Extensions

In this extension, you will begin to  create a recipe conversion cookbook by duplicating your sheet and adding a new recipe.

This cookbook can make it easy for you to prepare your favorite recipes  for different numbers of people.

To begin, open your recipe spreadsheet.

Revise the title of the spreadsheet so that  it’s clear it will contain multiple recipes.

Type the name of your original recipe  in the tab at the bottom of the sheet, so it will be easy to find  when you add more recipes.

Now duplicate the sheet.

This allows you to keep the formatting  from the sheet you already created.

Search the internet for another  recipe you would like to convert.

Copy the website address of the recipe you select.

Update the title of the recipe at the top  of the new sheet and link to the new recipe.

Now update the title of the recipe in  the tab at the bottom of the sheet.

Delete the ingredients, quantities,  and units from the new sheet.

Update the sheet with the servings  the recipe is designed to make and the new number of servings  you would like it to make.

Because a formula is copied from your first sheet, the value in the cell will automatically  update to give you a new conversion factor.

Then update the sheet with the ingredient,  quantity, and unit information from your recipe.

Because the cell references from  your first recipe and the new one are the same, the data in the new  sheet will update automatically.

Delete any unneeded cells in the New Quantity column.

Repeat this process for as many recipes  you would like to add to your spreadsheet.

You’ll then have a cookbook full of recipes  that can be easily converted to be larger or smaller for when you are cooking for a  crowd, your own family, or even just yourself!

In this extension, you will hide columns in your  spreadsheet to make your recipe easier to read.

Hiding columns can help you focus on the  converted quantities of ingredients in your recipe and avoid making mistakes when preparing your recipe by accidentally combining  original and converted quantities.

To begin, open your recipe spreadsheet.

Identify the columns that contain  information related to the original recipe.

First, select the column with  the original number of servings the recipe was designed to make and hide it.

Then select and hide the column with the original  quantities of ingredients needed for the recipe.

And select and hide the column  for your conversion factor.

Update your recipe again by  changing the number of servings.

Even though some of the columns are hidden, the formulas will still automatically  update your ingredient quantities.

You can always unhide columns if you  need to see or change anything in them.

You’ve now made your converted  recipe easier to read by hiding columns with information you don’t need to see.

Hiding columns is helpful when you want to focus  on particular information in a spreadsheet, such as in spreadsheets with many columns of data.

In addition to ingredients, quantities, and  directions, recipes often provide information that can help you decide if you want to make the recipe  and help you to prepare it more successfully.

This can include information such as preparation  tips, difficulty level, and user ratings.

In this extension, you will add helpful  information to your recipe spreadsheet.

To begin, open your recipe conversion spreadsheet.

Insert a column for preparation  tips and add a heading.

Adjust your column width and wrap the  text to provide more room for your tips.

Add any information that would be helpful  to know when you are preparing the recipe, such as how to adjust the ingredients  in the recipe to suit different tastes.

The information you add can  come from the recipe itself or from your own experiences  making it in the past.

Adding this information  helps you avoid mistakes you or others have made when preparing the recipe  or consider improvements to make it better.

Next, insert a column heading for the recipe’s  difficulty level and give it a heading.

Knowing how hard the recipe is to prepare can  help you decide if you have time to make it, or if you want to make it in the first place! Many recipes provide this information.

If your recipe doesn’t, you can estimate the difficulty level  based on the time it takes to prepare...

the number of steps, and  the complexity of each step.

Or, you can choose a level based on  your own experience preparing it.

Then, insert a column for the  recipe’s rating and add a heading.

A rating can tell you how popular a recipe  is or remind you of how much you liked it.

Type in a rating for the recipe.

If you’ve never made the recipe before, your rating can come from reviews  posted on the recipe’s website, how highly people have recommended it to  you, or simply how much you want to make it.

If you have made the recipe before,  you can add your own rating.

You can continue to add columns for as  many categories of helpful information you’d like to add to your spreadsheet.