Back From Hibernation and Larger Portions

Peanut butter mango chutney bar

It is nice to be back blogging after a long hibernation. And weirdly I hibernated through summer and woke up just before winter, instead of the other way around. I will get it right next time.

And helping to jump start me was a guest post request from Ping. For her I made peanut butter mango chutney bar. Please visit Pings Pickings for more details and to see other wonderful culinary delights and works of art.  

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Technicolor Kitchen

White chocolate cheesecake with passion fruit sauce

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: Grist

The facts presented in this article are pretty interesting and shocking. It talks about portion size. As usual McDonalds is mentioned right at the start, but there seems to be a good side to their methods. It has taken some steps to improve its image, launching vegetarian restaurants in India and putting fresh apples into Happy Meals. McDonald’s also offers flexible portions. There is a choice of a cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, quarter pounder with cheese, or double quarter pounder with cheese. Chicken nuggets come in different portion sizes, four, six, nine, or 20. So the customer chooses how much to eat.

The french fries McDonalds introduced in 1955 weighed 2.4 ounces and had 210 calories. Today, this is considered small size and there is super size which is 7.1 ounces and 610 calories. The biggest portion size of french fries in the United States is 37 percent larger than the largest size available in the United Kingdom.

Its not just fries where sizes have expanded. Other interesting examples include:

- From 1982 to 2002, the average pizza slice grew 70 percent in calories.

- The average chicken Caesar salad doubled in calories.

- The average chocolate chip cookie quadrupled in calories.

- Our plates have grown to hold all those portions, too. The surface area of the average dinner plate expanded by 36 percent between 1960 and 2007.

- Serving sizes in the Joy of Cooking cookbook have increased 33.2 percent since 1996 alone. That is, a recipe that used to “serve 10” now “serves seven” (or the ingredient amounts are greater for the same number of servings).

As a result of portion sizes we are eating more and wasting more. On average, diners waste 17 percent of meals, and 55 percent of these leftovers are not taken home. The problem is that food costs is relatively small compared to other costs. As such restaurants increase portion size making the food look better value. So from the business perspective it makes sense.