What a kilo really costs

A kitchen buys by the as-purchased weight and cooks with the edible portion. The yield is the share that survives trimming: carrots at 78% yield give 780 grams of usable carrot from a kilo. Dry rice goes the other way, about 200%, because it drinks water.

So the price on the tag is not the price of what reaches the plate. A usable kilo costs the tag price divided by the yield: $2.00 a kilo at 78% is $2.56 a usable kilo. To serve 40 plates of 100 grams you need 4 usable kilos, which means buying a little over 5. ApprenticeDojo has older children run the same sums for a trade kitchen.