That happens every so often around here. When I lived in the Bay Area, it wasn't a biggie. There was always somewhere else you could get whatever it was.

But now that I live in a relatively small town in the Valley, it can be a problem, as there are only so many stores before you have to go to another town, which involves miles and time.

A case in point is Matzoh Meal. Last time I tried to make Matzoh Ball Soup, I got everything all ready and then realized I hadn't enough Matzoh Meal.

Grumbling, I made the trip to the store only to find out that they'd discontinued it. Ended up mixing Matzoh Meal with Corn Meal...the dumplings were really tasty, so it was a fortuitous event, but now I've got to find somewhere to buy Matzoh Meal! I know I can order it on line, but then I end up having to pay postage too, so I'll look around first.

I used to buy Diet Squirt and then suddenly it was no longer available, and so I switched to Shasta diet grapefruit soda, which now I like better. They started making Diet Squirt again, but I've already switched.

Another thing that bothers me is when they change the size of the product. Sweetened condensed milk used to come in 16 oz cans, and I had recipes that used exactly that amount. Now the cans are 14 oz and so I add a couple of ounces of cream cheese plus 2 tbsp of sugar to make up for the difference. I guess it's really bad to have recipes that depend on cans or prepacked food that can easily become obsolete. I think all of those recipes should give substitutes for products that have the potential to be discontinued.

Lars

Lars, have you tried the peach flavored Fresca? I'm addicted to it --- absolutely love it. I like the diet grapefruit flavored drinks, but prefer the peach Frescas -- nothing quenches my thirst better. Just thought I'd mention it in case you haven't tried them.

I haven't seen fresh yeast in a store in at least 10-years. I'll even stop at small town stores when we are traveling about the state to see if they carry it. Nothing takes me back to my mother's kitchen faster than the smell of bread made with fresh yeast - and yes, it's a completely different smell than using dry yeast. The stores around here sold fresh yeast during the holiday's, even Wal-Mart, but alas, no more...

I wanted some watercress last week and they told me at the store they no longer carry it, so I ordered seeds - I'll just grow my own...

Can sizes - WOW, have those ever changed, and it does make a difference in some of the old recipes when you short them on an ingredient because of the new, smaller, can sizes.

I make my own versions of evaporated or sweetened condensed milk using powdered milk products so I can make the amount called for in older recipes. Evaporated milk was formerly 6- or 14-1/2-ounces are now 5- or 12-ounces. I don't recall 16-ounce sweetened condensed milk, I thought it was 15-ounces, which is now 14. Can't find 16-oz. of pumpkin anymore, either. At least it freezes well and I can use a portion of the second can and freeze the remainder to use in muffins, cookies, even added to smoothies. How long ago has it been since a can of tuna was 7-1/2-ounces? Prior to the 1980's manufacturer's used #303 cans which was the common size for fruits and vegetables and held 16-ounces.

-Grainlady

Grainlady, I hadn't seen fresh yeast in years, then all of a sudden my main grocery store started to carry it again.
So ask, because it is still available.

Unfortunately a common practice is to shrink the amount of product but keep the price the same, rather than doing a price increase on the same amount of product. This practice is very evident in the potato chip aisle...

Nancy

I remember how disgusted I was as a kid, when I noticed that Hersey bars had gotten smaller, and remained the same price.

I know you can buy fresh yeast over the internet, but you have to bake enough bread to use up a whole pound of it before it spoils. I do remember making bread with it, and the aroma was indeed quite different. Some bakeries use it, so perhaps one might be able to talk the baker into selling some.

dlynn - try adding some clear tequila (Patron) to your fresca. Oh My ... FAB drinkie.

dlynn, I've not even seen the peach Fresca here, maybe it's regional? Or maybe it's just because I live in such a rural area...

A lot of things get discontinued here, my very small grocery doesn't have a lot of shelf space and so if it doesn't sell regularly, it's gone. The lastest victim was Nutella. I'm apparently the only person in White Cloud that buys Nutella. Well, not any more, now I have to drive 30 miles to Big Rapids to get it. Oh well, it's better not to have it around, LOL.

Annie

And the rest of the story. . . .

There is a product you love and use often, so the manufacturer "improves" it, and it is no longer any good.

Rusty

and then there's the problem of the company changing the lid on spices etc., from a screw off lid to find a shaker top under it...... to a flip up lid and if you unscrew the lid and start to shake it in, you dump the whole container into whatever you're making. D'OH!

Annie, try asking the distributor for it. I first had it at my aunt's house in NOLA. My mom's grocery, just an hour away, didn't stock it. But, mine out here in Colorado did. My mom finally convinced her distributor to start stocking it for her and the store says it is a big seller, especially in the summer. It's much better than the regular Fresca. They also make a black-cherry that my kids love (but I don't care for anything cherry flavored). I'll have to try the tequilla in it, Shaun.

Has not everyone noticed that this problem is prevalent in many areas, not just food? Bras, for instance. Lipsticks, for instance. If a suitable one is found, it will probably be gone in no time. Excuse me gentlemen, but there are many others just as necessary and just as frustrating as foods.

Yes PWM1 I had noticed. Foundation make-up is the same way, also eye shadow. It's extremely frustrating. I started using Elizabeth Arden foundation because they do not change theirs. I've been using it for years.

Eventually I will find something else I can use in place of them though and not so in the food line.

Agree on the peach Fresca; great stuff, and I don't like most soft drinks. (And, I must confess I have doctored Frescas with tequila or rum...) I haven't seen any in a while.

One item I can't find anymore is King Oscar sardines packed in pesto. It's a fine no-carb and relatively healthy snack.

The other day I made a recipe from Julia Child's The Way to Cook and it called for a 7 ounce can of tuna. Guess what--most tuna nowadays comes about 5 ounces per can.

My current MIA item is Honey Toasted Kashi cereal. For some reason my store has the cinnamon flavor but not honey. Boo. TJ's carries it so if I am near there I get a box. In general I refuse to pay nearly $5 a box for any cereal especially when it has 3/4 of the amount that it used to have. I used to be hooked on Basic Four but now it cost $5.50 a box (and never goes on sale) plus the box will soon be about 1 inch thick. Basic 3/4! Ha ha, I crack myself up sometimes.

Lars, earlier this year I wrote to J.M. Smucker, which now owns Eagle Brand, and asked about the change in the size of the can. Here is their reply:
"In response to your inquiry, our cans of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk weighed 15 ounces from 1850 to 1967. Sometime in 1968 the weight was changed from 15 ounces to 14 ounces. Some older recipes may call for the 15 ounce can but you may use the 14 ounce can as the weight difference is minimal."

I hope that helps.

Alice

therustyone, you are soooo right.... It's even more noticeable how much they have changed some "old favorites" when you only purchase these things once in a blue moon. I will no longer purchase graham crackers, saltine crackers, vanilla wafers and Nabisco Ginger Snap Cookies because these items have altered so much they don't taste anything like they once did; and your recipes don't taste anything like they used to - so why bother. These ingredients were part of several old family favorites from our mothers and grandmothers recipes I used to make for the family, and no longer do.

-Grainlady

Chef Boy R Dee pizza mix. They don't sell it in Canada anymore. It's just a trip across the border but I haven't gotten around to getting a passport so it's been awhile since I had one. If someone I know is going then they usually pick up a box (or five) for me.

Pepperidge Farms Crusty French Rolls. I like to keep them on hand, in the freezer, and even though the grocery stores carry other PF products they don't carry the rolls. If I time my visit just right I can find them at a little produce market. Go figure! Makes me crazy. And yes, I agree with a lot of the above.

jude

Grainlady, I noticed that about vanilla wafers the other day. I hadn't eaten any for years, and I had one at a client's house. It was nothing like I remembered, and I thought maybe it was just me?

I used to LOVE Roman Meal hot cereal when I was growing up. But nobody carries it anymore! I have sent an email to the company via their website, because I can't figure out if any of the products they offer are the cereal I remember. But gosh, to pay for the cereal AND postage will chap my hide!

dlynn, I'll check with the distributor and I'll look when I get to bigger stores, maybe some is down by Elery that isn't up here, thanks.

PWM1, with me it's lipstick. Every time I find one I really like, suddenly it's gone. Next time I find one I'm going to buy half a dozen, I swear...

Annie

I worry that my local hardware store will stop carrying Twinkle, which is a paste for instantly de-tarnishing copper pots. They only stock two cans at a time. Whenever I'm in there, I buy a can. Whether I need one that day or not. I must have 8 cans of the stuff here. Then again, I go through a can per month, or more, so arguably I should have 20 stashed away.

Many many years ago, my favorite beer - above Bass, Steam, even the holy Guiness - was Sapporo Black. I haven't seen it in, decades?

Lipstick and eyeshadow... hate when they change those. I finally found the best lip stuff ever --- Lipfinity by Max Factor. But, P&G has decided to quit selling Max Factor in the US. I just ordered 24 of them online from Amazon. I should be set for the next couple of years. don't know what I'll do after that.

Shampoo! I have involuntarily switched so many times it makes my head spin. Just as I finally get used to a scent and decide I like it, it's no longer available and I have sto start all over again. Ugh!

Coffee flavored syrup for milk. An obscure product I know. I like coffee flavor but don't much like hot drinks and I drink milk every morning in an attempt to get calcium and I love this stuff. Well about two years ago it went away. I searched for it on the internet and found a site that sells discontinued products. I bought 15 bottles and am still working my way through it. When it runs out, I'm probably doomed! LOL

I need to dig up that website and see if they have it still. I have about 6 bottles left.

currently mourning an eye shadow made by Revlon called Eye glide....
And the only store in town that carries pure unsweetened grapefruit juice is Wal-Mart!!
and i can't buy bagels in town, nor Arborio rice nor panko....and the list goes on!
Linda C

arley, the last sardine factory here in Maine just closed - permanently. We sardine lovers will now have even a tougher time.

The last sardine factory in the US closed this year, leaving only one in Canada left in NA.

Maidenform no longer makes my favorite undies, the only style I bought for at least ten years. I am now a Jockey girl.

Lowspark, I bet you could make coffee syrup fairly easily if you had to. When I worked at a Japanese restaurant, we used to make strong iced milk coffee during the Summer time, it was so refreshing when the kitchen was too hot to bear. We just used good-quality instant coffee and sugar, dissolved in just enough hot water to melt it. Then we filled the glass with ice and poured milk over it. Delicious.

Thanks, I might try that! Cathy (Mustangs) had given me a WONDERFUL recipe for making iced coffee where you make up the dry mix in advance and use coffee ice cubes. That was really good as well but I got very lazy about making it. It takes advance planning (to make they dry mix and the ice cubes) and it involves the blender. It's delicious but the thing is, I'm usually in a hurry in the morning before work and I love the convenience of squeezing the stuff into my milk.

It's more like milk with just a touch of coffee flavoring. I don't use as much as they recommend so the coffee flavor is just sort of hinted at as opposed to being dominant. I will try making up some syrup as you suggested though, might work! Thanks!

P.S. I do actually make Cathy's iced coffee occasionally. It's delicious.

Caramel flavored Bugles. Sam's had them once, I bought them and was hooked. Haven't seen them since. I just did a google search and found out that lots of people are finding them at 7-11. Guess where I'm going today????

Lowspark --

Coffee syrup is a huge tradition in Rhode Island, where they almost exclusively use the Autocrat brand. You can buy Autocrat coffee syrup on their website (link below). Looks like they have their regular coffee syrup, and then a stronger version called CoffeTime syrup...

Here is a link that might be useful: Autocrat Online Shopping

It happens to me and my husband so often it's just a running joke with us now. Heck you can't even buy decent clothespins anymore. Most recently it was Washing soda, I know it's not a food but still...But it's just everything every time I turn around. Everything that's my favorite that is :(

Wow, thanks Em!! Someone over on the home decor forum also suggested a brand that is available at whole foods. I'm definitely going to check both of these out.

There IS hope afterall!! Wheeeeee!!!!!!

Coffee syrup is also big in my area. Here is a site that sells it as well. I find that their shipping isn't too bad.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coffee syrup

Oh dear, Gina and PWM, I LOVE sardines. I'd better stock up, I suppose...

Annie

May, would you mind sharing the coffee recipe? I'd love to try that...it sounds delicious.

Annie, I used to buy the bulk cans from Costco- Stinsons brand, the Maine factory that closed. I think I have 2 or 3 left. After that I don't know where I'll be able to source them. They're such a good source of natural Omega-3.

Gina, if you find some, please let me know if you think of it. I'll do the same. I have 5 small cans in the pantry, I really have to stock up before they are all gone.

Annie