Do I Avoid The "do You Use A Mix" Question??

Business By jessieb578 Updated 2 Jul 2008 , 3:07pm by FromScratch

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mareg Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:17pm
post #241 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by onceuponacake

jessieb- thanks for the heads up on the hershey cake ill look for it. i also have a scratch carrot cake....yummy...my search continues for a great white scratch cake..until then its a doctored BC for me lol





I'm looking for a good carrot cake. Would you mind PM me the recipie???

Thanks bunches! icon_biggrin.gif

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gottabakenow Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:21pm
post #242 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

Quote:
Originally Posted by gottabakenow

I bake from scratch. That's basically because the boxes are SO disgustingly filled with chemicals and artificial junk. Also my cakes are good.

There is a brand that I use- rarely, because why bother?- called Dr. Oetkers. It's organic. It doesn't have that chemically artificially disgustingly gross stuff in it. It's good. But it's expensive. So I bake from scratch. Everyone loves it. Like Debi says, don't fix what ain't broken.

I would NEVER bash anyone who uses a mix. I just don't happen to want to eat floor wax and shoe polish or whatever the equivalent of the junk in them is.

*stepping off my soapbox now...*



Priceless. No bashing. No disgusting floor wax.




why bash if you can get your point across while being nice? icon_smile.gif

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-K8memphis Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:24pm
post #243 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by gottabakenow

Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

Quote:
Originally Posted by gottabakenow

I bake from scratch. That's basically because the boxes are SO disgustingly filled with chemicals and artificial junk. Also my cakes are good.

There is a brand that I use- rarely, because why bother?- called Dr. Oetkers. It's organic. It doesn't have that chemically artificially disgustingly gross stuff in it. It's good. But it's expensive. So I bake from scratch. Everyone loves it. Like Debi says, don't fix what ain't broken.

I would NEVER bash anyone who uses a mix. I just don't happen to want to eat floor wax and shoe polish or whatever the equivalent of the junk in them is.

*stepping off my soapbox now...*



Priceless. No bashing. No disgusting floor wax.



why bash if you can get your point across while being nice? icon_smile.gif




Because it's not nice to say that people who use cake mix are serving people disgusting floor wax. There's no floor wax in the list CakeMo posted. That is bashing.

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jen1977 Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:26pm
post #244 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by gottabakenow

Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

Quote:
Originally Posted by gottabakenow

I bake from scratch. That's basically because the boxes are SO disgustingly filled with chemicals and artificial junk. Also my cakes are good.

There is a brand that I use- rarely, because why bother?- called Dr. Oetkers. It's organic. It doesn't have that chemically artificially disgustingly gross stuff in it. It's good. But it's expensive. So I bake from scratch. Everyone loves it. Like Debi says, don't fix what ain't broken.

I would NEVER bash anyone who uses a mix. I just don't happen to want to eat floor wax and shoe polish or whatever the equivalent of the junk in them is.

*stepping off my soapbox now...*



Priceless. No bashing. No disgusting floor wax.



why bash if you can get your point across while being nice? icon_smile.gif




I don't see how calling someone's cake from a box shoe polish or floor wax is nice at all icon_confused.gif

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Doug Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:29pm
post #245 of 267

the minute you add baking powder or soda you're adding...

CHEMICALS!!!! (gasp!) ---

and MINED from the earth (baking soda!) no less -- just like that "digusting" titanium dioxide (and let's not even get going on judging things by their "names" -- that way lies very bad ju-ju!!!!)

oh yes, and SALT -- a chemical mined from the earth!!!! (or created from the world's sewer -- aka sea salt! --- after all, all sewers eventually empty into the oceans!)

and has also been pointed out -- flower -- HAH --- so processed -- with chemicals -- like peroxide -- you know that stuff that bleaches hair and supposedly kills bad buggies in wounds

oh yes -- SALT and SUGAR -- both highly poisonous at the right concentrations (and look at what salt does for blood pressure and sugar for teeth waistlines!)


and as any biochemist will tell you ---

it's ALL!!! chemicals -- just some dressed up w/ "pretty names"

oh and go check on the amount of "foreign substances" (like bug parts, etc.) that are allowed to be present in so-call pure sugar and flour, etc.

so, don't talk to me about the PURITY of scratch.

it ain't, never has been, never will be

it's just a METHOD.

as they say....

there's more than one way to skin a cat (or bake a cake)

and you go your way and I'll go mine.

different strokes for different folks

one person's trash, another's treasure.

beauty is in the eye of beholder (and good taste in their mouth! --- make mine chocolate!)

now --- to your baking, whatever the method.

may all your cakes rise and never fall
all you BC be smooth, bubble free and never slump, droop or melt.
and may all your customers fall all over themselves praising your creations

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-K8memphis Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:39pm
post #246 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug


may all your cakes rise and never fall
all you BC be smooth, bubble free and never slump, droop or melt.
and may all your customers fall all over themselves praising your creations




I'll bake to that >>raising my spatula high!!!

Long live scratch long live mix and may we ever live in peace and harmony between and amongst the two overlapping camps of sweet love.

It's up to you to prevent cake board fires.

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Doug Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:54pm
post #247 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

It's up to you to prevent cake board fires.




says Yogi Bear through a mouth stuffed w/ cake and smeared w/ icing stolen from yet another pic-i-nic basket.

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FromScratch Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:54pm
post #248 of 267

This thread is SOOOOO far off point. No where in this thread was it ever asked (by the OP) which way was better.

To answer a question though.. gums aren't in all fondants. The one I make has no gums.. just gelatin (or agar agar if it needs to be vegetarian). Granted gelatin is made from the cartilage of animals, but if that's okay with you it's okay with me. If not.. I'll gladly make you the veggie version.. it'll just cost you a little more since agar agar is more pricey and harder to find than gelatin and it can be harder to work with.

I am just against sneeking things like propylene glycol in foods. (and the sneaking is done by the company not the baker) It shouldn't be necessary to add things like that to foods. Soy lethicin and the gums don't 'scare' me.. I'd just rather not eat them as I don't enjoy the flavor and texture they impart on the cakes. It's not that I think they are going to kill me. They can gum up your colon though.. pun intended.. icon_wink.gif. Hell.. WATER in high enough quanitities can kill you. Oh and those bug parts you speak of.. are allowed in cake mixes too.. they are allowed in all foods made for distribution. Sorry to add to the debate, but I hate it when people's personal choices are put on the firing range. Now everyone is snubbing everyone and the point of the post seems moot.

I did want to productively add that they do make unbleached cake flour (pastry flour). I know King Aurthur sells it. It's not widely available, but if you want it it's there. icon_smile.gif http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp;jsessionid=FDD68B25E3557D7575A9533E0004C0B5?select=C79&byCategory=C541&id=3331

Again.. this thread was never intended to be about the PURITY of scratch baking.

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FromScratch Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 3:55pm
post #249 of 267

I'm all for happy baking.. so do your thing.. whatever it may be. icon_smile.gif

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-K8memphis Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:01pm
post #250 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug

Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

It's up to you to prevent cake board fires.



says Yogi Bear through a mouth stuffed w/ cake and smeared w/ icing stolen from yet another pic-i-nic basket.




Doug, hunny, it was Smokey but you're allowed. icon_lol.gif

icon_biggrin.gif

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Doug Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:07pm
post #251 of 267

the OP, in asking this question:

Quote:
Quote:

I know that restaurants use many things that are pre-made/pre-mixed, so why the stigma around the baking from scratch thing???




did in fact open up the issue of purity as that is how so many justify that scratch is better and mix is not.

I stand by:

beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

just go to an art museum and pick what you think is beautiful and compare it to others choices.

story of example -- three peoples reaction to a Jackson Pollack
"OK...whatever"
"HMMMM....interesting"
"THAT"S STUPID!" said very loudly.
(all three from my sister's kids, last one leading me to nearly drag the child from the museum immediately!)

Cakes are works of art, the bakers and the decorators.


And there's NO accounting for taste in art.

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sfcrowe Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:17pm
post #252 of 267

I am not a professional, just a mom who provides cupcakes and cakes to the school. I use box mix on cakes that are mostly for the decoration, i.e. kids school cupcakes and kid birthday cakes. They are after the buttercream (which I always make from scratch). I have watched them lick every molecule of buttercream off the cake, throw away the cake and ask for another piece. In this case, baking from scratch has no meaning.
However, when it comes to cakes for the teachers or large events, I will bake from scratch. I have been told that my cakes are very tastey. At the same time I have had folks rave in my face about other folks box mix.
Box mix is quite good now, especially with all the modifications one can do to personalize it. But I have to say, I have a sadness that people in general do not have an appreciation for baked goods (or any food for that matter) that are made truly from scratch. Sometimes it seems that society's taste buds have been burned by all the "fast foods". Not trying to critize, just observations....I am one of those folks who will take advantage of the "fast food", especially when busy making a cake from scratch. icon_lol.gif
End of soap box.

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moreCakePlz Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:20pm
post #253 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug

the minute you add baking powder or soda you're adding...

CHEMICALS!!!! (gasp!) ---

and MINED from the earth (baking soda!) no less -- just like that "digusting" titanium dioxide (and let's not even get going on judging things by their "names" -- that way lies very bad ju-ju!!!!)

oh yes, and SALT -- a chemical mined from the earth!!!! (or created from the world's sewer -- aka sea salt! --- after all, all sewers eventually empty into the oceans!)

and has also been pointed out -- flower -- HAH --- so processed -- with chemicals -- like peroxide -- you know that stuff that bleaches hair and supposedly kills bad buggies in wounds

oh yes -- SALT and SUGAR -- both highly poisonous at the right concentrations (and look at what salt does for blood pressure and sugar for teeth waistlines!)




icon_eek.gif

Add Cream of tartar to the list..

Cream of tartar is is the common name for potassium hydrogen tartrate.

Cream of tartar is obtained when tartaric acid is half neutralized with potassium hydroxide, transforming it into a salt. Grapes are the only significant natural source of tartaric acid, and cream of tartar is a obtained from sediment produced in the process of making wine.


I put that stuff in my egg whites!!!?

And what about imitation vanilla (not that anyone would use that), but it comes from a waste product of the wood pulp industry, lignin. How much of the prepackages stuff we buy has imitation vanilla in it??

Just shot me and get it over with.

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Mike1394 Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:25pm
post #254 of 267

Ok here's a slight twist to it. The question of scratch frosting, or betterbucket. Because if you prescribe to the scratch is healthier concept should a bucket frosting be eliminated also? icon_biggrin.gif Don't shoot the messenger, or questionier. icon_biggrin.gif

Mike

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FromScratch Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:28pm
post #255 of 267

Oooooooh Mike... you are baaaaad. icon_wink.gif Need to be spanked with a spatula.. icon_lol.gif

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Doug Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:32pm
post #256 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug

Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

It's up to you to prevent cake board fires.



says Yogi Bear through a mouth stuffed w/ cake and smeared w/ icing stolen from yet another pic-i-nic basket.



Doug, hunny, it was Smokey but you're allowed. icon_lol.gif

icon_biggrin.gif




oh, I know...

just seems Smokey is a bit to serious to care about cakes.....

but Yogi....well, is there any pic-i-nic basket he didn't like????

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Mike1394 Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:41pm
post #257 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by jkalman

Oooooooh Mike... you are baaaaad. icon_wink.gif Need to be spanked with a spatula.. icon_lol.gif




Oh I can GUARENTEE this thread is NOT going that way. Hehehehehe icon_cool.gif

Mike

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cocobean Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:49pm
post #258 of 267

My two cents. icon_razz.gif Sorry I haven't read all of the replies with this topic. But, a oouple of responses I have if someone asks about my cake. I tell them that a lot of the time I start out with a box cake mix but then I turn it into a supper enhanced mix where I add a lot of my own ingredients like: sour cream, pudding, butter, extra flour, extra sugar extra flavoring mabybe spices etc. so by the time I am done they wouldn't recognize it as any box mix that they have ever had!!! The response is usually, oohhh do you share your recipes. I just smile! icon_smile.gificon_surprised.gif I have a lot of secrets that have taken me YEARS to learn! Of course it's different if one of you asks. I do refer a lot of people to cc! thumbs_up.gif

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littlecake Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 4:54pm
post #259 of 267

"donning my flame retardant underwear"....

when i was gonna add frappacino type drinks to my shop, many of the formulas had guar gum and xanthan gum in them.

not wanting to kill my customers....so they'd come back and buy more stuff....i looked these things up.

guar gum is made from guar beans

and if i remember right....xanthan gum was made by a fermenting process ...made with basically sugar.

someone smarter than me prolly knows more about this...but that made it less scarey to me.

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snarkybaker Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 5:26pm
post #260 of 267

Throwing a tub of sour cream into a cake mix and calling it "scratch" or " homemade" is like adding milk to kraft mac and cheese and calling it homemade fettucini alfredo.

If scratch bakers get get "uppity" it's because they're pushed into it by the "enhancers" talking about how much better their cake is than ours. My cakes aren't dry. they don't crumble, we carve them all the time, and BTW, we use all organic ingredients ( except cake flour, and we use the unbleached King Arthur for that). Our milk and butter comes from a farm about 25 miles from here. Our eggs come from a different farm about 15 miles in the other direction. I know the guy that imports my vanilla beans personally. We don't use corn syrup, shortening, or preservatives of any kind. It makes a difference.

The college kids who work for me ( and college kids will generally eat anything) tell me all the time that they can't eat Coldstone anymore, now that they've had our homemade gelato. They don't like the cookies at Mrs. Fields anymore etc. etc.

Once you've had good homemade, you can't go back to scratch. Just like Italian boys don't eat Ragu, cause they grew up on Mama's sauce. Same thing...once you've been to Paris etc.
The point is do what you want, or what you like. The majority of the American food industry is based on selling us food with dubious ingredients and convincing us it is delicious. It's a successful model. You can make money, but can I tell you how proud I am when I can look someone straight in the eye and say " Everything in this shop is made from scratch every day. It's awesome.

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FromScratch Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 5:32pm
post #261 of 267

Yes.. most of the emulsifiers and gums are derived from natural sources. I don't find them scary.. that's not why I avoid cake mixes. I just don't like the texture and flavor of mix cakes. Propylene glycol is a tad scary as it is used in many things including pesticides, deodorants, and can be used as anti-freeze in your car. I'm sure it's in trace amounts.. but still.. I tend to try to avoid things like that if I can even if the FDA has stated it is generally safe for use as a direct food additive. I'm sure that the mixes could do just fine without it. Though I have never said once that people who use mixes are horrible. Quite the opposite.. I am more of a do your own thing and be proud of it sort of a person. I am a proud scratch baker.. but I don't knock those who aren't..

Oh and Mike.. I would never spank you.. perhaps your wife would though.. if you were provoking a bunch of ornery cake people. icon_lol.gif :p

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moreCakePlz Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 5:33pm
post #262 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlecake

"donning my flame retardant underwear"....

when i was gonna add frappacino type drinks to my shop, many of the formulas had guar gum and xanthan gum in them.

not wanting to kill my customers....so they'd come back and buy more stuff....i looked these things up.

guar gum is made from guar beans

and if i remember right....xanthan gum was made by a fermenting process ...made with basically sugar.

someone smarter than me prolly knows more about this...but that made it less scarey to me.




Not smarter, just quoting for the book âHow Baking Works" by Paula Figoni.

Guar gum is from the beans of the plant Cyamopsis tetragonoloba that grows in India and Pakistan. Guar gum is used as a thickener in a broad range of products, including cream cheese and sour cream. It is also used in frozen foods, such as ice cream and frozen pasteurized egg whites, to prevent ice crystal growth and freezer damage.

Xanthan gum is produced when the microorganism Xanthomonas campestris undergoes fermentation. Xanthan gum thickens without feeling thick and heavy, so it is commonly used in salad dressing to keep ingredients suspended.


"How Baking Works" is a great book if you want to learn how each ingredient affects the process.

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smoore Posted 1 Jul 2008 , 7:59pm
post #263 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by indydebi

Potential client: âDo you bake from scratch?â
Debi: âYou couldnât afford me if I baked from scratch.â

Iâve told them âI use the same premeasured mixes used by most bakeries and food establishments in town.â

I just can NOT understand why people feel guilty about using mixes. Ever shop in GFS? See those big 5-lb boxes of cake mix? You think theyâre selling those to housewives? Heck no! They are selling them to bakeries and restaurants and any other business who wants to make a cake!

Ever eat at Applebeeâs, Olive Garden, or any other restaurant? You think they make all of that from scratch? Heck no!!! Have you noticed all the new âsmaller portionâ meals that are being offered now? You think everyone came up with the same ânewâ idea at the same time? Heck no!! GFS revealed those products at their food show a few months ago! So all of those places are ordering those frozen-not-made-from-scratch items for sale in their restaurant.

Most of the natâl hamburger chains donât even fry their hamburgers on site anymore ⦠they arrive at the restaurant already cooked. And youâre feeling âguiltyâ about using a mix?????

Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

I wished I had asked her how the stigma about cake mixes began? It is the oddest thing on the planet!.


Because back in the pioneer days, a woman was MEASURED on her culinary skills. A woman who couldnât make a pie crust just wouldnât be able to âketch a MAN!â A woman who was GOOD at this stuff was considered the Queen of the Ball, uh, kitchen. As the ânew and improvedâ models came in, it somewhat threatened the âstatusâ of the local women who were the champion pie crust makers â¦. Because now EVERYONE could make a good pie crust and they were no longer Queen of the Ball. How did they fight this threat to their self-perceived status? By making snotty little comments such as, âOh, she baked that from a MIX!â

Quote:
Originally Posted by milissasmom

i KNOW for a fact is that there are TONS of professional establishments that use BOX mixes for tons of things (even Pancakes, waffles etc)!


I particularly liked one Food Channel show where they were in some mom-n-pop diner, and the owners were bragging on how they made everything from scratch! â¦.. as they stood in front of a shelving unit with a couple boxes of Aunt Jemima pancake mix sitting on it!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnson6ofus

I have ZERO guilt for boxes--- those companies do NOTHING but perfect their "pre-measured" ingredients- and I take advantage of it! â¦..I don't grind my own cinnamon, grow my own strawberries, or churn my own butter--- but I use boxes, and I consider myself a scratch baker. icon_smile.gif Just how far do you need to go, to be "scratch"? I don't use the "side of the box" added ingredients, and THAT makes it MINE. icon_smile.gif))


When I get a bride who asks âDo you use fresh or frozen?â (regarding catering), I respond with âI donât grow my own corn or kill my own chicken, so what are you looking for?â




AMEN!!!! I just did a cake for a party that I actually went to this past weekend and this question came up (after they devoured their first half of cake, they were able to mumble it out as they continued to shove their faces with it). I operate by the Ohio Cottage Foods laws and it's required for me to put the ingredients on my labels and I DO put "pre-measured commercial base" as my first ingredient with their ingredients in paranthasis after it. I have no problem telling people I use box mix, as I know my cakes taste different than their box mix cakes do. The funny thing about the question this time was that the hostess of the party chimed right in and said "who cares ....it tastes great, looks great and I didn't have to do it!" Isn't that really what people are looking for?

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mija10417 Posted 2 Jul 2008 , 2:14am
post #264 of 267

Ok, I stopped reading at page 7. I just wanted to add my two cents that you should be honest if you use box or not. My friend's daughter is deathly allergic to red dye which is in ALL cake mixes. Even white! A lot of kids these days are becoming allergic to preservatives and artifical stuff so please be honest if they ask. There is no reason to be ashamed of using box mixes!

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-K8memphis Posted 2 Jul 2008 , 2:20am
post #265 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by mija10417

...My friend's daughter is deathly allergic to red dye which is in ALL cake mixes. Even white! A lot of kids these days are becoming allergic to preservatives and artifical stuff so please be honest if they ask. There is no reason to be ashamed of using box mixes!




Red dye in white cake mix? How could it be white?
It would at least be pink.
It's not on the label.
So they just cleverly sneak it in there and don't list it and conceal the fact that it's red.

Bastards!

icon_lol.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gif

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alicegop Posted 2 Jul 2008 , 2:45am
post #266 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnson6ofus


I don't grind my own cinnamon, grow my own strawberries, or churn my own butter--- but I use boxes, and I consider myself a scratch baker. icon_smile.gif Just how far do you need to go, to be "scratch"? I don't use the "side of the box" added ingredients, and THAT makes it MINE. icon_smile.gif))




Someone on here has a quote along the lines of "if you want to make an apple pie from scratch you first have to create the universe" by that smart scientist guy. icon_razz.gif

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FromScratch Posted 2 Jul 2008 , 3:07pm
post #267 of 267

I think some white cake mixes could have a red dye in them.. blue too. Because violet in very small amounts will counter act any yellow that might be in the ingredients.

I mean people do it all the time with their buttercream.. just as a teeny touch of violet and you'll see it turn whiter.. I have seen that advice many many times.

Not stating fact because I haven't read every white cake mix box, but it could be true.

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