The chain stores do not underweigh as much as individual stores,
as a rule, yet their managers are charged with the full weight of
bulk articles and have to make up the waste in measuring out or
pay it from their own pockets. They'd be fired for giving under-
weight, but in rush hours it's humanly impossible not to spill or
lose some of the company's property. So this has to be made up
somehow out of careless customers. One thing is sure, the customer
must never get a break, in overweight. We got a good laugh re-
cently when a chain store clerk weighed out a pound of biscuits for
us. He had an accurate eye and was worried when the last biscuit
brought the weight to a canary feather over a pound. He took the
biscuit off, but the scale then showed a little under, so what was he
to do, with us watching? He broke the biscuit in half and ate the
overweight himself.
The other day we ordered a chicken by telephone and it came
with a bill for ^1.75, the weight marked on the package was 5^
93
94 MOST-FOR-YOUR-MONEY COOK BOOK
pounds at 2^i each pound. That bird felt so light we weighed it and
found it had gone down to 3^^ pounds, but we had paid the bill
and it was too late to kick, for the butcher would answer it lost
the 2>^ pounds in dressing. So we said ''Never again"; we'll stand
right by the scale and try to intimidate the butcher into giving us
what we pay for. WeVe developed a lot of false modesty about such
things, which has been encouraged by those who profit by our fear
of supervising what we pay for, or bargaining.
So, nowadays, "full weight" usually includes the butcher's
thumb, and we had a friend in this business who stuck his scale up
high so when he read it at a slant it always showed a few ounces
more than it would at a level reading. In that way he added an
easy 10% to 20% to his profit.
Buying mushrooms, however, is the trickiest thing of all. In
New York we tried half a dozen different dealers and never got
more than ^ of a pound for a full pound. When we were sure of our
ground we used to kid these dealers about it and they had only one
defense, "Mushrooms are too high in Washington Market. We
gotta ask a low price or you won't buy, so to get anything for our-
selves we've just got to weigh light." Then they'd toss in a couple
of tiny button mushrooms to show their hearts were in the right
place, but when we got home our scale still showed the old %"
pound.
By way of contrast, when we lived in Moscow, grocery clerks
who had nothing to fear, would give us exact weight, cutting a last
snip of bread to balance the scale precisely at i kilo. With nothing
to gain or lose in non-profit commerce we got full value — to a
kopek.
So now, back home, by way of self protection we keep a reliable
spring scale in the kitchen drawer and it's paid for its cost over and
over. And the best part of it is, our local dealers know that the
scale is there and that's a healthy threat that pays dividends in
more food for our money.
Another crafty cheat, which extends to toilet articles and all sorts
of human needs, is for the big controllers to steadily enlarge the
package and make it flossier, to cover periodical reductions in net
weight, but none in price. Even if the fixed price hasn't gone up,
WATCH YOUR WEIGHT ! 95
Page 50
Presented as published in 1938. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The chain stores do not underweigh as much as individual stores, as a rule, yet their managers are charged with the full weight of bulk articles and have to make up the waste in measuring out or pay it from their own pockets. They'd be fired for giving underweight, but in rush hours it's humanly impossible not to spill or lose some of the company's property. So this has to be made up somehow out of careless customers. One thing is sure, the customer must never get a break, in overweight. We got a good laugh recently when a chain store clerk weighed out a pound of biscuits for us. He had an accurate eye and was worried when the last biscuit brought the weight to a canary feather over a pound. He took the biscuit off, but the scale then showed a little under, so what was he to do, with us watching? He broke the biscuit in half and ate the overweight himself.
The other day we ordered a chicken by telephone and it came with a bill for ^1.75, the weight marked on the package was 5^
pounds at 2^i each pound. That bird felt so light we weighed it and found it had gone down to 3^^ pounds, but we had paid the bill and it was too late to kick, for the butcher would answer it lost the 2>^ pounds in dressing. So we said ''Never again"; we'll stand right by the scale and try to intimidate the butcher into giving us what we pay for. WeVe developed a lot of false modesty about such things, which has been encouraged by those who profit by our fear of supervising what we pay for, or bargaining.
So, nowadays, "full weight" usually includes the butcher's thumb, and we had a friend in this business who stuck his scale up high so when he read it at a slant it always showed a few ounces more than it would at a level reading. In that way he added an easy 10% to 20% to his profit.
Buying mushrooms, however, is the trickiest thing of all. In New York we tried half a dozen different dealers and never got more than ^ of a pound for a full pound. When we were sure of our ground we used to kid these dealers about it and they had only one defense, "Mushrooms are too high in Washington Market. We gotta ask a low price or you won't buy, so to get anything for ourselves we've just got to weigh light." Then they'd toss in a couple of tiny button mushrooms to show their hearts were in the right place, but when we got home our scale still showed the old %" pound.
By way of contrast, when we lived in Moscow, grocery clerks who had nothing to fear, would give us exact weight, cutting a last snip of bread to balance the scale precisely at i kilo. With nothing to gain or lose in non-profit commerce we got full value — to a kopek.
So now, back home, by way of self protection we keep a reliable spring scale in the kitchen drawer and it's paid for its cost over and over. And the best part of it is, our local dealers know that the scale is there and that's a healthy threat that pays dividends in more food for our money.
Another crafty cheat, which extends to toilet articles and all sorts of human needs, is for the big controllers to steadily enlarge the package and make it flossier, to cover periodical reductions in net weight, but none in price. Even if the fixed price hasn't gone up,
WATCH YOUR WEIGHT ! 95