Gruel -- the miserable dish slopped out to Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens' 19th century novel -- made a comeback Tuesday, bringing the cuisine of Victorian poverty to credit crunch-hit Britain.

The Royal Society of Chemistry consulted the 1838 book "Oliver Twist" and historical sources in order to cook up a version of the dreaded, bland gloop of oats, milk and water.

Passers-by in London were invited to sample the gruel -- with some even conceding that it tasted quite good.

"It's very good, actually. It tastes like porridge but it's very plain," said Irina Orlova, 30, an administration assistant from Moscow, told AFP.

As a special treat, Oliver got raw onion in his gruel twice a week, and those outside the RSC, which publishes a report on sustainable food next week, were not spared either.

"I prefer the version with the onions," added Orlova. "They lift the flavour, it's very bland without. It has a nice, soft texture."

Sharon Weatherlake, from New York, added: "I'm surprised how good it is. I imagined it would be much nastier, tasteless and lumpy."

Anna D'Alessandro, 39, a marketing executive from Italy, was also enthusiastic.

"I could eat gruel, regularly, definitely. It's a good way to start the day. If you need to say goodbye to luxuries and go back to basics, I recommend it. In fact, I want some more!"

French chef Fabian Aid created and served up the gruel.

"It's half milk, half water. It's a bit like porridge. There's no seasoning, like at the time," he explained. "If you didn't have a choice, it was better than nothing. There's nothing wrong with it.

"I normally do fine dining. My influence is French food with a British twist," he added, but did not speculate how well gruel might go down in France.

Dietician Leanne Fishwick said gruel was good for you -- but only as part of a balanced diet. "If you ate only three pints of gruel a day, like Oliver, eventually you'd die," she warned.

"We're looking at iron deficiencies, scurvy, ricketts, the thiamin deficiency beriberi, and there's nowhere near enough calories. Working pretty hard in the workhouse, they would have become more and more malnourished."

RSC chief executive Richard Pike said: "Thankfully in Britain matters have improved tremendously but (malnutrition) remains a daily threat in many parts of the world."

The British professional body for chemical scientists is launching a major report in parliament next week entitled: "The Vital Ingredient: chemical science and engineering for sustainable food."

"It covers all aspects: farming, transportation, retail, storage and waste," said RSC spokesman Brian Emsley.

"People think chemistry is boring but it's vital for food safety."