Technique Knowledge / Practical Kitchen Knowledge
A kitchen order begins with what arrives from the supplier, but service depends on what can actually go on the plate. Yield is the connection between those two quantities. Write the stages clearly and the purchasing calculation becomes much easier to follow.
Name the stage before using the weight
As-purchased weight is the quantity bought. Prepared weight is what remains after the preparation required for the dish. Cooked, saleable weight is the amount available for the specified portions after cooking and any final trimming. Yield testing measures how much usable product remains; a cooking-loss test carries that assessment through the cooking stage. [1] [2]
The important question is whether the recipe quantity refers to raw, trimmed, drained, cooked, or finished food. Do not use weights from different stages as though they were interchangeable.
A worked example
The following figures are invented for teaching the calculation. They are not a standard yield for carrots, a purchasing recommendation, or measurements from a real kitchen.
| Stage | Recorded weight |
|---|---|
| Carrots purchased, excluding packaging | 10,000 g |
| Carrots ready for cooking after preparation | 8,000 g |
| Cooked carrots available for portioning | 6,400 g |
| Specified cooked portion | 80 g |
Preparation yield: 8,000 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 80%.
Cooking yield, measured from prepared weight: 6,400 ÷ 8,000 × 100 = 80%.
Overall yield from purchase: 6,400 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 64%.
Complete portions: 6,400 ÷ 80 = 80 portions.
The two stage yields multiply: 0.80 × 0.80 = 0.64. They do not add. Likewise, the two 20% stage losses cannot simply be added to claim a 40% loss from purchase; they use different starting weights.
Work backwards from the required portions
Using the same hypothetical overall yield, 100 portions at 80 g require 8,000 g of cooked food. The purchase requirement is therefore 8,000 ÷ 0.64 = 12,500 g, or 12.5 kg. This applies the standard relationship between portions, portion size, and yield. [2]
Use an observed yield appropriate to the actual ingredient and method. Record any service contingency separately; do not hide an extra allowance inside an unexplained yield percentage.
Keep loss categories separate
In this example, preparation removes 2,000 g from the primary dish, and cooking reduces the prepared batch by another 1,600 g. That does not mean 3,600 g of edible food was avoidably discarded. A yield record describes the primary dish’s weight change; a waste record needs the reason and destination of the material.
Record any safely usable by-products separately. Their possible value should not be confused with the weight available for the main dish. BCcampus notes that suitable trimmings can have a secondary culinary use. [1]
Make the record useful next time
Keep the ingredient specification, preparation method, starting weight, intermediate weight, final weight, and portion size together. Note whether the final weight was taken before or after the dish’s normal finishing and portioning steps. A percentage without that context is difficult to reproduce.
Chef’s note
Do not begin by searching for the most flattering yield. Begin by defining the finished portion. The useful number is the one that helps the next cook produce the same dish and order the right quantity.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use raw portion weight for a cooked-yield calculation?
Only when the calculation is consistently based on the raw stage. For a specified cooked portion, use a yield that reaches that same cooked stage.
Does this example set the yield for all vegetables?
No. Its purpose is to demonstrate the arithmetic. Measure the product and process used in your own recipe.
Continue learning
Build on the existing Peeling and Trimming and Mise en Place guides.