Food costs
Yield Testing: How to Find the True Cost of an Ingredient
What you pay per kilo and what you can serve per kilo are different numbers. A yield test closes the gap.
By ChefMind AI Team · · 6 min read
A kilo of whole fish is not a kilo of fillet. If your recipe cost uses the purchase price, you are underestimating cost. A yield test fixes that. Numbers below are illustrative.
The test
- Weigh the item as purchased (AP).
- Trim, peel or butcher it the way your kitchen normally does.
- Weigh the usable product (edible portion, EP).
- Weigh the trim you discard, as a check.
Yield % = usable weight / purchased weight x 100
Worked example
A 5.0 kg case of an item costs $60. After trim you have 4.0 kg usable.
- Yield = 4.0 / 5.0 = 80%
- Cost per AP kg = $12.00
- Cost per usable kg = $60 / 4.0 = $15.00
Costing a 150 g portion at the AP price gives $1.80; at the true price it is $2.25.
Test with the person who does the work
Yield depends on knife skill and standards. Test using your normal prep, not your best day.
Cooking loss is separate
Cooking can reduce weight further. Test trim yield and cook yield separately so you can cost either raw or cooked weights.
Record and reuse
Keep results in one place and attach them to recipes. See as-purchased vs edible portion cost.
Common mistakes
- Testing one unit and treating it as typical.
- Forgetting to re-test after changing supplier.
- Ignoring usable trim such as bones for stock. See sub-recipes.
Where software helps
ChefMind AI is designed for recipe costing from ingredient prices. Enter your tested yields so costs reflect reality.
The short version
- Yield % = usable / purchased.
- Cost per usable unit = price / yield.
- Re-test when anything changes.
Frequently asked questions
What is yield percentage?
Usable weight divided by purchased weight, times 100. It shows how much of what you buy ends up on the plate.
How often should I re-test?
When your supplier, cut, trim standard or cook method changes, and occasionally as a check.
Keep reading
Food costs
As-Purchased vs Edible Portion Cost: Costing With Trim and Yield
The price on the invoice is not the cost of the food on the plate. Trim and cooking loss mean the usable portion costs more per kilo than you paid.
Food costs
How to Cost a Sub-Recipe: Sauces, Stocks and Batch Items
Cost a batch item once, divide by its usable yield, and use that cost per unit in every dish that contains it.
For chefs
Standardized Recipes and Portion Control in a Restaurant
A standardized recipe means the same dish at the same cost whoever is cooking. Recipe cards, portion tools and regular plate checks make it real.
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