Enter the price per kilo you paid, what you lose when you trim and what you lose when you cook. The tool shows what each kilo that reaches the plate really costs, and, if you enter the portion weight, what each portion served costs you.
How it works
When you buy a kilo of meat you do not serve a kilo. Fat, sinew, bone or skin go when you trim, and more weight cooks off in the pan or the oven.
- Usable yield = (1 − trim loss) × (1 − cooking loss).
- Real cost per usable kilo = price per kilo ÷ usable yield.
- Cost per portion = real cost per kilo × portion grams ÷ 1000.
- Weight to buy per portion = portion grams ÷ usable yield.
If you do not know your trim loss as a percentage, choose "By weighing before and after" and enter the weight you bought and the weight after trimming. The tool works out the percentage for you.
Worked example: smoked brisket
You buy beef brisket at $14 a kilo. When you trim it, 6 kg comes down to 4.8 kg: you lose 20%. Smoking it for hours takes off another 35% of the trimmed weight. You serve 150 g of cooked brisket on a plate.
| Step | Sum | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Left after trimming | 1 − 0.20 | 80% |
| Left after cooking | 1 − 0.35 | 65% |
| Usable yield | 0.80 × 0.65 | 52% |
| Real cost per kilo | 14 ÷ 0.52 | $26.92 |
| Cost of a 150 g portion | 26.92 × 0.150 | $4.04 |
| Raw brisket to buy per portion | 150 ÷ 0.52 | 288 g |
Costed straight off the invoice, the same portion looks like 14 × 0.150 = $2.10. The gap, $1.94 a plate, is money you lose on every brisket plate without seeing it.
Why the losses multiply
A common mistake is to add the two losses: 20% + 35% = 55%, so 45% is left. But the 35% cooking loss comes off what is left after trimming, not off what you bought. You keep 52%, not 45%. It sounds like a small difference until you add up a month of meat orders.
The percentages have to be yours
There is no trim or cooking loss that fits everyone. It depends on the cut, the supplier, how you trim and how long you cook. Measure your own numbers on your own scale and redo them when you change supplier or cut. The guide to yield and trim loss explains how to measure step by step, and the one on recipe yield shows how to carry it into a whole recipe.
With the real cost per portion you can set a price. Take it to the menu price calculator with the rest of the plate. And if you want to know what the bin costs you each month, the guide to the cost of food waste helps you put a number on it.
For the full cost of a product, with ingredients, packaging, your time and the gas, use the food cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure my trim loss?
Weigh what you bought, trim it the way you always do and weigh what is left. The difference is your trim loss. Do it with two or three deliveries, because it changes with the supplier and the cut.
Is cooking loss worked out on the raw or the trimmed weight?
On the trimmed weight. That is why the two losses multiply rather than add: you lose some when you trim, then lose part of what is left when you cook.
Does it work for fruit and vegetables?
Yes. Peel, seeds, cores and outer leaves are trim loss. If the vegetable is served raw, leave cooking loss at 0.
What about trimmings I use in something else?
If the trimmings go into stock or staff meals you would otherwise buy for, you can take their value off. Only do it if they really replace a purchase; if they go in the bin, they are loss.