Angel Delight
© Denzil Green
Angel Delight is an instant dessert, much like Jello® Instant Pudding in North America, but it whips up lighter with more air in it.
To prepare it, to 1 package of the powder you add 1/2 UK pint (300 ml) of cold milk, and whip it for about 2 minutes if using a hand whisk. Instructions advise using whole milk, but you can also use skim without any noticeable difference. A special treat for kids is getting to lick the bowl and the beaters or whisk.
When whipped up, let it stand in fridge for 10 to 20 minutes to thicken, then serve. It requires no cooking.
Raspberry Angel Delight
© Denzil Green
It comes in banana, butterscotch, chocolate, forest fruits, raspberry (“Rasping Raspberry”), strawberry (“Stonking Strawberry”), and vanilla ice cream flavours. Strawberry remains the most popular; Popcorn and Candyfloss flavours have been retired.
The powder used in come in boxes; it has been packaged in sachets since at least 2005. Each sachet holds 47 g of powder and costs about 55p ($1.10 US, 2005 prices.) The sachets are “colour coded” to match the flavour.
You can also make milk shakes from it, or frozen treats on a stick.
Package ingredients for Angel Delight (as of 2005): Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Modified Starch, Emulsifiers, (Propane-1, 2-dial esters of fatty acids, Soya Lecithin), Gelling Agents (Disodium Phosphate, Diphosphates), Milk Protein, Lactose, Flavourings, Colours (Betamin, Annatto, Beta-Carotene), Whey Powder. No artificial colours or preservatives. Suitable for vegetarians.
It is made by made by Bird’s, the same people who make the famous custard powder.
Some store brands are made by Tesco’s and Asda.
Nutrition
4 servings per packet. When mixed with skim milk, it has 112 calories and 4.2g milk per serving.
History Notes
Angel Delight was launched by Birds [1] in 1967. It had its heyday in the 1970s, but started fading in the 1980s.
In 1999, Birds ran a campaign to revive Angel Delight, featuring Wallace & Gromit. The 3-pack boxes included free Ice Lolly (popsicle) moulds.
Angel Delight / Birds was owned by Kraft until 2005, and made in Cheltenham. In 2005, it (along with other products such as Bird’s custard) were sold to Premier Ambient Foods of Spalding, Lincolnshire.
By 2006, Angel Delight had experienced a revival, with sales approaching 15 million pouches a year in the UK.
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[1] In 1947, Bird’s became part of General Foods. By 1988, through various mergers and acquisitions, it had become part of the Kraft line, where it stayed until 2005, when it was sold to Premier Ambient Foods.
Language Notes
Fans refer to the powder as “Angel dust.”
Sources
Barkham, Patrick. The power behind Angel Delight. Manchester, England: The Guardian. 12 July 2006.
Dring, Paul. Angel Delight. Waitrose Magazine. 2001. Retrieved November 2005,
Strawberry Angel Delight
© Denzil Green
Strawberry Angel Delight, prepared
© Ben Sutherland / Wikimedia / 2009 / CC BY 2.0