Kitchen

[Campion]

I'm sorry to hear this and glad you posted it. 

The mixes were VERY good quality--a local cake decorator I use makes sheet cakes with their mix. And they were always very good for parties.

These food manufacturers are continually doing things to tried-and-true foods that make for bad results. I've elminated so many prepared foods from my pantry in the last few years. Either they are cheapening the ingredients or trying to meet some "voluntary" limitation of calories or finding "healthier fats" which we will doubtless learn in a few yearas aren't healthy after all (remember margarine? My dad used to toss it on the floor if he found it in the fridge. I thought that was a bit much, but he was ahead of his time. It was not healthy at all.)

Write them a letter. Tell them the taste is NOT acceptable and you WILL NOT BE BUYING and you WILL BE blogging and writing extensively to have people be aware that they've ruined this formerly excellent product (and it really was good and I'm a baking snob...I mean I can make Danish pastry from scratch, that kind of snob) 

[jannabelle1]

I bought a Brownie box mix (can't remember which brand, but one of the big brands) and they tasted horrible. I checked the "use by" date on my eggs and that was fine - I finally smelled my vegetable oil and that was the problem. I'm not saying that's your problem, but it taught me a lesson to not keep vegetable oil around for too long...or maybe I should cook and bake more often than I do!

[Happy54]

I have felt the same way about all cake mixes. They just don't taste good anymore. If I bake a cake by the 3rd day for sure it smells funny. I won't eat it. I have been pinning cake recipes now.

[peachesncream]

I have been wondering, what was the result (in sales) after the major brands changed, and shrank, their cake mixes a few years ago. It turns out, sales are declining.  

There is an interesting development -  the creation of "organic mixes" without dyes or artifical ingredients. They're pricy, $5 - $7 for a single mix. The theory is that people are reading labels and wanting to eat foods with fewer artificial ingredients. 

I think mixes still have potential appeal. There are busy mothers (like my DD) who are looking for shortcuts in cooking/baking. And kids find mixes easy to use when they are beginning to bake. But shoppers are disappointed in the mixes currently on grocery shelves (I know I am).    

Here's the article I found:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/01/21/entrepreneur-reviving-stale-baking-mix-category/78786...

[peachesncream]

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@Campion wrote:

Write them a letter. Tell them the taste is NOT acceptable and you WILL NOT BE BUYING and you WILL BE blogging and writing extensively to have people be aware that they've ruined this formerly excellent product (and it really was good and I'm a baking snob...I mean I can make Danish pastry from scratch, that kind of snob) 

---

This happened a few years ago when the changes were introduced. Many people on baking boards sent letters and emails to the major brands complaining about the changes (I was one of them; people on the Wilton board and on Chowhound, etc. also wrote). It didn't do a bit of good; the manufacturers didn't care what consumers had to say.

The major brands fell in line with the awful changes first. Some house brands didn't for awhile (like Kroger and the Ginny Evans brand at Sav-A-Lot). But eventually they all caved in and shrank their products. They had to compete with the cheaper/smaller major brands, that were selling for less.

It was a case of a "race to the bottom" that we see in many areas of American retail. Everyone wants to have the cheapest products, because they think that's what Americans want to buy. Quality isn't a priority.

I think they misjudged this one. Some people stopped buying cake mixes altogether.  

[peachesncream]

Here's another article about declining sales of cake mixes (Betty Crocker and Pillsbury).

http://www.startribune.com/general-mills-betty-crocker-pillsbury-cope-with-baking-slump/367032771/

[YouGoGirl1]

From Jill Cataldo.com

Cake Upsizer

Add 6 Tablespoons of upsizer to cake mix.

1-1/2 cups  all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

whisk dry ingredients and store in air-tight freezer container.

I keep mine in the freezer. I can now make 24 cupcakes

with the added mix. And I can use My Cake Doctor recipes

again. It works like a charm...

[brandiwine]

The box mixes just aren't good anymore.  I'm so glad I have my original Betty Crocker cookbook from the early 70's.  They still have the best recipes.  I've complained to Duncan Hines and you don't get a response.