Fresh to dried weight ratio for 12 common foods
A kilo of apples gives you roughly 130 g dried. A kilo of beef gives around 400 g of jerky. Knowing the ratio tells you how much to buy and, more usefully, when a batch is done.
A kilo of apples gives you roughly 130 g dried. A kilo of beef gives around 400 g of jerky. Knowing the ratio tells you how much to buy and, more usefully, when a batch is done.
How to read a drying ratio
Water content sets the ratio. Cucumber is 96 percent water and almost disappears. Beef is around 60 percent water, so jerky keeps a surprising amount of its weight.
The figures below are calculated from published composition data for typical water content plus the residual moisture that dried food is normally taken to, not from our own batch log. Yours will differ with variety, ripeness and how far you dry.
Ratios by food
| Fresh, 1 kg | Dried yield | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | ~130 g | 8:1 |
| Pear | ~140 g | 7:1 |
| Strawberry | ~100 g | 10:1 |
| Banana | ~250 g | 4:1 |
| Tomato | ~60 g | 16:1 |
| Courgette | ~50 g | 20:1 |
| Mushroom | ~90 g | 11:1 |
| Carrot | ~120 g | 8:1 |
| Onion | ~110 g | 9:1 |
| Spinach | ~80 g | 12:1 |
| Herbs, leaf | ~120 g | 8:1 |
| Beef, lean | ~400 g | 2.5:1 |
Using weight to tell when it is dry
This is the ratio's real value. Weigh the loaded trays at the start, work out the target from the ratio, and weigh again at the end. When the batch stops losing weight between two checks an hour apart, it is done.
It is more reliable than feel, particularly for thick pieces and for anything going into long storage, where the difference between leathery and brittle is the difference between months and years.
Why your result will differ
A ripe pear holds more sugar and less water than an underripe one. Field grown tomatoes in August are wetter than glasshouse ones in March. And two cooks who both say leathery can be 4 percentage points of moisture apart.
Treat the table as a planning figure. Use your own scale for the batch in front of you.
The other direction
Rehydration does not reverse the ratio. Dried vegetables generally take up two to three times their dried weight in water and stop there, so 100 g of dried carrot returns to around 300 g, not the original kilo.
That gap is why dried food tastes concentrated and why soups made from it need less salt than you expect.
Questions people ask
How much dried apple from 1 kg fresh? Around 130 g, so a 5 kg bag of windfalls fills a large jar.
How much weight does jerky lose? Roughly 60 percent, so 1 kg of lean beef gives about 400 g.
Can I use weight instead of feel? Yes, and for long storage it is the better test.
Safety note. Weight loss tells you about dryness, not about pathogens. Meat still needs the USDA heat step whatever the scale says.
What this is based on
- Published food composition data for water content by food
- National Center for Home Food Preservation guidance on testing for dryness
- USDA guidance on drying and meat safety