costed plateRead the chart data
| Period or item | Fresh whole fortified milk (USD per gal) |
|---|---|
| 2024-10 | 4.041 |
| 2024-11 | 4.138 |
| 2024-12 | 4.101 |
| 2025-01 | 4.025 |
| 2025-02 | 4.026 |
| 2025-03 | 4.05 |
| 2025-04 | 4.074 |
| 2025-05 | 4.022 |
| 2025-06 | 4.029 |
| 2025-07 | 4.162 |
| 2025-08 | 4.171 |
| 2025-09 | 4.129 |
| 2025-10 | Not available |
| 2025-11 | 3.997 |
| 2025-12 | 4.047 |
| 2026-01 | 4.1 |
| 2026-02 | 4.026 |
| 2026-03 | 4.067 |
| 2026-04 | 4.136 |
| 2026-05 | 4.217 |
| 2026-06 | 4.317 |
| 2026-07 | 4.313 |
| 2026-08 | 4.229 |
| 2026-09 | 4.106 |
The purchase reference
The latest available BLS observation in this extract is $4.106 per gal for 2026-09. It represents fresh whole fortified milk, US city average, not seasonally adjusted. This is a retail reference for comparison, not a restaurant supplier quote. Your invoice price, pack specification, grade, delivery terms and location can change the usable cost.
| Calculated basis | USD reference |
|---|---|
| 1 lb | $0.477 |
| 1 kg | $1.052 |
The mass calculation is based on milk mass derived from the USDA cup weight and a US liquid gallon. A US gallon contains sixteen US cups. The USDA reference cup is 244 g. Volume and mass are related here through this food-specific reference, not through the density of water.
Yield and usable cost
No preparation-matched Handbook 102 yield is asserted on this page. Usable cost per edible kilogram is therefore not reported. The app starts with a no-loss assumption of 100%; change it to your measured yield before costing trimmed or cooked output. Do not confuse an unknown yield with evidence that there is no waste.
Portion weights, not universal densities
| USDA household measure | Reference mass |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | 244 g |
| 1 fl oz | 30.5 g |
| 1 tbsp | 15 g |
| 1 quart | 976 g |
These portions refer to Milk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, with added vitamin D in SR Legacy. A chopped, packed, sliced or mashed cup describes a different physical state from another cup. Keep the descriptor attached to the weight. The app only derives a general cup density where this record has an unqualified cup measure. For other preparations, use the listed grams directly instead of applying a guessed volume conversion.
Work a portion before service
For an illustrative 100 g purchase-basis portion, the ingredient cost is $0.105. The calculation is purchase price multiplied by the equivalent purchase quantity. The portion size is a worked assumption, not a recommended serving.
Record the preparation name beside the ingredient. Keep delivery loss separate from cooking loss, and avoid charging the same trim twice. If you buy an already prepared product, replace the whole-product reference with that pack's price and usable amount. Open the prefilled ingredient, check its price and unit, then add it to a recipe with your measured portion. Export a backup after updating the ledger.
Sources and method
Checked October 29, 2026. Example inputs and computed results are identified in the text.
- 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.
- 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.
- SI Units: Volume. National Institute of Standards and Technology. US customary volume conversions; ingredient density is a separate input. Checked 2026-10-29.
- FoodData Central SR Legacy: Milk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, with added vitamin D. USDA Agricultural Research Service. 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.