Cooking loss: how many portions will I get?

Use purchase weight, trimming loss and cooking loss to calculate ready-to-serve yield and proportional ingredient cost per portion.

Formula: apply losses sequentially

Yield in kg = purchased weight × (1 − trimming loss ÷ 100) × (1 − cooking loss ÷ 100). Cooking loss applies to the already trimmed weight. Do not simply add the percentages.

Portions = yield × 1000 ÷ ready-to-serve portion size. Whole portions round down. Remainder in g = yield × 1000 − whole portions × portion size. Proportional ingredient cost per portion = batch purchase cost ÷ theoretical portions. If leftovers cannot be used, the full purchase cost is spread across fewer sold portions.

Only the yield calculation is new. Use the existing menu pricing calculator for a full dish, selling price and food-cost percentage. Include every ingredient’s cost per portion, not only the main ingredient. Labour, energy, VAT and profit are outside this calculation.

Two examples

10 kg purchased, 10% trimming loss and then 20% cooking loss: 10 × 0.9 × 0.8 = 7.2 kg. At 200 g, that is 36 portions. Purchasing at EUR 8/kg gives EUR 80 per batch and EUR 2.22 proportionally per portion. Combined loss is 28%, not 30%.

5 kg purchased, 20% trimming loss and then 25% cooking loss: 5 × 0.8 × 0.75 = 3 kg. At 150 g, that is 20 portions; at EUR 6/kg purchased, proportional cost is EUR 1.50 per portion. All loss values are invented worked examples, not reference yields for any food.

Questions and answers

Where do the loss percentages come from?

Weigh the food before and after trimming and cooking. Use your own measurements for each product and method. The examples are not fixed kitchen yields.

Why do 10% and 20% not mean a 30% loss?

The second loss applies to what remains. 0.9 × 0.8 = 0.72 yield, so combined loss is 28%.

What is the portion size?

The ready-to-serve weight of this ingredient or component after the entered losses. Calculate side dishes separately.

How do I work backwards to purchase weight?

Required ready-to-serve weight ÷ combined yield factor. For 36 portions of 200 g at a 0.72 yield: 7.2 ÷ 0.72 = 10 kg.

Is ingredient cost my profit?

No. This calculates proportional purchase cost. Use the existing menu calculator for selling price and food-cost percentage; allow for other components and operating costs separately.

Source and date

2026-10-25 · USDA Food Buying Guide: as-purchased and edible-portion yield. Source for the yield principle; no food-specific reference yields are imported.

Continue to menu pricing

Open the existing food-cost and menu-price calculator

Text created with AI assistance. Calculations use fixed formulas.