Duncan Hines Cake Mixes
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11 years ago
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Comments (19)"Arlee Andre, creator of the original Duncan Hines cake mixes, died Monday. He was 89 years old...Mr. Andre was a cereal chemist testing flour for Nebraska Consolidated Mills in Omaha in 1952 when he decided to develop a cake mix with better flavor and uniformity than the two mixes then available. He researched the best ways to make yellow cake, white cake, chocolate cake and angel food cake. When the mixes were ready to be marketed, Nebraska Consolidated Mills paid Duncan Hines, the food and drink connoisseur, a penny a box to use his name. The mixes quickly became popular and were sold to the Proctor & Gamble Company in 1956. Mr. Andre also moved to Procter & Gamble and retired in the mid 1960s." ---"Arlee Andre, 89, Dies; Creator of Cake Mixes," New York Times, September 9, 1989 (p. 9) "A few weeks ago local newspapers carried full page color ads announcing that Duncan Hines cake-mixes were being introduced to the Chicago market. Simultaneously, on tables in restaurants throughout the city, there appeared small placards which read, "Welcome to Chicago, Mr. Hines." Dunring the week, the gentleman himself, known to American travelers as the author of "Adventures in Good Eating," appeared on 13 radio and TV broadcasts here, and one evening he entertained 400 retailers at supper in the plush Mayfair room of the Hotel Blackstone. Members of the flour-milling industry might well cock an eye at such ballyhoo and goings-on. Per capita flour consumption in the U.S. is 133 pounds, and has hovered at that low point for the past three eyars. In view of such statistics, many a miller would give his eye teeth to hit on a success formula like the one now setting sales records for Nebraska Consolidated Milling Co....Sixteen months ago, this Omaha milling company was just another of the many medium-sized companies in the industry, struggling to maintain sales. At the end of its fiscal year in June, 1951, the company had sales of $26 million. My the next fiscal-year-end, June 1952, it had chalked up sales of $20 million, of which over $3 million were in cake-mixes alone. Currently, it's selling about $9.5 million a har in cake-mixes. Furthermore, it's nipping at the heels of the "big three" in the cake mix field, Pillsbury, General Mills and General Foods, which combined do almost 90% of the business. Consolidated now ranks fourth, doing most of the remaining 10%, although it sells in only 30 states. J. Allan Mactier, Consolidated's 30-year-old vice-president...explains the management's success formula thus: 'Make sure you have a good product, pick a sure-fire brand name, and pour on the merchandising.' Consolidated chose the Duncan Hines label which is uses through a a franchise with Hines Park Foods, Inc. of Ithaca N.Y. because it felt it would be a sure-fire' seller. Mr. Hines himself makes his headquarters in Bowling Green, Ky. The company believed Mr. Hines' already established reputation as a connoisseur of good food would do the trick... What usually results is a flood of publicity which supplements the company's own concentrated advertising in the local market...Consolidated literally blitzes a town when it moves in. Color ads, so necesary in food promotion, are splashed on billboards and in local papers. Many radio and TV spots are used, as well as redemption coupons. Consolidated uses its quality claim as part of its selling technique. Unlike many cake mixes which contain powdered eggs in this mix, Duncan Hines mixes call for the additon of two fresh eggs. Mr. Hines insisted on this, stating it would make a better cake and would pay off in the long run. Duncan Hines brand mixes sell at competitive prices with other mixes, and the firm tries to turn the added expense of two fresh eggs to a selling advantage by telling the housewife 'this will make a better cake,' because Mr. Hines, the food authority, says so... The company is shooting for national distribution sometime next year." ---"Adventures in Good Selling--or Ballyhoo Blitz for a Cake-Mix," Felicia Anthenelli, Wall Street Journal, December 17, 1952 (p. 1) Who was Duncan Hines? Salesman, connosieur, entrepreneur, author, critic, philanthropist, culinary personna extroadinare! He did not, however, invent the cake mixes that bear his name. "Two or three times a week during the tourist season, travelers pull up in front of a neat, Colonial house on the edge of [Bowling Green, Kentucky] and inquire. 'How soon will dinner be ready?' They're attracted by a sign on the lawn: 'Home Office, Duncan Hines.' Mr. Hines who has built a nationwide reputation by telling people where to dine, doesn't serve any meals at his combination office and home here. But he concedes it is flattering that people think of him when they are hungry. 'Every day in this country, more than 70 million people eat out,' he explains. Helping them decide which restaurants to choose is the foundation for a prospering enterprise that first started in 1936. In that year, Mr. Hines compiled his first directory of recommended restaurants throughout the U.S., 'Adventures in Good Eating.' Since then the book has become a sort of Baedeker of American Cuisine. Through the years Mr. Hines has added three other guides--'Lodging for a Night," "Adventures in Good Cooking,' and 'Vacation Guide.'...Much of his time is spent in updating the guides to eliminate establishments that have fallen below his standards. He adds new discoveries when he runs across them. To help him keep track of the 2,500 eateries...on his recommended list, he enlists a corps of 600 friends scattered across the country. When a place changes hands, they report whether it still qualifies for a Hines approval. So far, Mr. Hines hasn't found any eating place in his native Bowling Green that he can recommend. He hasn't endeared himself to fellow Kentuckians by his comment that much of the locality is cursed with 'greese cooking.'...A public eating place, to get on the Hines list, must pass a rigorous inspection. He admires well-polished silver and white table cloths in the dining room. Often he insists on visitng the kitchen to inspect garbage disposal and dishwashing. Mr. Hines got to know the good and bad of roadside hashing when he was a salesman of printing and advertising for Rogers & Co., of Chicago. Friends began asking him for recommendations. Mr. Hines mailed out a printed list of his favorites as a gift before he realized the project might have commercial possibilties. Books are only a part of the present-day enterprise. Perhaps the biggest moneymaker is a line of 150 foods which bear his name. Hines-Park Food, Inc., of Ithaca, N.Y., packages the victuals. Mr. Hines receives a royalty on each package sold. He's looking for sales of around 24 million packages of Duncan Hines cake mix this year and will collect one-half cent royalty on each. Under a separate agreement, some 94 firms make Duncan Hines ice cream. Mr. Hines maintains a testing laboratory at Bowling Green to keep it up to specification...The money from all his books goes into the Duncan Hines Foundation which provides scholarships for seniors taking courses in restaurant and hotel management at Cornell University and Michigan State College. The National Sanitation Foundation also shares in book profits." ---"Duncan Hines' Love of Good Food Becomes Publishing, Cake Mix, Ice Cream Business," James Garst, Wall Street Journal, November 5, 1952...See MoreMiele MasterChef Baking Pros - Box Cake Tests Revealed - HELP !!!
Comments (7)Sounds to me like the oven is ok and it's just a question of adjustments. I have Wilton pans and they don't cause a problem. Without seeing photos I couldn't comment further on the issues around the bread or the cake layers. I'll give you a rundown of how I use mine and what I do/don't do. Perhaps trailrunner and loves2cook4six also will chime in here as they are both bakers and have the same oven. All this said with the caveat that mine is an older vintage, non-self-cleaning and has the grease screen in back that needs to be removed for the baking modes to work properly. FWIW I find the masterchef settings useless and guaranteed to overcook anything. I ignore them. I preheat 30 minutes. With stone, 45-60 mins. Convection Bake: For single rack I use 2nd rung. For cakes (including angel food), cupcakes any delicate pastry (meringue) and any time I'm doing multiple racks. Have done 3 racks of cookies and 6 pies (which took a bit longer) with success. If not doing multiple racks, I remove all but rack I'm using and remove the drip pan. I don't ever leave a rack in over anything I'm baking. Also sweet or higher-fat bread, anything with a soft crust. Have found this to be even, gentle heat. Intensive: Pies, crusty yeast breads, cobblers -- anything that needs bottom action or a heat boost. Pizzas, naan, calzone with the stone on rack using bottom rung. Heaviest batter breads that might not cook through easily. Surround: I don't use this much because it essentially broils and bakes at the same time. I adjust rack low to high depending on how much browning is needed. Good for things like Shepherd's pie, baked ziti, gratins, casseroles, stuff with toppings like cheese, bechamel or streusel. Bake: I think of this as dumb-bake. My setting is 15 degrees slow so I adjust it. Any time I want a slightly moister baked product or don't need the convection I use this setting since the air circulation will make things drier and crisper. All reheating. I don't find this slower than convection, just has different use. I'm an oven cook and have really come to depend on mine. For savories, autoroast rocks and so does the rotisserie. I like the probe and while it requires a rough calculation of cooking time (another unhelpful aspect) the countdown and alert are great. Again, disclaimer: There are few absolutes and my ideas on how to use "European convection" are based on English oven website I stumbled across which actually made some sense of it. Miele needs to do a much better job....See MoreCarrot Cake?
Comments (7)A carrot cake mix would be my way. Note to Cynic......if I were going to go through all of the work to grate a mess of carrots, I wouldn't put them in a cake.....I would put them in orange Jello with crushed pineapple, the way they were meant to be!!! LOL!!...See MoreBefore I try, wanna see if you have and was it good?
Comments (25)What you are taking about making is like the Weight Watcher 2 point muffins except that they add 1 cup of water to the cake mix/pumpkin recipe. I have had them before and thought they were very good. Here is the recipe I found for them. Ingredients: Serves: 24 Yield: 24muffins 1 (18 ounce) box spice cake mix 15 ounces pumpkin 1 cup water Directions: 1 Mix all ingredients in mixer. 2 Makes 24 muffins. 3 Cook for 20-25 minutes at 350ðF. 4 They will be very moist....See Moresooz
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