool as it was intended — without exploring all imaginable extreme scenarios such as very large or tiny values, repeatedly converting units back and forth, or rapidly toggling butch multiplier and binding locks tens of times. While the tool is designed to manage certain scenarios, its behavior outside the planned workflow is not yet defined.

Personal Use and Dependence on Feedback

Portion Master is a specialized tool that aims to be versatile. If it lacks a feature you personally need or you think that it behaves unpredictably, especially in happy path scenarios, — I’d love to hear from you. Your feedback is essential to refining the tool and making it as reliable and useful as possible.

Unlike some of my other tools, such as Image Convert Ninja, which I use regularly and refine based on my personal experience in the first place, I do not often cook or craft anything that requires recipe scaling, so I am not a typical Portion Master user.

For example, I’ve used Image Convert Ninja for hundreds of images, identifying bugs and adding missing features through real-world use. As I don't regularly use Portion Master myself, I rely on you - the real user - for your experiences, insights and suggestions for improvement.

About

The Portion Master began as a personal project inspired by a real-world challenge. A relative of mine, a hand-crafter, frequently works with recipes that require precise scaling of ingredients for different substances mixes. She often faced the frustration of manually adjusting ingredient quantities, a process that was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors — especially in high-pressure situations where timing and accuracy were critical.

Another challenge she faced is that many great recipes are provided in the US Imperial measurement system, such as those on the CandleScience website, while she primarily uses Metric. Accurately converting entire recipes became another crucial task.

She shared her struggles and outlined a vision for a solution: an automated tool to simplify and speed up her workflow, while eliminating the risks of manual calculation errors. With her input and guidance, I developed Portion Master to address these challenges effectively.

Her work spans various handcrafted items, including wax candle mixes, gypsum compositions, fragrance oil blends, creams, bath bombs, and more. You can explore her creations on Lucky Ducky’s Etsy shop or visit her workshop's official website (in Ukrainian).

In exchange for creating this tool tailored to her needs, I asked her to agree to make it publicly available. This created a win-win situation: she received a free portion calculator that perfectly fits her needs, and I gained a practical tool to share with you. Now, Portion Master is available to everyone, a real tool designed to solve real problems for anyone needing to scale recipes efficiently and accurately.

Updates

v2.1.0 (Feb 07, 2025): Improved Pricing & Summary

• Ingredient Pricing: Field titles were simplified to "Price", "Size", and "Units", removing the "Package / Container" postfixes. Fields were reordered so that "Price" comes first, right after the "Ingredient" field. The "Size" field now offers autocomplete suggestions when empty, based on your last inputs, making it much easier to select common package sizes — especially on mobile devices.

• Recipe Summary: If a Batch Size multiplier is used, it is now clearly indicated in the summary, ensuring it's obvious that the values represent the full batch, not a single portion. Additionally, UI improvements have been made to this section on the page, as well as in the PDF, TXT, and CSV downloadable versions of the recipe.

v2.0.0 (Jan 25, 2025): Ingredient Pricing & Recipe Summary

• Ingredient Pricing: Enter ingredient costs to instantly see the cost of each individual ingredient and the total self-cost of your whole recipe. All calculations happen automatically. Adjust ingredient proportions, apply a batch multiplier, or change pricing — the cost calculations update in real time.

• Recipe Summary: Get an instant overview of your recipe with key totals, including Total Cost, Total Mass, Total Volume. These metrics help you quickly assess the overall ingredient spend and cost-effectiveness of your recipe.

v1.8.0 (Jan 1, 2025): Enhanced Recipe Copying Features

• Copy Plain Text: Quickly copy your recipe data as plain text to the clipboard for easy pasting. This feature is convenient for sharing or editing in any text application.

• Copy CSV Text: Effortlessly copy your recipe data as CSV (TSV) values directly to the clipboard. This functionality enables immediate use in spreadsheet applications, streamlining your workflow and enhancing productivity.

v1.7.0 (Dec 31, 2024): Professional Recipe PDFs

• Download PDF with QR Code: Save your recipes as well-formatted PDF files, complete with your recipe title, an ingredients table, and an interactive QR code. The QR code links back to your recipe in Portion Master, including all data for instant adjustments or scaling. Ideal for printing, sharing, or offline storage.

v1.6.0 (Dec 29, 2024): Flexible Recipe Downloads

• Download TXT: In addition to CSV, you can now download your recipe as a beautifully formatted plain text file. Perfect for quick reference, easy sharing, or printing, the TXT format ensures your recipe is accessible without requiring any special software.

• Download CSV: You can now download your recipe data as a CSV file. This versatile format is ideal for importing into spreadsheet applications like Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers for further analysis or adjustments. Simply download the file, upload it to your preferred tool, and start working with your recipe in table format.

v1.5.0 (Dec 27, 2024): Save and Load Recipes

• Import Recipe: The Portion Master now allows you to load recipes from locally saved .recipe.json files. This feature makes it easy to revisit and reuse previously saved recipes without starting from scratch.

• Export Recipe: Save your current recipe data as a .recipe.json file for sharing or backup. This feature ensures your recipes are always preserved and easily transferable and reusable.

v1.4.0 (Dec 26, 2024): Shareable Recipe Links

• Generate and Share Unique Recipe Links: The Portion Master now includes a Shareable Link feature that creates a unique URL encoding your current recipe data. This allows you to easily copy and share the link with others, enabling them to view your recipe form exactly as you entered it. When opened, the link loads your recipe directly into Portion Master, preserving all recipe details and ready for review or adjustments. This update streamlines collaboration and sharing, ensuring your recipes are accessible anytime, anywhere.

v1.3.0 (Dec 24, 2024): Persistent Recipe Data

• Save and Restore Recipes with Local Storage: Portion Master now automatically saves your recipe data to your browser's local storage, ensuring that your work is preserved even if you close or refresh the page. When you return, the app seamlessly restores your most recent recipe, allowing you to pick up right where you left off. This feature enhances usability and ensures your current progress is never lost.

v1.2.0 (Dec 17, 2024): Enhancements to System Converter

• UK Imperial Support: The Portion Master now includes support for UK Imperial units in addition to US Imperial and Metric systems. This enhancement transforms Portion Master into a versatile and powerful tool for effortless interconversion of recipe measurements between different systems.

v1.1.0 (Dec 10, 2024): Input Field Calculator

• Input Calculator: Introduced the Input Calculator feature, allowing you to perform mathematical calculations directly within numeric input fields for Key Ingredient and Proportional Ingredients sections.

v1.0.0 (Nov 22, 2024): MVP

The initial release of Portion Master introduces the following core features:

• Measurement System Selector: Switch seamlessly between Metric and Imperial (US) mass and volume units with automatic unit and value conversion.

• Clear Recipe Button: Quickly clear the current recipe for a fresh start.

• Key Ingredient Section:

  • Adjust the recipe by changing the Key Ingredient value or unit directly.
  • Scale the recipe with an unlockable Batch Size for flexible portion adjustments.

• Proportional Ingredients Section:

  • Bind or unbind ingredients from the Key Ingredient for precise or independent adjustments.
  • Use the options toggle to reorder or delete ingredients as needed.

• + Add Ingredient Button: Add new Proportional Ingredients effortlessly.