Raw-to-Dry Planning
Raw-to-Dry Yield Calculator
This tool estimates how much freeze-dried weight a given fresh weight will produce, using an expected dry yield percentage that you enter yourself. For example, 100 kg of prepared food at an expected 18% dry yield estimates 18 kg of freeze-dried product. The result is always labeled an estimate.
What This Tool Does
It multiplies a fresh weight by an expected dry yield percentage to estimate the freeze-dried weight you will have to package, sell or store. The yield percentage is your input: use a measured yield from your own batches when you have one.
Estimated Freeze-Dried Weight
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Estimate, based on the dry yield you entered
What the Result Means
The result is the estimated dry weight of the batch: the number to plan packaging, labels, pricing and storage around. Because the dry yield is the number you supplied, the output is only as good as that yield: a measured yield from an actual test batch of the same food, prepared the same way, is far more reliable than a guess.
There is no single yield that fits every food, preparation or machine, which is why this tool deliberately has no built-in yield table. When you do not have a measured number yet, start with a small test batch, measure what it actually produces, and use that measured dry yield for planning.
The Formula
- Estimated Freeze-Dried Weight = Fresh Weight × Expected Dry Yield % ÷ 100
Important Limitations
- The yield percentage is user-entered. If you enter a guess, the estimate inherits the guess.
- Yield depends on the food, how much it was trimmed or cooked, thickness, preparation and the machine: the same ingredient can vary between batches.
- Fresh weight should be the weight you actually load, after trimming, prep and any cooking, not a raw retail weight.
- This is an estimate for planning, not a laboratory measurement of moisture or solids.