Paul Dring maps the rise, fall and rise of milk's finest incarnation.
Ever since mankind laid down its spear and turned its hand to hunting and
gathering, milk has played a vital role in human civilisation. From yoghurt
to cream, from cheese to fromage frais,
and from Ambrosia Rice Pudding to Dairylea Triangles, the brotherhood of man has
striven for ways to celebrate milk in all its versatility and manifold goodness.
Some might say this process reached its glorious apotheosis in 1967, with the
launch of Bird's Angel Delight. Introduced with the promise of "the taste
of strawberries and cream", this
powdered, add-milk-and-whip pudding immediately doubled the market for instant
desserts, as time-pressed housewives and home cooks of questionable ability
swiftly realised that their daily pinta could be transformed into all manner of
nutritious, milky treats.
The Golden Age of Angel Delight was undoubtedly the Seventies. In my home, for
one, many a tea of gammon and pineapple with crinkle-cut chips and peas was
crowned by a bowl of chocolate Angel Delight. Similarly, many a long-necked
pint of milk was saved from the prying
red-and-white-hooped straws of the sinister
Humphreys by being enshrined in a
banana Angel Delight milk shake. And, if I'd been very good, there was even
the prospect of a homemade strawberry Angel Delight ice lolly to savour in front of the telly with the kids from Why
Don't You...? Childhood didn't get much better.
Sadly, all good things have to come to an end. Although its box still insisted
that Angel Delight was "a luxury you'll love to serve - soft, smooth
and sophisticated", by the Eighties the vagaries of food faddism and the
desire for even more instant- puddings
had relegated it to the culinary backbench, a store-cupboard stand-by to the
more modish desserts of the day.
But I'm glad to announce the fightback has begun. Today, it's sold in seven
flavours: strawberry; butterscotch; chocolate; forest fruits; raspberry; banana;
and vanilla ice cream. It comes in funky new sachets, too, each with a recipe on
the back - dishes with novelty shapes (and names: 'Slow Coach Snail', 'Dastardly
Dog'). Once again, Angel Delight is a firm family favourite: children love its
light, milky taste; parents its goodness; and grandparents... well, it doesn't
need too much chewing, does it?