Why it's important
Prep recipes are made in large batches and used as ingredients in other recipes (either prep or serving). They are not sold but serve as components in Serving Recipes such as sauces and garnishes.
Prep Recipes can be used as ingredients in other prep recipes, and this can continue for several levels. For instance, the prep recipe “Brown Veal Stock” is an ingredient in the prep recipe “Short Rib Braising Liquid,” which is an ingredient in the serving recipe “Braised Short Ribs.”
How to use it
A prep recipe is very similar to a serving recipe, however, there are two differences:
1) There is no “Pricing” section for prep recipes, as they are not for sale.
2) There is a Yield / Portion Cost section in prep recipes.
Prep recipes need a quantity value and a unit of measure, either a weight or volume, sto be used and priced correctly in a Serving recipe.
Creating a Prep Recipe
- Name: Give the recipe a name. This description is visible in the recipe page.
- Nutritional Label Name: This field is public-facing and must be grammatically correct. If left blank, the nutrient label description will default to the recipe name.
- Type: Choose "Prep Recipe" from the drop-down menu.
- PLU Code: Prep recipes are not sold; therefore, a PLU is not required.
- Group: Prep recipes include on-hand inventory counts, so using group assignments is a best practice for managing these counts, facilitating reporting, sorting, and filtering.
- Shelf Life: Helps with inventory rotation.
- Description: (optional).
- Primary Category: (optional)
Recipe Ingredients:
1) Enter the amount and unit of measurement, such as 8 oz, 1 ea, 5 gal, etc. In the example below, we are using 6 lbs
2) Begin typing the ingredient name. The field searches both recipes and ingredients with a "Contains" filter. For instance, "bok" will return every ingredient and recipe that includes this word. Please select the correct match from the drop-down menu.
- A prep or serving recipe displayed with a BLUE label.
- The raw ingredients with no modifications have no color labels.
- An ingredient modified by a Conversion is displayed with a RED prep label. As you can see below, there are two conversion preps for bok: one for baby bok choy and the other for regular bok choy.
3) reciProfity calculates the recipe's ingredient costs based on product packaging details and the quantity specified in the recipe, such as 6 lbs.
If N/A is displayed in the cost section, it means that either:
- This ingredient doesn't have pricing data associated with it. Click the ingredient name to fix this.
OR
- You're using an incompatible unit of measurement, like volume units for an ingredient purchased by weight, and you didn't enter the weight-volume conversion data in the ingredient's Conversions. Click the ingredient name to bring up its data and read this article about Conversions.
4) Repeat the above exercise to continue entering all the recipe's ingredients.
5) When you are done entering ingredients, you'll add the Yield/Portion:
6) Prep recipes require a Yield quantity and unit of measure. The unit of measure can be weight, volume, each, loaf, etc. The example below yields 5 lbs.
7) Just as ingredients have conversions, prep recipes do as well. For instance, we prepared 5 lbs of sautéed baby bok choy, but this quantity isn't intended for just one customer. reciProfity needs to know the serving size. If the serving size is measured by weight, there’s nothing more to address, as reciProfity can handle weight-to-weight conversions. However, if the serving recipe is specified in volume, such as cups, we must inform reciProfity of how many cups are equivalent to 1 lb. The example below says, there are 4 cups per 1 lb, and the cost is $1.117 per cup; this information provides reciProfity with everything needed to calculate the cost of the serving recipes, whether they are measured by weight or volume.
Serving Recipe
To complete the prep recipe picture, here is an example of a prep recipe for 6 lbs of "Butter Roasted Salmon that is then used in a Serving Recipe:
"Salmon, butter roasted with Basmati Rice and Baby Bok Choi".
On the upper right of the serving recipe page you will see the Pricing box:
This displays the serving cost and selling price based on the Target food cost %.
Recipe Conversions are akin to ingredients conversions. Ingredient conversions transfer weight to volume and vis versa, addressing costs related to ingredients within recipes. In contrast, prep recipe conversions perform similar finctions between prep recipes and other recipes.
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An ingredient is received by weight, but the recipe uses it by volume, or vice versa. Read this article about Conversions and Prep Recipes
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You want to account for shrinkage of a recipe AND that shrinkage is not already accounted for in the conversion preps of the individual ingredients. Read this article about Manual Conversions and Shrinkage.
- You are making something like a pie, cake, loaf of bread and you want to create slices for sale.