Yield Percentage Word Problems: As Purchased, Edible Portion and EP Cost
EP = AP × yield. AP = EP ÷ yield. Multiply when you know what you bought and want what you can use; divide when you know what the recipe needs and want what to buy. The cost works the same way: the price of the usable part is the purchase price ÷ yield.
Yield percent problems are the first thing most culinary math courses teach after fractions, and they come back in every costing and purchasing problem afterward. The yield figures below come from the same chart as the yield percentage calculator, which also covers about fifty fruits and vegetables. AP means as purchased (the weight you buy), EP means edible portion (what is left after trimming).
The Formulas
Yield % = EP weight ÷ AP weight × 100
EP = AP × yield (as a decimal)
AP = EP ÷ yield (as a decimal)
EP cost = AP cost ÷ yield (as a decimal)
Level 1: Finding the Yield Percent
You peel and trim 10 lb of jumbo carrots and are left with 8.2 lb. What is the yield percent?
8.2 ÷ 10 = 0.82 = 82%.
The trimmed weight always goes on top. If the answer comes out above 100%, the two numbers are the wrong way round.
A 3.5 lb pineapple gives 1.33 lb of usable fruit. What is the yield?
1.33 ÷ 3.5 = 0.38 = 38%. Almost two-thirds of a pineapple is rind, crown and core, which is why its cut fruit costs so much more per pound than the whole one.
Level 2: From As Purchased to Edible Portion
You buy 6 lb of whole broccoli heads. The yield is 61%. How much usable broccoli will you have?
EP = 6 × 0.61 = 3.66 lb. The other 2.34 lb is mostly thick stem.
A case holds 4 lb of strawberries. Hulled strawberries yield 94%. How much fruit is left after hulling?
4 × 0.94 = 3.76 lb.
Level 3: How Much to Buy
A soup needs 5 lb of peeled, seeded butternut squash. The yield is 66%. How much whole squash should you buy?
AP = 5 ÷ 0.66 = 7.58 lb. Round up to 8 lb.
The common mistake is 5 × 0.66 = 3.3 lb, which buys less than the recipe needs. When you are finding the larger number, you divide.
You are serving 40 portions of 3 oz of green beans. Trimmed green beans yield 88%. How many pounds should you order?
EP needed = 40 × 3 = 120 oz = 7.5 lb. AP = 7.5 ÷ 0.88 = 8.52 lb, so order 9 lb.
Round purchase quantities up to the unit you can actually buy. Rounding 8.52 down to 8.5 leaves you two portions short.
Level 4: Edible Portion Cost
Broccoli heads cost $1.89 per pound and yield 61%. What does a pound of usable broccoli really cost? What is the cost of a 4 oz serving?
EP cost = $1.89 ÷ 0.61 = $3.10 per usable pound.
A 4 oz serving is a quarter pound: $3.10 ÷ 4 = $0.77. Costing it at the shelf price would give $0.47, and the plate would be under-priced by 30 cents every time it is sold.
Level 5: Trim Loss Then Cooking Loss
A 10 lb bone-in pork shoulder loses bone and fat in trimming (85% yield). The trimmed meat then loses moisture in roasting (70% yield). How much cooked meat do you get, and what is the overall yield?
Trimmed = 10 × 0.85 = 8.5 lb. Cooked = 8.5 × 0.70 = 5.95 lb. Overall yield = 0.85 × 0.70 = 59.5%.
Multiply the two yields; do not add the two losses. 15% + 30% = 45% lost would give 5.5 lb, which is wrong because the cooking loss comes off the smaller, trimmed weight.
Using the same yields, how much bone-in shoulder should you buy to serve 40 portions of 4 oz cooked pork?
Cooked meat needed = 40 × 4 = 160 oz = 10 lb. AP = 10 ÷ 0.595 = 16.81 lb, so buy 17 lb.
How much weight meat loses in cooking is covered in more detail by the raw to cooked weight converter.
Level 6: Whole or Pre-Cut?
Whole broccoli heads cost $1.89/lb (61% yield). Ready-cut florets cost $3.29/lb (95% yield). Which is cheaper per usable pound, and by how much?
Heads: $1.89 ÷ 0.61 = $3.10. Florets: $3.29 ÷ 0.95 = $3.46.
The whole heads are cheaper by $0.36 per usable pound. Whether that is worth it depends on labor. Ten usable pounds means cutting about 16½ lb of heads; if that takes a cook 20 minutes, the $3.65 saved is less than those 20 minutes cost at most kitchen wages. That trade, not the shelf price, decides most buy-whole-or-pre-cut questions.
Quick Reference
| You know | You want | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| AP and EP weights | Yield % | EP ÷ AP × 100 |
| AP weight | EP weight | AP × yield |
| EP weight | AP to buy | EP ÷ yield, then round up |
| AP price | EP cost | AP price ÷ yield |
| Two yields in a row | Overall yield | Yield 1 × yield 2 |
Common Mistakes
- Multiplying when you should divide. If you are finding the amount to buy, the answer must be bigger than what the recipe needs.
- Rounding a purchase down. 8.52 lb is a 9 lb order.
- Adding losses instead of multiplying yields. The second loss comes off a smaller weight.
- Applying a yield to things with no trim. Flour, sugar, oil and canned goods are 100%; only items you trim, peel, bone or cook down get a yield percent.
- Costing at the shelf price. Any trimmed ingredient costs more per usable pound than its price tag says.
Printable Worksheet: 8 Yield Percentage Problems With Answer Key
These 8 problems are new — none of them repeat the worked examples above, so they work as homework, a quiz or a warm-up. Print the worksheet and the answer key separately; the key shows the working for every answer, not just the final number.
Yield Percentage Word Problems — Worksheet
Yield % = EP ÷ AP × 100. AP = EP ÷ yield. EP cost = AP cost ÷ yield. Round weights and money to two decimal places. Show your working.
- You buy 8 lb of leeks. The yield is 75%. How many pounds are usable?
- You trim 5 lb of mangoes and get 3.45 lb of fruit. What is the yield percent?
- A salad needs 3 lb of peeled cucumber. Peeled cucumber yields 73%. How much whole cucumber should you buy?
- You cut up two cantaloupes weighing 3 lb each. Cantaloupe yields 43%. How much fruit do you get?
- Asparagus costs $3.99 per pound and yields 56%. What is the edible portion cost per pound?
- Limes yield 47% of their weight as juice. You need 2 lb of juice. How many pounds of limes should you buy?
- A recipe needs 2 lb of trimmed bell peppers. Peppers yield 65% and cost $2.49 per pound. How much should you buy, and what will it cost?
- You need 50 portions of 2 oz diced onion. Onions yield 89% and cost $1.20 per pound. How many pounds should you buy, and what will they cost?
CookingCalcs · cookingcalcs.com/blog/yield-percentage-word-problems.html
Show answer key
Yield Percentage Word Problems — Answer Key
- 6 lb. 8 × 0.75 = 6 lb.
- 69%. 3.45 ÷ 5 = 0.69 = 69%.
- 4.11 lb (round up when buying). 3 ÷ 0.73 = 4.11 lb.
- 2.58 lb. 2 × 3 = 6 lb. 6 × 0.43 = 2.58 lb.
- $7.13 per lb. $3.99 ÷ 0.56 = $7.125, rounded to $7.13.
- 4.26 lb. 2 ÷ 0.47 = 4.26 lb.
- 3.08 lb; $7.66. 2 ÷ 0.65 = 3.08 lb. 3.0769 × $2.49 = $7.66.
- 7.02 lb; $8.43. 50 × 2 = 100 oz = 6.25 lb EP. 6.25 ÷ 0.89 = 7.02 lb. 7.0225 × $1.20 = $8.43.
CookingCalcs · cookingcalcs.com/blog/yield-percentage-word-problems.html
More Practice
The kitchen math problem generator makes fresh cost-per-serving problems with trim loss built in. Yield is the step just before recipe costing, so the natural next pages are cost per serving word problems and food cost percentage word problems. For changing a recipe's size first, see recipe conversion factor word problems; the complete culinary math guide puts every step in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the formula for yield percentage?
Yield percent = edible portion weight ÷ as-purchased weight × 100. If 10 lb of carrots trims down to 8.2 lb, the yield is 8.2 ÷ 10 = 82%.
What is the difference between AP and EP?
AP (as purchased) is the weight you buy, before any trimming. EP (edible portion) is what is left to cook or serve after peeling, coring, boning or trimming. EP is always the smaller number.
Why do you divide to find how much to buy?
Because the amount you buy has to be larger than what you use. AP = EP ÷ yield: 5 lb of squash at a 66% yield means buying 5 ÷ 0.66 = 7.58 lb. Multiplying would give 3.3 lb, which is too little.
How do you calculate edible portion cost?
Divide the as-purchased price by the yield as a decimal. Broccoli at $1.89 per pound with a 61% yield costs $1.89 ÷ 0.61 = $3.10 per usable pound.