Mushrooms yield: how much is usable after prep (AP to EP %)
Mushrooms: about 97% usable going whole to trimmed, with a published range of 87–100%. That is a cost factor of 1.03: for every kilo you need ready to use, buy 1.03 kg as purchased.
Yield by preparation stage
| Stage | Average | Range | What is lost | USDA item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole, good quality → trimmed | 97% | 87–100% | Stem ends | 1507 |
| Whole, fair quality → peeled, trimmed and sliced | 81% | 75–85% | Peelings, trimmings, slicing loss | 1508 |
| Trimmed → fried or sautéed | 65% | 47–80% | Water lost in cooking | 1510 |
Yields multiply: 97% × 65% ≈ 63% for whole → sautéed. You never add the losses together.
Mushrooms lose almost nothing to the knife and a third of their weight in the pan. Cost a mushroom garnish on the cooked weight.
How much to buy
As-purchased (AP) weight = the edible weight you need (EP) ÷ the yield. At 97%:
| Usable weight needed | Buy (as purchased) |
|---|---|
| 1 kg | 1.03 kg |
| 5 kg | 5.15 kg |
| 10 kg | 10.31 kg |
Cost works the same way: usable cost per kilo = the price per kilo you pay ÷ 0.97. At £1.00 a kilo as purchased, usable mushrooms cost £1.03 a kilo.
Use 97% 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 1507, 1508, 1510. These are averages from US samples of whole raw mushrooms, 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