True Portions

I use 2oz portion cups a lot. From SAMs (Club) they average about 1 cent for the lid and the same for the cup. Total investment costs 2 cents. - Also known as condiment cups.

Quite a few people in the 'business' make the mistake of not measuring, or weighing for accuracy. I always go by weight unless something is pre-packaged and portioned for me. Some of you will say this is a no brainer, but I can't count the times I have seen this miscalculated in costs and portion control. Different products can physically take up the same amount of space but not weigh the same.

Below I illustrated with a simple video of shredded cheese. If you buy a 5lb bag of finely shredded cheese it's 80oz. If you have 2oz portion cups you would assume it would make 40 2oz condiment cups, no? No. It will make 80, and possibly 90. Yes, if the cheese were solid this could be argued. But that is part of the point I am making.

Getting your scale-out and weighing a few things as you do your daily prep can help you 'tighten up' those costs, orders, and preparation time which makes a smoother running kitchen and saves time & money.

*On a personal note, the 1oz condiment cups usually cost the same. I don't use them at all. If you are going to use just part of the 2oz cup it still looks like more and gives room for dipping in the case of a sauce.

A few more examples of using the cups and weight.

Sour Cream

Real Bacon Bits