Bah Humbug, Betty Crocker!

[grasswire]

So yesterday I set out to make an old family favorite -- a sherry cake from the 1970s that starts with a yellow cake mix, a lotta eggs and sherry and nutmeg, etc. Been making it for decades now. It's delicious.Light, excellent crumb, etc.

Welp, as they say. Some of the manufacturers have shrunk their box weight. Up to 29 percent less now!

Dang! The cake turned out about half its usual loft.

To the google. Many many people have such "heirloom" recipes from moms and MILs, and are exceptionally unhappy. One suggested remedy is to simply add more flour. But that won't be a good remedy, I don't think. Another suggested remedy is to buy TWO boxes, and then measure out enough from the second box to add to the first box, to equal the old weight.

Just a note for us all: when making old recipes, remember that the manufacturers and their profit margins can screw things up.

[NJCher]

1. yep

I remember seeing this when I worked for one of the big 3 automotive companies. Every year, when the prices came out, I would notice how they downgraded the quality or left out options to hold the line on price.

The other day I looked at a roll of toilet paper and marveled at how it seemed to be approaching the width of a cash register receipt.

On the other hand, technology sometimes steps in and adds in some value.


Cher

[laundry_queen]

9. God YES with the TP

So fucking annoying!

Last time I actually bought the brand that advertised that they were wider for the same price, LOL. Guess they found their competitive advantage. You know it's bad when you can almost fit 2 TP rolls side by side on the holder.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Yes, I've had the same thing happen. Used to be able to fill two of my cake

pans from 1 box of mix. Not anymore, unless people like a 2-inch high layer cake.

[PADemD]

3. Duncan Hines Cake Mixes

I don't know if this is available where you live, but I always use Duncan Hines cake mixes and have never had a problem. For the 4th this year, I made a coconut cake that was delicious!

Here's a link to their products:

http://www.duncanhines.com/

There's a picture of an angel food cake with fresh citrus sauce. Looks heavenly!

[grasswire]

5. yes, from what I read...

....Duncan Hines has only shrunk their size by two ounces or so.

I know, I know, it's more fun to make scratch cake and I do that often. But these old reipes are tradition in some families.

[catnhatnh]

4. Any recipe more than 5 years old....

...that calls for a can, box, or package of any ingredient needs to be researched.Tuna is a great example-following Grandma's tuna casserole recipe will leave you something more like "tuna flavored pasta salad with powdered cheese-like flavorings" in the modern parlance, tuna cans having shrunk by up to 40%...

Packaged meats are a recent victim with sausages, bacon, and hotdogs coming in a range of sizes under a pound yet packaged to appear as much as possible like the pound packages they replaced.

At the same time store pricing info has gone down the drain. I've seen the same product by different manufacturers using unit pricing in price per gallon, per liter, per ounce, and per quart gerrymandered on the same shelf until the Son of God himself would need a hand calculator, a pad, and a half dozen #2 pencils to figure the per portion cost of a casserole...

Meanwhile the little convenient little envelopes of rice or pasta sides-many of those, thanks to "product shrinkage" now yield (by their own info) 3-1/2 servings...lets see-3 1/2, 7, 10 1/2, 14...That's it!!! Next time we invite over EXACTLY 6 other couples these are just the right size...

Oh I could go on and on and on and on...but I think you get my drift-the food giants are having their way with us and most of us are too stupid to even realize it.

[grasswire]

6. yeah we used to get four sandwiches from a can of tuna.

Now it's two.

[laundry_queen]

10. i don't think people are too stupid to realize it

Everyone I've talked to has noticed. I think everyone just feels powerless to do anything about it. I mean, you can only fire off so many emails, or write so many letters when you are working 60 hours a week, you know? What else is there to do? Except for growing your own food or trying to only buy on sale or in bulk...which nearly everyone I know does anyway.

[progressoid]

7. Was filling up a couple "five gallon" buckets yesterday.

turns out they are 4.5 gallons.

[dem in texas]

8. Yes, I have had to adjust many old recipes.

Don't sell 3oz blocks of cream cheese anymore, this messed up my all-time favorite cookie recipe. I always doubled the recipe, so it wasn't too hard to rework it. Now I can use an 8oz pack of cream cheese. What about a can of evaporated milk? A must have ingredient for pumpkin pie, check out the measurements on the can, less milk now. Where did the size 303 can go? It goes on and on. I have been able to rework a lot of recipes to take the new sizes into account.