Chickens are Shrinking

True confession: I sometimes buy rotisserie chicken from the grocery deli. They have been on sale, off and on, for $5, so that's not too bad. I have noticed that they are smaller than they used to be, but I thought that it was because they were trying to fill the gap caused by COVID by butchering them younger. 

The one I got last time might have been 6 weeks old, or it might have been younger. I still got several meals from it because I am single, frugal and don't eat a lot of meat due to health restrictions. But still.... it was small.

I nearly always boil the carcass and pick off all the meat to get my money's worth so when I started to get the pan to boil this one, I realized it would fit into my 2 quart pan. With room to spare. 

Ok, let's look at the frugal silver lining to this cloud. It took less water and less time (energy paid for) to boil it. That's about it.

I know that chicken, rotisserie or not, is not the only thing that's been shrinking. What was a 16 ounce package is now 14 or even 12. What was a twelve count is now a 10 count. Did you ever pay attention to how much detergent is (or rather, isn't) in those pods? 

We went through this a few years back, when a pound of coffee became 14 ounces and 5 pounds of sugar became 4 pounds. Chocolate bars shrank, gas prices soared.... it's sounding familiar, isn't it? 

I don't know if it's the same old merry go round or if this is something new, but the way forward is the same. Read the labels, do the math, pay closer attention now more than ever and get your money's worth. Well, as much as you can. 

That rotisserie chicken is going to go farther than ever as I use it in soup, salads, sandwiches and casseroles into the future. It has to because either the days of $5 chicken or the days of rotisserie chickens old enough to not be called chicks have to be coming to an end.