???

I'm becoming increasingly confused by those adverts for the Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker.



Apparently it 'makes food taste better'. How? By mashing up a load of herbs and other condiments to create marinades and flavoured rubs, supposedly. Things that seasoned cooks like my mother have been making up for years and years without the aid of a Flavour Shaker. Shaking it around with the aid of the 'magic ball' bashes up all the ingredients and mingles the flavours. So basically, what he's saying is that it does exactly the same job as a pestle and mortar, or, failing that, a chopping board and a heavy object like a rolling pin. And it's double the price of both those options.

Hasn't stopped my mother asking for one for Christmas though. She's a bit in love with Jamie Oliver. I begged my sister not to buy it for her but she failed to take the same moral standpoint as me. In fact, I don't think my sister has ever taken a moral standpoint about anything. She seems to go through life smiling or crying, reacting to circumstances beyond her control. A bit like a newborn.