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An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019
Copyright © Aggie MacKenzie and Emma Marsden 2019
Aggie MacKenzie and Emma Marsden asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © December 2018 ISBN: 9780008310585
To my gorgeous sons Rory and Ewan for their enduring patience, boundless creativity and sharing their brilliant recipe ideas with me.
— Aggie
Thanks to my mum for my culinary drive, to Kev for always tasting everything I’ve made (no matter what time of day) and to the rest of my family for their support.
— Emma
INTRODUCTION
Vinegar first came into my working life while I was at Good Housekeeping magazine in the early 1990s. I was director of the Institute and in this role I oversaw both the consumer testing and cookery departments. Each year, the January issue of the magazine carried a ‘Stains Special’… and vinegar always featured prominently.
When, in 2002, I was asked to do a screen test for a new television programme about cleaning, I drew on my GH experience and rattled off a list of all the kooky remedies I had picked up over the years, and again vinegar enjoyed multiple name-checks.
I passed the screen test, got the TV gig and co-presented How Clean is Your House? on Channel 4 from 2003 to 2009. My co-presenter and I generally used old-fashioned, inexpensive and homespun remedies for clean-ups – and very soon vinegar became the star of the show.
I am currently, about once a month, the ‘Midnight Expert’ guest on the BBC Radio 5 Live Phil Williams show. People call in and text between midnight and 1am with their cleaning quandaries – it’s strange but true, there is never any shortage of queries, even at that late hour. So often have I named vinegar as the solution to removing a stain that Phil, a good while back, instigated ‘Aggie’s Vinegar Bingo’, in which a big shout-out goes to the caller who, during the on-air hour, nails the nearest time to the V-word first getting a mention. Who knew vinegar could create so much buzz?
Vinegar is said to have been discovered by accident around 10,000 years ago, and it can be made from almost any fermentable item – such as wine, apples, pears, grapes, berries, beer and potatoes.