Cooking Yield & Shrinkage Calculator

How to use

1. Select calculation direction: "Raw Product → Cooked Dish" or "Target Cooked Weight → Raw to Buy".
2. Choose a product from standard meat, poultry, fish, vegetable, or grain presets.
3. Enter weight in grams.
4. Optionally enter raw price per kg to calculate real cost per cooked kg.
5. View the final cooked weight, loss or expansion percentage, and cost analysis.

Understanding cooking shrinkage and yield

Cooking shrinkage occurs during thermal preparation as natural moisture evaporates and animal fats render out. Typical meat shrinkage ranges from 20% to 40%.

In contrast, dried grains and pasta absorb boiling water, typically expanding to 200%–300% of their raw dry weight.

Mathematical yield formulas

Cooked Weight = Raw Weight × (1 − Shrinkage % / 100). For instance, 1000g of raw beef with a 35% loss yields 650g of cooked meat.

Raw Required = Target Cooked Weight ÷ (1 − Shrinkage % / 100). Essential for catering and event planning.

Variables influencing cooking loss

Cooking method (boiling, pan-frying, baking, steaming), target doneness, cutting size, and internal temperature all directly impact final food yield.

Our calculator utilizes standardized commercial culinary yield benchmarks for maximum estimation accuracy.