Product knowledge
What Does Drained Weight Mean on Olive Tins?
Drained weight is the weight of the solid food alone — olives, capers, artichokes — once the brine, water or oil it's packed in has been poured off, and it's separate from the net weight printed as the tin or jar's headline number. Net weight covers everything inside the container, liquid included; drained weight is what's left on a strainer. For a buyer comparing two tins that look similar on the shelf, drained weight is the figure that actually tells you how much product you're paying for.
Net weight vs. drained weight
Net weight is the total contents of a sealed container — olives plus brine, capers plus liquid — measured the moment it's packed. Drained weight strips the liquid out and weighs only what's left: the olives, capers or vegetable pieces themselves. Because a packing liquid can run anywhere from a light glaze to a substantial share of the tin's total weight, two products with an identical net weight on the label can hold noticeably different amounts of actual food, which is exactly why the two figures are declared separately rather than left for a buyer to estimate.
Why drained weight matters for comparing value
A foodservice buyer costing out a menu per portion needs drained weight, not net weight, because it's the solid product that ends up on the plate — brine gets poured away at the sink, not served. Comparing two tins of black olives by net weight alone can be misleading if one is packed in more liquid than the other; comparing by drained weight puts the actual olive content of each on equal footing. Canada's food labelling rules require a drained-weight declaration on packaged foods where the liquid content is significant enough that net weight alone would understate what a buyer is really getting (CFIA — net quantity on food labels); the same logic behind that rule is what makes drained weight the more useful number for costing a kitchen order.
It applies to capers and artichokes too, not just olives
Any food packed in a liquid medium carries the same net-vs-drained distinction — it isn't specific to olives. Capers sold in brine and jarred artichoke hearts both list a net weight for the sealed jar and, where the packing liquid makes up a meaningful share of that weight, a drained weight for the solid product alone. Our capers in 4L foodservice tubs and artichoke hearts in glass jars answers cover the actual formats we carry in both categories, including how the two weight figures show up on those specific jars.
Related questions
Is drained weight always lower than net weight?
Yes, by definition — drained weight is a subset of net weight once the packing liquid is removed. The gap between the two varies by product and how much liquid it's packed in.
Do all olive tins have to show drained weight?
Foods packed in a liquid not normally consumed generally carry a drained-weight declaration once that liquid makes up a meaningful share of the total, alongside the standard net-weight figure. Check the label of the specific product you're buying to confirm.
Which figure should a kitchen use for costing a recipe?
Drained weight — it reflects the amount of solid product that actually goes into a dish, since the brine is normally poured off before use.