Shrinking Products/ Increasing Prices

[Arkansan]

GRRR!! Canned tuna irks me. Most brands are now 5 ounces or even 4.5 ounces. It only makes two really skimpy sandwiches. Or a skimpy casserole. And 2 cans is often too much for my needs. Costco sells 8-packs of 7 ounce tuna. But that's one of the few things I've found of value at Costco Jim

I buy 12 oz cans of tuna at Target. They are their Market Pantry private label brand. I buy the solid white tuna in water, but there are other types as well. I don't remember the exact cost, but I know it is less than using 2 or 3 of the (much) smaller cans. I see them in the grocery store and just wonder who is buying that small an amount? One of these cans makes several good sized sandwiches or fills up a casserole/pasta salad--enough for my family of 5 with leftovers.

 

[disneysteve]

I know it is less than using 2 or 3 of the (much) smaller cans. I see them in the grocery store and just wonder who is buying that small an amount?

I buy small cans of tuna. I'm the only one in my house who eats it. My wife is allergic to seafood and my daughter is vegetarian. In fact, I can't even have it in the house. I eat it at work only.

 

[POOHsie]

I get small cans of Star-kist tuna (5.5 oz). They have tuna mixed with sweet Thai or mixed with Jalapeno. Good to go as-is. But they are packed in oil, and I swear the amount of oil I drain is at least 1 oz and maybe more. It really is another way of being a rip-off.

 

[NotUrsula]

Tuna is one of those foods that is very popular with people who eat very little (elderly ladies who live alone) or who depend on public transit to get to the store. Cans are heavy, so if you are shopping with only a bag and riding the bus, you only want to buy what you can carry. Personally, I hate the space that the cans take up in my pantry, so I spend a bit more and buy it in the foil packs.

My favorite situation with shrinking packages is in my fridge right now. It's a tub of Blue Bonnet soft margarine. In bold happy lettering on the lid it says, "STILL 15 ounces!" Um, the traditional size for a pkg. of margarine is a pound, so 15 oz. is still short of what the average customer expects it to be.

It really *is* a PITA when cooking, because older recipes often just list a package size and not a weight or volume. I was thrilled the other day to find that a regional cheese company is selling garlic jalapeno cheese, (which Southern cooks will know are essential to Spinach Madeline or Garlic Cheese grits). However, the block is 5 oz, not 6, so to do each recipe, you need 1-1/5 blocks, which creates waste unless you decide to make 5 batches. (For Spinach Madeline that's important; if the cheese content is out of proportion it ruins the bechamel base.)

 

[usnuzuloose]

Tuna is one of those foods that is very popular with people who eat very little (elderly ladies who live alone) or who depend on public transit to get to the store. Cans are heavy, so if you are shopping with only a bag and riding the bus, you only want to buy what you can carry. Personally, I hate the space that the cans take up in my pantry, so I spend a bit more and buy it in the foil packs.

My favorite situation with shrinking packages is in my fridge right now. It's a tub of Blue Bonnet soft margarine. In bold happy lettering on the lid it says, "STILL 15 ounces!" Um, the traditional size for a pkg. of margarine is a pound, so 15 oz. is still short of what the average customer expects it to be.

It really *is* a PITA when cooking, because older recipes often just list a package size and not a weight or volume. I was thrilled the other day to find that a regional cheese company is selling garlic jalapeno cheese, (which Southern cooks will know are essential to Spinach Madeline or Garlic Cheese grits). However, the block is 5 oz, not 6, so to do each recipe, you need 1-1/5 blocks, which creates waste unless you decide to make 5 batches. (For Spinach Madeline that's important; if the cheese content is out of proportion it ruins the bechamel base.)

I hear you, I made Ziti and it called for a 32 ounce jar of marinara sauce and it was only 24 ounces. I needed one cup, I just made it with the one jar as the rest of it would have went to waste….

 

[manning]

Don't panic. If you listen to those two actresses you can get by on one square per visit....two if you have an emergency.

Do you think the squares have gotten smaller. Just wondering.