A Cook's Nostalgia

Among the minor irritants of modern life is the occasional need to free joints of meat from the snare of elasticated string

In bygone days joints were secured by metal skewers. It was very easy to pull them out and, once removed, they could be retained, making handy tools that could be poked into otherwise inaccessible places. For a while the skewers were replaced by ordinary string, less easily removed than a skewer but still fairly manageable, but today's elasticated string poses greater challenges. It resists the carving knife, and when attacked with scissors de-elasticates itself, showering the neighbourhood with gravy droplets.

I mourn the passing of metal skewers!