Thursday, June 13, 2013

"D" as in DISAPPOINTED in the DOWNSIZE

It's that time again!  It's time for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."

This week we are studying the letter "D" as in DISAPPOINTED in the DOWNSIZE.

I sometimes bake special cakes or cupcakes following recipes from the Cake Doctor.  Have you see her cookbooks?  She has a bunch of them, but these are the two I have on my bookshelf.
One of my favorite recipes is for cupcakes using Oreo Cookies.  I hadn't made them in a while so I sent my son to the grocery store with a list of ingredients.  He called from the store and said he couldn't find the white cake mix I needed in either the Betty Crocker, Pillsbury or Duncan Hines brands.  What?  I've always been able to find it.  I thought that was kind of strange.  Then he said, "I'm looking for the 18.25 oz. box, but they all say either 15.2 oz. or 16.5 oz."  I ran to the computer and googled cake mixes.  Sure enough they have all reduced the size of their mixes over the past year.

I guess they all got together and decided to do it.  There's not a word on the boxes about the change.  Online I found people posting on message boards about how their favorite recipes using cake mixes no longer worked.  So, if you have a favorite recipe...BEWARE!

I went to the Cake Doctor's website and she had a few suggestions for dealing with the changes.  One was to add 6 T of flour to the cake mix.  That's what I did, but I thought my favorite cupcakes were a little dry.  You can read all her suggestions here.  Just scroll down on the page.

However, on my last trip to HEB (a Texas grocery chain) they had their own brand of cake mix still available in the 18.25 oz. size.  I quickly grabbed two boxes because I would imagine at some point they'll be downsized too.  The Cake Doctor now has her own cake mix and they are still the 18.25 size, but only available at Central Market in Texas and I don't have one nearby.  They're sold on her website too, but right now they're only available in yellow cake or chocolate cake.

I know downsizing products isn't unusual nowadays, but usually it doesn't impact a favorite recipe this way.  Cake recipes are different.  Then they don't even make a notation on the box, so unless you look carefully you'd never know until your recipe failed.

They claim it was so they wouldn't have to raise the price.  Most people aren't buying cake mix weekly and probably wouldn't even notice a slight increase in price.

I'm DISAPPOINTED in the DOWNSIZE.  How about you?  Did you even realize?

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's blog for a list of this week's participants.


15 comments:

  1. I didn't notice, but you would think they would warn people!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had no idea, but I haven't baked a cake in a good while, either.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You know what else went down - Jello went - I am talking the pre-made for school or lunches in the dairy section - same price - from 6 to 4! Those tricky companies. Love, sandie

    ReplyDelete
  4. For the downsizing companies to say that it's so they wouldn't have to raise the price is ridiculous -- if there's less in the box, it costs more per ounce. It started with cereal, yogurt and coffee and just goes on and on! I never thought about fewer ounces in the box affecting a recipe, but you're right, it absolutely would. Irritating.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't have experience of cake mix but other foods that down size is so annoying , they don't downsize the price

    ReplyDelete
  6. I haven't baked a cake in ages. Those manufacturers are a tricky lot. They think no one notices weight and content changes, then charge you for same amount. Tsk. Tsk. They win the Horse Pucky Award of the week.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just me, and me alone, so I haven't bought a cake mix in awhile, but I do know that I get upset when I go to H.E.B., and it seems as though all their products are their own brand...
    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  8. No I didn't realize this....everything in this world is being downsized! Yes, it is disappointing! Happy fathers day weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Frustrating when these sneaky little changes find their ways into our lives, it does not take much to upset a cake mix.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's pretty sad when they downsize as often as they do. But I guess it's how life is today.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I DIDN'T realize, and I think it's a total pain! Thanks for letting me know so I won't be mystified by failing recipes.

    "/

    ReplyDelete
  12. That must be what happened to the brownie mix too! I have used this one brownie mix for a few years and they always turn out great. The last 2 times they were horrible! I tried another brand and they weren't as good but maybe that too was because they downsized! Rats to this companies that do that to us!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I didn't even realize this devastating news...

    I'm glad I am aware of this now before I destroy a whole batch of cupcakes!

    Thanks for linking to the letter "D"!

    A+

    ReplyDelete
  14. I didn't even realize this devastating news...

    I'm glad I am aware of this now before I destroy a whole batch of cupcakes!

    Thanks for linking to the letter "D"!

    A+

    ReplyDelete
  15. everything is downsized! It is disgusting! But our current president, the health freak, forcing everyone to go organic, except for the poor can chain smoke and I suppose that is healthy! Ugh! I think the way we are being deceived in the USA is just a taste that the worst is yet to come!
    On a pleasant note I add applesauce instead of oil to the batter for more moist cake taste and also dry pudding works well too!
    I ove the Cake Doctor!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to visit my little world and leave a comment. I appreciate hearing from you.

I do not receive all comments by E-mail and I'm not exactly sure why. I do try and remember to check the actual blog so I won't miss any of your comments.

I do not belong to Google+ and regret that I am unable to leave comments on Google+ blogs.

WORD VERIFICATION: I have NOT set up word verification for comments. However, every so often it appears on my blog even though I have chosen NO in the settings. Please let me know if you encounter word verification when leaving a comment so I can try and fix it. Thanks.