Food costs
Unit Conversions for Recipe Costing: Avoid the Common Errors
Many costing errors are unit errors. Standardize units and costs fall into place.
By ChefMind AI Team · · 5 min read
A recipe in grams, a price per case, and an invoice in pounds: conversions are where errors hide. Numbers are illustrative.
Fixed conversions
- 1 kg = 1,000 g
- 1 lb = about 453.6 g
- 1 oz = about 28.35 g
- 1 L = 1,000 mL
Weight vs volume
A cup of different ingredients weighs different amounts. Convert between weight and volume only with a measured weight for that ingredient.
Case to unit
Example: a case of 12 bottles at $48 costs $4.00 per bottle. If each bottle is 750 mL, cost per mL is about $0.0053.
Pick a costing unit per ingredient
Choose one, such as grams or each, and convert every purchase and recipe to it.
Include yield
Cost per usable unit = price per unit / yield. See yield testing.
Double-check
Sanity check results: does a portion cost something plausible?
The short version
- Use weights where possible.
- One costing unit per ingredient.
- Convert case price to unit price, then apply yield.
Frequently asked questions
Why use weights instead of volumes?
Weights are consistent. A cup of flour can vary, a gram does not.
How do I cost an item bought by the case?
Divide the case price by the number of usable units, then cost the recipe amount in that unit.
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