Bird's Custard Powder
Invented because a Victorian wife was allergic to eggs.
The yellow tin that made proper custard out of cornflour, and has barely changed its packaging since.
Alfred Bird invented it in 1837 for a wife who could not eat eggs. A century later it was in every kitchen cupboard in Britain, and the tin looked almost exactly as it does today.
Making it was a rite of passage: cold milk first, mix to a paste, then the hot milk, stirring constantly, or you got lumps and everyone knew.
Cost back then
7d a tin
Goes for now
Still around £2 in any supermarket
