Think of cooking like wringing out a wet towel - you start with one weight but end up with something much lighter. The cooked portion loses moisture and shrinks, making the actual price per kilo significantly higher than what you originally paid. You'll need to calculate both parts separately to get your true cost price.
Why raw and cooked have different prices
Cooking drives out moisture and fat, causing ingredients to lose weight. That 200-gram piece of chicken becomes 140 grams after grilling. You paid for 200 grams but only get 140 grams of usable product. So the cooked portion costs more per gram than the raw version.
💡 Example:
You buy beef for €24/kg and use it in a salad:
- 100g raw (for tartare): €2.40
- 100g cooked (loses 25% weight): €3.20
So you pay different actual prices for the same meat.
Calculate weight loss during cooking
Weigh several portions before and after cooking to find your average weight loss. From tracking this across dozens of restaurants, I've seen these typical ranges:
- Grilling/frying meat: usually 20-30% weight loss
- Cooking vegetables: usually 10-20% weight loss
- Steaming fish: usually 15-25% weight loss
- Deep frying: usually 10-15% weight loss
⚠️ Note:
Test this in your own kitchen. Weight loss changes based on product quality, heat level, and timing.
Formula for actual cooked ingredient price
After you know the weight loss, calculate what the cooked portion really costs:
Actual cooked price = Purchase price / (Yield % / 100)
Where: Yield % = 100% - Weight loss %
💡 Example calculation:
Beef €24/kg, 25% weight loss when grilling:
- Yield: 100% - 25% = 75%
- Actual cooked price: €24 / 0.75 = €32/kg
So the cooked meat costs you €32/kg instead of €24/kg.
Calculate both parts separately in your recipe
Create two separate line items in your recipe costing: one for raw and one for cooked. This approach gives you accurate total costs instead of guessing.
💡 Practical example - Salad with beef:
Recipe for 1 portion:
- 80g beef raw (tartare): 80g × €24/kg = €1.92
- 60g beef cooked (grilled): 60g × €32/kg = €1.92
- Salad and garnish: €1.50
Total ingredient costs: €5.34
Keep your calculation up-to-date
Check your weight loss percentages monthly. Different suppliers, new cooking techniques, or equipment changes can shift these numbers. And that affects your profitability.
Food cost calculators can store both raw and cooked versions of ingredients with their respective prices, automatically calculating accurate costs for complex dishes.
How do you calculate raw and cooked in one recipe?
Measure the weight loss
Weigh the ingredient before and after cooking for 3-5 portions. Calculate the average weight loss percentage. This becomes your standard for this ingredient and cooking method.
Calculate the actual cooked price
Divide your purchase price by the yield percentage. With 25% weight loss, the yield is 75%, so you divide by 0.75. This gives you the actual price of the cooked ingredient.
Create two recipe lines
Add the same ingredient twice to your recipe: one line with raw price and quantity, one line with cooked price and quantity. Add both together for your total ingredient costs.
✨ Pro tip
Track weight loss percentages for your 15 most-used ingredients over the next 30 days. You'll memorize the numbers and stop needing to weigh everything constantly.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need to measure weight loss for every ingredient?
Only for ingredients you use both raw and cooked in the same dish. Most ingredients appear in just one form per recipe, so you don't need to track them separately.
Can't I just use an average price?
That creates inaccurate cost calculations. The cooked portion always costs more due to weight loss, so averaging underestimates your true food costs and hurts profitability.
How often should I remeasure the weight loss?
Test again when you change suppliers, modify cooking methods, or notice cost calculations don't match your actual expenses. Otherwise, quarterly checks work fine.
What if I marinate the ingredient before cooking?
Weigh after marinating but before cooking as your baseline. The marinade adds temporary weight that gets lost during cooking anyway.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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