Kitchen

[Moonlady]

We all remember the 8-oz individual containers, then they all moved to 6-oz. Jamie Curtis looks ridiculous in the Dannon Activia ads, because she can't even hold the miniscule 4-oz container in her hand--she has to grasp it with her fingers so it shows.

Anyway, the CEO of Chobani was on CNBC answering questions about the product, specifically their latest downsizing to...5.3 oz, which he called "the industry standard." When 5.3 oz becomes the industry standard for Dannon's individual containers, I'l' go back to the 32-oz containers and scoop out my own when I want it.

I do like the convenience of individual containers, but this downsizing is getting ridiculous. They claim they're doing it so they don't have to raise prices, but we all know it's a sneaky price increase, anyway. Moreover, just how small are these containers of everything going to get?

[debic]

It's been done this way for over 40 years, not like it's a big shock. Nickel candy bars used to be twice as big and not cost a fortune. I'd gladly pay more, but not everyone would. Hardly sneaky.

[Moonlady]

And when I was a kid, what Reese's is selling as today's "Big Cup" was their regular size. When companies give you less for the same price, it's sneaky.

[LolaMontez]

It's not only the reduced sizes, but the ridiculous prices for one little container. That's why I make my own. I have a yogurt maker with little individual jars, but it's easy to make in a quart jar or other container. It's very easy to make and then you can sweeten it and flavor it as you like. I love stevia and vanilla or a little blackberry jelly in mine. Tastes great in a fruit parfait or salad. There are many recipes / tutorials available on Pinterest and the net.

[Yahooey]

Still ticked off that 1/2 gallon ice cream is down to 1.5 quarts if you are lucky. 64 ounce juice has been downsized. The list goes on and on.

They will just market the 4 ounce container of yogurt and smaller - for your convenience, easy one mouthfuls. No need for utensils. Calorie friendly too.

[peachesncream]

It's most annoying when it comes to recipes. I have some recipes that call for flavored yogurt in specific sizes.

I've complained about this issue to grocery chains and manufacturers and it always falls on deaf ears.

The fact is, people keep buying - even me. How else are we going to get canned pumpkin, diced and stewed tomatoes, sweetened condensed milk, cake mix, yogurt, coffee, frozen and canned vegetables, etc.?

The other thing that makes this stupid is the waste of resources (extra cans, cartons, bags, etc.).

To answer the OP's question, I like the idea of making my own yogurt. I think I'll look into that.

[Moonlady]

On 1/23/2014 peachesncream said:

It's most annoying when it comes to recipes. I have some recipes that call for flavored yogurt in specific sizes.

I've complained about this issue to grocery chains and manufacturers and it always falls on deaf ears.

The fact is, people keep buying - even me. How else are we going to get canned pumpkin, diced and stewed tomatoes, sweetened condensed milk, cake mix, yogurt, coffee, frozen and canned vegetables, etc.?

The other thing that makes this stupid is the waste of resources (extra cans, cartons, bags, etc.).

Yes, good point about the recipes. I mentioned somewhere else that I have one family-favorite that called for a boxed yellow cake mix. I never use boxed, but this cake was great. Now that they've downsized cax mixes, I don't even bother making it anymore.

[peachesncream]

On 1/23/2014 Moonlady said:

On 1/23/2014 peachesncream said:

It's most annoying when it comes to recipes. I have some recipes that call for flavored yogurt in specific sizes.

I've complained about this issue to grocery chains and manufacturers and it always falls on deaf ears.

The fact is, people keep buying - even me. How else are we going to get canned pumpkin, diced and stewed tomatoes, sweetened condensed milk, cake mix, yogurt, coffee, frozen and canned vegetables, etc.?

The other thing that makes this stupid is the waste of resources (extra cans, cartons, bags, etc.).

Yes, good point about the recipes. I mentioned somewhere else that I have one family-favorite that called for a boxed yellow cake mix. I never use boxed, but this cake was great. Now that they've downsized cax mixes, I don't even bother making it anymore.

I also have dropped my cake mix recipes.

Any time I see a recipe that calls for a convenience food, I think "I wonder how long that will last in its current form?" That usually deters me.

[PamelaSuein72]

I've given up. I've started to make my own pudding snacks for work. I make my own cakes from scratch and I've been working on substituting my own from-scratch cake recipes for those recipes that use boxed cake mixes. It's not that difficult to figure it out.

I hate that manufacturers think we're stupid and they think we don't realize items are down-sized. And that it's just a sneaky way to increase prices.

I'm just so tired of all of it. And I'm not going there anymore. Some things, yeah, I have to buy. DH loves ice cream, for example, so I'll buy it. But not as often. And we've even started making our own ice cream and frozen yogurts with the Cuisinart ice cream maker and sticking them in the freezer.

I should check on making yogurt.

[Alajane]

On 1/23/2014 Moonlady said:

When 5.3 oz becomes the industry standard for Dannon's individual containers, I'l' go back to the 32-oz containers and scoop out my own when I want it.

I really thought that WAS the standard now. I can't think when I've seen a container that was anything other than 5.3 ounces--maybe because I only buy Greek yogurt; perhaps regular yogurt is still in larger sizes.