The Baked Potato Bar Calculator approximates the amount of ingredients you need to serve a given number of guests. It includes baking potatoes and a variety of toppings.
INSTRUCTIONS: Enter the following:
Ingredient Amount: The calculator returns the amount of ingredients needed to serve the given number of guests.
General Information
Baked potatoes are great for feeding a large number of guests. They are easy to prepare, and there are endless flavor combinations that your guests can try out. Essentially you set up the ingredients and your guests finish making them themselves so you don't have to!
The average size of a large baking potato is about 8 to 12 ounces. For our calculations we are assuming an average of 10 ounces per potato and one potato per person for calculating the weight of potatoes you need to but. All the estimates are increased by five to ten percent to give a little margin for error. It is better to have left overs than to run out so if you prefer you can increase the amounts more to give yourself more margin.
In addition to the potatoes the calculator has options for butter, cheese, chopped onions, crumbled bacon, , salsa, tomatoes, chili, and sour cream.
I think it is safe to assume that a typical person is not going to use more than a tablespoon or two of each ingredient and every person will probably not use every ingredient. Therefore depending on the ingredient we will assume 1-2 tablespoons per person in order to calculate total amounts to serve your group. Chili is an exception, we are assuming 4 tablespoons per person. If you want to estimate an ingredient that is not included you can assume similar amounts to the other toppings.
The Math / Science
- Salsa: according the USDA, 2 tablespoons of salsa weighs approximately 35.7 grams. Therefore, the mean density of salsa is 1.207 g/cm3.
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