A little silliness. This comes from one of my absolutely favourite reference books, the Woman’s Mirror Cookbook, circa 1930. Take in the words, ignore the recipe, and you’ll know why some forms of cooking lost their way in the old days.

‘Scallops,’ it says, ‘those bivalves with fan-shaped fluted shells often left lying by fishermen on southern beaches, are well worth cooking. Boil them for a few minutes in sea- water [so far so good], then open the shells, pick out all the white meat, place it in a saucepan, with grated potato, milk, butter, and a little dried parsley, and simmer gently for half an hour. [Aaaaaaaaaagh!] A very fine soup results.’