Survey Results from Box mix vs. Scratch

Here are better images of my graphs on the last post:

Box Mix Versus from Scratch the Battle Rages On!

Have you ever needed to make a cake on short notice? Here’s your scenario, your cousin’s sister’s second stepbrother’s great aunt is coming over for a visit. And you know she really loves homemade cake. She’s coming in one hour and you don’t have half the ingredients to make one. However, you do have a box of marble cake mix. Which leads you to question, whether using the mix is cheating or not? Is there some stigma against using box mix? From my own experience most bakers hate the thought of using it for one reason or another. Some argue about the preservatives, while others feel that it’s not made from the heart. Like some sort of equation for baking:

From scratch ingredients + a lot effort = Cake made with Love
Box mix + a little effort= Cake made with deception and lies

Let’s be honest we’ve all done it from one time or another. So, why take shame on passing that box mix off as your own. You simply got the recipe from your good friend Betty Crocker for a $1.99, or maybe a $1.50 if you met her at Wal-Mart. The matter is you’re not the only one that uses box mix. “According to The New York Times, Betty Crocker, a General Mills brand, leads the $382 million market for cake, cupcake and pie mixes, with a 38.1 percent share” [2]. Even though these are boxed mixes, they started out as recipes from scratch at one point. Harry Baker, for example, invented the Orange Chiffon Cake, in the 1920s. He was just a California insurance salesman turned Hollywood caterer, who later sold his recipe to General Mills, according to the Oxford Companion [1].
We must accept that cake mix is a part of our culture, whether we like it or not. For example, Betty Crocker has been around since 1921 and was known for giving baking advice to General Mills consumers [5]. This is interesting since she is not a real spokesperson, but a character created by executives of General Mills to add a more personal touch to their brand. The last name “Crocker” came from a retired executive named William Crocker and the first name “Betty” was chosen because it sounded endearing. You can see how much her image changes on each ad:

It wasn’t until around 1945 right after World War II that the very first Betty Crocker cake mixes came out. They’re flavors were Devil’s food and Party. We can really see a huge surge in cake mix around the 50’s:



“In the 60’s, newly liberated women were admitting "I hate to cook," so along came even easier mixes. But not too easy. When consumer tests showed that women felt guilty adding only water to make a cake, those crafty Crocker technicians reformulated the recipe so housewives would have to add eggs” [3]. Today cake mix is used in almost every American household across the nation. To read up on more box mix history go to: Learning to Love Cake Mix or History in a Box by Lenore Skenazy

There are two main benefits from baking from scratch, time and cost. When you are in a pinch for time box mix will help you out. Mainly since everything is already premeasured out, all you have to do is follow the directions. As for cost, lower-income cooks use box mixes because they can be less expensive than buying the ingredients for cakes made from scratch. The US economy has taken a rough toll on many households. Leading to many bakers having to cut corners in recipes. “Homemakers with children aged 6 to 11 are 47 percent more likely than average to be heavy purchasers of baking mixes. They are 81 percent more likely when their children are aged 12 to 17. Cake mixes are more popular than mixes for brownies and cookies. Six in ten homemakers purchase cake mixes occasionally, according to Mediamark Research Inc” [4]. I’ve also conducted my own research on boxed mix to find out what are peoples general opinions on using it. I collected about 20 surveys online and here are the results:(For better images of my graphs click on the label at the bottom of this post "Survey Results")



I can vouch for these results since I am guilty of using box mix now and again. I usually like to bake from scratch, but I couldn’t help myself when I saw Ina Garten’s Coconut Madeleine mix.I bought it at Sur la Table for $7 and gave it a try. And if you are are wondering where I got the pan go to Bed Bath & Beyond they were on sale for $14.99:

Madaleine's from a Box

I was shocked because it tasted like something made from scratch! It even had bits of coconut in it! Bits of Coconut! However, even thought this was from mix there was a lot of effort that went into these cakes. The trick is to alternate mixing the melted butter and cake mix, plus beating the eggs. It was like baking from scratch, but simpler. Instead of coating them with powdered sugar, I melted a half a bag of Nestle chip with 2 teaspoons of shortening. And simply coated them with melted chocolate, which went really well with the coconut flavor. My friends and family enjoyed them a lot, they even thought the madeleines were made from scratch. As a whole, regardless if the cake is made from scratch or from mix, it’s the thought that matters. The mere fact that you are giving friends and family a treat they will love makes no difference from where it comes from. It’s all made from the heart!

If you want to see a side by side comparison of box mix versus scratch go to: The Kitchn.com

Foot notes:

1. Abraham, Lisa. "Made from scratch: heaven in a cake pan." Akron Beacon Journal (OH) 29 Sept. 2008: Newspaper Source. Web. 29 Nov. 2011
2. Newman, Andrew. “Cake Mixes, Taken Seriously”. The New York Times 11 May 2011: Lexis Nexis. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
3. Skenazy, Lenore. "Learning To Love Cake Mix - Or History In A Box - New York Daily News." Featured Articles From The New York Daily News. Web. 01 Dec. 2011.
4. Waldrop, Judith. "Scratch And Mix." American Demographics 14.10 (1992): 4. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
5. "Who Was Betty Crocker?" Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.