Modern Portions

Serving sizes these days aren’t what they used to be...

That single bagel would have fed two people a few decades ago. Bagels used to be about 3 inches and 140 calories. The modern bagel is closer to 6 inches and 350 calories or more! That modern muffin could feed 3 or 4. They used to be about 1.5 ounces and now they’re closer to 5 and a half.

In one study, nutritionists compared 18 classic recipes in different editions of The Joy of Cooking, first published in 1936. In 75 years, average calories per serving have jumped about 63% in 17 of the 18 recipes.