Edible Portion Cost (EP Cost)

Edible portion cost, or EP cost, is what a usable unit of an ingredient really costs. If chicken costs $3.20 a pound as purchased and only 54.6% of it ends up on the plate after trimming and cooking, the edible portion cost is $3.20 divided by 0.546, or $5.86 a pound.

Trim yield and cooking yield multiply, so an ingredient that loses 30% to trim and 22% to cooking keeps 70% of 78%, about 55%. Using the as-purchased price in a recipe understates the cost of every ingredient with a yield below 100%.