Yield Percentage
Edible portion left after trimming, relative to the amount purchased.
Formula
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Example
800 g usable / 1000 g ⇒ 80%
How it works
Yield percentage tells you what fraction of the food you bought is still usable after trimming, peeling, boning, or otherwise removing waste. It works because it compares the mass of the edible portion to the original as-purchased mass, then converts that fraction into a percentage so different ingredients can be compared easily. A higher yield means less waste and more usable food from the same purchase.
When to use it
Use this in kitchens, food service, and recipe costing when you need to estimate how much usable ingredient remains after preparation. It is especially useful for meats, produce, fish, and other foods that lose weight during trimming or peeling.
Worked example, step by step
A chef buys 2.5 kg of whole carrots and trims them down to 2.0 kg of edible carrot. Y = (m_EP / m_AP) × 100 Y = (2.0 kg / 2.5 kg) × 100 Y = 0.8 × 100 Y = 80% So the yield percentage is 80%, meaning 80% of the purchased carrots are usable.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using the trimmed-away waste mass instead of the edible portion mass
- Reversing the fraction and dividing as-purchased mass by edible portion mass
- Forgetting to multiply by 100 to convert the decimal to a percentage
Did You Know?
Chefs use yield percentage to price menus accurately — a whole fish may yield only ~45% edible fillet.
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