Ingredient yield chart: AP to EP % for UK kitchens
How much of each ingredient is usable once it's peeled, trimmed, boned or cooked, with the cost factor that turns a purchase price into a usable cost. Every figure is from the USDA's food yields handbook and cited by item number, with the range as well as the average.
| Ingredient | Stage | Yield | Range | Cost factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onions | Whole → peeled (top, tail and skin off) | 90% | 50–99% | 1.11 |
| Carrots | Without tops → scraped or peeled by hand | 82% | 58–93% | 1.22 |
| Potatoes | Whole → peeled, raw (all samples) | 81% | 61–94% | 1.23 |
| Celery | Trimmed bunch → trimmed stalks | 73% | 68–81% | 1.37 |
| Leeks | Whole → bulb and lower leaf (white and pale green) | 44% | 35–58% | 2.27 |
| Broccoli | Untrimmed → trimmed spears (florets with tender stalk) | 61% | 45–77% | 1.64 |
| Cauliflower | Whole head, base of leaf stalks only → florets | 55% | 45–63% | 1.82 |
| Peppers | Whole green pepper → flesh and skin (stem, core and seeds out) | 82% | 67–89% | 1.22 |
| Mushrooms | Whole, good quality → trimmed | 97% | 87–100% | 1.03 |
| Butternut squash | Whole → raw flesh (peeled, deseeded) | 84% | 75–88% | 1.19 |
| Pineapple | Whole → raw flesh (all samples) | 52% | 17–80% | 1.92 |
| Melon (cantaloupe) | Whole → flesh | 51% | 29–74% | 1.96 |
| Mango | Whole → flesh (all types) | 69% | 51–82% | 1.45 |
| Avocado | Whole Hass → flesh | 68% | — | 1.47 |
| Whole chicken | Oven-ready → raw meat with skin | 58% | 50–62% | 1.72 |
| Salmon | Whole round → raw flesh (fillets, skin off) | 65% | 60–69% | 1.54 |
| Garlic | Bulbs → peeled cloves, raw | 87% | 87–88% | 1.15 |
| Lemons | Whole → juice | 43% | 29–55% | 2.33 |
| Cabbage | Whole head → trimmed, cored (outer leaves and core off) | 80% | 58–92% | 1.25 |
| Iceberg lettuce | Catering pack → trimmed leaves (coarse leaves and core off) | 71% | 67–87% | 1.41 |
| Tomatoes | Whole → cored and trimmed | 88% | 88–88% | 1.14 |
| Cucumber | Whole → sliced, unpeeled | 95% | 90–98% | 1.05 |
| Courgettes | Whole courgette → flesh and skin (ends off) | 93% | 86–98% | 1.08 |
| Brussels sprouts | Untrimmed, good quality → trimmed, ready to cook | 90% | 88–92% | 1.11 |
| Parsnips | Unpeeled, good quality → peeled | 85% | — | 1.18 |
| Swede | Without tops → peeled | 85% | 67–94% | 1.18 |
| Apples | Whole, all varieties → flesh (peeled, cored) | 78% | 60–87% | 1.28 |
| Strawberries | Good quality → hulled | 94% | 86–99% | 1.06 |
Cost factor = 100 ÷ yield. Multiply the price you pay per kilo by the cost factor to get the cost of a usable kilo. Multiply the weight you need by the cost factor to get the weight to order.
Why your number will differ
Published yields are averages from many samples, and the ranges are wide for a reason: size, variety, season, how much leaf or trim the supplier leaves on, and who is holding the knife all change the result. Use this chart to plan and to spot when something is off. Then weigh your own case and put the numbers into the yield calculator, so your costings run on your kitchen's yield.
Source
USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 102, Food Yields Summarized by Different Stages of Preparation (Matthews and Garrison, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 1975), Table 1. The item numbers for each ingredient are listed on its own page. Read from the scanned handbook and checked against the page images where the scan was unclear.