Scale a recipe by multiplying the per-person amount by the number of eaters and then dividing by 16 to turn ounces into pounds, so 6-8 oz of dry grain per person is 37.5-50 lb for 100. Check every line twice, because the parent guide’s own table overstates the salt line by about 2.3 times: half a teaspoon of salt per person is about 0.66 lb for 100, not the 1.5 lb it prints.
Ingredient scaling is the arithmetic that converts a per-person ration into batch quantities for a given number of eaters, including unit conversion and an energy check.
The Formula Is A Multiplication; The Errors Are In The Units
For a batch: batch amount = per-person amount × number of eaters. With ounces per person, divide by 16 to get pounds. The only decisions are the headcount (include children, or write down the child fraction you use and keep using it) and any margin for waste, which is the planner’s choice and should be written beside the table.
The parent guide’s table gives per-person amounts and totals for 100:
| Ingredient | Per person | Parent’s 100-person total | Re-computed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grain (dry) | 6-8 oz | 37-50 lb | 600-800 oz ÷ 16 = 37.5-50 lb |
| Beans (dry) | 3-4 oz | 19-25 lb | 300-400 oz ÷ 16 = 18.75-25 lb |
| Root vegetables | 8-12 oz | 50-75 lb | 800-1,200 oz ÷ 16 = 50-75 lb |
| Greens | 3-4 oz | 19-25 lb | 18.75-25 lb |
| Meat (if available) | 4-6 oz | 25-37 lb | 25-37.5 lb |
| Cooking oil or fat | 1 tbsp | about 3.5 lb | see below |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | about 1.5 lb | see below |
The weight lines agree with the parent (it rounds 37.5 and 18.75 to whole pounds). The last two lines are volume measures turned into weights, and they do not agree.
Worked Example: Checking The Spoon Measures
Inputs (recalled kitchen conversions, not corpus figures): 1 tbsp of cooking oil weighs about 14 g; 1 tsp of fine table salt weighs about 6 g; 1 lb is 454 g.
- Oil: 100 × 14 g = 1,400 g = 3.1 lb, against the parent’s 3.5 lb. The parent is about 12% high; fat densities vary (lard is lighter per spoon), so this is close enough to use either, but record which.
- Salt: 1/2 tsp = 3 g. 100 × 3 g = 300 g = 0.66 lb. The parent prints about 1.5 lb. 1.5 lb is 680 g, which is 6.8 g per person, about 1.1 teaspoons, more than twice the stated 1/2 tsp.
- So either the teaspoon figure is half what was intended, or the pounds are 2.3 times too high. Use 0.66 lb if you follow the 1/2 tsp, and note the discrepancy; salt itself is covered in Salt Production & Sourcing.
Worked Example: The Energy Of The Ration
This uses calorie densities from the caloric-budget guide (corn 1,650 kcal per lb, dry beans 1,520, potatoes 350, cabbage 110, so per ounce about 103, 95, 21.9 and 6.9) and oil at 9 kcal per gram, which the corpus gives for plant oil (Oil Extraction).
- Grain, corn-equivalent: 6 × 103 = 619 to 8 × 103 = 825 kcal.
- Beans: 3 × 95 = 285 to 4 × 95 = 380 kcal.
- Roots as potatoes: 8 × 21.9 = 175 to 12 × 21.9 = 263 kcal.
- Greens as cabbage: 3 × 6.9 = 21 to 4 × 6.9 = 28 kcal.
- Oil: 14 g × 9 = 126 kcal.
- Total, meat excluded: 619 + 285 + 175 + 21 + 126 = 1,226 kcal at the low end; 825 + 380 + 263 + 28 + 126 = 1,622 kcal at the high end. This is this page’s sum, using the guide’s own densities.
- As a share of 2,800 kcal: 1,226 ÷ 2,800 = 44%; 1,622 ÷ 2,800 = 58%.
If the table is a per-day ration, it supplies about half the community average and the family side must supply the rest. If it is per meal, it is far more than anyone needs. The parent does not say; decide which, and write it above the table.
Method: Scale A Batch
Step 1: Write the headcount, and the child fraction if you use one. Step 2: Multiply and divide by 16. Step 3: Weigh or measure a sample portion on the first day and compare. Step 4: Record the actual use per week and adjust.
Common Mistakes
- Mixing ounces and pounds. The commonest slip; write the unit beside every number.
- Converting spoons to weights from memory. Weigh a level spoon of your own salt and oil once.
- Carrying a printed total without recomputing it.
Safety
Too much salt, and dry beans that are not cooked through
A salt line that is more than double the intended amount makes food unpleasant and can be unhealthy over time; check it. Dry beans scaled up to 19-25 lb a batch still need the 15-minute hard boil that destroys their toxin (Grains & Legumes).
What’s Next
- Learn next: Special Dietary Needs Management — who the standard ration does not suit
- Combine with: Adult Caloric Needs by Activity Level — the energy a ration has to meet