On 13/03/2011 4:05 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:

> As a market researcher of 35 years' experience, I say hooey to the
> broad conclusions.
>
> The major flaw is that most folks were raised on mix cakes - doctored
> or otherwise - and that sort of taste and texture is what gets
> established as the gold standard in the mind of these beholders. Same
> reason that McD's usually wins in French fry contests.


My mother usually made cakes from scratch, except for chocolate. She
figured that she would have had to pay extra for chocolate to flavour
the cake, so chocolate cake mixes were a bargain.