Watch the Package Sizes

It's been awhile since any of us have tried some new recipes, but I will be posting a couple of them this week.  It's not that what we've been making has been bad.  They just haven't been spectacular enough to share.

I do want to bring to your attention the continuing downsizing of product packaging and how it is going to affect your old recipes. Most of you know already that the old recipes (pre 1980) all expected 7 - 7.5 oz cans of tuna.  This size has been shrinking since the 1980s.  Now, you need to use 2 cans of tuna to have adequate protein in all your classic casserole recipes (the Cream of Mushroom has remained the same!).    Coffee packaging has also shrunk to hide the fact that the cost has gone up.

It has now happened in the baking arena - both Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines have shrunk the amount of cake mix in their boxes, making it impossible to get the same results when using standard pans. Cookbook author Anne Byrnes, quoted on Taste of Home website, has advised that bakers add 1/3 cup of flour to any of her cake recipes to make up for it.  Currently, Pillsbury hasn't shrunk their packaging.  In the meantime, vote with your money. I won't buy the reduced packages of cake mix - I'll buy Pillsbury or simply make my cakes from scratch, once again.  Sure, I like cake flour, but I can do without it.  Cake mix isn't the only victim in the slashing packaging sizes.  Evaporated milk is now a smaller can which makes your pumpkin pie recipes a problem.  Fortunately, Sam's Club still sells the original size cans, but I noticed at both grocery stores that the smaller cans are the only ones available.  There is a fix here as well - you can either add half and half or milk to make up for the lost 2.5 oz OR you can use another can and then freeze the remainder.  It might help to freeze that remainder in an ice cube tray and estimating that 2.5 oz.  You'll have enough for 4 pies then.

So, with this in mind, be sure to check those package sizes when you are making recipes.

I love my ebook readers.  I have 2 kindles and a Nook.   I am spending more time reading than doing needlework, but that's because I CAN!!  I'm only lukewarm on using an ereader for cooking.  I think this would work better with a tablet than a dedicated ereader because rarely can you get an entire recipe on one page.  Anybody with thoughts on that?