Smallwares · Tool
The scoop number is the portion.
Pick a target portion and get the standard disher that throws it, plus the quarts of product a service run needs. The full #4–#100 chart, from the USDA Food Buying Guide.
Your disher
Handle colors code the sizes in most lines, so a spec survives a busy prep shift. Handle a full set at any Zink showroom.
The full chart · per USDA Food Buying Guide, Table 13
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Asked every week.
What do scoop and disher numbers mean?
The number is how many level scoops empty one quart. A #8 disher holds 4 fluid ounces because eight scoops make 32 ounces — one quart. Higher number, smaller portion. The system is published in the USDA Food Buying Guide, Table 13.
What size scoop for ice cream, cookies, or muffins?
A #10 (3.2 oz) is the common single ice cream serving, a #16 (2 oz) is the standard for meatballs and large cookies, a #20 (1.6 oz) portions muffin batter, and #40 through #60 cover drop cookies and garnish portions.
Why does the scoop size matter to food cost?
Because the scoop is the portion control. If a recipe was costed at a #10 and the line uses a #8, every serving is 25% over — silently, hundreds of times a day. Matching the disher to the costed portion is the cheapest food-cost fix in the building.
A tool gets you close. A person gets it right.
Every number here is a starting point, not a quote. Your Zink specialist runs these questions for a living — and checking your math costs you nothing.