Tidbits: The price is right!

By AL SICHERMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: January 30, 2008 - 3:51 PM

The price is right!

Mr. Tidbit almost sighed when he saw new Mega Packs of Hamburger Helper Microwave singles -- in which the four individual servings are each 1¼ cups instead of the regular version's ¾-cup servings. Imagine his surprise when he found that the per-ounce price of the Mega Packs is the same as that of the original product! Yow!

When he saw Kellogg's new version of Frosted Mini-Wheats -- Unfrosted (with no added sugar; a serving has 1 gram of sugar instead of 12) -- he was certain that Kellogg's would charge for not adding any sugar. But it, too, has the same price per ounce as the regular product!

If this keeps up, Mr. Tidbit will have to start carping about something else, such as pointless product proliferation.

Nonstick money

Speaking of which, there are three new versions of Pam cooking spray: organic canola oil, organic olive oil and "professional."

Mr. Tidbit recognizes that every little bit helps the organic movement. But this is a very little bit: He doesn't see the organic version of a quarter-of-a-gram-of-oil cooking spray as much of an advance.

As for professional Pam, it is "specially formulated for high-heat cooking," which seems to mean that besides oil and propellant, and instead of regular Pam's alcohol and soy lethicin, it contains phosphated mono- and diglycerides, calcium carbonate, silicon dioxide and water. (Ask professionals, and you'll always hear them demand phosphated mono- and diglycerides.)

Original Pam comes in a 6-ounce can, so the four existing alternates (butter flavor, olive oil, for baking, for grilling), which come in 5-ounce cans at the same shelf price, cost 20 percent more per ounce (see above). At one discount supermarket, the three new sprays (all 5-ouncers) have a shelf price about 20 percent higher per can, so per ounce they are about 45 percent more than original Pam. (See above. Again.)

AL SICHERMAN