GIFSQ Tools · Module 08 — Meat, Poultry, Fish & Seafood · Tool 144 of 500
Measure cooking loss: weigh meat before and after cooking to get the loss as a percentage, the mass lost and the cooked yield.
Try sample values — fills the form with the worked example below.
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Cooking loss (%)
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Mass lost (g)
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Cooked yield (%)
Equation: Cooking loss (%) = (raw weight − cooked weight) ÷ raw weight × 100. Mass lost (g) = raw weight − cooked weight. Cooked yield (%) = cooked weight ÷ raw weight × 100 = 100 − cooking loss (%).
Method: Cooking loss by weighing before and after cooking to a stated end-point temperature, as in the AMSA Research Guidelines for Cookery, Sensory Evaluation, and Instrumental Tenderness Measurements of Meat (2015) and Honikel (1998). The loss is mostly water with some melted fat; the end-point temperature and the cooking method must be recorded with the result.
Assumptions: the raw and cooked weighings are on the same scale; drip and fat left in the pan are part of the loss, not weighed back in; the end-point temperature is the same for every sample compared.
Limitations: cooking loss depends on end-point temperature, cooking method, cut and fat content, so values are only comparable under the same cooking conditions; the test does not separate water loss from fat loss.
Rounding: cooking loss and cooked yield to 2 decimal places; mass lost to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Method: Cooking loss by weighing before and after cooking to a stated end-point temperature, as in the AMSA Research Guidelines for Cookery, Sensory Evaluation, and Instrumental Tenderness Measurements of Meat (2015) and Honikel (1998). The loss is mostly water with some melted fat; the end-point temperature and the cooking method must be recorded with the result.
Assumptions: the raw and cooked weighings are on the same scale; drip and fat left in the pan are part of the loss, not weighed back in; the end-point temperature is the same for every sample compared.
Limitations: cooking loss depends on end-point temperature, cooking method, cut and fat content, so values are only comparable under the same cooking conditions; the test does not separate water loss from fat loss.
Rounding: cooking loss and cooked yield to 2 decimal places; mass lost to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Worked example: A 500 g steak weighs 350 g after cooking. Mass lost = 500 − 350 = 150 g; cooking loss = 150 ÷ 500 × 100 = 30.00 %; cooked yield = 350 ÷ 500 × 100 = 70.00 %.
Enter values above to see results.
Cooking loss of 25–35% is common for beef steaks cooked to medium; higher end-point temperatures give higher losses. Tool 144 of 500 — GIFSQ
