Let’s be honest there are many of us who are moaners, fussy eaters and very particular when it comes to food and meals today, but what we don’t consider is how spoilt for choice we are. Going back to the 1950s many people had more of a basic diet and it was not so long after the Second World War when people were on rations. Life was more basic and meal sizing was much smaller than we have it today. Fruit and vegetables were available but seasonal. So, unlike today where we can buy strawberries any time of the year from our local supermarket in the fifties, they were only available when they were in season. When I spoke to my mother-in-law, she told me grapes were only thing you would buy on a hospital visit. It was very rare to see in someone’s shopping.
A lot of the snacks we consume today didn’t exist. Crisps were about in Britain from the 1920s, however, it was only from the fifties and sixties that flavoured crisps started to hit the shelves.
Chocolate, believe it or not came to the shores of Britain in the form of coco powder which arrived about 1520. The first chocolate bars sold from a shop was by J. S. Fry & Sons of Bristol, England in the year of 1847. Frys & Sons became so popular they became the largest Chocolate manufacture in the world. It was not long after that Cadburys stole their chocolate crown in 1853 when asked to make chocolate for the queen. Cadburys still today is around supplying us with a wide selection of chocolate.
A lot of the foods and meals we eat today are also from foreign influences. Pasta was brought over by the Italian immigrants in 1936, although it was something that was not seen in British households until the 1960s upwards.
Today we also have take away options which include McDonald’s, Indian take always, Chinese, fish and chips and so on. Whether or not these food options are nutritious and good for us is another matter. Still they are an option that we have today. Going back to the Victorian England the average diet was oats, bread, meat, eggs, potatoes, milk and it depended on really your wealth to how you ate. Many poor families had to survive on whatever they could afford.
The good thing today we are more overall educated about our diet and which food is nutritious and would benefit us most.
When you hear the saying “bread and pullet” after a child has asked what are they having for dinner? This actually refers to bread and Chicken, however in some cases just bread. The meaning behind this saying is be grateful for what you are getting.
