Recipe yield
Recipe yield is the number of finished portions a batch produces after reduction, evaporation, trim and pan loss. It is always lower than the arithmetic suggests, and the gap goes straight into your variance if the recipe card records the theoretical figure.
Yield factor for scaling
Scaling factor = Portions needed ÷ Tested recipe yield
Worked example · Scaling a sauce for a 200-cover Saturday
- Tested yield of the base recipe
- 42 portions
- Portions needed
- 200
- Scaling factor
- 4.76
- Batches to run
- 5
- Actual production
- 210 portions
| Loss | Typical range | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Evaporation / reduction | 10–60% | Sauces, stocks, braising liquid |
| Rendering and cook loss | 15–30% | Proteins |
| Pan and vessel loss | 2–5% | Anything transferred between containers |
| Portioning shortfall | 2–8% | The last incomplete portion in every pan |
Because every one of these losses sits between the recipe card and the plate, a yield recorded from the ingredient list rather than from a count will always be optimistic. Ten minutes portioning one finished batch fixes the cost per serving permanently.
Run the numbers
Recipe cost calculator
The guide that works it through
Recipe Costing, Step by Step
How to cost a recipe properly: yield-adjusted ingredient costs, sub-recipes, the Q factor, and a full worked example from invoice to plate cost to menu price.
Related terms
Cost per serving
The cost of one served unit of a batch item — a bowl of soup, a slice of pie, an ounce of sauce.
Batch recipe
A recipe produced in bulk and portioned at service — soups, sauces, braises, doughs.
Yield percentage
The share of a purchased ingredient that survives trimming, peeling and cooking to reach the plate.