The equation below allows you to calculate an ingredient’s cost per ‘unit.’ A food item’s ‘unit’ of measure is usually printed on the side of the container that it comes in. For example, a can of beans may be measured in grams or ounces and a package of hamburger may be measured in pounds. To determine the precise cost of a dish, we must calculate the exact cost of the amount of a given ingredient in a recipe. For example: 25 grams of black beans costs us how much? If we know this, then we can work out accurate food budgets that can potentially save us thousands of dollars over the course of a year.
What are you doing to protect your family from rising food prices?
Before using the food cost equation, you must convert each ingredient’s unit of measure (i.e. ml, lbs, grams, etc.), using the above table, to those used in the recipe – this is one problem with recipes. So, if your recipe calls for a quantity of an item in grams, but the amount specified on the item’s packaging is in ounces, then you must convert the ounces into grams. Once you have converted the measurement, you can fill in the rest of the following equation:
Save big on Asian Ingredients of all sorts!
Price Paid for Ingredient / Total Amount of Ingredient (oz, lbs, etc.) X Amount Required for Recipe = Ingredient’s Cost for a Particular Recipe
Example: $3 can of peas / 300g per can X 25g per recipe = $0.25 worth of peas per recipe
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