Guardian perfectionist Felicity Cloake can often be found scaling recipes when testing for her column: “When you’re making six or seven versions of the same thing, sometimes you have to for your own sanity.” Generally speaking, it’s an easy thing to do, too, says Helen Goh, co-author of Ottolenghi Comfort – “assuming you didn’t fail maths, or you have a calculator.” But success really depends on what you’re making, of course. “In baking, for instance, trying to cream a small amount of butter and sugar in a mixer will have the beaters going round and round without making a jot of difference,” Goh says.
Pasta sauces, meanwhile, are “fair game” in Cloake’s book, as are most stews and soups. That’s not to say you can simply double the ingredients and be done with it, mind. “Seasoning such as salt, pepper, spices and lemon juice don’t always scale up or down in a neat way,” Goh explains, so her trick is to add them in increments, tasting and adjusting accordingly.
