Kitchen reference

Cooking ratios

100 starting proportions chefs actually use — mostly by weight. Kitchen measures sit underneath so a 3 : 1 is something you can pour. A packaged food is still not a ratio: if the label disagrees, follow the label.

Chef proportions

100 ratios

• Vinaigrette

  3 oil : 1 acid

  Mustard or yolk helps it hold. Bottled dressings are often thinner and sweeter — follow the label.

• Mustard vinaigrette

  3 oil : 1 acid : ¼ mustard

  Mustard is the emulsifier. Start here, then salt.

• Mayonnaise

  20 oil : 1 yolk

  About 1 cup oil per large yolk. Add oil slowly. Lemon or vinegar to taste.

• Aioli

  20 oil : 1 yolk + garlic

  Same as mayonnaise with pounded garlic in the bowl first.

• Hollandaise

  5 butter : 1 yolk : 1 liquid

  Liquid is lemon or water. Keep it warm, not hot, or it scrambles.

• Béarnaise

  5 butter : 1 yolk : 1 tarragon reduction

  Hollandaise with a shallot–vinegar–tarragon reduction instead of plain lemon.

• Beurre blanc

  3 butter : 1 wine-shallot reduction

  Mount cold butter into a sharp reduction off the boil.

• Caesar-style dressing

  3 oil : 1 lemon + yolk & anchovy

  A homemade starting point — not a bottled formula. Cheese after the emulsion forms.

• Ranch-style (home)

  2 mayo : 1 buttermilk : 1 sour cream

  A dairy emulsion. Bottled ranch uses gums; homemade should be thicker and fresher.

• Blue cheese dressing

  2 mayo : 1 sour cream : 1 crumbled cheese

  Thin with a splash of buttermilk or vinegar if needed.

• Tahini sauce

  1 tahini : 1 water : ½ lemon

  It seizes, then loosens. Salt and garlic after it is smooth.

• Hummus

  3 chickpea : 1 tahini

  Ice water or aquafaba loosens. Lemon and garlic are seasoning, not structure.

• Tzatziki

  4 yogurt : 1 cucumber

  Salt and drain the cucumber or the sauce weeps.

• Pesto

  3 oil : 2 basil : 1 cheese : 1 nut

  Pulse, don’t puree, if you want it textured.

• Chimichurri

  3 oil : 1 vinegar + herbs

  Not an emulsion that must hold — it should look loose and herbal.

• Buffalo-style sauce

  2 hot sauce : 1 butter

  Emulsify off heat. Cayenne sauces vary — taste before you double.

• Béchamel

  1 butter : 1 flour : 10–12 milk

  Cook the roux pale. Whisk milk in warm. Nutmeg is optional.

• Velouté

  1 butter : 1 flour : 10 white stock

  Same as béchamel with stock instead of milk.

• Espagnole (brown sauce)

  1 brown roux : 10 brown stock

  Mirepoix and tomato are flavor, then reduce.

• Gravy

  1 roux : 8–10 stock

  Pan drippings replace some of the fat. Simmer until it coats a spoon.

• Tomato sauce

  10 tomato : 1 onion/mirepoix

  Oil and salt are seasoning. Reduce to the thickness you want.

• Teriyaki-style glaze

  2 soy : 1 mirin : 1 sake

  Sugar to taste; reduce until glossy. Not a bottled formula.

• Barbecue-style base

  2 tomato : 1 vinegar : 1 sweetener

  Smoke, molasses, and spice come after structure.

• Pan sauce

  1 fond : 3 liquid + ¼ butter

  Deglaze, reduce, mount butter. Don’t boil after the butter goes in.

• White roux

  1 fat : 1 flour

  Cook just until the raw flour smell is gone. For béchamel and white sauces.

• Brown roux

  1 fat : 1 flour

  Longer cook, less thickening power. For gumbo and brown sauces.

• Beurre manié

  1 butter : 1 flour

  Kneaded, not cooked first. Whisk into a simmering liquid at the end.

• Starch slurry

  1 starch : 1 cold liquid

  Cornstarch or potato starch. Never add dry starch to a hot pot.

• Liaison

  1 yolk : 2 cream

  Temper into hot sauce off the boil. It enriches; it does not boil.

• Basic meat brine

  20 water : 1 salt (5%)

  By weight. About 1 tablespoon kosher salt per cup of water is a rough home stand-in.

• Poultry wet brine

  16 water : 1 salt

  Sugar optional. Chill completely before the bird goes in.

• Equilibrium brine

  2% salt of water + meat

  Weigh the meat and the water together, then add 2% salt. It will not over-salt.

• Quick pickle brine

  2 water : 1 vinegar + 5% salt

  Bring to a boil, pour over vegetables. Sugar if you want bread-and-butter territory.

• Bread-and-butter pickle

  1 vinegar : 1 sugar

  Plus vegetables and spices. Sweet-tart, not a fermented pickle.

• Sauerkraut

  2% salt to cabbage

  By weight of the cabbage. Pack until it brines itself.

• Kimchi salting

  2–3% salt to vegetables

  Salt first, then paste. Not a shortcut for a jarred brand.

• Dry cure (bacon-style)

  2.5% salt to meat

  Plus a measured curing salt if you are curing, not just seasoning. Follow a trusted cure recipe for safety.

• Acid marinade

  3 oil : 1 acid

  Same bones as vinaigrette. Don’t leave delicate fish in acid all day.

• Yogurt marinade

  4 yogurt : 1 spice paste

  The dairy tenderizes more gently than vinegar.

• Simple syrup

  1 sugar : 1 water

  For drinks, soaking cakes, and balancing acid.

• White stock

  3 water : 2 bones

  By weight. Barely simmer. Skim.

• Brown stock

  3 water : 2 roasted bones

  Roast bones and mirepoix first. Reduce later for demi.

• Fish stock (fumet)

  2 water : 1 bones

  Short simmer — 20 to 40 minutes. Longer gets gluey.

• Vegetable stock

  2 water : 1 vegetables

  Sweat first. Avoid brassicas if you want a clean taste.

• Demi-glace-style

  2 brown stock → 1

  Reduce by half. That’s the ratio: volume in to volume out.

• Long-grain rice

  2 water : 1 rice (volume)

  Or about 1.5 : 1 by weight. Lid on, rest 10 minutes.

• Risotto

  4 stock : 1 rice

  Added gradually. The rice should still have a bite.

• Polenta

  4–5 water : 1 cornmeal

  More water for soft; less for a set slice.

• Quinoa

  2 water : 1 quinoa

  Rinse first. Rest fluffed.

• Lentils

  3 water : 1 lentils

  Brown lentils hold shape; red ones collapse into dal.

• Congee

  8–10 water : 1 rice

  Long, loose, spoonable.

• Lean bread dough

  5 flour : 3 water (60%)

  Plus about 2% salt and 1% yeast to the flour weight.

• Country loaf

  100 flour : 70 water : 2 salt : 1 yeast

  Baker’s percent. Higher hydration needs more folds, not more flour.

• Pizza dough

  100 flour : 65 water : 2 salt : 1 oil

  Yeast 0.5–1%. Cold ferment if you can.

• Focaccia

  100 flour : 75–80 water

  Dimple generously with oil. Salt on top.

• Bagel dough

  100 flour : 55 water

  Stiff on purpose. Boil, then bake.

• Egg pasta

  100 flour : 55–60 egg

  About 1 large egg per 100 g flour. Knead until smooth.

• Semolina pasta

  100 semolina : 50 water

  No egg. Rest before rolling.

• Potato gnocchi

  2 potato : 1 flour

  Rice the potato while hot. Add the least flour that holds.

• Spätzle

  2 flour : 1 egg : 1 milk

  A thick batter, not a dough. Boil until they float.

• Flour tortilla

  5 flour : 1 fat : 3 water

  Hot griddle. Keep them stacked in a cloth.

• Corn tortilla

  100 masa harina : 65 water

  Press and cook immediately. Cover so they don’t crack.

• Dumpling dough

  2 flour : 1 water

  Hot water dough is more pliable for wrappers.

• Brioche

  100 flour : 50 egg+milk : 40–50 butter

  Butter goes in after gluten is built. Cold proof.

• Pretzel dough

  100 flour : 50 water : 2 salt

  Dip in an alkaline bath before bake. Handle lye with respect.

• Pie dough (3-2-1)

  3 flour : 2 fat : 1 water

  By weight. Ice water. Stop mixing when it just holds.

• Pâte brisée

  2 flour : 1 butter

  Water just to bind. Rest cold.

• Shortbread

  3 flour : 2 butter : 1 sugar

  No egg. Don’t overbake — it should stay pale.

• Streusel / crumble

  2 flour : 1 sugar : 1 butter

  Rub to crumbs. Nuts optional.

• Sweet tart dough

  3 flour : 2 butter : 1 sugar

  Egg yolk if you want it richer (pâte sucrée).

• Pâte à choux

  2 water : 1 butter : 1 flour : 2 egg

  Cook the paste before adding eggs. Pipe and bake until dry inside.

• Pound cake

  1 butter : 1 sugar : 1 egg : 1 flour

  The original equal-weight cake. Cream butter and sugar first.

• Sponge cake

  1 egg : 1 sugar : 1 flour

  Foam method. Fold flour so you don’t deflate it.

• Biscuit / scone

  3 flour : 1 fat : 1 liquid

  Cold fat. Cut, don’t knead. Scones take a little sugar.

• Frangipane

  1 almond : 1 butter : 1 sugar : 1 egg

  Spread in a tart shell under fruit.

• Laminated pastry lock-in

  2 dough : 1 butter

  The butter block is half the dough weight. Keep both the same softness.

• Cookie dough (1-2-3)

  1 sugar : 2 fat : 3 flour

  Eggs and vanilla after the creaming. Chocolate is an inclusion, not structure.

• Pancake batter

  2 flour : 2 liquid : 1 egg : ½ fat

  Lumps are fine. Rest 10 minutes.

• Crêpe batter

  1 flour : 2 milk : 1 egg

  Thin. Rest so the bubbles settle. First one is for the cook.

• Yorkshire pudding / popover

  1 flour : 1 egg : 1 milk

  Hot fat, hot oven. Don’t open the door.

• Tempura batter

  1 flour : 1 ice water

  Don’t mix smooth. A yolk is optional. Fry immediately.

• Cornbread

  1 cornmeal : 1 flour : 1 liquid : 1 egg

  Fat and a little sugar to taste. Hot skillet if you want a crust.

• Meatballs

  4 meat : 1 binder

  Binder is crumbs soaked in milk, plus egg. 1.5% salt to the meat.

• Meatloaf

  5 meat : 1 binder

  A little less filler than meatballs so it slices.

• Fresh sausage

  70 meat : 30 fat + 2% salt

  Keep it cold. Salt is by weight of the meat and fat together.

• Burger seasoning

  1.5% salt to meat

  Salt just before the griddle if you want a tender patty.

• Chicken salad

  3 chicken : 1 mayo

  Crunch (celery, pickle) is extra. Season the chicken first.

• Bread stuffing

  3 bread : 1 liquid

  Stock or milk. Eggs if you want it set like a dressing.

• Roasted vegetables

  20 vegetable : 1 oil (5%)

  Salt separately. Crowding steams; give them room.

• Pourable ganache

  1 chocolate : 1 cream

  Hot cream on chopped chocolate. For glaze.

• Truffle ganache

  2 chocolate : 1 cream

  Firms when cool. Roll or pipe.

• American buttercream

  2 sugar : 1 butter

  A splash of milk or cream to spread. Very sweet on purpose.

• Crème anglaise

  8 milk : 2 yolk : 1 sugar

  Cook to nappe, about 82°C / 180°F. Don’t scramble.

• Pastry cream

  8 milk : 1 yolk : 1 sugar : 1 starch

  Boil briefly so the starch cooks out. Butter at the end optional.

• French meringue

  2 sugar : 1 egg white

  Add sugar gradually to foamy whites. Italian and Swiss use the same 2 : 1, cooked differently.

• Chantilly cream

  8 cream : 1 sugar

  Cold cream, cold bowl. Stop at soft or medium peaks.

• Panna cotta

  100 cream : 10 sugar : 1–1.5 gelatin

  Bloom gelatin first. Don’t make it rubbery.

• Lemon curd

  2 lemon : 2 sugar : 1 butter : 1 egg

  Cook gently until it thickens. Strain.

• Classic jam

  1 fruit : 1 sugar

  Pectin fruit may need less sugar. Cook to set, not to caramel.

• Sorbet

  4 fruit puree : 1 sugar

  Adjust to taste and freezing point. A little glucose or syrup keeps it scoopable.

Closest Match still follows the package. If water is listed before oil, we do not force a 3:1 vinaigrette. How reconstruction works · Emulsification