Steam Table and Pan Conversion
Pan capacity in qt, count of pans needed, servings per pan, cooling-depth warning.
Example
You enter
- Target servings 120
- Portion (oz) 6
- Pan size full
- Depth (in) 4
You get
- Total volume 22.50 qt
- Pan capacity 13.50 qt
- Pans needed 2
- Servings per pan 72
Checked against published worked examples from: ServSafe / hotel-pan capacity tables (project bundled).
Details, formula, and sources
Formula or tableGN (Gastronorm) and U.S. Steam Table pan capacities by depth: full / 2-3 / half / 1-3 / quarter / sixth / ninth at 2.5 / 4 / 6 in depth. Cooling-depth warning when depth ≥ 4 in (FDA Food Code recommends shallow pans for rapid cooling).
Source and editionNSF/ANSI 2-2022 (Food Equipment) and NSF/ANSI 4-2022 (Commercial Cooking, Rethermalization, and Powered Hot-Food Holding and Transport Equipment) by name; GN (DIN EN 631) Gastronorm pan dimensions by name.
Free accessNSF/ANSI standards licensed; GN dimensions free at most pan-manufacturer (Vollrath, Cambro, Carlisle) technical pages. FDA Food Code free at fda.gov.
What governsThe thermometer on the food is the verdict. Local health department governs.
API field namestarget_servings, portion_oz, pan_size, pan_depth_in, total_qt, capacity_qt, pans_needed, servings_per_pan
- Full-size GN dimensions 530 × 325 mm, 20.87 in × 12.80 in (1/1 GN per DIN EN 631)DIN EN 631