Taste
35%Would you make it again for the flavor alone?
Rated 1–7 on the scorecard, from Disgusting to Addicting, then turned into a percentage.
- 5 · Good67%
- 6 · Delicious83%
- 7 · Addicting100%
The system
HVC Score =
- Taste35% (more is better)
- Health35% (more is better)
- Ease20% (easier is better)
- Cost10% (less is better)
The process
How High-Value Cooking Works
- 01
I cook and test the meal.
- 02
I score it across what actually matters.
- 03
I show you the results.
- 04
You decide if it's worth cooking.
The formula
One number, four parts.
HVC Score = 0.35 × Taste + 0.35 × Health + 0.20 × Ease + 0.10 × Cost
Why taste and health get 70%. A meal you don’t want to eat again, or one that doesn’t fuel you, isn’t high value, however cheap or quick it is. Those two decide most of the score.
Why ease gets 20%. Home cooking only wins if you’ll actually make it on a busy Tuesday. Difficulty, cleanup and the minutes you spend working all count here.
Why cost gets 10%. Cooking at home is almost always cheaper than ordering out, so price works as a tiebreaker, not the headline.
Health
35%What does it actually do for your body?
Health is the Fuel Score: how close the ingredients are to whole food, what one serving gives you, and a small nudge for how you cook it.
50% Source + 50% Density + Craft (±8)
Ease
20%Will you actually make it on a weeknight?
Three things blended: difficulty (1–7, Expert to Foolproof: how hard it is to get right), cleanup (1–7, the cookware you scrub by hand) and active time. Only the minutes you’re working count. Oven, simmer and marinade time don’t.
50% difficulty + 20% cleanup + 30% active time
Cost
10%What does one serving cost you?
Add up what you used, not the whole package, and divide by servings. The score slides along a curve, so every dollar counts. Under $5 is a great deal; over $20 is restaurant money.
$5.50 a serving → 88 · $7 → 83
Worked example · Weeknight salmon
| Part | How it scored | Score | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taste | 6 / 7, Delicious | 83 | 0.35 | 29.1 |
| Health | Source 94, Density 84, Craft +2 | 91 | 0.35 | 31.9 |
| Ease | Difficulty 5.5, cleanup 5, 25 min active | 76 | 0.20 | 15.2 |
| Cost | $5.50 a serving | 88 | 0.10 | 8.8 |
HVC Score85% Platinum
The total lands on the same seven tiers as everything else, from Red to Obsidian. Want to score your own? The free guide below has the curves and a worksheet.
Health · The Fuel Score
Real food in. Real fuel out.
Health is 35% of the HVC Score, and it comes from the Fuel Score, 0 to 100: half for how close the ingredients are to whole food, half for what the dish actually gives you. How you cook it can nudge the score a little either way.
50%
Source
How close each ingredient is to whole food, weighted by how much of it is in the dish. Fresh food scores highest, everyday staples stay safe, and anything you make from scratch gets credit.
50%
Density
What the dish gives you per serving: protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, plant variety, omega-3s and anything fermented. Lots of added sugar takes points off.
±8
Craft
How you cook it. Grilling, searing, roasting and pan-frying are neutral. Small bonuses for things like marinades, gentle cooking and raw veg; small dings for heavy char or reused fryer oil.
Fuel Score = 50% Source + 50% Density + Craft
- 93–100Obsidian
- 85–92Platinum
- 77–84Gold
- 68–76Green
- 58–67Yellow
- 45–57Orange
- 0–44Red
The full guide
Score your own kitchen.
Get the complete HVC scoring guide as a PDF, free.