Cookies – Gabriela Clavo Y Canela

May 23, 2024

Latest Survey Shows Soaring Food Prices Have Influenced Consumer Dining Behavior

Skyrocketing food prices over the past few years, have influenced consumer behavior, as revealed by
a poll conducted by Givex last April, involving 1,000 American respondents. Mo Chaar, the Chief Commercial Officer of the Canada-based analytics company, remarked that the results indicated that the prevailing economic challenges have understandably changed the American people’s dining-out behavior.

The changes noted based on the results of the survey, nearly half (47%) of the respondents said that in the past year, they went out to eat at restaurants less frequently than they did in the previous year. Forty-five percent (45%) said they have also cut back on ordering food delivery.

Majority (78%) of the Americans who responded to the survey said that menu prices have been significantly higher than they were last year. As dining out has become increasingly more challenging, about 60% of the poll respondents said they are now into cooking meals and dining at home.

Price Sensitivity Increased Consumer Appreciation for Restaurant with Promotional Offers

Mo Chaar also remarked that because of the resulting price-sensitivity among consumers, a large percentage of the Americans who responded say that when deciding to dine out, they seek out restaurants with offers of promotional discounts, deals and loyalty programs. Actually, 86% said that they are overwhelmingly attracted to promotions like Buy 1 Get 1 (BOGO).

Eighty-one (81%) said they are attracted to restaurants that offer coupons and discounts, while 65% are motivated by the incentives offered by those with loyalty programs. Actually, 87% of the total respondents said that they have become a member of at least one loyalty program, citing the loyalty programs offered by grocery chains and supermarkets as the most important affiliation,

Cookies, Food

by Marcia Smith

September 4, 2019

Eggless Cookies : Not a Bad Choice Even if You’re Not Vegan

If you think recipes for eggless cookies became popular only because they satisfy a vegan’s aversion to eating anything that exploited animals, then that means you have not tried eating eggless cookies yet. Eggs as cookie baking ingredients are important because they make baked goodies chewier; but going eggless with your cookies is not a bad idea at all even if you are not vegan.

Eggless cookies are still flavorful and gives the same mouthfeel as the conventional egg-bound cookies. The only difference is that they tend to be crumbly and less chewy.

After all, the most important function of eggs in cookie structure-building is the egg’s ability to bind all other ingredients, whilst giving the cookie dough, a better rise. This can still be remedied by using other binding ingredients as well as using a self-rising flour. However, if you are strictly vegan, make sure the self-rising flour you are using is egg-ingredient free.

You can still make your eggless cookie chewy by using arrowroot powder, or extracts from soy lecithin or flax-seed mix. Vegetable or fruit puree, silken tofu or agar agar (unflavored gelatin powder) can also perform well as binders. The replacement ratio is 1 egg to ¼ cup of the substitute binder.

Here is one example of a recipe for eggless cookies.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

12 ounces self-raising flour
8 ounces soft spreadable margarine
8 ounces superfine sugar, also known as caster or baker’s sugar
2 ounces dark chocolate chips or drops and/or white chocolate drops

Mixing and Baking Directions

Using a big mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together to make the eggless chocolate chip cookie dough.
Knead the dough with your hands. If it is still crumbly, add a little more of the soft spreadable margarine.
Make small balls of the dough, roughly about the size of ping pong balls and then press on them to make a circle that is about 1and !/2 cm thick. You will make about 16 to 22 pieces of eggless cookie dough.
Arrange the pieces in greased trays, with which you will be needing two.
Bake for 15 minutes in an oven that was preheated at 180 degrees.

Serve and eat while freshly baked. Best when taken with a glass of milk… that is if you are not vegan.

by Marcia Smith