Cucumber yield: how much is usable after prep (AP to EP %)
Cucumber: about 95% usable going whole to sliced, unpeeled, with a published range of 90–98%. That is a cost factor of 1.05: for every kilo you need ready to use, buy 1.05 kg as purchased.
Yield by preparation stage
| Stage | Average | Range | What is lost | USDA item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole → sliced, unpeeled | 95% | 90–98% | Ends and bruised spots | 990 |
| Whole → peeled and sliced | 84% | 68–94% | Parings, ends and bruised spots | 989 |
Unpeeled cucumber is one of the most efficient things in the salad fridge. Peeling it costs you about a tenth of the weight.
How much to buy
As-purchased (AP) weight = the edible weight you need (EP) ÷ the yield. At 95%:
| Usable weight needed | Buy (as purchased) |
|---|---|
| 1 kg | 1.05 kg |
| 5 kg | 5.26 kg |
| 10 kg | 10.53 kg |
Cost works the same way: usable cost per kilo = the price per kilo you pay ÷ 0.95. At £1.00 a kilo as purchased, usable cucumber cost £1.05 a kilo.
Use 95% in the yield calculator →
Where the numbers come from
USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 102, Food Yields Summarized by Different Stages of Preparation (Matthews and Garrison, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 1975), Table 1, items 990, 989. These are averages from US samples of whole cucumbers, weighed before and after each stage of prep. Varieties, sizes, UK grading and your own knife work all move the number, which is why every row shows the range as well as the average.
Use these figures to plan and to sense-check. To cost a dish properly, weigh your own: weigh a case as it arrives, prep it the way you do in service, weigh what is usable, and put both weights into the yield calculator.
All ingredient yields · Yield calculator · How to work out yield percentage