biskitz4cheez - serving suggestions

serving suggestions
some interesting ideas...

Have you seen an obvious or pointless serving suggestion?
Why not take a scan/pic and submit it -
the best will appear on this page!

It would appear that some people cannot decide what vegetables, potatoes, etc. to serve with their meals and therefore need to look at the product's packaging for guidance. However, the serving suggestions shown on some packets and tins of pre-packed food seem to display a distinct lack of imagination.

Some are blatantly obvious; others would appear to be impossible. I fully expect the suggestions to illustrate either (a) suitable accompaniments for the product within the pack, or, at the very least (b) an attractive way to serve the food. I have raided the cupboard for some examples - none of the products shown here have been specifically bought for their serving suggestions, but I've started looking around the supermarket..

Stewed Steak		Mixed Bean Salad
	This one is fine - nicely presented, on a plate, with chipped potatoes and peas. Simple but effective, although perhaps consumers may have been capable of thinking of these accompaniments by themselves without needing the suggestion. The all-important words 'serving suggestion' are clearly displayed, so the purchaser is left in no doubt.		Tipped onto a plate. Does this really merit the description 'serving suggestion'? If those words weren't there, the image could simply serve as an illustration of the product. The only saving grace is that a sprig of watercress has been artistically placed on the side of the plate.
Hot Dog Sausages		Baked Beans with Pork Sausages in Tomato Sauce
	Call me adventurous if you like, but I prefer my frankfurters in a bread roll, with onions and tomato ketchup. Or perhaps mustard. Simply stacking them up in a pile and popping a sprig of parsley on them just would not suffice. I have to say, as far as originality goes, I wouldn't have thought of this 'serving suggestion' by myself...		Well, well, well, what's this? That classic combination dish! And if you hadn't already thought of it, try serving them in the novel way shown here... with a spoon! As a 'serving suggestion', this is ridiculous - what's the alternative? Uusing a knife to make serving them more of a challenge? Eating them straight out of the tin with your fingers?
Peeled Plum Tomatoes in Tomato Sauce		Muesli submitted by 'Anna', UK
	This is intriguing - bear in mind that the tomatoes in the tin are prepared - their skins and stalks removed. Then somehow, when serving, how about reconstituting them so that their skins are back, together with their stalks?! This appears to be more of a miracle than a serving suggestion and is bound to lead to disappointment...		Yet another serving suggestion miracle akin to the peeled plum tomatoes on the left - as 'Anna' herself writes: ... the serving suggestion seems to imply, like with the canned tomatoes, that one can reverse time at will and return the ingredients to their seperate components, re-shell the nuts, magically transform the sultanas into grapes, and pop the wheat back onto its stalk...
Chocolate Cookies submitted by 'Anna', UK		Tomato & Garlic Pasta Sauce submitted by 'Anna', UK
	Another submission from 'Anna': [this] is just bizarre - why not serve your biscuits in a big, wobbling pile? I don't know why [the manufacturer] didn't go the whole hog and suggest that the biscuits are served in a big pyramid shape, a la Ferrero Rocher...		and another... ! ...the best of it's kind... yet again, the ingredients are taken back in time, but an integral part of the serving suggestion is that one needs to get a little Homepride Man to stand behind the whisked-back-in-time ingredients, with a 'ta-DAA!' look on his little face. Is he, too, chopped and minced and in the can? One can only hope not...
Tea Bags submitted by 'Anna', UK		Garlic & Herb Pitta submitted by 'Anna', UK
	*Tea Bags ...and the suggestion is....drumroll, please... make TEA with them!!! WowEEEEEEE!*		*... pitta bread. Specifically, garlic and herb pitta bread. The 'serving suggestion' for which is to...er, eat some fresh, raw garlic...*
Soup in a Mug submitted by 'Mr K', Bristol, UK		Mixed Nuts & Raisins submitted by 'Andy', South Glos, UK
	The clue is in the title of this one. Could there be a better way to serve this instant, satisfying soup than... in a mug? Bet you would never have thought of that by yourself...		Rather than eating these straight from the bag, try putting them in a bowl! In case you hadn't worked it out by yourself, the reverse of the bag helpfully warns that the product contains nuts...
As mentioned above, I'm now on the lookout for further examples. If you find a 'serving suggestion' that doesn't deserve the title, why not email me a pic? The suggestion must be totally obvious, minimalist or impossible - and, of course, must bear the relevant words! This page could grow and grow... happy shopping!