'Please, Sir, I want some more'

Gruel - the miserable dish slopped out to Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens' 19th century novel - made a comeback this week, bringing the cuisine of Victorian poverty to credit crunch-hit Britain.

The Royal Society of Chemistry consulted the 1838 book Oliver Twist and historical sources in order to cook up a version of the dreaded, bland gloop of oats, milk and water.

Passers-by in London were invited to sample the gruel - with some even conceding that it tasted quite good.