Downsize Marketing
Downsizing is a word that has crept
into our vocabularies with quite unpredictable applications. We downsize our
budgets on retirement, we downsize our houses when the children are grown, New Yorkers
are told to downsize their supersize drinks and we are told for our health to
downsize the portions of our meals, to keep the obesity epidemic in check.
And then there is some downsizing,
which comes as a surprise. Surprise birthday parties or presents are a lot of
fun, but not all surprises come in such pleasant packages. My Memorial Day food
contributions to a picnic at a friend’s house was going to include a blueberry
pie from berries still in our freezer and a potato salad. For the occasion I had
bought a bag of baby red potatoes rather than use regular large peeled
potatoes, since the red color always makes the salad look more festive.
The usual small bag of baby potatoes
was sufficient to make a salad for 8-10 people. So, I was unpleasantly surprised
when I poured out the small potatoes for washing and suddenly noticed the less
than usual amount. Yes, downsize marketing had struck again! The previous 2
pound bag had shrunk to a 1 ½ pound size. Same price!
This of course goes with the recent shrinking
of 5 pound bags of sugar and flour to 4 pound bags, crackers from 8 ounces to 6
ounces and it is unlikely that a pound can of vegetables or beans still exists.
Normal cans are now in the 14.25 to 15.5 ounce range. So, if you find that
doing strength training by repetitive lifts of a pound can in each hand has
become easier, do not attribute it to your training regimen. Your weights have
been downsized.
Fortunately I had other large
potatoes on hand to supplement the amounts on Memorial Day morning, so nobody
at the picnic had to forgo potato salad.
Festive
Potato Salad
Scrub 2 pounds baby potatoes, leave
small ones whole or cut regular size potatoes in quarters and boil in salted
water 13-15 minutes until barely tender. Drain and cut in large bite size
pieces while still warm. While the potatoes are boiling mix together the
dressing: ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 Tblsp. white vinegar, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, ¼ cup
chopped cornichons (or dill pickles), ¼ cup finely chopped onion, ¼ tsp.
Tabasco, salt to taste. Pour dressing over potatoes while still warm and mix
thoroughly. Then fold in: 1 chopped celery stalk, 2 chopped scallions, 2 Tbls.
chopped parsley and ½ cup diced red pepper. Mix thoroughly and chill before
serving.
In really hot summer, when I am concerned
about creamy dressings sitting in the warm sunshine and becoming an incubator
for bacteria, oil and vinegar based dressings are less susceptible to
contamination. Here is my favorite bacon flavored cold potato salad.
Bacon and
Onion Potato Salad
Crisp fry 4-6 slices of bacon and drain on
paper towels. Cook 1 cup of peas in salted water 4 minutes and drain. Cook and
cut potatoes as above. While potatoes cook, mix for dressing: 3 Tblsp. white
wine vinegar, 1 Tblsp. Dijon mustard, ½ tsp. sugar, salt and pepper to taste
and 3 Tblsp. peanut or vegetable oil. In a large bowl with the potatoes add, ¼
cup finely chopped onion, 3 Tblsp. finely chopped parsley, 2 sliced scallions,
½ cup diced red pepper (optional) and toss with the dressing. Then fold in the
peas and half of the crumbled bacon. Garnish with rest of the crumbled bacon, a
cherry tomato or radish and a sprig of parsley. Chill in refrigerator before
serving.
Lately the focus on the health
hazards of the so called obesity epidemic has focused on the food industry,
exhorting it for more healthy alternatives. Downsizing potential servings of
basic foods by downsizing packaging, may be one of the marketing answers to
this problem or just another ploy to cut economies of home cooking.
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in
Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00
a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
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