I’m sure many of you remember the old television commercial advertising Jell-O—there were large gatherings of people around a dining room table or picnic table having just partaken of a huge meal, and everyone is complaining that they don’t have room for dessert. But then Susie Homemaker cheerfully assures them that they needn't worry—she has made a Jello mold, and she parades a sparkling, jiggling tower of Jello gelatin and sets it in the middle of the table. To be honest, I was always pleased when my mother fixed cherry Jello with bananas for dessert when I was growing up. The point of this writing, however, is not my room for Jello, but the room that the manufacturers of Jello consume for their product.
Strawberry season has arrived in the Yamhill Valley, and I have taken to making fresh strawberry pie. The recipe calls for a package of Jell-O Cook & Serve, Sugar Free, Fat Free vanilla pudding mix and a small package of Sugar Free Strawberry Jello.
The
local stores have discontinued carrying the Cook & Serve variety of the fat
free, sugar-free pudding mix, so I contacted the Jell-O company and was told I
could get it through Amazon.com. I thought Amazon sold books, but, sure
enough, they also sell pudding mix by the 24-package case. I ordered the case
shortly before the end of strawberry season last year, so I am pleased to have
enough left for the 2012 season.
I
had finished slicing the berries into the pie plate, and was preparing to cook
the pudding, substituting water for milk, when I was struck by the tiny
quantity of pudding mix that was
contained in the large (2 ¾ by 3 ¼ by 1 ¼ inch) cardboard box. It was like one person
was soaking in a 6-person hot tub all by himself. I weighed the envelope
containing the mix on my food scale. Envelope and mix weighed .9 oz. The box itself weighed .4 oz. The package of sugar free gelatin was even
worse. The envelope plus its contents
weighed .4 oz. So did the cardboard
package. What a waste. What to do?
Together
with Pastor Mark we did something. We
called Judy at Kraft Foods. Judy suggested we write a letter to Kraft Foods.
We’re
working on the letter.
Good job!
ReplyDelete