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The Ploughmans lunch or The Ploughboys Lunch

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The Ploughmans Lunch myth

The ‘ploughmans lunch’ was as a cohesive peice of faux history popularised by the ‘milk marketing board’ to increase cheese sales in the 1960’s, and highlighted to publicans the Idea of serving a marketed plate of food at lunchtimes, hitherto a haphazardly catered for need, which thankfully to some extent can be thought responsible for kicking off the whole ‘pub food revolution’. Prior to this pubs might well have been able, if they could be troubled to, knock you up the odd cheese sandwich, and would often have the odd jar of pickled eggs or onions and sometimes some cold meats or pies on offer, but these snacks in most pubs in the 1930’s were a token gesture towards serving food, to sustain workmen who might otherwise not get a proper meal, but in these days ‘Beer’ was by labourers considered as important as food, and to some extent drink was also perceived as sustaining in a way than it is not today, Beer in itself being high in calories. Really the Ploughmans Lunch was a formalising and coalescing of the cold food ingredients that might well have already been in a pubs serving vocabulary, into a named plate of food that could be served like a meal to the patrons of the public house in a marketable way, which up until this point food in a pub had been a casual arrangement whose extent and quality was at the publicans discretion, In a way things were charmingly relaxed as in there was no formalisation of food being served, but if you had voiced your requirement of vittels to the publican, he would often have something to offer, sometimes even what he himself would be having for supper if you were lucky, but what it was and how it came, was most often pot luck, rarely would people think to the need of a choice, nor complain as to what was offered. A ploughmans was the first widely marketed meal in a pub, when done well is surprisingly satisfying – even today. Remember during war all such pre war pub food culture that did exist had been firmly limited for the duration of the war, and its recommencement was probably slow and limited due to extended rationing, to some extent the “ploughmans” was an attempt to formalise those bits that remained and increase cheese sales.

Traditionally consisting of :

Initially a cold dish of Hunks of Cheese or sliced Cold meats or if luxurient both, always accompanied by Hunks of bread or long rustic rolls with pats of butter and essentially pickles most often a spreading style pickle, or a couple of pickled onions or both, and latterly token salad elements – sliced tomatoes, lettuce possibly a cold boiled egg and very often apple slices etc. but can also include pork pie, grapes, celery, carrot, pâté, hard boiled egg, beetroot etc, but to be honest these as referenced to the ingredients pubs had at hand throughout the country before the formalistion of the title by the MMB, a ploughmans could vary quite a bit the main things that remained the core of the dish, were the bread the cheese and the pickle in some form or another whether onion or chutney or both, most important is the rustic nature of the dish that means that most of the items served in a ploughmans must be with little fuss or short preparation in the dish itself as there was often little time in between serving customers to allow its preparation. The ‘ploughmans lunch’ in its pre war unformalised era might have been called the “The ploughboys lunch”. But the marvelous thing about a ploughmans is how they vary depending on where you are, it enables each pub to put its own twist on the idea, but with a central trinity that remains. In the case of informal history there is no doubt in my imagination that field labourers, ploughman etc throughout the century’s could call when convenient on a nearby hostelry or ale house and get some form of food provided, this is quite obviously logical especially with a mainly male and sometimes migratory field labour force, its just that no one ever thought to formalise the process, as the original purpose was as a ‘house of ale’, this its primary function and food secondary and available but less documented or considered in the equation, certainly so, in small country village pubs where the ploughmans was to find it’s birth.

Basically the contents of a couple large hearty sandwiches unmade. This being very simple for publicans to knock up with little need for a cook etc. In the 1970’s pubs which had never really served food in a formal sense, soon started by offering simple cold plates like this and then progressed to deep fried food in baskets and then increasingly complex menus, and onward into a situation in which very few pubs indeed, now … could get away without serving food of some sort that requires a chef or a cook to prepare.

Essentialy in the 1970’s allot of people were marketed into imagining this was a dish traditionally made for a ‘ploughman’, though its heritage is foggier than the marketed dishes name, from a pub serving perspective, also the meal served in the field to labourers mid day may well have consisted of these elements in a homemade rustic picnic form.

If you come across an old pub with a run down interior and lots of local characters, sometimes they may still only offer a cheese sandwich or pickles, and this is remnant perhaps of a pub that has never got fully drawn into the food provision game, this might might well be an original survivor pub, whose mainly drinking custom has always and until the modern day been enough to sustain it, these pubs are very rare today. Sadly a very large number of historic pubs have been ruined by modernisation and the ubiquitous and obscenely appended Thai restaurant. Pubs really have to offer food now as the consistency of post work drinking patterns and the family mealtime has to some extent evaporated, and this pub provision of food, has probably had its greatest impact on late opening simple cafes surviving in the smaller towns and larger villages, though expendable income to be spent on eating out since the 1930’s versus eating at home has greatly increased. And Pubs that don’t serve food may find it difficult to draw enough passing trade.

Possible british mealtimes in 1930’s england class dependant – >

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An extension from my previous elevenses post, I guess you can see where my train of thought then headed ?

Although all these naming conventions for mealtimes exist, most have fallen into disuse or misuse, it is quite likely in the UK today for people to eat at times which are most convenient to them, and three / four square meals a day are no longer necessarily observed. I personally manage around the two significant meals a day mark, at the moment, not good for my glycemic index no doubt? ‘small and often’ is better, much to the contradiction of many other well promoted phrases in use, we being descended from ape browsers who climbed down from the trees, whose natural inclination was too spend much of the day eating to ones content when plenty was available.

At certain points in history, and if you belonged to certain genteel leisure based class groups, it was possible for ones entire day, to be fully occupied and merrily spent observing an unending pleasant parade of mealtimes, that could span rising in the morning, until retiring to bed of an evening, possibly as many as six meals a day, and two prescribed points at which alcohol was specifically imbibed, but only really for a few very privileged people, whose lives were very genteel and who never had to labour.
For instance an extremely genteel itinerary for those born to such a lifestyle might be :

Breakfast
Elevenses
Lunch
Afternoon tea
Sundowner (alcohol)
Dinner
Late Supper
Nightcap (alcohol)

Of course all this over indulgence, would most likely lead to Gout, liver disease, heart attack and an early death.

Sadly … consistent meal times in modern culture are no longer really the norm in the UK. These mealtimes, and rhythm’s of eating and conventions were invented when households and family’s were a great deal more stably structured than they are today in the uk.

RISING at the beginning of the day:

Breakfast : I shall not describe too greatly breakfast, as most cultures of the world agree on the timing of this meal, the first meal of the day, which Breaks the Fasting of the sleep period, during the night (except if one skips breakfast, and partakes of brunch that then being the first meal of the day). In Britain the most known and clearly titled meal consumed at breakfast is the “Traditional English Breakfast”, otherwise known in shortened form as the ‘Full English’, which in these days of muesli with fruit compote and greek yoghurt, seems detrimental from a health perspective, but may in fact, not be as bad for as imagined, as I think the full English pretty much, fits within for instance … the Atkins diet, if not oversized in portion or indulged in to regularly, minus the criminal elements – fried bread etc(which one might class as proper lower class calories) which morally makes the most of and uses of all the fry pan has to offer, having said that the french crouton, seems to get away with the same affair with much regard.

The Consistent elements of the ‘English breakfast’ always seem to circle around the un-argued holy trinity of:
Egg, Sausage, Bacon … yet are not complete complete in the descriptive and much photoed ‘full english’ sense ‘in my view’, without at least in the minimum … grilled tomato and Mushroom

No three element breakfast could ever describe itself, rightfully as the ‘full english’ as such five elements are in my opinion the minimum to claim the title of “full english” or ‘traditional’ let alone the ‘full monty’ moniker which though now much wained is often larger than a full english, with ‘gut buster’ being accurately marketed at gluttons.

but great variation due to locale or custom may often include ‘black pudding’ (blood sausage, the british variant being the tastiest of european equivalents imo), very often ‘fried bread’ (undoubtedly the unhealthiest element), Beans, hash browns (GI based american additions?), very traditional bubble and squeak(leftover mashed potato, green vegetables and sometimes onion … fried into a firm patty or large sloppy Quenelle), scrambled egg, and many more the requisite essentials of a full english will be argued over by those who care till the end of time and vary greatly from place to place. White sausage in Ireland, and even haggis in scotland, and many other regional elements I am no doubt missing out.

In the Victorian and Edwardian era in the upper class genteel exclusive circles and the large, staffed ‘great houses’ of the land, Breakfast was a sumptuous affair more elaborate and involving a greater variety foods than it does today and often even course like elements, a fully laid table might include the following to choose from, in a course like or buffet fashion, starting with fresh fruits especially citrus etc or prunes, the course like elements being kept warm in various silver tureens, Porridge, Kedgeree (a fish and rice … empire import), perhaps warm kippers separately rather than kedgeree, additionally all the elements of an english breakfast that might be imagined for selection to ones plate, sausage, egg, bacon etc etc, these then followed additionally by breakfast pastry’s scotch pancakes, toast fruit jams and compotes and of course all consumed with quality tea. I should state there are very few if any houses or homes in which this standard and extended display of breakfast is still maintained. Of course this in no way reflected the breakfast diet of the common person, as there was a much greater discrepancy in wealth in this period and large numbers of the lower classes were mal-nourished and breakfast might be simple or non existent for the majority.

Elevenses or Elevensies : A light meal most often with tea struck midway/equidistant between breakfast and the midday meal, therefore in a regularised household routine directly at nearby 11.00am but never properly later, a meal post 11:59 could never rightfully be called by virtue of its name elevenses, rarely if ever would anything warm be cooked for elevenses, often served with tea similar to ‘afternoon tea’, as later described. Some may attemptive-ly mis-describe this event as ‘tea’, ‘going for a tea’ or taking a ‘tea break’ all of which, may in no way be classified as ‘Elevenses’. ‘Elevenses’ might rarely even be taken in a garden, though nowhere nearly as much as ‘Afternoon Tea’ which would frequently be taken in a garden in the summer, Elevenses will most often consist of cold light snacks sandwiches etc, combined with tea, but does not contain generally the ‘full sweet edge’ in its fancy’s foods, that ‘afternoon tea’ is so typified by. Also though very often guests maybe invited to ‘Afternoon tea’, elevenses would generally be taken by those resident in the household at the time, and rarely would one invite guests to elevenses, often this would not include the working men of the household, most likely in attendance would be any house guests house wives, young children aunts perhaps. One cannot for instance partake of elevenses in the same way one can go for an afternoon tea.

Elevenses is now an almost extinct mealtime in its genteel form and remains if it exist at all, as a rarefied routine of unusually large houses, and wealthy and genteel households, which have a permanently resident matriarch in charge who runs the household to a very genteel timetable, though elevenses in its origins is supposedly lower class work break, it then crept up the class ladder and became more involved and elaborate, some may well inform us that elevenses in the class of its inception was very simple just biscuit or bread butter and tea and it has certainly returned evolutionarily back to its origin, as the leisure classes and women ensconced at home have evaporated. Back into the much diminished guise of a paltry common or garden mid morning builders bum tea break, but I in my distant youth I did go to a a posh matriarchal well helmed ship of a household, where it was strictly observed and involved thin delicate sandwiches, biscuits and lighter aromatic teas, served within the full trinity of linen silver and china. Though not as extensive or readily cake’y as afternoon tea can become, but certainly allot more than a cup of tea and a biscuit. In the situation of elevenses being served, I very much doubt lunch would have directly followed at say noon but maybe a little later at say one or two or so, elevenses often being a refuelling point for very early rising households, in which much was already done, even by this early point in the day.

(though a mid morning ‘tea break’ or ‘break’ in an office may well be the pale orphan ghost of the real ‘elevenses’ (elevenses is a tradition almost exclusively operated in its fully realised form by people in wealthy and genteel circles) the working class man would probably scoff(an edible pun) at the pomposity of the idea of ‘elevenses’, yet might strike if ‘tea breaks’ at a similar times and more were not observed during the day. In many factories and offices the now mythic roaming Tea Lady and her tea trolley did exist, with all its delights on its lower storey, such as iced buns, eccles cakes, lardy bun or a slice of a madeira etc, such civilities have gone the way of the wind, to be replaced self service coffee machines, which office workers now scurry to, at their own timetable for a hit of caffeine.
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