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Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to top

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stevemillarband

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How can you be sure that you are getting the right amount of topping on a pizza to have even amounts to control your food costs.

Should I weigh or should I cup.

I notice that the big franchises and chains to make their product consistent they use both.

Big Dave was one that taught me that he would have his cheese in a big tub in cups so EVERYONE got the same amount of gold (Cheese) on their pizza no matter who made it in his Pizzeria. Food Costs controlled.

Is there a place where I can get the same measuring cups that Poppa Johns use?

Lets here your stories on controlling the food COST monster.
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

I cup my cheese, dice whole milk mozzarella
1 cup = about 4 oz., I put 2 on my 14" and 4 on 20"
8" gets 1/3 cup, same per square inch as the other 2,
I use Volrath stainless cups with handles
other topping I free hand…cups do make it consistent on cheese
I want to get a 2 cup measure so it will be less dips,
Otis

PS main advantage to me is consistency to the customer,
saving money is good too
 
Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

ditto here…I used 2 free-throw shred yrs ago, but became a dice/cup fan in '04…faster than anything else I’ve tried and cost/time effeciant
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

The cup idea is fantastic if you have diced cheese.

We have shredded cheese so it doesn’t work so well. We use a scale. We count our flat meats and weigh all our other cheeses. If we are really busy they don’t weigh except for the cheese (They still count flat meats)
Kris
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

You asked what the best way to portion is and it is by weight. That is the only way you can make it the same every time. For the cheese it is fine to weigh it and put into containers but you can save a step if you weigh it as you put it on the pizza. Scales will save you the most amount of money the next best way is to measure with cups but I found that you need to many cups and it was confusing for the staff so we go by weight.
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

The best way to go is to use a scale and weigh your cheese and toppings for each pizza you make, PERIOD.
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

(as I stir the pot…)

weighing cheese is great…

making cups ahead of time is great…

done both…

but for volume operations, using diced cheese & a portioning on-the-fly gives you the cost control needed and the speed to crank…at times, we do 100+ pies an hour…no way you can scale for that volume…if you pc the cheese ahead of time, you need 400-500+ cups & a method to keep them, plus the time it takes to scale & pc…

for smaller ops, scales can be the answer, but untill you’ve tried the dice/cup method…
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

It does not matter now folks are in line at my bank, they always take time to count the money using the most efficient way…Hand counting it and then insisting the client counts it back…I can not imagine “winging it” when are busy costing you less than scaling and a little extra labour…Cheese is just too expensive…

I guess your method is the reason that many high volume outlets do not make as much money as they should…If you sacrifice a little efficiency you may actually end up taking more money home…Even if you lose some those impatient clients that will not wait an extra 15 or 20 seconds per pizza…
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

a cup of diced cheese weighs basically the same each time you dip (+/- .01 oz.)…there is NO guarantee that when you put your cheese on a scale and put TOO MUCH on, that the pizza maker will take the additional off…yes, fractions matter

Cici’s is supposed to weigh all the cheese on the make-line…making 1,000 pies w/just two pizza makers, it is impossible to weigh each pie & still be able to keep up w/demand…

you’ll need additional labor to weigh & that will off-set the savings…

we run 2 on the make line & one @ the cut-table & do a decent volume (yes, we hit 100 pie hrs)…our cheese cost runs approx. 13.5% - on target w/specs…my labor is in the teens…

if your costs are in line, then you are doing the “right” method…for me, diced/cup is the answer…
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

If it really is .01 +/- then my argument is all wrong…But in my tests many years back I recall seeing variences of up to 1 oz. per scoop…As far as over portioning toppings I suppose there will be incompetent staff no matter how you do things…
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

Ah yes the old “it takes to much time” I knew it would come up and it is still the worst excuse ever. You can still scoop onto your pizza and then take off whatever extra you have. Lets say it takes an extra 5 seconds to adjust your cheese in the end if you do 100 pies an hour that is only 500 seconds which will only make a difference of 8 minutes. Lets say you could save .10 per pie for only 1 hour that would be 10.00 and if you only did that once a day that would be 70.00 a week times 52 weeks = 3640.00 Hey thats a holiday to Mexico or even better to Alberta 3 times. Now what if you could save 30.00 a day? all of a sudden you have over 10 grand! Thats what I saved when I changed my portioning method. I just dont get why people will make up excuses not to weigh when it saves money so what if it takes a little bit longer do you not like more money in your pocket? would you care if someone took 10.00 from you every day? wht wouldnt you care if you could save 10.00 every day? it doesnt make any sense not to weigh.
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

if your cheese cost is in line w/projected cost, then accurate pies are being made…

ever wonder why PJ’s & Dom’s don’t weigh?

good training, daily inspections & daily inventories are my solution for speed & efficiency…

we’re on track to exceed 750K - I’ll think 'bout that vacation…
 
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Re: Weighing, cupping or is there - What is the best way to

Hello Steve,All I can say her weather diced or shredded is Scale,Scale,Scale!!Weigh every topping and you WILL save a LOT of $$
Niccademo
 
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