Things That Never Seem to Change

[vitanola]

Worcestershire (I buy the same one as you, wouldn't taste the same without its paper wrapper) is one of those things that I find it is better if I know less about. It works, it has ingredients, I just don't want to know what they are.

I understand, however, that it must NEVER be used as embalming fluid, lest disaster be the result.

 

[vitanola]

Shuron glasses.

No. Shuron no longer makes their original Astigmat eyeglasses, the "Shur-On", which they introduced in 1907:

 

[sheeplady]

No. Shuron no longer makes their original Astigmat eyeglasses, the "Shur-On", which they introduced in 1907: View attachment 72916

I stand corrected, then.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I checked Rust, and note that "Annie's Cousin Fanny" did not appear in the Parlophone New Rhythm Style Series, as did so many other contemporary Dorsey Brothers' recordings. I can't think why.

One of the sublime joys of that record is starchy old Glenn Miller joining in on the vocal and declaring "You'll never see a Fanny half as pretty as mine." Oooweeee.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Meanwhile, I note that I once declared that Alka Seltzer tablets are a thing that never seems to change. However, I now notice that, where the lettering on each tablet was once embossed, it is now incuse. Net result, I expect, all else being equal, is that each tablet weighs just slightly less than it used to. But the price certainly hasn't come down to match the decrease. Racketeers.

 

[Fading Fast]

Meanwhile, I note that I once declared that Alka Seltzer tablets are a thing that never seems to change. However, I now notice that, where the lettering on each tablet was once embossed, it is now incuse. Net result, I expect, all else being equal, is that each tablet weighs just slightly less than it used to. But the price certainly hasn't come down to match the decrease. Racketeers.

"Incuse" got it from context, but never heard it before.

This hits on one of my pet peeves - hidden price increases. We've talked about all the manipulation companies do with package sizing that amounts to "same old price but now with less content," but incusing versus embossing is a very subtle way to do it. That said, if true, then the net weight of the "standard" Alka Seltzer tablet box would have come down - I wonder if it did?

 

[LizzieMaine]

That would be very interesting to know. Unfortunately, the packaging doesn't express a net weight anywhere that I can see -- it simply declares "36 effervescent tablets," and the individual foil packs say "2 effervescent tablets." The "Drug Facts" panel declares each tablet contains 1000 mg of anhydrous citric acid, 325 mg of aspirin, and 1916 mg of sodium bicarbonate, but there is no indication of the weight of any inert ingredients, so that's not very helpful in determining the weight of each individual tablet. If they're up to something, they've covered their tracks well. But I can't imagine they'd go to the trouble of changing the dies that form the tablets unless there was some financial purpose to it.

I note also that the bottom of the box declares "Made in Mexico." What ever happened to Elkhart, Indiana???

 

[Fading Fast]

That would be very interesting to know. Unfortunately, the packaging doesn't express a net weight anywhere that I can see -- it simply declares "36 effervescent tablets," and the individual foil packs say "2 effervescent tablets." The "Drug Facts" panel declares each tablet contains 1000 mg of anhydrous citric acid, 325 mg of aspirin, and 1916 mg of sodium bicarbonate, but there is no indication of the weight of any inert ingredients, so that's not very helpful in determining the weight of each individual tablet. If they're up to something, they've covered their tracks well. But I can't imagine they'd go to the trouble of changing the dies that form the tablets unless there was some financial purpose to it.

I note also that the bottom of the box declares "Made in Mexico." What ever happened to Elkhart, Indiana???

I agree - it is amazing how much even a few grains of powder saved from each tablet will add up to big numbers for the company. I guess, if you could find one, you could compare the old label to the new and see if any of the listed active ingredient weights per tablet went down. If they only dropped the inert ingredients' weight, then, I guess, no harm no foul, but I'm suspicious until proven otherwise.

 

[sheeplady]

"Incuse" got it from context, but never heard it before.

This hits on one of my pet peeves - hidden price increases. We've talked about all the manipulation companies do with package sizing that amounts to "same old price but now with less content," but incusing versus embossing is a very subtle way to do it. That said, if true, then the net weight of the "standard" Alka Seltzer tablet box would have come down - I wonder if it did?

Like the Russell Stover candies in the heart box. I felt so cheated this valentines day when I opened the box; make the price more because, darn it, I want my candy *filling* the box. (My husband buys Russell Stover as this is what I always got as a kid from my father; my mother got a big box and I got a little one. I am extremely brand loyal until they make me mad; next year I told him he's buying some other brand of candy.)

When I lived in NY state, we had a local cooperative which advertised on it's ice cream boxes, "Still Full Half Gallon Size!" Made me suspicious as heck what other manufacturers were doing.

Where I live now there is a local creamery that produces low-heat pasteurized non-homogenized milk, real buttermilk, and butter. And they let you see the cows on the farm. The bottles are slightly overfilled, so you get a lot of milk for your money. Oh my gosh, that is good eating.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Meanwhile, I note that I once declared that Alka Seltzer tablets are a thing that never seems to change. However, I now notice that, where the lettering on each tablet was once embossed, it is now incuse. Net result, I expect, all else being equal, is that each tablet weighs just slightly less than it used to. But the price certainly hasn't come down to match the decrease. Racketeers.

A thing, that interests me really:

Got the USA the same difference between "food-supplements" and "medicaments"?

In Germany, the medicaments are under drug-law (pharmacy only) and the food-supplements are under food-law. So, the medicaments contain the declared dose, by law. And the food-supplements are not proved and are allowed to have the "food-usual variations".

And I'm buying my Vitamin D3-tablets as medicament in the pharmacy, so that they contain their declared 1.000 IU per tablet.

 

[Fading Fast]

Like the Russell Stover candies in the heart box. I felt so cheated this valentines day when I opened the box; make the price more because, darn it, I want my candy *filling* the box. (My husband buys Russell Stover as this is what I always got as a kid from my father; my mother got a big box and I got a little one. I am extremely brand loyal until they make me mad; next year I told him he's buying some other brand of candy.)

When I lived in NY state, we had a local cooperative which advertised on it's ice cream boxes, "Still Full Half Gallon Size!" Made me suspicious as heck what other manufacturers were doing.

Where I live now there is a local creamery that produces low-heat pasteurized non-homogenized milk, real buttermilk, and butter. And they let you see the cows on the farm. The bottles are slightly overfilled, so you get a lot of milk for your money. Oh my gosh, that is good eating.

See's candy - quite good candy, not cheap, not stupid crazy expensive - sells by weight (on line), but still, there is so much filler in the box that the visual (if not actual) deception makes you feel a bit cheated. You open the mixed assortment box and you'd think each piece was fragile egg or something as there is so much packing and space between it and the next piece. It's insulting even if the price is by weight. It's candy for God's sake, each piece already has its own crinkled wax cup (that I like), so the 360 degrees of half an inch of hard plastic spacing around it and the surrounding pieces is stupid.

Cute and nice family history on the Russell Stovers box. Growing up, that was high-end candy until, somewhere in the '70s, someone gave us a gift of a Godiva chocolate box. It was like we had the Hope Diamond of chocolate boxes in our house. That was a one-off for us, but I still remember how special it felt.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A thing, that interests me really:

Got the USA the same difference between "food-supplements" and "medicaments"?

In Germany, the medicaments are under drug-law (pharmacy only) and the food-supplements are under food-law. So, the medicaments contain the declared dose, by law. And the food-supplements are not proved and are allowed to have the "food-usual variations".

And I'm buying my Vitamin D3-tablets as medicament in the pharmacy, so that they contain their declared 1.000 IU per tablet.

It's pretty much the same deal here, at least theoretically -- but a lot of wacky health claims get made for "supplements" due to various loopholes in the law. Watch late night cable TV and you'll see dozens of ads for products that will supposedly enhance various body parts, with microscopic illegible disclaimer text on the screen declaring that the claims are not verified.

 

[sheeplady]

See's candy - quite good candy, not cheap, not stupid crazy expensive - sells by weight (on line), but still, there is so much filler in the box that the visual (if not actual) deception makes you feel a bit cheated. You open the mixed assortment box and you'd think each piece was fragile egg or something as there is so much packing and space between it and the next piece. It's insulting even if the price is by weight. It's candy for God's sake, each piece already has its own crinkled wax cup (that I like), so the 360 degrees of half an inch of hard plastic spacing around it and the surrounding pieces is stupid.

Cute and nice family history on the Russell Stovers box. Growing up, that was high-end candy until, somewhere in the '70s, someone gave us a gift of a Godiva chocolate box. It was like we had the Hope Diamond of chocolate boxes in our house. That was a one-off for us, but I still remember how special it felt.

This is entirely weird, but I still do things like this as well. We could likely afford the high end chocolate (and we'd eat less), but there's a nostalgia in Hershey's bars and M&Ms... instead the high end chocolate remains a treat, one we rarely buy. Just like I don't buy a Cadbury's bar or Jaffa cakes unless I am in the UK; several stores carry them here, but... it feels like a special treat if I only get it every so many years when I travel to Europe.

I also won't go to a cracker barrel unless I'm in the south. Which now I live there, so I don't know what this means, perhaps it means when I am traveling in the "deeper" south. The one we frequently visited when we came down here to see our cousin is now 20 minutes drive.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I have, for the record, eaten a veggie burger...

That's just wrong. It's like "non-alcoholic vodka".

 

[Fading Fast]

This is entirely weird, but I still do things like this as well. We could likely afford the high end chocolate (and we'd eat less), but there's a nostalgia in Hershey's bars and M&Ms... instead the high end chocolate remains a treat, one we rarely buy. Just like I don't buy a Cadbury's bar or Jaffa cakes unless I am in the UK; several stores carry them here, but... it feels like a special treat if I only get it every so many years when I travel to Europe.

I also won't go to a cracker barrel unless I'm in the south. Which now I live there, so I don't know what this means, perhaps it means when I am traveling in the "deeper" south. The one we frequently visited when we came down here to see our cousin is now 20 minutes drive.

Hershey's, Russell Stovers and Reese's Pieces are regulars in our house as well, but we also indulge in some of the more expensive stuff as it's a fun "affordable" luxury. But the classics our generation grew up with - the mix bag of Hershey minis, for example - still feel special and right to me.

 

[green papaya]

See's candy - quite good candy, not cheap, not stupid crazy expensive - sells by weight (on line), but still, there is so much filler in the box that the visual (if not actual) deception makes you feel a bit cheated. You open the mixed assortment box and you'd think each piece was fragile egg or something as there is so much packing and space between it and the next piece. It's insulting even if the price is by weight. It's candy for God's sake, each piece already has its own crinkled wax cup (that I like), so the 360 degrees of half an inch of hard plastic spacing around it and the surrounding pieces is stupid.

Cute and nice family history on the Russell Stovers box. Growing up, that was high-end candy until, somewhere in the '70s, someone gave us a gift of a Godiva chocolate box. It was like we had the Hope Diamond of chocolate boxes in our house. That was a one-off for us, but I still remember how special it felt.

I picked up a two pound box of SEE'S NUT'S & CHEWS last Christmas, and a box of their PEANUT BRITTLE,

The first thing I noticed was the smaller size pieces and the lower quality, and the higher prices, it was not much better than a cheap SNICKERS BAR from the local grocery store, they let their quality go down, the peanut brittle was also extra hard and of lower quality? I wont be buying anymore SEES CANDY unless they improve the quality and size like they use to be.

SEE's is NOT the same as the candy I remember from 20 - 30 years ago, the quality use to be better.

 

[Fading Fast]

I picked up a two pound box of SEE'S NUT'S & CHEWS last Christmas, and a box of their PEANUT BRITTLE,

The first thing I noticed was the smaller size pieces and the lower quality, and the higher prices, it was not much better than a cheap SNICKERS BAR from the local grocery store, they let their quality go down, the peanut brittle was also extra hard and of lower quality? I wont be buying anymore SEES CANDY unless they improve the quality and size like they use to be.

SEE's is NOT the same as the candy I remember from 20 - 30 years ago, the quality use to be better.

That's a shame, but I've only been eating it for +/- a decade, so maybe it was already cheapened by the time I started so I didn't know any better.

But as noted, I have seen the packaging legerdemain and been disgusted by it. The peanut brittle comes in a tall rectangular box that has a bunch of mini packing material that takes up a decent amount of space and, then, you get to the much smaller - and not filled - plastic bag of peanut brittle. The box, from the outside, looks, literally, like it would hold twice as much as is in it. It's insulting even if the weight is accurate as the visuals are deceptive.

 

[sheeplady]

The other thing I hate about all this packaging is the waste.
First, the wasted space in the truck/ railroad/ boat that required more fuel because it held fewer packages, and the wasted space a store needs to display these items.
Second, the wasted space in your shopping bag, so you likely need another.
Third, the wasted space in your pantry, so you feel you need a larger one. (Or wasted wrapping paper or gift bag if it's a gift).
Fourth, the wasted materials which didn't need to be used, which jacked up the price.
Fifth, the wasted space in the landfill that it takes up, the extra fuel to transport it, and the extra energy to recycle it.

That's just wrong. It's like "non-alcoholic vodka".

I have to admit, it is wrong. But I make these spicy chickpea veggie burgers that are quite delicious, as long as one doesn't compare it to meat.

 

[green papaya]

I remember back in the 1960's SEE'S CANDY was bigger and a couple pieces was enough, these days you need to eat at least 6 pieces to get a decent serving.

 

[Fading Fast]

The other thing I hate about all this packaging is the waste.
First, the wasted space in the truck/ railroad/ boat that required more fuel because it held fewer packages, and the wasted space a store needs to display these items.
Second, the wasted space in your shopping bag, so you likely need another.
Third, the wasted space in your pantry, so you feel you need a larger one. (Or wasted wrapping paper or gift bag if it's a gift).
Fourth, the wasted materials which didn't need to be used, which jacked up the price.
Fifth, the wasted space in the landfill that it takes up, the extra fuel to transport it, and the extra energy to recycle it.


I have to admit, it is wrong. But I make these spicy chickpea veggie burgers that are quite delicious, as long as one doesn't compare it to meat.

Agree on all the waste issues noted - maddening and stupid that it happens.

As to the veggie burger, I think the problem is the name and messaging. My girlfriend doesn't eat red meat (I do, but only occasionally) so we have eaten veggie burgers for years. If you think of them a meat substitutes, IMHO, you are going to be disappointed every single time. None of them taste like red meat burgers.

But if you think of them as their own food - as a veggie / grain-based "patty" then some are outstanding. I really enjoy some and look forward to having them (as they don't "sit" in your stomach the way red meat does in mine and, overall, just feel lighter and healthier), but I never kid myself that they are anything but a veggie/grain food that will not taste like red meat. Similarly, we enjoy turkey burgers because we expect the to taste like ground turkey not ground beef.