Ingredients

Manage your ingredient library for better allergen detection and menu organization.

Why Track Ingredients?

Adding ingredients to items enables:

• Automatic allergen suggestions - System recognizes common allergens
• Derived allergens - Combo allergens auto-calculate
• Transparency - Diners see what’s in their food
• Consistency - Same ingredient, same allergens

Accessing Ingredients

Navigate to Menus > Ingredients to manage your ingredient library.

Adding Ingredients to Items

On Individual Items

1. Open an item (click its row)
2. Find the Ingredients field
3. Enter ingredients, comma-separated
4. Save the item

Example:

beef patty, brioche bun, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, secret sauce

During Import

Include ingredients in your CSV:

Ingredients are parsed and allergens suggested.

Ingredient Library

Building Your Library

As you add ingredients to items, they’re saved to your library:

• Recognized ingredients with known allergens
• Custom ingredients you define
• Ingredient-allergen mappings

Managing the Library

Navigate to Menus > Ingredients to:

• View all ingredients
• Set allergens for each
• Merge duplicates
• Delete unused

Setting Ingredient Allergens

1. Click an ingredient
2. Mark which allergens it contains
3. Save

This affects all items using that ingredient.

Allergen Recognition

Automatic Detection

Common ingredients are recognized:

Custom Ingredients

For ingredients not recognized:

1. Add to an item
2. System marks allergens as “Unconfirmed”
3. Edit the ingredient to set allergens
4. Or verify on the item directly

Ingredient Format

Best Practices

Good:

chicken breast, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper

Avoid:

chicken breast with olive oil and garlic, herbs and spices, seasoning

Tips:

• Separate with commas
• Be specific (cheddar cheese, not just cheese)
• Include sub-ingredients for prepared items
• List sauces and dressings

Handling Compound Ingredients

For items that contain other prepared items:

Option 1: List all base ingredients

pasta, marinara (tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil), parmesan

Option 2: Use item references

pasta, house marinara, parmesan

Derived Allergens from Ingredients

How It Works

1. Item has ingredients: “bun, cheese, beef”
2. “bun” contains Wheat
3. “cheese” contains Milk
4. Item shows: Contains Wheat, Milk

Updating Ingredient Allergens

When you change an ingredient’s allergens:

1. Change is saved
2. All items using that ingredient update
3. Combos using those items update

Managing Duplicates

Finding Duplicates

Common duplicate patterns:

• “cheese” vs “Cheese”
• “cheddar” vs “cheddar cheese”
• “tomato” vs “tomatoes”

Merging Duplicates

1. Go to Menus > Ingredients
2. Select duplicate ingredients
3. Click Merge
4. Choose the primary name
5. All items update to use primary

Ingredient Search

Search for ingredients:

• By name
• By allergen (“show all with milk”)
• By usage (“show all in burgers”)

Ingredient Analytics

See ingredient usage:

• How many items use each ingredient
• Most common ingredients
• Ingredients with unconfirmed allergens

Best Practices

Completeness

• List ALL ingredients, including garnishes
• Include sauces and dressings
• Don’t forget cooking oils
• Note marinades and seasonings

Consistency

• Use the same name for same ingredient
• Standardize capitalization
• Use singular or plural consistently
• Match your kitchen terminology

Accuracy

• Update when recipes change
• Verify supplier ingredients
• Note when ingredients are seasonal

Common Issues

”Ingredient not recognized”

If an ingredient doesn’t get allergen suggestions:

1. Go to Ingredients library
2. Find the ingredient
3. Manually set its allergens

”Wrong allergen suggested”

If suggestion is incorrect:

1. Dismiss the suggestion
2. Set correct allergen on item
3. Edit ingredient in library if broadly wrong

”Too many ingredients listed”

If ingredient list is cluttered:

• Focus on allergen-relevant ingredients
• Group minor seasonings as “spices”
• But don’t hide allergen-containing items