Consuming Interest
BY LESLIE ADRIAN THE Egg Marketing Board must now be re- gretting that it launched its 'Lion' stamp with so much foolishly misleading publicity. As a re- sult the Board now finds itself in much the same Position as the Meteorological Office : if its fore- cast of 'fresh' is right, nobody notices, but if it is wrong. . . . My own impression is that cus- tomers are neither better nor worse off than they used to be before the new system of marketing Was established. But whereas they used to blame the retailer when they got a stale egg, now they tend to blame the Board for giving what they regard ars a bogus guarantee.
No wonder, then, that the Board has felt it advisable to put out a statement which, in effect, tells customers not to put too much faith in the Lion stamp. It is, of course, pefectly true that, stamp or no stamp, what counts with egg- buying (as with other non-branded consumer goods) is the trustworthiness of the retailer. if Your grocer or fishmonger does not try to keep his eggs clean and cool, then you ought not to Patronise him. I can also understand the re- luctance of the Egg Marketing Board to intro- duce date stamping; apart from the complications and the cost, it would mean endless embarrass- ment for grocers. But what I cannot understand is why the public should not be able to buy new- laid eggs, if they want to, at a premium.
Even if there are difficulties about knowing the exact date that the egg was laid, there need be no difficulty at all about knowing the date on which it reaches the packing station. Surely, there- fore, the sensible solution would be to have 'pre- mium packs' of six or a dozen eggs, done up is entirely glass from roof to plinth, and the iron- work with which it is adorned is a simplified ver- sion of Regency. It is a summertime house, full of light and in pale colours, and was intended to look like a houseboat come to rest upon the meadows. Inside Walton designed all the carpets, furniture and fittings, and most of these survive. George Walton was equally as original an artist in the art-nouveau manner as his contemporary and follow-countryman Chprles Rennie Mackin- tosh. But Walton has never received the credit he deserves.
for convenience of carriage, stamped, sealed and sold as 'new laid' at a higher price? Any remain- ing unsold (I hardly think there would be many) could be sold as ordinary eggs. There are, after all, a great many culinary uses for eggs in which newness is not essential.
I assume that the Board will reply, as they did to some earlier strictures of mine last month, that 'it cannot, and does not, control the condi- tions of storage'; and that consequently these premium packages might deteriorate so rapidly at the retailers that the customer would still be fooled. But is there any reason why the Board should not sell its premium packages only to those firms who are prepared to guarantee proper storage facilities? 'Approved by the Egg Market- ing Board' could then become a near-guarantee of quality—which that ridiculous Lion never will be.
Last April 1 wrote that the drip-dry, you-don't- need-to-iron shirt, was 'far from being the trouble- free wonder garment it purports to be.' The rea- son, I suggested, is that the resin coating, which is applied to cotton to make it crease-resisting, also makes it as non-porous and clammy as the early nylon shirts—and they, as anybody who tried them will remember, could be quite horrible.
I received a letter some time later from the Press Relations Officer to Rael-Brook Ltd., the firm which marketed the first non-iron poplin shirt. Many people, she claimed, have had a much happier experience with drip-dry than I had; and she offered to send one to me for a trial. That trial has now been made by—for fairness' sake—two friends of mine. The reports of both are adverse. They concede that the Rael-Brook 'Toplin' shirt does not need ironing—though one of them thinks that it would need to be ironed for formal occasions; although it does not crease, it tends to rumple slightly during washing. But their real complaint is about its texture. Presum- ably because of its resin coating it has, they say, an uncomfortable 'feel' about it which left both wearers slightly edgy; and both complain that it is stickier than the normal shirt in warm weather.
It is only fair to add that I have met at least one other wearer of Rael-Brook shirts who swears by them. I suggest a simple test, if you want to gauge how you would feel about them yourself. Take two sides of a drip-dry shirt and rub them together between finger and thumb. If you do not like the 'feel' then you will not like the shirt.
ANNE-MARIE CICEVECCEUR'S RECIPE No. 3 I wonder if many people realise the great help marinade can be at any time of the year, par- ticularly during the warm weather when, for those without refrigeration, where and how to keep meat becomes a problem.
I have generally a marinade going for several weeks at a time, and keep a deepish earthenware terrine for this purpose. Any fresh meat can be put into it and, provided it is kept completely immersed, will keep at least a week in summer and, of course, much longer in winter.
To make a marinade, sufficient to cover most average-size family joints, I put in my terrine a few black peppercorns, four chilli peppers, four shallots, three cloves garlic (optional), two large onions thinly sliced, one sprig of thyme, two bay leaves and three cloves, and cover this with one pint cheap red wine (or half wine, half water) and one pint strong vinegar.
When the meat is required, it is removed, dried, and used in the ordinary way. If it is roasted meat, a little of the strained marinade may be used to baste the joint, and also to dilute the gravy.
A sauce poivrade is excellent with grills or roasts, and very easy to make. Melt one ounce margarine; add one ounce flour; let it cook and get dark brown before adding the strained marinade (about half-pint) and the gravy from which fat excess has been poured off. Bring to boil; leave to simmer for fifteen minutes. Adjust the seasoning; if the sauce is too sharp I add one dessertspoonful of red-currant jelly.
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