Yield percentage is the share of an ingredient you actually use compared with what you bought: edible portion weight ÷ as-purchased weight × 100. As purchased (AP) is what the scale says when you buy it; edible portion (EP) is what is left after peeling, seeding, boning, trimming or cooking. To cost a recipe properly, divide the as-purchased price per kilo by that yield. That tells you what each kilo going into your recipe really costs.
As purchased, edible portion and the formula
- As purchased (AP): what you buy. The whole squash, the bone-in chicken, the chillies with stems.
- Edible portion (EP): what you use. The peeled flesh, the boneless meat, the stemmed chillies.
- Yield percentage = EP weight ÷ AP weight × 100.
- Trim loss = 100% − yield.
Yield gives you the two numbers you need:
cost per kg EP = price per kg AP ÷ yield
amount to buy (AP) = EP you need ÷ yield
Write the yield as a decimal: 70% is 0.70.
If an ingredient comes in a pack and you use all of it, like flour or oil, its yield is 100% and you only need the price per gram, as covered in how to cost an ingredient you buy by the package. Yield matters for everything you peel, trim, bone or cook.
Quick example. Butternut squash costs $2.20 a kilo. A 1.5 kg squash gives you 1.05 kg of peeled, seeded flesh: 1.05 ÷ 1.5 = 70%. The edible portion costs 2.20 ÷ 0.70 = $3.14 a kilo. A soup recipe that needs 2 kg of prepped squash means buying 2 ÷ 0.70 = 2.86 kg, which costs 2.86 × 2.20 = $6.29. Costed at the AP price, the same 2 kg would look like $4.40.
How to measure your own yield
- Weigh the ingredient as you bought it.
- Prep it the way you always do for that product.
- Weigh what is left to use. You do not need to weigh the scraps.
- Divide EP by AP.
- Repeat with three different purchases and use the average.
Keep a simple log:
| Date | Ingredient | Supplier | AP | EP | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Oct | Squash | Farmers market | 1.50 kg | 1.05 kg | 70% |
| 10 Oct | Squash | Farmers market | 1.70 kg | 1.22 kg | 72% |
| 17 Oct | Squash | Wholesaler | 1.40 kg | 0.95 kg | 68% |
The average of those three is (70 + 72 + 68) ÷ 3 = 70%. If one supplier always gives you a lower yield, their cheap price per kilo may not be so cheap.
When there is cooking loss too
Many ingredients lose weight twice: when you trim them and when you cook them. Meat releases water and fat; sautéed vegetables shrink. In that case you multiply the two yields:
total yield = trim yield × cooking yield
Or measure it in one go: weigh what you buy, weigh what comes out cooked and ready to portion, and divide. Weigh at the same point you portion: if your portion is served cooked, your yield has to run all the way to cooked weight.
Some ingredients gain weight when cooked, like rice, pasta and dried beans, which absorb water. Their yield goes above 100%, and the cost per cooked kilo is lower than per dry kilo. The formula does not change.
Worked example: chicken thighs for meal prep boxes
You sell meal prep boxes with 150 g of cooked chicken thigh each.
What you buy: bone-in, skin-on thighs at $6.00 a kilo. You test with 2 kg, which costs $12.00.
What you measured:
| Stage | Weight | Yield at this stage |
|---|---|---|
| As purchased | 2.00 kg | |
| Boned and skinned | 1.40 kg | 1.40 ÷ 2.00 = 70% |
| Roasted, ready to portion | 1.00 kg | 1.00 ÷ 1.40 = 71.4% |
| Total | 1.00 ÷ 2.00 = 50% |
Check: 0.70 × 0.714 = 0.50.
Cost per kg of cooked chicken: 6.00 ÷ 0.50 = $12.00. Or the long way: $12.00 paid ÷ 1.00 kg cooked = $12.00.
Chicken cost per box:
- With the purchase price (the common mistake): 0.150 × 6.00 = $0.90
- With the yield: 0.150 × 12.00 = $1.80
The difference: $0.90 per box, on the chicken alone. At 120 boxes a month, that is 120 × 0.90 = $108 a month your costing was not showing.
How much to buy: 120 boxes × 150 g = 18 kg of cooked chicken. 18 ÷ 0.50 = 36 kg of bone-in thighs. If you have been buying 20 kg and wondering why you run short, this is why.
This does not mean bone-in thighs are a bad buy. Boneless thighs cost more per kilo but skip the first loss and the boning time. Compare both on cost per kilo cooked, plus the minutes you spend boning. That comparison is the only fair one.
Common mistakes
- Purchase price on edible weight. The mistake in the example, and the most common one.
- Counting the peel twice. If trim loss is already in the yield, do not add it again as waste. The waste that does go separately is production and sales loss: what spoils, burns or does not sell, measured as explained in how to measure and cost food waste.
- Measuring once. A large ripe squash yields differently from a small one.
- Not measuring again when you change supplier. The price per kilo can go down and the yield with it.
Yield also works the other way, to know how much to buy when you make more: see how to scale a recipe without breaking the cost. And the guide to recipe costing shows how ingredient yield fits with batch yield, portions and waste.
Do it with the calculator
In the food cost calculator, enter each ingredient with its purchase price and, in "You use per batch", the as-purchased amount (edible portion weight ÷ yield percentage); the cost per unit then comes out with trimming and cooking loss already included.
Frequently asked questions
What is the yield percentage formula?
Yield percentage = edible portion weight ÷ as-purchased weight × 100. If you buy 1.5 kg of squash and have 1.05 kg after peeling and seeding, your yield is 1.05 ÷ 1.5 × 100 = 70%.
What do AP and EP mean?
AP is as purchased: the weight you buy and pay for. EP is edible portion: the weight left after trimming, peeling, boning or cooking, which is what goes into the recipe.
How do I get the cost per kilo of edible portion?
Divide the as-purchased price per kilo by the yield as a decimal. At $2.20 a kilo and a 70% yield, the edible portion costs 2.20 ÷ 0.70 = $3.14 a kilo.
Can I use yield percentages from a chart online?
As a starting point, yes. But yield changes with size, season, supplier and how you trim. Measure your own by weighing before and after, at least three times.