Country Living: Our Man in Arundel

Appearances can be deceptive. At least, that's the story we're told as children. But despite the best efforts of Saint Jamie, most of the population doesn’t seem to think the same about food.

At the risk of turning my blogging into cod philosophy – how I wish I'd thought of that pun for last Saturday's entry – I was inspired by mum's marmalade this morning. (Produced for family and friends only, before you ask). It doesn't have the perfected appearance that the most-popular commercially-produced products have… but it tastes much better. The same goes for mum's cakes and tomatoes, too.

And I'm not just favouring my mother's home-made goods. This applies to an enormous variety of products. Yet – and I'm certainly not the first person to say this – people tend to favour appearance over taste. Then again, when you think about it, people do the same in so many other areas of life as well.

Darn it, I'm starting to sound like a grumpy old man!