Portionaro
Beyond the calculators, Portionaro offers a growing library of practical guides written specifically for home cooks who want to deepen their understanding of cooking measurements and portion planning. Each guide is concise, actionable, and grounded in real kitchen experience rather than culinary theory. You will find topics ranging from understanding gram-to-cup conversions for common pantry staples to planning portion sizes for dinner parties without over-catering. The guides are written with the Swiss home cook in mind but are equally relevant for anyone cooking from English or international recipe books. We add new guides regularly based on the questions and feedback we receive from our users. Browse by topic below to find the guidance most relevant to your current cooking challenge.
Many home cooks underestimate how much ingredient density affects volume measurements, leading to inconsistent results when following recipes. A cup of all-purpose flour can weigh anywhere from 120 to 160 grams depending on how it is scooped, while a cup of rolled oats weighs around 90 grams. This guide explains how to use weight measurements confidently and when volume is a reasonable shortcut.
Small unit measurements like tablespoons and teaspoons seem simple but can cause real errors when scaling recipes, because multiplying five tablespoons of baking powder by three gives a quantity most kitchens cannot measure easily. This guide covers how to convert small units into larger ones and when to round without affecting your recipe outcome. Practical examples cover spices, leavening agents, and liquid flavourings.
Switzerland uses the metric system exclusively, but many popular recipe sources from the UK and USA use imperial or volume-based measurements that require conversion. This guide provides a reliable reference for the most common conversions encountered in everyday cooking, including butter measurements, flour weights, and liquid volumes. Bookmark it for use whenever you cook from an English-language cookbook.
One of the most common questions in meal preparation is how much raw ingredient translates into a satisfying serving for one adult. This guide provides reliable per-person quantities for the most common protein, starch, and vegetable categories based on standard nutritional serving guidelines. Use it as a starting point and adjust based on the appetite and preferences of your specific guests.
Cooking for eight or more guests from a recipe designed for four introduces challenges beyond simple multiplication, particularly for baked goods and dishes with long cooking times. This guide explains which ingredients scale linearly and which require adjustment, such as salt, leavening agents, and cooking liquids. It also covers practical tips for managing multiple scaled recipes simultaneously.
Effective weekly meal prep depends on calculating total quantities across multiple meals and portions before you shop, rather than scaling each recipe individually on cooking day. This guide walks through a simple method for planning five days of lunches or dinners, calculating aggregate ingredient quantities, and organising your shopping list by category. The approach works with any set of recipes, not just those in the Portionaro library.
Over-catering is one of the leading causes of household food waste, and it usually starts with imprecise ingredient calculations at the planning stage. This guide explains how to use portioning tools proactively to buy only what you need and store leftovers effectively. Small adjustments in how you scale recipes can meaningfully reduce both your weekly food bill and the amount that ends up in the bin.
A reliable kitchen scale is the single most impactful tool a home cook can own for accurate portioning, and this guide helps you choose one suited to your cooking style and budget. We cover the differences between precision scales for baking and general-purpose scales for everyday cooking, with notes on what to look for in Swiss retail. Accuracy, readability, and tare function are the three factors that matter most.
There are situations where a scale is not available or practical, and this guide provides reliable volume-based alternatives for the most common ingredients. It includes a reference table of gram equivalents for standard cup and spoon measurements across flours, sugars, fats, and liquids. While weight is always more accurate, these alternatives will get you close enough for most everyday cooking.
Portionaro is part of a broader set of digital tools that can help home cooks plan, measure, and shop more effectively. This guide introduces complementary apps and techniques that work well alongside Portionaro, including digital timers, shopping list apps, and nutrition trackers. Using a small set of well-chosen tools together makes meal preparation noticeably more efficient.
Portionaro helps home cooks in Switzerland calculate recipe portions, adjust ingredient quantities, and convert serving sizes with ease.