A "conversion" just means that the we need your help translating how you order this item (perhaps it comes in by the pound or case) into how you use it in your recipe (and now you may want to measure it by the cup). We can't calculate an accurate cost without an accurate conversion. To make your life a little easier, [me] has, by default, weight-to-volume and each-to-weight conversions on 2,500 common products used in MarginEdge.
Keep reading to learn more about how to spot a default conversion and how to add your own! This article covers:
- Weight to Volume Conversions
- Packaging Conversions
- How the [me] default Units of Measure conversions are calculated
Weight to Volume Conversions
If, for example, you order a product by the pound but want to measure it by the cup in a recipe, it's not always implicitly known how many cups are in that pound.
However, [me] has, by default, weight-to-volume and each-to-weight conversions on 2,500 common products used in MarginEdge. (See below for how we calculated these!) When your ingredient makes use of one of these default conversion numbers, you will see an icon pop up to let you know. You can utilize this data or you can enter your own.
Just one weight-to-volume conversion will unlock the ability for all future weight-to-volume conversions required for that product. So if you tell us there's 4 cups in a pound, we will also then know how many tablespoons are in an ounce when it shows up in another recipe!
For example, this Brownie mix is ordered by the pound, so you can select any weight without requiring a conversion. To measure by the cup, however, a conversion would be required. In this example, there's 4 ounces in 1 cup of brownie mix.
PROTIP: Use the arrows on the far right side to swap your measurements around to get the conversion equation that makes the most sense for you!
Where to find weight to volume conversions? This information is available in a variety of places free. We recommend Aqua-Calc.com as a good place to start.
Packaging Conversions
Items ordered by sizes like "cases", "bottles" or "packs" may require a conversion. Unlike a tablespoon or a pound which are specific measurements, some packaging sizes are more generic terms like "case" or "bottle" and we can't know exact weights.
You can add this conversion from the recipe page if you know the details. Here I want to add 6 cups of carrots to a recipe, but I order it by the case and [me] doesn't know how many cups are in a case.
If you don't know the answer and want to see if the vendor item description offers any clues, you can go to the product itself. From Products > View all Products, find the items that needs a conversion and click to edit it. At the bottom of this screen, you will see a list of the Vendor Items associated with this product.
In this example, apples are counted by the case but the Vendor Item packaging size indicates that there are 40 apples in each case.
You can enter this conversion on the recipes screen, or do it directly from the edit product screen by scrolling down and adding "Each" as a unit of measure for this product
How are the default [me] Units of Measure conversions calculated?
In an effort to simplify your tasklist and bring more accuracy to your numbers, MarginEdge’s team of Chefs and Culinary Professionals have added weight-to-volume and each-to-weight conversions on 2,500 common products used in MarginEdge. For example, our system knows that on average 1 cup of "Flour, All Purpose" is 4.23 ounces and an average "Cucumber, Fresh" is 10 ounces.
These default units of measure speed up recipe building with industry-standard averages. The data comes from industry-standard publications like USDA’s FoodData Central, rigorous testing, and years of experience to define standard product defaults.
While we think you'll find these helpful, you can always choose to override MarginEdge’s default units of measure or choose to not use them entirely. Reach out to help@marginedge.com for assistance.