Calculators: food, a turkey, drinks and ice

Three calculators: food for a group by the meal you are serving; a turkey's size, thawing days and start date; and drinks and ice for your hours. Planning figures, labelled with whose they are.

1. Food for a group

Answers: how much protein, sides, appetizers and dessert to plan for your guests, with a total-weight check. Used in A dinner party and Feeding a crowd.

Assumptions behind the numbers

• The per-guest figures are one Iowa State University Extension writer's planning conventions for a graduation open house: 1 to 1.5 pounds of food per guest in all, protein 6 to 8 ounces, sides 4 to 6 ounces, appetizers 4 to 7 bite-sized pieces, one dessert serving, and sheet cakes by size (Iowa State's AnswerLine on graduation parties). Convention
• The University of Minnesota Extension advises quantity recipes for 25 or more people, because family recipes do not scale cleanly (UMN's Planning the quantity food occasion). The calculator sizes the shopping; it does not scale a recipe.
• For a smaller table, Learn Meal Planning's How much to buy works from yields and recipes.

2. A turkey

Answers: the bird's weight for your guests, how long it takes to thaw and the day to start, the roasting time, and when it goes into the oven for your serving time. Used in A dinner party.

Assumptions behind the numbers

• Weight: 1 pound of turkey per person, or 1¼ pounds for a frozen pre-stuffed bird, which is cooked from frozen (USDA FSIS's Let's Talk Turkey). Hosts who want leftovers buy more; that is a preference, not a safety figure.
• Thawing: about 24 hours in the refrigerator for every 4 to 5 pounds, or about 30 minutes per pound in cold water changed every 30 minutes and cooked right away (FSIS's Safe Thawing page). The start date uses the longer figure; a thawed bird keeps 1 to 2 more days in the refrigerator.
• Roasting: FSIS's times for an unstuffed bird at 325°F, from 2¾ to 3 hours for 8 to 12 pounds up to 4½ to 5 hours for 20 to 24 pounds, plus 20 minutes standing before carving. "Into the oven by" uses the longer time. The bird is done at 165°F in the thickest part of the breast, the innermost thigh and the wing, whatever the clock says.

3. Drinks and ice

Answers: how much water, soft drinks, alcohol (if any) and ice to buy for your guests and hours. Used in Feeding a crowd and A dinner party.

Assumptions behind the numbers

• Water and soft drinks: 2 bottles of water and 2 cans of soda per guest per hour, Iowa State's writer's figures, which most hosts will find generous (Iowa State's AnswerLine). Convention
• Alcohol: 2 drinks per drinking guest in the first hour and 1 an hour after that, one food publisher's rule of thumb (Tasting Table's ice and drinks guide). Convention The share of guests drinking is yours; it is a supply estimate, not advice on how much anyone should drink.
• Bottles: a 750 ml bottle of wine holds about five US standard drinks (NIAAA's drinks in common containers), and a standard drink is a 12-ounce beer at 5 percent, 5 ounces of wine at 12 percent or 1.5 ounces of spirits at 40 percent (NIAAA's What Is A Standard Drink?). A stronger beer or a generous pour is more than one.
• Ice: 1 to 2 pounds per guest, doubled outdoors in summer heat (Tasting Table; Reddy Ice gives the same 1 to 2 pounds). Ice that also chills food needs about a pound more per guest. Bags of 7 pounds are the size Reddy Ice's own calculator counts in.