# Food Costing Pickle Chips



## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

Hi, I currently buy Dill pickle chips in a 5 gallon bucket it works out to 20 lbs of actual pickle chips and 2.4 gallons of pickle juice . We use the pickle juice to "brine" our chicken breast for our fried chicken sandwich. What cost do I give the pickle juice? Thanks in advance


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

Since your cost is for the pickle chips you get the juice for free. Kinda like trying to figure out how much the empty bucket worth.


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

halb said:


> Since your cost is for the pickle chips you get the juice for free. Kinda like trying to figure out how much the empty bucket worth.


Hmm, I understand the free part but wouldn't the juice have value since it's being used, and make the cost of the pickle chips go down?


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## Mischief (Dec 13, 2018)

Well, you can divide the entire bucket by weight and get a cost per oz and go that route, or as was said above, you've likely already incorporated the juices cost with your pickle price, so it'd be essentially zero. It's up to you on which route you go.


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

The juice would have value if you used the juice and threw the pickles away.


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

Mischief said:


> Well, you can divide the entire bucket by weight and get a cost per oz and go that route, or as was said above, you've likely already incorporated the juices cost with your pickle price, so it'd be essentially zero. It's up to you on which route you go.


I've been incorporating the cost of the whole bucket when i cost it out. I was thinking since we started using the juice for the other item. It could have like if I were to buy pickle juice by the gallon. I looked it up it's like $13. So if I pay $25 for a bucket of pickle chips . I could subtract the cost of the pickle juice from the cost of the bucket of pickles . Leaving me with $12 for the 20lbs of pickle chips which would be around 4cents a oz. 
Does that sound right?


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## Mischief (Dec 13, 2018)

I believe you're overthinking it but that sounds accurate.


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

Mischief said:


> I believe you're overthinking it but that sounds accurate.


Ya most likely! But figuring it out is sweet . Thanks everyone for the responses!!!


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

What if you use the bucket to hold ranch dressing. What about the delivery cost to bring in the bucket. I'm asking Please move on to more important things. Just be happy you're still in Business. Keeping you profitable and keeping costs in line will have nothing to do with the pickle juice.


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

chefbillyb said:


> What if you use the bucket to hold ranch dressing. What about the delivery cost to bring in the bucket. I'm asking Please move on to more important things. Just be happy you're still in Business. Keeping you profitable and keeping costs in line will have nothing to do with the pickle juice.


Wow OK! I'm super happy to still be in business. One of things keeping me in business is going over my costs. My bad sorry I thought this was the place for that stuff. Onward!


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

If you are successfully recycling pickle juice you already know how to control food costs.  Early in my life I cooked at a place that threw pickle juice down the sink, and put the empty buckets in the dumpster. My next job recycled pickle juice and used the buckets for mop water. The food at the second place tasted better than at the first... and it showed in terms of sales and profit.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

I took over a kitchen many years ago and found among other things in the inventory that the Chef (cough, hack, spew) costed out a 5 gallon bucket of chicken stock he'd made at $200.00. At the time chicken necks and backs were about $20.00 for 50 lbs. Even with the Mirepoix, labor, and water, you couldn't get it to cost that much. I later found out the former guy had inflated his inventory to make the numbers look good.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

I would not add any cost for the juice it is waste. If you truly wanted to incorporate it add a penny to the cost of the pickles.


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

nicko said:


> I would not add any cost for the juice it is waste. If you truly wanted to incorporate it add a penny to the cost of the pickles.


But it has value if i'm not throwing it out correct?


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Devonshire said:


> But it has value if i'm not throwing it out correct?


Yes, it has value... but it was a free byproduct that is getting creatively re-used. There's nothing to co$t until the free pickle juice becomes unavailable and it has to be house-made.

Do you use vegetable peelings and ends to make stock? Do you put a value on the peelings? Like the pickle juice, they were already paid for and can be wrapped into the costing of the primary product. It's just silly to split hairs like that. Time is too valuable. Do you Also cost water per item????


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

brianshaw said:


> Yes, it has value... but it was a free byproduct that is getting creatively re-used. There's nothing to co$t until the free pickle juice becomes unavailable and it has to be house-made.
> 
> Do you use vegetable peelings and ends to make stock? Do you put a value on the peelings? Like the pickle juice, they were already paid for and can be wrapped into the costing of the primary product. It's just silly to split hairs like that. Time is too valuable. Do you Also cost water per item????


But when you have a usable byproduct that's upwards of 50% of the item purchased its of significant value correct?


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

You’re fighting this too hard. Divide the cost of the bucket of pickles in half. Allocate 50% to the pickle and 50% to the juice. Factor into food costs accordingly. It’s all the same as assuming the juice is free... and you can use your time more productively. Good luck and thanks for being thrifty in the interest of better tasting food!

in the management and engineering world we call this “analysts paralysis “ and it can be quite debilitating. Save yourself while you still have a chance.


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

brianshaw said:


> You're fighting this too hard. Divide the cost of the bucket of pickles in half. Allocate 50% to the pickle and 50% to the juice. Factor into food costs accordingly. It's all the same as assuming the juice is free... and you can use your time more productively. Good luck and thanks for being thrifty in the interest of better tasting food!
> 
> in the management and engineering world we call this "analysts paralysis " and it can be quite debilitating. Save yourself while you still have a chance.


Thanks for the response! I understand totally. Thanks for taking the time. 👍


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## halb (May 25, 2015)

Devonshire said:


> But when you have a usable byproduct that's upwards of 50% of the item purchased its of significant value correct?


But you've already accounted for it in the costing of whatever you use the pickle chips for. If you were to assume a 50% value to the juice you would have to reduce the cost of the chips by 50% which is going to make it look like you are making more on the items that you include the chips with and less on the fried chicken. Further assume 2 or 3 chips on a burger, your cost per burger will see an infinitesimal decrease while your chicken can see a sizable increase.


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

halb said:


> But you've already accounted for it in the costing of whatever you use the pickle chips for. If you were to assume a 50% value to the juice you would have to reduce the cost of the chips by 50% which is going to make it look like you are making more on the items that you include the chips with and less on the fried chicken. Further assume 2 or 3 chips on a burger, your cost per burger will see an infinitesimal decrease while your chicken can see a sizable increase.


We flour and fry the pickle chips 12oz per order and 3 per burger, and we've only been doing burgers this year otherwise its all fried pickle chips. Thanks for the response.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

@Devonshire you have already paid for the pickles so the juice is either waste of free. I reached out to a family member who has a restaurant for over 40 years and asked him. This is what he told me. I think you are over complicating the costing so I would not do it. Like I said if you want add a penny to the cost of the pickles.


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## Devonshire (Aug 19, 2020)

@nicko Thanks for the response. I understand now. 👍


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Just calculate your yield rate just like cutting meat, which is the entire weight minus the weight of the fat you throw away. Pickle juice is like the fat. It's also like we say, gravy. Because gravy is also free if you use pan drippings.


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