Working With Recipes: Converting Parts or Percentages to Different Units of Measure

Recipes come in a lot of different forms. Most of the time, recipes are listed with specific units of measure. For example, a lip balm recipe might call for the following ingredients:

• 3 ounce Shea Butter 
• 3 ounce Sweet Almond Oil
• 3 ounce Beeswax
• 3/4 ounce Flavor Oil

Other times, recipes are given in ratios, listing each component as a part or a percentage. In that case, the lip balm recipe might look like this:

• 1 part Shea Butter
• 1 part Sweet Almond Oil
• 1 part Beeswax
• .25 part Flavor Oil

Or, it could look like this:

• 31% Shea Butter
• 31% Sweet Almond Oil
• 31% Beeswax
• 7% Flavor Oil

The advantage of listing a recipe in parts or percentages is that it can be re-calculated to make any quantity you choose. The disadvantage is that you’ll need to do a little math in order to convert the equation into a usable recipe. Here’s how to do that.

Converting Parts to Percentages

1. Convert the recipe into equally sized whole parts. Determine the smallest increment in your recipe, then divide the other parts by that increment. For example, our recipe calls for 0.25 parts of Flavor Oil, so I need to divide each whole part in the recipe by 0.25. After that, my recipe would look like this: 4 parts Shea Butter, 4 parts Sweet Almond Butter, 4 parts Beeswax, 1 part Flavor Oil. 
2. Convert the parts into fractions. Add the total number of parts in your recipe together. That number will be your denominator, the bottom number of each fraction. In our recipe, that number would be 13. The number of parts is each ingredient’s numerator. Assign each ingredient it’s numerator and denominator. After that, our recipe would look like this: 4/13 Shea Butter, 4/13 Sweet Almond Oil, 4/13 Beeswax, 1/13 Flavor Oil. 
3. Convert the fractions into percentages. Next, you’ll need to change those fractions into numbers that you can work with more easily. Here is a formula to help you do that. (
   Divide the numerator of the fraction by the denominator (e.g. 4 ÷ 13=0.3076)
   Multiply by 100 (Move the decimal point two places to the right) (e.g. 0.3076*100 = 30.76)
   Round the answer to the desired precision.
   Follow the answer with the % sign (e.g. 31%) After that, our recipe will look like: 31% Shea Butter, 31% Sweet Almond Oil, 31% Beeswax, 7% Flavor Oil.

Converting Percentages to Different Units of Measure

1. Choose a unit of measure to work with. Metric units, such as grams or milliliters work best, as they are easier to do math with. You can always convert them back to English units at the end of the process. Visit our Conversions and Measurements Page for reference. 
2. Decide the desired size of your batch. For this example, let’s choose a ten ounce batch. That is equal to 283 grams. 
3. Determine the percentage of each portion of the recipe. Here is a formula that will help you do that: Multiply the number by the percent (e.g. 283 * 31 = 8773)
   Divide the answer by 100 (Move decimal point two places to the left) (e.g. 8773/100 = 87.73)
   Round to the desired precision (e.g. 87.73 rounded to the nearest whole number = 88)
4. Finalize the recipe. In our example, we’ve determined that 88 grams equals 31%, and 21 grams equals 7% of a ten ounce batch of lip balm. Now our recipe will look like this: 88 grams Shea Butter, 88 grams Sweet Almond Oil, 88 grams Beeswax, 20 grams Flavor Oil.  

Converting Existing Recipes Using This Technique
You can also use these equations to change the quantities of recipes that are already set up for a particular quantity. To do this, you’ll first need to break down the recipe into equal parts, like you would with a recipe listed in parts. For example, we could take the lip balm recipe above, and convert it into grams.  From there, we can break it down into a percentage and calculate a new quantity.

• 88 grams Shea Butter
• 88 grams Sweet Almond Oil
• 88 grams Beeswax
• 20 grams Flavor Oil

1. Convert the recipe into fractions. Just like before, we will add up the parts, and use that number as the denominator of each fraction. The number of parts specific to each ingredient will the the numerator on each fraction. In this recipe, that would be: 88/284 Shea Butter, 88/284 Sweet Almond Oil, 88/284 Beeswax, 20/284 Flavor Oil. 
2. Convert the fractions into percentages. Next, you’ll need to change those fractions into numbers that you can work with more easily. Here is a formula to help you do that. (Divide the numerator of the fraction by the denominator (e.g. 88 ÷ 284=0.3098) Multiply by 100 (Move the decimal point two places to the right) (e.g. 0.3098*100 = 30.98) Round the answer to the desired precision. Follow the answer with the % sign (e.g. 31%) After that, our recipe will look like: 31% Shea Butter, 31% Sweet Almond Oil, 31% Beeswax, 7% Flavor Oil.
3. Decide the desired size of your batch. For this example, let’s choose a 16 ounce batch. That is equal to 454 grams. 
4. Determine the percentage of each portion of the recipe. Here is a formula that will help you do that: Multiply the number by the percent (e.g. 454 * 31 = 14074) Divide the answer by 100 (Move decimal point two places to the left) (e.g. 14074/100 = 140.74) Round to the desired precision (e.g. 140.74 rounded to the nearest whole number = 141)
5. Finalize the recipe. In our example, we’ve determined that 141 grams equals 31%, and 32 grams equals 7% of a sixteen ounce batch of lip balm. Now our recipe will look like this: 141 grams Shea Butter, 141 grams Sweet Almond Oil, 141 grams Beeswax, 32 grams Flavor Oil.  

Keep in mind that when you change the quantity of a recipe by a large proportion that it may not behave exactly the same. Tiny increments can add up, so while a ratio works in a tiny batch, it might fail in a large one. Convert with caution!