16 APRIL 2005, Page 54

Q. Can you settle a dispute? My cousin and I

share a flat. She likes to store rice, biscuits, cereals, flour, etcetera in Kilner jars and there are serried ranks of them in our shared kitchen. I instinctively feel that Kilner jars are undesirable. Can you rule on this, Mary?

I.T., Edinburgh A. There is nothing wrong with Kilner jars per se, but regarding kitchen storage there is something very lifeless and depressing about a row of them. So, you are correct. Foodstuffs should be left in their packets so that the sellby date is visible, so that the ingredients can be read by neurotics, and also so that the variety of packets can add colour and textural gaiety to the storage shelves.