Digging around in the back of a kitchen cupboard recently I came across a box of the Original Cooks Matches, seldom used but nonetheless a vital tool in our house particularly at this time of year when the lighting of candles around our home becomes a necessity. Although purchased a couple of years ago, the matches are stamped with the words 'by appointment to H.M the Queen', a sure guarantee of quality and one of the reasons why I originally bought them.

The matches come packaged in a rectangular yellow box which is illustrated with the words 'The Original Cooks Matches' together with an illustration of a pile of food and words to indicate that the box is wipe clean. The box is opened simply by sliding the middle insert out from the cardboard sleeve to reveal a number of matches stacked neatly inside. The matches are around five centimetres long and each is topped with a black head which is simply a coating of flammable material to enable the matches to light easily. In a standard box of these matches you can expect to get over 200 matches which may explain why in my case they have lasted for such a long time.

Lighting a match is easy in my experience as both sides of the box are coated in a brown slightly abrasive material to enable easy ignition. To light simply take a match and scratch it quite hard against the abrasive surface and in doing this the match will generally light the first time although a couple of tries is not uncommon. Once lit a flame will be produced almost immediately and this flame will generally last a few seconds before burning down to the end of the match stick thereby burning my fingers in the process. Once the intended flame has been started the match can easily be blown out with a single puff although I would advise that the match is given a few seconds to cool down before being laid onto a table surface or discarded.

I find that these matches are particularly useful for lighting large candles and smaller tea lights although I have at times had to use them to light a dodgy oven hob or barbeque coals. The matches light well in my opinion and produce a strong flame which is adequate to start a small fire plus the matches are easy to extinguish and are safe to throw away within a few seconds of use. The match box is also a very convenient way of storing the matches in between use as it is easily stored inside my kitchen cupboard and can be wiped clean for those times when it is accidentally placed on a sticky surface in my kitchen. The length of the matches has at times been a slight bone of contention for me as they are not quite long enough to reach down into my tea light holders without burning my fingers, however longer matches do exist for this purpose and therefore this is only a minor niggle.

These matches can be bought in any number of supermarkets and you should expect to pay around £1 for a box. Ocado are currently selling them at 75p which considering the amount of matches they contain is a bargain in my opinion.

All in all I would recommend these matches and they score an excellent five stars from me.

Thanks for reading! x