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Presets are editable planning examples, not food-category standards.
Changing the unit converts the displayed quantity and per-unit cost without changing the batch.
Use zero when the product goes directly from purchase weight to cooking.
Include retained liquid only when it is sold or portioned with the food.
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Portion count and portion cost use finished cooked mass.

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Leave blank for an unlabeled ledger.
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Zero keeps the exact back-solved AP need.
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Zero leaves the purchase recommendation unrounded.
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Zero omits menu-price screening from the ledger.
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Next production check

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Purchase plan

Buy {{ mass(values.recommended_ap_kg, params.ap_unit) }} to cover {{ integer(values.target_portions) }} portions at this measured yield with {{ percent(values.reserve_percent) }} reserve and supplier-increment round-up.

Interpretation limit

Yield arithmetic does not grade food quality or safety. Compare batches only when tare, trim definition, drain/rest point, and finished edible-product definition are consistent.

Correct the batch inputs to restore the production guide.

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A supplier charges for the food that enters the kitchen, while guests pay for the food that reaches the plate. Bone, peel, fat, stems, damaged pieces, drained liquid, and moisture lost during cooking create a gap between those two weights. Cooked yield measures the finished edible weight as a share of the as-purchased weight so that this gap can be priced and planned.

The weighing points must describe the same production process every time. As-purchased weight is recorded before trim or cooking. Ready-to-cook weight is what remains after trim. Cooked edible weight is taken at the finish used for portioning, such as after draining, resting, chilling, slicing, or holding. Moving any of those points can change the yield even when the recipe has not changed.

Cooked yield
Cooked edible weight divided by as-purchased weight.
Total shrink
The share of as-purchased weight that is not present in the cooked edible output.
Cooking change
The gain or loss between ready-to-cook weight and cooked edible weight, after trim is separated.

Yield can rise above 100% when the finished food retains added water, brine, sauce, or another ingredient. That is not automatically an error, but the added mass should count only when it is genuinely sold or portioned with the food. A negative cooking change means weight was lost after trim; a positive value means the process added net mass.

Measured yield supports portion costing, menu-price screening, purchasing, and batch comparison. It does not replace food-safety controls, sensory standards, recipe specifications, or judgment about acceptable trim. Supplier quality, storage, equipment, cooking time, holding, and serving method can all move the result.

How to Use This Tool:

Use a measured batch, not an assumed recipe yield, and keep every tare and finishing point consistent.

  1. Choose a Yield test preset for a useful comparison band, or select Custom yield test when no preset fits. Preset values are editable planning examples.
  2. Enter As-purchased weight, Trim waste, and Cooked edible weight. Each field can use kg, g, lb, or oz without changing the physical batch.
  3. Select the Purchase cost basis. Enter either cost per as-purchased unit or the total raw batch cost.
  4. Enter Cooked portion size and Target portions. Portion count and portion cost are based on cooked edible mass.
  5. Open Advanced only when the next purchase needs a reserve, pack-size round-up, or target food-cost check. A zero value disables each optional adjustment.
  6. Read the Yield ledger before the production guide. If trim equals or exceeds as-purchased weight, correct the weighing record; no yield result is produced.

Interpreting Results:

Cooked yield and Total shrink describe the same AP-to-finished mass balance from opposite directions. Read Trim loss and Cooking change to locate where the difference occurred. A surprisingly high yield should prompt a tare, retained-liquid, and finishing-point check; a low result should prompt a review of trim, pan loss, resting, holding, and unweighed edible product.

True cooked cost carries the full raw batch cost into the smaller or larger finished mass. Cost per portion uses the exact number of cooked portions, not a rounded-down service count. The purchase recommendation back-solves from the measured yield, adds any reserve, and then rounds upward only when a purchase increment is entered.

Preset bands are review cues, not food-category standards. A result at either endpoint is treated as within the band. Compare batches only when product specification, supplier lot, trim policy, cooking method, holding time, tare, and finished weighing point are comparable.

Technical Details:

All masses are converted to kilograms before calculation, so mixed input units describe one physical batch. Cost per as-purchased unit is converted to cost per kilogram before the raw batch cost and finished costs are derived.

Formula Core:

Let A be as-purchased mass, T trim mass, F cooked edible mass, C total raw batch cost, p cooked portion mass, and y cooked yield as a decimal ratio.

y=FAandcooked yield %=y×100 total shrink %=A-FA×100 cooking change %=F-(A-T)A-T×100 cooked cost per kg=CF cost per portion=CF÷p AP before reserve=target portions×py

A reserve multiplies the exact AP requirement by one plus the reserve rate. When a round-up increment is greater than zero, the reserved amount is rounded upward to the next whole increment. The optional menu-price screen divides cost per portion by the target food-cost ratio; zero disables the screen, and enabled targets must be 1% through 95%.

Rule Core:

The named profiles compare measured cooked yield with fixed planning bands. The lower and upper limits are inclusive.

PresetBelowWithinAbove
Roast beef< 55%55% to 72%> 72%
Smoked brisket< 42%42% to 60%> 60%
Roasted poultry< 55%55% to 72%> 72%
Cooked vegetable side< 75%75% to 95%> 95%
Custom yield test< 0%0% to 200%> 200%

The sensitivity view evaluates the measured yield and nearby yields at five percentage-point steps, bounded from 1% to 200%. Each row recomputes cooked cost per kilogram and AP mass needed for the target portions; it does not predict how a recipe change will produce that yield.

Accuracy Notes:

Use calibrated scales, subtract containers, and document the exact trim and finishing points. The preset bands are editable operational examples and should not replace a kitchen's own repeated yield studies or an applicable program standard. Menu-price screening excludes labor, overhead, packaging, tax, waste outside the measured batch, and selling-channel fees.

Worked Examples:

Roast batch carried into portion cost

A 10 kg purchase loses 0.8 kg in trim and finishes at 6.2 kg cooked. Cooked yield is 62%, total shrink is 38%, and cooking loss after trim is about 32.61%. At 12 per AP kilogram, the batch costs 120 and true cooked cost is about 19.35 per kg. With 170 g portions, the measured batch contains about 36.47 portions at roughly 3.29 each.

References: