Restaurant Yield Percentage: How to Run a Yield Test (With Examples)

Yield percentage is how much of what you buy you can actually use. Weigh the product as it arrives, prep it the way your kitchen normally does, weigh what's usable, and divide: usable weight ÷ as purchased weight × 100. If 12 lb of butternut squash gives you 8.8 lb of peeled, seeded dice, the yield is 8.8 ÷ 12 = 73.3%.

That one number fixes two things most kitchens get wrong. It tells you what a pound or a portion really costs, because you pay for the peel, the seeds, and the skin too. And it tells you how much to buy, because a recipe that calls for 20 lb of diced squash needs a lot more than 20 lb of whole squash on the order. Yield sits between your recipes and your order guide, which makes it one of the quieter steps in the workflow covered in our complete guide to restaurant purchasing and inventory management.

This guide covers how to run a yield test in a real kitchen, then works through two full examples: a produce item and a protein.

In this guide

• What yield percentage means
• The yield formulas you'll actually use
• How to run a yield test, step by step
• Worked example: butternut squash
• Worked example: salmon sides cut into 6 oz portions
• When the portion is weighed after cooking
• How yield changes what you order
• What to do with trim that has a use
• Run the numbers with the yield calculator
• Why consistent trimming matters
• Common mistakes
• FAQ

All the examples below are illustrative. The products, weights, prices, and yields are made up to show the method. They aren't typical figures for any vendor, region, or kitchen, and your own tests are what count.

What yield percentage means

Kitchens use two weights for anything that gets trimmed, peeled, portioned, or juiced:

• As purchased (AP): the product the way it came off the truck. Whole squash with the skin and seeds. A salmon side with skin and pin bones. This is what you're billed for.
• Edible portion (EP): what's left once it's prepped and ready to cook or serve. You'll also hear it called usable weight or servable weight. Peeled and diced squash. Skinless salmon cut into 6 oz portions.

Yield percentage is the EP weight as a share of the AP weight. Some items have no loss at all, like a bag of sugar or a case of canned tomatoes you don't drain, so their yield is 100% and you can skip them. The items worth testing are the ones with real loss and real money behind them: proteins you trim or portion, produce you peel or core, and anything you juice.

"Usable" means usable for that recipe. Squash peel isn't usable for a side dish, but salmon belly trim might be usable for salmon cakes. More on that in the trim section.

The yield formulas you'll actually use

Five formulas cover almost everything. Use the same unit for every weight (pounds or ounces, not a mix).

Yield %                 = usable weight ÷ as purchased weight × 100

Usable weight           = as purchased weight × yield

Cost per usable lb      = price per AP lb ÷ yield
                        (same as: total paid ÷ usable weight)

Cost per portion        = cost per usable lb × portion size in lb

Amount to buy (AP)      = usable amount needed ÷ yield

Write yield as a decimal when you divide by it: 73.3% is 0.733. Dividing by 73.3 instead of 0.733 is the most common spreadsheet error with these formulas.

How to run a yield test, step by step

A yield test doesn't need special equipment. You need a scale you trust, a few containers, and a sheet to write on.

1. Pick the item and the spec. Test one product, from one vendor, in one pack size. "Butternut squash, 35 lb case, Vendor A" is a test. "Squash" isn't.
2. Zero the scale with the container on it (tare), so you're weighing product, not the hotel pan.
3. Weigh it as purchased. Weigh what actually arrived, not the weight printed on the box or the invoice. For catch weight items like fish and meat, the invoice weight is a good cross check, but the scale is the number you use for the test.
4. Prep it exactly the way your cooks prep it on a normal day. Same knife cuts, same peeler, same portion size, same person if possible. Don't let your best cook do a slow, careful test that nobody will repeat during a busy Thursday prep. The point is to measure what really happens.
5. Separate what comes off into three piles: usable product for this recipe, trim that has another use in your kitchen, and waste.
6. Weigh each pile and write it down. The three should add up to roughly the starting weight. If they don't, something got missed, usually product left on the board or a piece someone ate.
7. For portioned items, count the portions too. A side of salmon doesn't yield "4.5 lb of salmon." It yields 12 portions and some ends. The portion count is what you sell.
8. Repeat on at least three deliveries, ideally prepped by different cooks on different days. Size, ripeness, and how the fish was cut vary from case to case.
9. Use the combined yield: total usable weight from all the tests ÷ total starting weight from all the tests. That weights bigger batches correctly, which matters when one test was much larger than another.
10. Write the yield where people will see it: on the recipe card, next to the item on the order guide, and in your costing sheet, with the date and the spec you tested.

A yield test sheet

A paper sheet clipped to the prep station is enough. These columns cover it:

The "prepped by" column isn't about blame. It shows you whether yield changes from cook to cook, which is usually a training question, not a product question.

Worked example: butternut squash

A restaurant uses butternut squash two ways in the fall: a ¾ inch roasted dice as a side, and a soup. It buys 35 lb cases at $36.75 a case, which is $36.75 ÷ 35 = $1.05 per AP lb.

The kitchen ran a yield test on three deliveries. Each time, the prep cook peeled, seeded, and diced a batch the normal way.

Combined yield: 26.4 ÷ 36.0 = 0.733, or 73.3%. (Averaging the three percentages gives 73.3% too here, because the batches were close in size.)

Cost per usable pound

Cost per usable lb = $1.05 ÷ 0.733 = about $1.43

Another way to see it: one 35 lb case gives about 35 × 0.733 = 25.7 lb of usable dice. $36.75 ÷ 25.7 lb is the same $1.43 per usable lb.

Cost per portion

The side is portioned at 5 oz of raw dice, before roasting (5 ÷ 16 = 0.3125 lb).

Using the AP price:      $1.05 × 0.3125 = about $0.33   (too low)
Using the usable price:  $1.432 × 0.3125 = about $0.45  (what it really costs)

That's 12 cents a plate. On a side dish it sounds small, but if your recipe costing uses the AP price for every trimmed item on the menu, every plate cost is understated. This per plate cost is what sits behind theoretical food cost, and our guide to food cost percentage from inventory explains how that compares with the actual food cost your counts produce.

Worked example: salmon sides cut into 6 oz portions

For proteins you portion, the most useful yield is the portion yield: the weight of sellable portions divided by what you bought. Odd ends and trim don't count as portions, even if they're good food.

A restaurant buys skin on, pin bone in salmon sides at $11.75 per lb, billed by catch weight. Each side gets skinned, pin boned, trimmed of the thin belly edge and tail, and cut into 6 oz portions (0.375 lb). Pieces too small to be a portion go into a container for salmon cakes.

Portion yield: 13.5 ÷ 19.4 = 0.696, or 69.6%.

Cost per portion

The simplest way for portioned proteins is to divide what you paid by the portions you got:

Total paid:        19.4 lb × $11.75 = $227.95
Cost per portion:  $227.95 ÷ 36 = about $6.33

The yield formula gives the same answer: $11.75 ÷ 0.696 = about $16.89 per usable lb, and $16.89 × 0.375 lb = about $6.33.

Compare that with the shortcut a lot of menus are costed with:

6 oz at the invoice price:  $11.75 × 0.375 = about $4.41

The shortcut understates the cost of every salmon entrée by about $1.93, or about 44%. If the dish is priced to a target food cost using $4.41, the real food cost on that plate is well above target before anyone touches a sauce or a side.

A shortcut for portioned items: portions per pound

From the same test, the kitchen gets 36 ÷ 19.4 = about 1.86 portions per AP lb. That's handy on the line and at the order desk, because nobody has to think in percentages:

• Cost per portion = price per lb ÷ portions per lb = $11.75 ÷ 1.856 = about $6.33
• Pounds to buy = portions needed ÷ portions per lb

When the portion is weighed after cooking

Everything above is raw yield: from the truck to ready to cook. Cooking takes more weight off. Roasting, braising, and grilling lose water and fat, so if your recipe or portion spec is a cooked weight, you need a second yield for the cooking step, and the two multiply.

Say the squash side is plated as 4 oz of roasted squash, and the kitchen's test shows the dice loses 20% of its weight in the oven, a cooking yield of 80% (an illustrative figure; test your own oven and recipe).

Combined yield:          0.733 raw × 0.80 cooked = about 0.587
Cost per cooked lb:      $1.05 ÷ 0.587 = about $1.79
4 oz cooked portion:     $1.79 × 0.25 lb = about $0.45
Raw dice needed:         4 oz ÷ 0.80 = 5 oz

The 4 oz cooked portion costs the same as the 5 oz raw portion from the earlier example, because it's the same squash. That's a good way to check your math: if the cooked and raw versions of the same plate come out at different costs, one of the yields is wrong.

Write down which weight each recipe uses. "6 oz salmon" means something different on a raw portion spec than on a cooked one.

How yield changes what you order

This is where yield saves you from running out. Your prep list and recipes are in usable amounts. Your vendor sells AP amounts. The conversion is one division:

Amount to buy (AP) = usable amount needed ÷ yield

Squash for the weekend

For Friday through Sunday the kitchen expects to sell 60 squash sides (60 × 5 oz = 18.75 lb of raw dice) and to make a soup batch that needs 20 lb of diced squash.

Usable needed:   18.75 lb + 20 lb = 38.75 lb of dice
Amount to buy:   38.75 ÷ 0.733 = about 52.8 lb of whole squash
In cases:        52.8 ÷ 35 = about 1.5 cases → order 2 cases (70 lb)

If someone ordered 38.75 lb of squash because that's what the recipes add up to, they'd get only about 28.4 lb of dice and come up about 10 lb short. One case alone gives about 25.7 lb of dice, which wouldn't even cover the soup and the Friday sides.

Two cases is 70 lb, about 51.3 lb of dice, so there's some extra. Whole winter squash holds up well in storage, so rounding up here is a reasonable call. For a fragile item, you'd lean the other way. Our guide to restaurant produce ordering covers when to round up and when to round down by item.

Salmon for the week

The kitchen expects to sell 80 salmon entrées this week.

Usable needed:   80 × 0.375 lb = 30 lb of portions
Amount to buy:   30 ÷ 0.696 = about 43.1 lb of whole sides
Check:           80 portions ÷ 1.856 portions per lb = about 43.1 lb

The sides in the test averaged 19.4 ÷ 6 = about 3.23 lb each, so 43.1 lb is about 13.3 sides. Order 14 sides, roughly 45.3 lb, which should cut into about 84 portions. At $11.75 a lb, budget about $532 on the order, knowing the catch weight on the invoice will move it a little.

Pars and counts

Keep your par levels in the same unit you count in. If the walk in count is whole squash in pounds, the par should be in AP pounds, so use the yield to convert the prep list's needs into AP before you set it. If you count prepped salmon portions on one sheet and whole sides on another, add them up in one unit (portions or AP pounds) before you compare them with the par. Our guide to setting restaurant par levels covers the par formula itself.

What to do with trim that has a use

In the salmon test, 3.0 lb of the 19.4 lb wasn't skin or bone. It was belly edges, tail pieces, and the leftovers from portioning. If that goes into salmon cakes, a staff meal, or a dip, it isn't waste.

You have two honest ways to handle it:

1. Leave it out of the yield and give it no value. The portions carry the full cost ($6.33 each), and the salmon cakes are a bonus that costs nothing. This is the cautious choice and the right one if the trim only gets used some of the time.
2. Credit the trim at what it replaces. If the salmon cakes would otherwise use frozen salmon pieces that cost $6.00 a lb (illustrative), the 3.0 lb of trim is worth 3.0 × $6.00 = $18.00. Take that off the cost of the portions, and charge it to the salmon cakes instead.

Net cost of portions:   $227.95 − $18.00 = $209.95
Cost per portion:       $209.95 ÷ 36 = about $5.83

Credit the trim at what you'd otherwise pay for the ingredient it replaces, not at the price of the whole sides. And only do it if the trim really gets used and sold. Crediting trim that ends up in the trash makes your plate costs look better than they are.

The same idea applies to chicken carcasses going into stock, vegetable trim going into a stock or a family meal, and citrus zest used before juicing. It's real value when there's a dish or recipe that would otherwise need its own purchase.

Run the numbers with the yield calculator

If you'd rather not do the division by hand, the free yield calculator below takes the as purchased weight and either the usable weight from your test or a yield percent you already know. It shows the yield, the usable weight, and the trim or loss. Add what you paid for that amount and it shows the cost per as purchased pound and the cost per usable pound.

It works on one item and one step at a time. For portion costs, multiply the cost per usable pound by your portion size. For a cooked yield, run the raw step first, then run it again starting from the usable weight. For an order, divide your usable need by the yield it gives you.

The same calculator is also on its own page: yield calculator.

Why consistent trimming matters

Yield isn't fixed. It changes with the cook holding the knife, and on expensive proteins that adds up quickly.

Suppose the salmon test above was done by the sous chef, but on busy days a newer cook trims more of the belly and cuts thicker portions, and the portion yield drops from 69.6% to 65%.

At 69.6%:  30 lb of portions ÷ 0.696 = about 43.1 lb to buy
At 65%:    30 lb of portions ÷ 0.65  = about 46.2 lb to buy
Difference: about 3.04 lb × $11.75 = about $35.75 a week

That's about $1,859 a year on one item, from a few ounces of extra trim per side. On squash, an even bigger drop, from 73.3% to 65%, would cost the weekend order above only about $7, which is why testing and training should start with your most expensive trimmed items.

A few things that help on the line:

• Show the cut. A photo of a properly trimmed side and a correctly cut portion, posted at the station, does more than a written spec.
• Portion on a scale, not by eye, at least until the cut is consistent.
• Keep the trim container next to the board, so usable trim goes to the salmon cakes and not the trash.
• Tell the chef when product changes. Smaller sides, more fat, or squash that's mostly neck one week and mostly bulb the next all move the yield. That's useful information for the next order and the next conversation with the vendor.

Common mistakes

• Costing recipes with the invoice price. Every trimmed item gets understated, and the menu is priced off the wrong number.
• Testing once. One delivery can be unusually good or bad. Use at least three.
• Letting the best cook do a slow test. Measure the trim that happens on a normal prep shift.
• Using the label weight instead of weighing. Weigh what actually arrived.
• Dividing by 73.3 instead of 0.733. Convert the percentage to a decimal first.
• Mixing raw and cooked weights. Write down which one each recipe and portion spec uses.
• Counting odd ends as portions. For portioned proteins, only sellable portions count toward portion yield.
• Crediting trim that doesn't get used. If it goes in the trash, it's waste.
• Never retesting. Retest when you change vendors, specs, pack sizes, or the person doing the prep, and once a season for produce.

FAQ

How do you calculate yield percentage in a kitchen?

Weigh the product as purchased, prep it the way your kitchen normally does, and weigh what's usable. Divide usable weight by as purchased weight and multiply by 100. For example, 8.8 lb of usable squash from 12 lb whole is 8.8 ÷ 12 × 100 = 73.3%.

What's the difference between as purchased and edible portion?

As purchased (AP) is the product the way it arrives and the way you're billed for it. Edible portion (EP) is what's left after peeling, trimming, boning, or portioning, ready to cook or serve. Yield percentage is EP divided by AP.

How do I find the cost per usable pound?

Divide the price per as purchased pound by the yield as a decimal. At $1.05 a pound and a 73.3% yield, that's $1.05 ÷ 0.733, or about $1.43 per usable pound. You get the same answer by dividing the total you paid by the usable weight you ended up with.

How do I know how much to order when I need a certain amount after trimming?

Divide the usable amount you need by the yield. If the recipes need 38.75 lb of diced squash and the yield is 73.3%, buy about 38.75 ÷ 0.733 = 52.8 lb of whole squash, then round to the vendor's pack size.

How many times should I run a yield test?

At least three times on three different deliveries, ideally prepped by different cooks, then use the combined result. Retest when you change vendors, specs, or pack sizes, and once a season for produce, since size and quality change through the year.

Is yield percentage the same as recipe yield?

No. Recipe yield is how much a recipe makes, like "makes 2 gallons" or "makes 24 portions." Yield percentage is how much usable product you get from what you bought. You use yield percentage to work out how much raw product a recipe needs and what it costs.

Should I use a published yield table or test my own?

Start with a published table if you haven't tested an item yet, then replace it with your own result. Published yields are averages, and your vendor's product, your specs, and your cooks' trimming will differ.

Keeping yields and order quantities straight with Proteus Kitchen

Proteus Kitchen doesn't calculate yield or cost per usable pound. That work starts with a scale and a test sheet, and the yield calculator above handles the arithmetic. Where Proteus helps is keeping the ordering side consistent once you know your yields.

Each inventory item can be counted in one unit and ordered in another, with the conversion saved, so a count in pounds or portions and an order in cases don't get mixed up. Each item has a notes field, which is a good place to record the yield, the spec you tested, and the date. Each item also keeps a target and its last vendor price. When you build a purchase order, Proteus shows each item's current amount, its target, a suggested quantity, and an estimated total. The suggested quantity comes from the target, so set the target in the unit you count and order, with your yield already worked in. Past orders stay in your history, filterable by vendor and date, so you can see what you actually bought and paid.

If your items, pack sizes, and vendors already live in a spreadsheet or order guide, Free Restaurant Setup covers bringing them into Proteus, and there's a 30 day free trial below.

Sources

• USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs: About (published average yield data)

Next step: test your three most expensive trimmed items

1. Pick the three items you trim or portion that cost you the most each week. Proteins usually top the list.
2. Run a yield test on each at the next delivery, the way your cooks normally prep them.
3. Repeat on the next two deliveries and work out the combined yield.
4. Recost each dish that uses them with the cost per usable pound, not the invoice price.
5. Update the order guide and pars so the amount you buy covers what the recipes need after trim.