Stock/Broth Recipe Scaler
Scale any stock or broth recipe up or down by batch size.
Calculate exact ingredient amounts for chicken, beef, vegetable, and fish stock in liters or quarts.
Stock and broth are foundational recipes in cooking. Scaling them correctly ensures proper flavor concentration and cooking times regardless of batch size.
Standard stock ratios (per 1 liter / 1 quart of finished stock):
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bones/meat | 500 g, but see below |
| Water | 1.5 L (1.5 qt) — reduces during cooking |
| Onion | 1 medium (~150 g / 5 oz) |
| Carrot | 1 medium (~100 g / 3.5 oz) |
| Celery | 1 stalk (~60 g / 2 oz) |
| Garlic | 2 cloves |
| Bay leaves | 1 |
| Peppercorns | 5–6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (5 g) |
Stock types, bone ratios and cooking times:
| Stock Type | Bones per litre | Cooking Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken stock | 500 g | 2–4 hours | Light, versatile |
| Beef stock | 500 g | 4–8 hours | Rich, deep flavor |
| Vegetable stock | none | 45–60 min | Extra vegetables instead, about 200 g per litre |
| Fish stock | 400 g | 30–45 min | Heads and frames. Less, and cooked briefly, or it turns bitter |
| Bone broth | 700 g | 12–24 hours | Loaded with bones on purpose, for maximum collagen |
Fish and bone broth sit either side of the usual 500 g because they are doing different jobs. Fish stock is a fast, delicate extraction that goes wrong if you push it. Bone broth is the opposite: you want every bit of gelatin out of the bones, so you use more of them and give it a day.
When to use this calculator:
- Scaling a stock recipe for a larger or smaller pot
- Preparing batch stocks for freezing
- Converting restaurant recipes to home quantities
- Planning ingredients for meal prep
Practical example: Ask for 5 litres of chicken stock and you get 2.5 kg of bones, 7.5 litres of water to start with, 750 g of onion, 500 g of carrot, 300 g of celery, 10 cloves of garlic, 5 bay leaves and 25 peppercorns. Everything is derived from the yield you want, so you do not need an existing recipe to scale from: give it the finished volume and it works backwards to the shopping list.
Note the water figure. It is half as much again as the yield, because a stock simmering uncovered for hours loses a good deal to steam. Start with the yield volume and you will finish well short.
Tips:
- Start with cold water for clearer stock.
- Never boil stock vigorously — a gentle simmer produces the best clarity and flavor.
- Skim foam and fat from the surface during the first 30 minutes.
- Cool stock quickly (ice bath) before refrigerating to prevent bacterial growth.
- Stock freezes well for up to 6 months. Use ice cube trays for convenient small portions.
- The ratio of bones to water is the most important factor for flavor concentration.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
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