Bird’s Custard
Alfred Bird’s wife could eat neither eggs nor yeast. So being a Victorian, Alfred put his thinking-cap on.
1837-1843
Queen Victoria 1837-1901
Alfred Bird’s wife could eat neither eggs nor yeast. So being a Victorian, Alfred put his thinking-cap on.
1837-1843
Queen Victoria 1837-1901
Alfred Bird (1811-1878), a Birmingham pharmacist, did not invent egg-free custard powder to make a fortune (though he did), or because dietitians disapproved of eggs. He did it so he could enjoy eating pudding with his wife.
MRS Alfred Bird’s favourite dessert was baked custard, made by beating together sugar, milk, and eggs. Unfortunately, Mrs Bird could not tolerate eggs.
So in 1837, using cornflour, vanilla and natural colouring from his Chemist’s shop in Bull Street, Birmingham, Alfred concocted an egg-free custard for his wife.
It was so believable that the Birds mistakenly served it up to their guests.
Emboldened by its enthusiastic reception, Alfred began mass-marketing his custard in 1843, and the British public now gets through 235 million pints of it every year.
As Mrs Bird was also sensitive to yeast, Alfred came up with an equally ingenious form of baking soda. It gave such superior results in yeast-free bread and cakes that the War Department became an early customer, and most modern baking powders are essentially the same.
And it was all done by an obscure pharmacist with no thought of profit to anyone but his wife.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Why did Mrs Bird need egg-free custard?
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Mr Bird owned a pharmacy. He used his experience. He made egg-free custard.