Read the chart data
| Period or item | Ingredient cost (USD) |
|---|---|
| Whole milk | 0.1627 |
| Large eggs | 0.1893 |
| White sugar | 0.0449 |
The recipe being costed
Combine the measured ingredients and divide the finished batch into sale portions. Track any mixture left in the jug or damaged portions as production loss.
This is an original costing example, not a claim that every kitchen makes this dish in the same way. Quantities below define the entire example portion. Scale them to your actual recipe and weigh the output before deciding how many servings a batch makes.
| Ingredient | Quantity per portion | Cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk | 150 ml | $0.1627 |
| Large eggs | 1 each | $0.1893 |
| White sugar | 20 g | $0.0449 |
Total ingredient cost: $0.3970, displayed as $0.40 after rounding. We keep extra precision through the calculation and round only for display. The chart shows which ingredients contribute the most money to this defined portion; it does not show nutritional proportions.
Purchase and preparation assumptions
- Whole milk: $4.106 per gal. Milliliters are converted to US gallons without substituting a water density.
- Large eggs: $2.272 per dozen. Counted as large eggs; the BLS purchase basis is a dozen.
- White sugar: $1.019 per lb. Quantity is purchase-basis or ready-to-use weight with no extra trim factor asserted.
All prices are US city-average retail observations for September 2026. They are not wholesale estimates or quotations for your kitchen. Pack sizes, brands and delivery agreements may differ. Only the listed ingredients are included. Added seasonings, garnishes, packaging, energy, labor, tax and delivery fees require separate entries or a contribution allowance. A food-cost calculation alone cannot establish whether the dish is profitable.
Menu-price scenarios
| Chosen food-cost target | Unrounded selling price | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | $1.59 | $0.3970 ÷ 0.25 |
| 30% | $1.32 | $0.3970 ÷ 0.3 |
| 35% | $1.13 | $0.3970 ÷ 0.35 |
These percentages are chosen scenarios, not recommended industry targets. A lower target allocates more of the selling price to labor, overhead and operating income. Check the resulting price against the full menu, guest expectations and your operating budget. After selecting a rounded menu price, divide the ingredient cost by that actual price to see the resulting food-cost percentage.
Adapt the reference to your kitchen
Open this recipe in the ledger, confirm the import and replace the reference prices with dated invoice prices. Existing matching ingredients retain their current ledger prices, so your imported result can differ from this page. Set the selling price yourself; the loaded recipe starts without a sale price to avoid presenting a scenario as a decision.
Measure the batch you really produce, including losses that prevent a portion from being sold. If a component is shared across dishes, make it a sub-recipe and use its measured finished yield. Test an ingredient price change before applying it to see the effect on every affected recipe. Save a JSON or CSV backup when the recipe is ready for service.
Sources and method
Checked October 29, 2026. Example inputs and computed results are identified in the text.
- CPI Average Price Data factsheet. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retail averages for specified units. They are not wholesale procurement prices. Checked 2026-10-29.
- FoodData Central SR Legacy downloads. USDA Agricultural Research Service. Portion weights extracted from the April 2018 SR Legacy CSV release; historical reference data, not new measurements. Checked 2026-10-29.
- Agriculture Handbook 102: Food Yields Summarized by Different Stages of Preparation. USDA Agricultural Research Service. Revised September 1975. Table 1, printed pages 6 to 10, inspected visually. Preparation, ranges and limited-data markers retained. Checked 2026-10-29.
- The Principles of Menu Engineering. BC Cook Articulation Committee / BCcampus. Food-cost percentage, menu pricing and contribution margin formulas. Checked 2026-10-29.
- SI Units: Volume. National Institute of Standards and Technology. US customary volume conversions; ingredient density is a separate input. Checked 2026-10-29.
- Fresh whole fortified milk. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. US city average, not seasonally adjusted. Retail reference, not a supplier quote. Checked 2026-10-29.
- Grade A large eggs. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. US city average, not seasonally adjusted. Retail reference, not a supplier quote. Checked 2026-10-29.
- White sugar, all sizes. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. US city average, not seasonally adjusted. Retail reference, not a supplier quote. Checked 2026-10-29.