KitchenCalc — Tutorials

1 Converting Volumes & Weights

What you'll learn: converting between any two volume units, or between any two weight units, using the Convert tab.

Steps

1. Open the Convert tab. It's the first tab in the segmented control at the top of the window.
2. Enter your amount. Type a whole number in the first field. If your recipe uses a fraction (e.g., 2¼), type "2" in the whole number field and choose "1/4" from the fraction dropdown beside it.
3. Choose your From unit. Click the "From" dropdown. Units are grouped into Volume (tsp, tbsp, cup, fl oz, pint, mL, L) and Weight (g, kg, oz, lb). Select the unit your recipe uses.
4. Choose your To unit. Click the "To" dropdown and select your target unit. The result appears instantly in the large display at the top.
5. Copy the result using the Copy button at the bottom of the result summary line.

Swapping units

Use the ↑↓ Swap button between the From and To pickers to reverse the conversion in one click. Useful when you want to convert in the opposite direction without re-selecting both units.

2 Ingredient Density Conversions

What you'll learn: converting between volume and weight using ingredient-specific density — the key feature that makes KitchenCalc accurate for baking.

One cup of flour weighs very differently from one cup of honey. When you convert between a volume unit and a weight unit, KitchenCalc needs to know which ingredient you're converting, because the density determines the result.

Using the ingredient picker

1. In the Convert tab, the Ingredient row is always visible. When From and To are both volume (or both weight), it shows in grey with a note that it applies to vol ↔ weight conversions. When you cross types, it turns blue to signal it's actively used.
2. Click the ingredient dropdown and choose the ingredient you're converting. The list is grouped into Built-in (95+ common baking and cooking ingredients) and Custom (ingredients you've added yourself).
3. The density appears in g/mL next to the picker — for example, flour is 0.593 g/mL, butter is 0.911 g/mL.
4. Set From to a volume (e.g., cup) and To to a weight (e.g., g). The result reflects the density of the selected ingredient.

Common conversions

3 Custom Ingredients

What you'll learn: adding ingredients to the database that aren't in the built-in list.

KitchenCalc ships with 95+ common cooking and baking ingredients. If you regularly work with something not in the list — a specialty flour, a particular nut butter, or an ingredient specific to your cuisine — you can add it with a density value.

Finding the density

Density is measured in grams per millilitre (g/mL). To find it:

• Measure it yourself: fill a 1-cup measure with your ingredient and weigh it in grams. Divide by 236.6 to get g/mL.
• Look it up: search "[ingredient name] density g/mL" — many culinary references publish these values.
• Use a close substitute: if you can't find the exact value, a similar ingredient from the built-in list will give a reasonable approximation.

Adding a custom ingredient

1. In the Convert tab, click Manage… next to the ingredient picker. The Custom Ingredients sheet opens.
2. Type the ingredient name in the Name field.
3. Enter the density in g/mL in the Density field.
4. Click Add. The ingredient appears immediately in the list and in the ingredient picker.

Deleting a custom ingredient

1. Open the Manage sheet from the Convert tab.
2. Hover over the ingredient and click the delete (–) button, or swipe left on the row.

4 Temperature & Fan Ovens

What you'll learn: converting oven temperatures between all common units, including fan (convection) and Gas Mark.

1. Open the Temperature tab. Click "Temperature" in the segmented control at the top.
2. Enter the temperature from your recipe in the input field.
3. Choose the From unit — the unit your recipe uses.
4. Choose the To unit — your oven's unit.
5. The converted temperature appears immediately.

Available temperature units

Fan vs conventional ovens

A fan oven (also called a convection oven) circulates hot air and cooks food approximately 20°C (36°F) hotter than the same setting on a conventional oven. If your recipe specifies a conventional temperature but you have a fan oven, select °C → Fan °C (or °F → Fan °F) to get the correct setting for your oven.

Gas Mark reference

The formula KitchenCalc uses: Gas Mark × 14 + 121 = °C. So Gas Mark 6 = 204°C = 400°F.

5 Pan Substitution

What you'll learn: finding the right adjustment when you don't own the pan a recipe calls for.

Pan substitution is based on baking area. A deeper batter cooks slower; a shallower batter cooks faster. KitchenCalc compares areas and tells you how to adjust time, quantity, and temperature.

Steps

1. Open the Pan tab. Click "Pan" in the segmented control.
2. Choose inches or centimetres using the toggle at the top.
3. Set up "Recipe calls for." Choose the pan shape from the Shape dropdown. Choose the standard size if it appears in the list, or choose Custom and enter the dimensions manually. Choose the Material (Metal, Dark/Non-stick, or Glass/Ceramic) to match the recipe's intended pan.
4. Set up "Pan I have." Repeat for your actual pan.
5. Read the Substitution Guide that appears below. It shows: the relative size of your pan as a percentage, the scale factor for recipe quantities, batter depth advice, baking time advice, and — if the materials differ — a temperature adjustment note.

Understanding the results

Material temperature adjustments

When recipe and pan materials differ, KitchenCalc recommends:

• Metal → Glass: reduce temperature 25°F (15°C). Glass heats slowly but retains heat.
• Glass → Metal: increase temperature 25°F (15°C). Metal heats faster.
• Metal → Dark/Non-stick: reduce temperature 25°F (15°C) or check 10 min early. Dark pans absorb more heat.
• Dark → Metal: increase temperature 25°F (15°C) to compensate.

6 Scaling a Recipe

What you'll learn: multiplying a recipe to serve more (or fewer) people, with results shown as proper cooking fractions.

1. Open the Recipe tab. Click "Recipe" in the segmented control.
2. Set Original servings — how many people the recipe is written for. Type the number in the Original field.
3. Set Target servings — how many you actually want to serve. The Scale Factor updates immediately (e.g., 4 → 6 gives 1.5×).
4. Add ingredients. Each ingredient gets its own card. For each one:
   • Type the ingredient name in the name field at the top of the card.
   • Enter the whole number in the left field (e.g., "2" for 2½ cups).
   • Choose the fraction from the dropdown (e.g., "1/2").
   • Choose the unit from the unit dropdown (tsp, tbsp, cup, fl oz, pint, mL, L, g, kg, oz, lb, count).
5. Read the scaled result on the right side of each ingredient card. It appears as a proper fraction: "3 cups", "1 1/2 tbsp", "2 1/4 cups".
6. Add more ingredients using the + Add Ingredient button at the bottom left.
7. Copy the full scaled recipe using Copy Scaled. The clipboard receives the recipe name (if saved), the serving count, and every ingredient line — ready to paste into FusionMD or any other app.

Removing ingredients

Click the − button (circle with minus) at the right of the ingredient name field to remove that row from the list.

Starting fresh — Clear All

Click Clear All (bottom left, next to Add Ingredient) to reset the Recipe tab to a blank slate. A confirmation dialog appears before anything is erased. Clearing also resets the servings to 4 → 6 and removes the recipe name from the header.

6b Saving & Recalling Recipes

What you'll learn: saving a scaled recipe by name so you can reload it in one tap without re-entering every ingredient.

KitchenCalc stores up to 20 named recipes. Once saved, a recipe can be loaded instantly at any time. The Ingredients heading updates to show the recipe name so you always know which recipe is active.

Saving a recipe

1. Enter your ingredients and servings in the Recipe tab.
2. Click Save… in the action bar at the bottom of the tab.
3. Type a name for the recipe — for example, "Yorkshire Pudding" — in the prompt that appears.
4. Click Save. The Ingredients heading immediately updates to Ingredients — Yorkshire Pudding.

Recalling a saved recipe

1. Click the Saved button (or the N of 20 count button) in the action bar. A popover opens listing all saved recipes, newest first.
2. The header shows how many recipes are stored out of the 20-recipe maximum — for example, 14 of 20.
3. Click Load next to any recipe. The ingredient list, servings, and recipe name all update immediately. The popover closes automatically.

Deleting a saved recipe

1. Click the Saved / N of 20 button to open the list.
2. Click the trash icon on the right of the recipe you want to remove. The recipe is deleted immediately — no confirmation required.

Copying a saved recipe

After loading or saving a recipe, click Copy Scaled. The clipboard contains the recipe name on the first line, the serving count on the second, then every scaled ingredient — formatted for direct pasting into FusionMD or any writing app.

Example output:

Yorkshire Pudding
Serves 12:
2 Cup (US) plain flour
4 count eggs
300 mL whole milk
2 tbsp sunflower oil

7 AI Recipe Import

What you'll learn: pasting a recipe in plain text and letting AI extract every ingredient and amount automatically.

Instead of typing each ingredient manually, you can paste the full text of a recipe and KitchenCalc will extract every ingredient line into the scaler. This works with recipes copied from websites, PDFs, or any text source.

Option A — Apple Intelligence (macOS 26, Apple Silicon)

1. Go to Settings → AI. Select Apple Intelligence. No key required.
2. In the Recipe tab, click Import Recipe.
3. Paste the recipe text into the sheet. Click Extract Ingredients.
4. KitchenCalc fills the ingredient list automatically. Review the results — AI extraction is very accurate but may occasionally misread unusual formatting.

Option B — OpenRouter (any Mac)

1. Create a free account at openrouter.ai and generate an API key.
2. Open KitchenCalc. Go to Settings (⌘,) → AI.
3. Paste your API key into the OpenRouter Key field and click Save Key.
4. In the Recipe tab, click Import Recipe.
5. Paste the recipe text and click Extract Ingredients. The recipe text is sent to OpenRouter for processing. Extraction usually completes in 2–5 seconds.

What to paste

Paste just the ingredients section of the recipe — or the whole recipe text. KitchenCalc ignores instructions and extracts only ingredient lines. The AI works best when amounts are written out clearly (e.g., "2 cups all-purpose flour" rather than "flour (as needed)").

8 Appearance & Settings

What you'll learn: personalising KitchenCalc's appearance and reviewing all settings.

Opening Settings

Press ⌘, or go to KitchenCalc → Settings in the menu bar.

Appearance tab

KitchenCalc ships with 19 built-in themes — a System theme that follows your macOS accent colour, nine dark themes, and nine light themes. Click any swatch to apply it instantly. Themes are remembered between launches.

• System — follows macOS appearance and accent colour automatically
• Dark themes — Slate, Forest, Graphite, Rosewood, Indigo, Midnight, Ember, Obsidian, Mocha
• Light themes — Sandstone, Minimalist, Blossom, Sky, Sage, Lavender, Arctic, Parchment, Peach

AI tab

Configure the AI recipe import feature:

• OpenRouter API Key — paste your key and click Save Key. Click Show/Hide to reveal or mask the key.
• Use the Appearance tab's theme selector if you prefer a lighter or darker interface for kitchen use — high-contrast themes like Minimalist or Slate can be easier to read at a glance while cooking.