With Override Food COGS switched off (the default), the Food COGS is the sum over each ingredient of: (quantity used adjusted for the ingredient's trim) x ingredient cost / ingredient base weight, plus that ingredient's own labour (cost per hour x time to prepare) scaled the same way. The form shows this live as Sum: next to the COGS field and as Food in the Production Cost card. Labor = the sub-recipe's own Cost per hour x Time to prepare (Hours). Production Cost = Food + Labor, and this total is what meal recipes use when they include the sub-recipe. The Food COGS is recalculated every time you save and whenever one of its ingredients changes price, trim or base weight.