The latest offering to the series of nostalgic objects is the flowery saucepan. At one time, they were all the rage. Produced before the word ‘non-stick’ entered the language, these elegant cooking pots were lined with enamel. If chef burnt dinner, the only way to remove the charred remains was to scrape them off with a knife. This procedure usually loosened the enamel coating, leaving it poised to slowly flake into the next dish cooked in the pot. If that were lamb casserole, the white flaky blighters were easy to spot, but flaky fish poached in milk or any white sauce was a rather more dangerous kettle of poisson. We survived though.