Cooking Yield Calculator

Meat loses moisture and fat during cooking. The heat causes proteins to contract and squeeze out water. The amount of shrinkage depends on the cut, cooking temperature, and cooking time. Higher temperatures and longer cooking times cause more shrinkage.

Pasta and rice absorb water during cooking, typically gaining 2-3 times their dry weight. Dry pasta gains about 2.25 times on average, so 75g of dry pasta (a typical serving) becomes roughly 170g when cooked. Rice roughly triples in weight.

No, they are averages based on typical cooking methods and times. Actual yield varies with cooking temperature, time, cut of meat, and specific product. Use them for planning purposes and adjust based on your own experience.

Nutrition labels for raw meat and fish are based on raw weight, so weigh before cooking. For grains and pasta, nutrition is usually given per dry weight. If you weigh cooked food, you can use the yield factor to convert back to raw weight for accurate calorie counting.

Most meats lose 25-35% of their weight during cooking due to moisture and fat loss. Roast beef and chicken typically lose about 25-30% (yield factor ~0.70-0.75), pork around 30%, and bacon loses far more — roughly 65-70% as the fat renders out (yield factor ~0.31). The higher the cooking temperature and the longer the cooking time, the more moisture is lost. This matters when calculating how much raw meat to buy per person.

This calculator estimates cooked weight, not doneness — always check the core temperature with a meat thermometer. The UK Food Standards Agency advises 75°C in the centre (or 70°C held for 2 minutes) for poultry (chicken, turkey), pork, sausages, bacon, burgers, and any minced or reformed meat; these should never be served pink. Whole, intact beef and lamb joints can be cooked to taste — about 52°C for rare, 63°C for medium, and 71°C for well done — because surface bacteria are seared off during cooking.