Casserole dishes no longer a family essential!

The basket of goods and services used by the UK government to calculate the annual inflation rate is updated every year by the Office of National Statistic (ONS). 

It's an interesting take on what the modern family considers essential (in the government's eyes at least).

The latest basket of contents - containing hundreds of items - was published this week. Not surprisingly, tablet PCs like the iPad have made it into the basket for the first time. But to our horror, step ladders and casserole dishes have been booted out.

From where we sit, DIY and slow, oven cooking are on the increase. Lots of other DIY items find their way into the basket but we're a bit concerned by the ONS observation that casserole dishes are "an over covered area of the basket" well represented by other pots and pans and that expenditure on them is dropping.

One possible reason why this particular piece of kitchen equipment is off the menu could be the fact that the ONS still thinks of a casserole dish as something made of heat resistant glass. The whole earthenware and cast iron revolution seems to have passed them by.

So, are casserole dishes old hat, or has the government got it wrong?
And if your not sure making this green bean casserole will convince you
Or check out the joys of a Romoska - the 'plug in' casserole

Anne Caborn