Product name the same, but the recipe changed

HI,

I like Wheat Thins. Recently I was sampling some at a friends house, though they tasted off. I assumed they might be a lite or low salt variant, then turned the box around to read it was simply Wheat Thins. I will guess this may be related to recipe reformulation related to trans-fats. Whatever the reason, there is a profound flavor change that may keep me from purchasing them again. Does anyone know what happened to Wheat Thins?

Have you also seen favorite products change recipe without any hint? What was your experience?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Have you also seen favorite products change recipe without any hint?

Pretty much all of 'em somtime in the '70s when transfats and corporate greed took over.

I could probably write a 400 page diatribe on this topic but I will start off with a few glaring examples:

1. Coca-Cola. I understand that HFCS is cheaper than sugar,however, I would pay a premium for readily available U.S. Coke made the "old fashoned way"

2. Stouffer's frozen lasagna. This product was, at one time, EDIBLE.

3. Tombstone frozen pizza. Before Kraft got their grubby little hands on it, Tombstone USED to have a very serviceable sausage pizza with decent flavor.

Great topic Cathy---I hope you get alot of responses.

cito wrote:I could probably write a 400 page diatribe on this topic but I will start off with a few glaring examples:

1. Coca-Cola. I understand that HFCS is cheaper than sugar,however, I would pay a premium for readily available U.S. Coke made the "old fashoned way"

Sugar is a WHOLE LOT more expensive as there are significant tariffs on the import of sugar.

Crains Chicago has attributed Chicago's loss of the candy industry to these tariffs. I can tell you that sugar is a lot cheaper in Mexico.

jlawrence01 wrote:
Sugar is a WHOLE LOT more expensive as there are significant tariffs on the import of sugar.

Crains Chicago has attributed Chicago's loss of the candy industry to these tariffs. I can tell you that sugar is a lot cheaper in Mexico.

Sure, but 39 grams of sugar doesn't cost more than $0.10, probably more like $0.02-$0.04. They could charge a premium of $0.10 or $0.25 or more per can and make ridiculous profits.

gleam wrote:Sure, but 39 grams of sugar doesn't cost more than $0.10, probably more like $0.02-$0.04. They could charge a premium of $0.10 or $0.25 or more per can and make ridiculous profits.

You may be willing to spend more for soda but the overwhelming majority of consumers are NOT.

I used to work with a legislator who was a major bottler and Pepsi distributor who showed me how price sensitive his consumers were.

I'm not suggesting changing the formula of Coca Cola, I'm suggesting creating a new product line. Between Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Cherry Coke Zero, Diet Cherry Coke, Diet Coke with Lemon, Diet Coke with Splenda, etc, etc, etc, the company doesn't have any problem with creating products to meet the needs of niche markets.

If people want to buy HFCS coke, they buy the regular red Coca Cola Classic cans. If they want cane sugar coke, they buy the pure white Coca Cola Classic cans. Or however they choose to differentiate them.

Or they could just take the coke they put in glass bottles (small 8oz bottles and the new 12oz ones with plastic caps) and replace the HFCS with sugar and sell it as a retro product, or sell it to the hispanic community.

Again, I'm not saying they should change all Coca Cola to use sugar. I'm saying they should start offering a new product with sugar.

I recently bought a package of double-stuff Oreos. I hadn't had any in a few years, and they seemed different. Not as good as I remember (maybe that's just me). Probably another victim of the trans fats reformulation. These were my sons' (20 mos., 3 yrs.) first Oreos, and they seemed to like them just fine, however.

I'd pay more for cane sugar Coke and Dr. Pepper, but I'd have to think about how much more. I've never tasted Dublin Dr. Pepper, somewhat out of the fear that I'd want to buy it all the time, and $10 a case + shipping seems like too much, as I work pretty hard to keep myself to only 2 cans a day.

I agree about the oreos and coke. I also feel like Doritos, M&M's and Girl Scout Samosa cookies don't taste as good as in years past.
LO

HI,

My Oma was an Ovaltine afficionado. Whereas my family was always into Nestle's Quik. Ovaltine with their crunchy crystals was very exotic for me. Initially I would thoroughly mix in the Ovaltine to flavor the milk, then top it with crystals. I loved to crunch them between my teeth. If I ran out of crystals before the milk, then I'd sprinkle on a bit more.

Long ago Ovaltine switched to balled powder, which was like the inferior (in my opinion) PDQ. I have found imported Ovaltine in the crystal form, though it tasted more malty than what I recall of the original Ovaltine.

I really liked the original Fresca, which was milky with occasional bits of citrus in it. Clear and devoid of floating bits of fruit, it lost all of it's unique character.

Name change but apparently the product didn't: $100,000 bars now are 100 Grand.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I have found imported Ovaltine in the crystal form, though it tasted more malty than what I recall of the original Ovaltine.

Isn't the Euro Ovaltine actually even called Ovalmaltine?

Holly of Uptown wrote:I recently bought a package of double-stuff Oreos. I hadn't had any in a few years, and they seemed different. Not as good as I remember (maybe that's just me). Probably another victim of the trans fats reformulation.

When I was a kid, being from a large family, we almost NEVER got the brand name stuff (unless it was P&G products where my father worked). We always used to get those awful store brand "sandwich cookies" instead of real Oreos. Occasionally, we would get Oreos over at my aunt's house.

The major difference between the two was the hard crunchiness of the cookies. The store brands always had a soggy like lack of crisp. Even Hydrox did not cut it.

I will have to get one of those single servings to see if I notice a big difference.

jlawrence01 wrote:

gleam wrote:Sure, but 39 grams of sugar doesn't cost more than $0.10, probably more like $0.02-$0.04. They could charge a premium of $0.10 or $0.25 or more per can and make ridiculous profits.

You may be willing to spend more for soda but the overwhelming majority of consumers are NOT.

I used to work with a legislator who was a major bottler and Pepsi distributor who showed me how price sensitive his consumers were.

...the only flaw in this theory is that there ARE soda brands out there that still use real sugar and not HFCS.. so apparently enough people are willing to pay extra $ for the premium.

Isn't the Euro Ovaltine actually even called Ovalmaltine?

Ovomaltine was the original formulation that was made in Switzerland. It still is available by this name, although I've never seen it on any shelf in the US (but in Canada).

I have been drinking Ovaltine on a weekly basis for as long as I can remember, and there appear to be several different formulations out there. The domestic product is the least appealing to my tastes.

I like their snacks too.

And try sprinkling it on a banana sometime.

dddane wrote:
...the only flaw in this theory is that there ARE soda brands out there that still use real sugar and not HFCS.. so apparently enough people are willing to pay extra $ for the premium.

Most of the soda brands that use real sugar are imported from places that can buy sugar at the world market price. U.S. manufacturers are stuck buying sugar at $0.37-$0.40 / lb, while the rest of the world can buy it at less than half of that price.

Matt's chocolate chip cookies. Didn't they have at least some semblance of a buttery flavor before? Just taste like chewy cardboard now. Totally flavorless.

dddane wrote:...the only flaw in this theory is that there ARE soda brands out there that still use real sugar and not HFCS.. so apparently enough people are willing to pay extra $ for the premium.

Enough people are willing to pay extra for the premium to make it a going concern for a few bottlers... but most people in the sugar water (er, HFCS water) trade are in it for the gross, and at the end of the day, the number of people who are willing to pay extra for real sugar are not buying enough soda to be all that interesting to the big boys in the business.

It's just like with beer. There is a market for craft beer, but the amount of money to be made is orders of magnitude less than the amount to be made on high volume, low price swill.

Mars bars. So sad. Now they're just a Milky Way clone.

LO wrote:I agree about the oreos and coke. I also feel like Doritos, M&M's and Girl Scout Samosa cookies don't taste as good as in years past.
LO

I just received my box of Samosas yesterday. What the heck happened to them? They're so dry and overly sweet. I haven't ordered girls scout cookies in years so I don't remember the last time I had them when they were still good.

Cathy2 wrote:Whatever the reason, there is a profound flavor change that may keep me from purchasing them again. Does anyone know what happened to Wheat Thins?

HFCS was added to Wheat Thins a few years ago...turning a product I once enjoyed into one I no longer purchase. I suspect the HFCS is what caused the perceived lack of salt you experienced.

There are a number of products I no longer buy because they now contain HFCS and have become too sweet for my tastes. The worst by far have been commercial salad dressings. I used to buy a small bottle of Wish-Bone French dressing when I had my semi-annual craving for a huge wedge of iceberg lettuce. Not any more...the last couple bottles I bought tasted like they were more appropriate to pour over ice cream!

They're so dry and overly sweet.

That is the perfect description! You cannot taste any chocolate, caramel or coconut at all, its just sticky, dry and overpoweringly sweet without any flavor. I hate throwing away food, but I may have to throw these away.

Anybody a fan of BabyBel cheese and notice a marked difference in their taste nowadays ? I picked some up today after a long-ish hiatus, and it just didn't taste like how I remembered. Not that it was an extraordinary cheese to begin with, but I remember enjoying it far more before than I did today. Perhaps it's just a matter of tastebuds having matured, or maybe it's just not as fun peeling off that wax shell anymore.

tatterdemalion wrote:Anybody a fan of BabyBel cheese and notice a marked difference in their taste nowadays ? I picked some up today after a long-ish hiatus, and it just didn't taste like how I remembered. Not that it was an extraordinary cheese to begin with, but I remember enjoying it far more before than I did today. Perhaps it's just a matter of tastebuds having matured, or maybe it's just not as fun peeling off that wax shell anymore.

Or perhaps there was a change in how they make it, coinciding with the ad campaign on tv that seems to be focussed on selling to kids... that started not all that long ago, I believe...

Antonius

Antonius wrote:

tatterdemalion wrote:Anybody a fan of BabyBel cheese and notice a marked difference in their taste nowadays ? I picked some up today after a long-ish hiatus, and it just didn't taste like how I remembered. Not that it was an extraordinary cheese to begin with, but I remember enjoying it far more before than I did today. Perhaps it's just a matter of tastebuds having matured, or maybe it's just not as fun peeling off that wax shell anymore.

Or perhaps there was a change in how they make it, coinciding with the ad campaign on tv that seems to be focussed on selling to kids... that started not all that long ago, I believe...

Antonius

Oh, but peeling the wax off those tiny wheels IS so much fun. I had a coupon and bought a net bag of the suckers the other day. Now they have all sorts of extra flavors. Back to the original(red) tho'...it does seem a might tangier than I remember...this did not keep the bag from disappearing over the course of an evening; the s/o being the culprit..."um...hey...I get more than one of those, right?"

...nope

On another note: whatever happened to *laughing* cow cheese...the kind that comes(came?) in tiny foil-wrapped cubes?

Christopher Gordon wrote:On another note: whatever happened to *laughing* cow cheese...the kind that comes(came?) in tiny foil-wrapped cubes?

They still exist (wedges, not cubes). I've been a fan since I was just a little tyke and I often keep a wheel of them around as an emergency backup when I need to throw some cheese in my brown bag lunch for the day.

Best,
Michael

Yep, the Laughing Cow "pies" still exist, and I usually find them in my folks' fridge when home visiting -- there doesn't appear to be any change in recipe with these, at least to my tastes. I find them to be useful as a creamcheese spread substitute when I'm exploring the fridge.

eatchicago wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:On another note: whatever happened to *laughing* cow cheese...the kind that comes(came?) in tiny foil-wrapped cubes?

They still exist (wedges, not cubes). I've been a fan since I was just a little tyke and I often keep a wheel of them around as an emergency backup when I need to throw some cheese in my brown bag lunch for the day.

Best,
Michael

...and now I'm craving some...wedges aren't as fun as cubes...but, what the hell...

I, too, enjoyed them as a youngster...have a very clear sense memory of the taste and texture...

I'll keep an eye out.

Christopher Gordon wrote:I'll keep an eye out.

Lincolnwood Produce. Right under the butcher's case.

Best,
Michael

Christopher Gordon wrote:Back to the original(red) tho'...it does seem a might tangier than I remember

My thought exactly when we got some last week. I thought it was a fluke, but apparently they've changed the recipe. Or they're having serious QC issues. Take your pick.

This is something you can get in the restaurant or at a store, but Cheesecake Factory cheesecake has definately changed. I don't care for their food or atmosphere, or all white uniforms, but they used to make some good, very rich cheesecake. The different types had textures and flavors very close to what they were called. For instance I loved to get the banana cream pie cheesecake. It was super creamy, the texture seemed somewhere between cheesecake and a cream pie. It had great banana flavor, and was topped with banana bavarian cream, fresh bananas and real whipped cream. you could ask for extra w.c. and they had a special machine just for it. I recently went just for a piece of cheesecake, and it was not like how I remembered. It was basically plain cheesecake with the bavarian cream, some fresh bananas on top, and a small dallop of real whipped cream. I asked for extra and they put COOL WHIP on it! Nasty! I asked about that and my server informed me they had gotten rid of the whipped cream machine and now get this cool whip stuff shipped to them. I'm not sure if they baked them in house before, but this cheesecake was definately shipped in from somewhere else.