If you’re planning a dinner party for 20 people and you find a recipe that feeds 4 people, the natural idea is to just multiply the recipe by 5, right? Wrong. There are a lot of factors that go into a recipe, whether you’re cooking or baking, so next time you want to make a recipe in a larger amount, consider the following.
Spices
A lot of times, if a recipe says 1/4 a teaspoon of a spice, you may or may not actually be measuring exactly that much seasoning. Depending on how you measured and how the spice is packed, you could be getting a lot more or less of the flavor than you want. That will impact the overall flavor of the dish, so make sure you’re tasting it along the way.
Space
If you’re searing meat or browning anything, you really need room in the pan to do so. If you’re making a lot larger of a volume of food, you will need more space in order for the cooking to happen. If you overcrowd a pan, it will not only take longer, it will also affect the taste of the food. This means you should consider doing things in batches and allow a lot more time.