Kitchen Waste & Yield Calculator
Stop losing money in your kitchen. Calculate the true cost of your ingredients after cleaning and peeling—free, no registration. Control your food cost down to the penny.
Waste
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Yield
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Real cost (€/kg net)
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Correction factor
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Lost to waste
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The real cost per net kg is what the usable part actually costs you. Pass it on to the menu price so you don't lose margin.
This calculator solves waste for one product; with Miselup, yield is factored into the recipe costing for your entire menu and the real cost per net kg updates itself. Start free
The real product, not a mockup
A tour of Miselup: from the catalogue and food-cost to HACCP control and traceability. Tap any screenshot to enlarge and read it.
Waste is the weight an ingredient loses when cleaned (skins, bones, pin bones). Yield is the actual usable percentage that remains. If you buy 10 kg of whole hake, you'll only get around 5 kg net. Without tracking this difference, your recipe costing is meaningless and your dish margin evaporates. An error of just 5% in your waste calculation can push your food cost up by as much as 3 percentage points by the end of the month.
The real cost per net kg is what you actually pay for the edible part. If waste is high, the correction factor (1/yield) tells you how much to multiply the purchase price by to pass it on to the dish. For example, with a 50% yield, your cost doubles. If you spot excessive waste, negotiate with your supplier, switch to a cleaner buying format (ready-cooked/fifth-range) or review your kitchen's portioning technique.
How to use the calculator
1. Enter the purchase price
Enter the price in €/kg (gross) you paid your supplier.
2. Weigh the item gross and net
Weigh the product as it arrives (gross), then just the clean, usable part (net).
3. Read the results instantly
Get the waste %, yield, real cost per net kg, correction factor and the exact money you’re losing on that purchase.
Waste benchmarks by product
Whole hake: 45-55% waste
After removing head, guts and central pin bone, net yield is around 45-55%. The usable part is clean fillets.
Potatoes for peeling: 15-20% waste
Skin and eyes make up an average loss of 20%. Net yield is 80-85%.
Whole beef tenderloin: 15-25% waste
After trimming off the chain, side muscle and surface fat from the whole piece, yield lands between 75% and 85%. An already semi-trimmed center cut loses only 8-12%.
Iceberg lettuce: 25-30% waste
Damaged outer leaves and the central core account for a considerable loss. Net yield of 70-75%.
Frequently asked questions
Kitchen Waste & Yield Calculator
How do you calculate waste percentage?
What is the correction factor and what's it for?
Why is my real cost per net kg higher than the purchase price?
What should I do if a product's waste is too high?
Does this calculator work for any type of food?
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