Leading article: Offal tasty

Depending on your point of view, offal is either a heavenly delicacy which no serious diner could spot on the menu and forgo, or it constitutes the suspicious smelling parts of an animal that no sane eater would willingly thrusting between his or her lips.

So what, then, are we to make of the news that sales of animal organs have been surging in Britain? Is it an indication of the downturn hitting the kitchen economy? Are we being impelled by financial necessity to buy the cheaper "variety meats", like previous generations in less economically blessed times?

Quite possibly. But could the trend not also signify the opposite. Could it not be a sign of growing culinary discernment, as we grow more prosperous and adventurous? Surely this is a more comforting scenario.

If we're going to have to swallow our tongues and eat our hearts out, it's nicer to imagine that we're doing it gladly.