Last updated at 12:32, Thursday, 28 June 2012

It's funny how your memory can play strange tricks. How it varnishes remembrance with a veneer of affection and fondness or a smear of disdain and disgust. The things you liked, you really, really liked; the stuff you didn’t was foul and disgraceful.

Angel Delight

So when I spotted what used to be a schoolboy treat in the supermarket aisle the other day, it was an obvious impulse buy. I could relive long-lost tea-time memories and my two lads could have a fantastic new taste sensation and learn yet again that yes, of course things were so much better back in my day.

So I purchased my sugar, modified starch, vegetable oil, emulsifiers (propane-1,2-diol esters of fatty acids, sunflower lecithin), gelling agents (tetrasodium diphosphate disodium phosphate, milk lactose, milk proteins, colours (plain caramel, annatto, mixed carotenes, betroot red), whey powder from milk, flavourings, anti-caking agent (silicon dioxide).

Phew! It makes Pot Noodle look wholesome and nutritious and a vital part of any balanced diet.

It is, in fact, the classic Angel Delight. Butterscotch flavour.

I lovingly whipped the sugary powder into some milk and served it up for the boys.

The verdict wasn’t great. It wasn’t even moderate.

“Never, never again,” said the eight-year-old after one spoonful. “It’s all right...” muttered the 10-year-old who will eat anything. “Just don’t make it again...”

My own reaction to the tiny amount I tried was: “groooo!”

It was/is sugary, grainy, sugary muck. I’ll walk past the aisle display quicker next time.

But thanks to the magic of the internet, I’ve managed to find an even more disgusting way of using the ‘pudding’ – as a drink.

The recipe is made with cream, grenadine, sloe gin and triple sec.

Drink it if you dare! Or desperate...

First published at 11:27, Thursday, 28 June 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk