The rule that saves a doubled recipe from turning into a spice bomb: scale strong spices at 1.5×, not 2×. Finish cooking, taste, add more if needed. You can always add spice. You can't take it out.
Why spices don't double
Human flavor perception is logarithmic. Twice the garlic doesn't taste twice as garlicky — maybe 1.4× as intense. Double it in a recipe and the dish pushes past balanced into dominant. This effect is strongest for pungent, hot, or aromatic spices and weakest for delicate herbs.
The scale factors to use
- Strong dried spices (cayenne, black pepper, dried chili, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger) — 1.5× when doubling.
- Salt — 1.7–1.8× when doubling.
- Fresh herbs (basil, parsley, cilantro, mint) — 1.8–2× works fine. They're delicate.
- Dried herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary) — 1.7–1.8× when doubling.
- Extracts (vanilla, almond) — 1.25–1.5× when doubling. These go long.
The safer process
If in doubt:
- 1. Scale everything straight at your factor.
- 2. Reduce all spices, salt, and extracts to 80% of that.
- 3. Cook to completion.
- 4. Taste. Adjust up with additional salt, spice, or seasoning as needed.
A minute of tasting beats an hour of trying to rescue an over-seasoned batch. Every professional kitchen works this way.
// TRY THE TOOL
SCALE A RECIPE.
Multiply a recipe. Then dial back the strong-flavor ingredients before you start cooking.
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