The rise and fall of traditional home baking

Family cake tins were once filled to the brim with home-baked biscuits, cakes and loaves. According to the American Home Baking Association, however, home baking began to decline in the 1960s as lifestyles became busier. More women took up paid work and this had an impact on the time available for meal preparation. The advent of microwave ovens, and the growing availability of fast and convenience foods were a reflection of busier times.

The consumers price index (CPI) basket reflects the decline in home baking. The traditional home baking ingredients of flour, sugar, eggs and butter are all long-standing items in the CPI basket. However, their relative importance in household food budgets has declined over time.

In 1949, the price of a 25 lb (11.3kg) bag of flour was collected for the CPI. In January of that year, the average price for this in Auckland was 4 shillings and 5 pence. Allowing for general inflation, this is equal to about $14 in today’s terms. In 1949, flour accounted for 0.8 percent of household spending on food, meaning that for every £100 households spent on food, 16 shillings was on flour.

In 1975, the CPI moved to collecting prices for a 1.5kg bag. By this time, flour’s relative importance in the household food basket had fallen to 0.5 percent, or 50 cents out of every $100 spent. Since 1975, flour has accounted for between 70 cents and 30 cents in every $100 spent on food. At the time of the 2008 CPI basket review, households spent 40 cents on flour of every $100 spent on food, which is half the level of 1949.

Likewise, the relative importance of sugar has fallen over time. In 1949, sugar accounted for 4.6 percent of household spending on food, or £4 pounds and 12 shillings of every £100 spent on food. Prices were collected for 6 lb (2.7kg) bags, which in January of that year cost an average of 3 shillings and 2 pence in each of the four main centres. After allowing for inflation, this is equal to about $10 today.

Six-pound bags were collected until October 1976, when 3kg bags were introduced. These cost an average of $1.34 (about $9 in today’s dollars) throughout New Zealand. By this time, the importance of sugar had fallen to 2.1 percent of household food spending (or $2.10 in every $100 spent), a fall of more than 50 percent compared with 1949. In 1981, the size of the bag changed again, falling to 1.5kg, with an average price of $1.28 in January of that year (nearly $5 today).

Sugar’s importance in household food budgets has continued to fall. In 2008, it accounted for about 40 cents out of every $100 spent on food by households, which is about 80 percent lower than in 1975 and 90 percent lower than in 1949.

Eggs are another baking essential that have declined in importance over time. In 1949, eggs accounted for an average(1) of 4.0 percent of household food spending, or £4 for every £100 spent. Eggs were (and still are) priced by the dozen and cost an average price of 2 shillings and 9 pence in Auckland in January 1949 (nearly $9 in today's terms, compared with an actual national average price in December 2008 of $3.64).

By 1975, the importance of eggs in household food spending had fallen to 3.3 percent, or $3.30 in every $100 spent on food. Eggs now account for $1.10 out of every $100 of household spending on food, 74 percent lower than in 1949. As part of the 2008 CPI review, free-range eggs were added to the basket, joining standard caged eggs (which were previously the sole variety priced).

The relative importance of butter in household food spending has also fallen over time. In 1949, butter accounted for 4.8 percent of household food spending (or £4 and 16 shillings of every £100 spent on food). In 2008, butter made up only 0.6 percent, or 60 cents of every $100, of household food spending, a fall of nearly 90 percent compared with 1949. However, there has been a shift towards margarine, which was introduced to the basket in 1975. See Margarine use spreads at butter's expense in the January 2009 edition of Price Index News for more information.

Table 1

Despite a decline in the relative importance of traditional home baking ingredients, there may still be hope for the humble scone. Recent media reports suggest that recent big increases in food prices have resulted in households turning to home baking in order to make food budgets stretch that little bit further.

(1) Eggs were seasonally adjusted within the fruits, vegetables and eggs class until the 1965 review, when they became a class of their own. This meant that each month eggs had a different proportion of the total fruits, vegetables and eggs class weight.

Back to Price Index News: April 2009