Supermarket butcher that doesn't get it...

[Bella_Vixen]

Perfectly. And I wasn't trying to say otherwise, just that at one time they did label it as containing two servings.

I know. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. It's just that I've been not all puppies and sunshine "today" and didn't want you to think I was being rude and bitchy when I wasn't trying to be.

I also remember those days. Hell, my Snapple bottle STILL has it listed as 2 servings.

[Chromatix]

Looking at what I have within reach...

Pringles: 25g "portion", 100g "standard", tube is 170g.

Pizza: 100g "standard" listing only, pizza weighs 660g.

Bread: 25g "slice", 100g "standard". Loaf is about 500g and has about 20 slices. So far, this is the only one that makes sense...

Porridge oats: 35g "portion", 100g "standard". I measure out 35g and it makes a pretty empty-looking bowl of porridge. Double that would be more realistic.

Several things only have the 100g "standard" table. A jar of peanut butter has none at all!

[Pagan]

One serving seems to be designed for people who eat three "full" meals a day with dessert. I'm too lazy for that - I eat one big meal per day, and "dessert" at the other end of the day. Whenever I eat a one-serving "meal", I end up hungry again straight afterwards.

Oh, thank Goddess. I knew I couldn't be the only one out there that eats that way!

Hi, my name is Persephone and I cannot and will not drink a full soda in one sitting. A can of cola is actually two "drinks" for me. A 20 oz is about three or four.

Maybe I've just trained myself to smaller servings in dealing with child sized meals for Daughter and Son.

For me, it had nothing to do with drinking it all in one sitting. It has to do with I'll drink on it all day. Shoot, I've got a bottle of coke that I've been working on for two days now. Yes, it's flat, but I like flat soda. I'm weird like that.

Pringles: 25g "portion", 100g "standard", tube is 170g.

Do what now? I'm guessing that over there, it's listed as "portion" as opposed to ours listing "serving"?

What I don't get is how many people do you know that eat only 5 chips? Seriously?

[Chromatix]

I'm sure I've seen it as both "portion" and "serving". Maybe in different countries.

I just found the *worst* example though: a tin of pea soup.

On the main nutrition table, it has 100g and "portion" columns, but doesn't say how big the portion is. By calculation, I can see that it is just shy of 220g, which corresponds to half the can.

On the front of the can, there are big labels saying that there are 270 kcal per portion, etc. Beside it, there's a tiny, barely readable line of text saying "portion: 320ml". Which is in different units to the can's official measurement.

Worse, does it mean 320ml of the can's contents, or 320ml of reconstituted soup? This matters, because what you get in the can is actually pea mush, and the instruction say to add (basically) half a tin of water to "the tin's contents" to make the soup itself.

And I still find that the full tin's worth makes only a "small" meal for me. If I have soup, I have to have another meal of the same size that day, otherwise I'm hungry.

[PepperElf]

and i remember the days when a 12 oz soda was more like 1/2 serving... well as i drank it at least


but if you really want a surprise go to denny's in japan. you actually get closer to normal portions there. so not much on the "grand slam" as you'd get in the states

[Lehk]

Probably cut a random sized bit off first and weighed it and went "Oh, 22oz, I need another 10oz for this customer cos he wanted 32".

Wow. Um, does your family know a "serving" of steak is 3oz? That's some mega steaks you have going on there.

i'm pretty sure those "serving" guidelines are written by people who don't eat steak.

[MannersMakethMan]

Wow. Um, does your family know a "serving" of steak is 3oz? That's some mega steaks you have going on there.

"And how did you find the steak sir?"
"With a magnifying glass..."

There'd be no point me giving something like that to my dad - he'd have it down in a mouthful or two and want to know what I'd done with the rest! Besides which, after cooking that, there'd hardly be anything left would there?

Yeah, we don't tend to go by the official servings in my house with anything...

[Bliss]

I remember that, too.

Does that mean we're getting old?

If you know a method of getting young, rather than getting old, please do share.

[Pagan]

If you know a method of getting young, rather than getting old, please do share.

Just need to ask Myrddin Emrys (Merlin).

[Becks]

If you know a method of getting young, rather than getting old, please do share.

I'm working on it. Once it all comes together, I'll hook you up.

[Chromatix]

Just need to ask Myrddin Emrys (Merlin).

Well, you could ask the locomotive, but I fail to see how he'd give the answer. Maybe morse code on the whistle or something.

And yes, he is a very unusual type of locomotive - a Double Fairlie to be precise. Being mounted on a pair of power-bogies, you could say this type anticipated the modern diesel and electric locomotives... by about sixty years.

[Pagan]

Well, you could ask the locomotive, but I fail to see how he'd give the answer. Maybe morse code on the whistle or something.

Uh-huh....BUT it's not going backwards now, is it? Phhhhhhht.

Oh, you funny, funny boy(?)!

[Chromatix]

The locomotive does have two distinct ends - there are two boilers but only one firebox, so the driver is definitely stuck on one side of the cab, and the fireman on the other. I think it's arranged so that the fireman can reach the most critical driver's controls in an emergency, but that's not how it's normally run.

This would make sighting signals interesting if the locomotive were turned around, and the signals were designed for that side of the cab. That particular railway is designed for the locomotives to not be turned around, but on most main lines turning is or was routine.

[nomorecarts]

Wow. Um, does your family know a bite of steak is 3oz?

edited for accuracy

[Dawnchaser]

Nobody ever eats a "serving", and if they do, they're either lucky or have OCD.

At my last job, my insane boss would talk about how her insane husband did the cooking at home...he would always weigh her meat servings and make sure they were exactly 3 oz. (There are many reasons they are insane, and some day I will post about them.)

True, she was on a diet and I THINK it was her decision (though who knows really, with those two)...but she sounded really sad about it. I think I would've left it up to her to fix her own plate.

Personally, I go for 8-12 oz most days.