For the poorest a sandwich of bread and watercress was the most common. At the start of the week, porridge made with water might be possible. Lunch involved bread, combined with cheese if possible or more watercress. At the start of the week, soup could occasionally be bought as cheap street food.
In the early years of the Victorian era breakfast would have consisted, if you could afford it, of cold meats, cheese and beer. In time this was replaced by porridge, fish, eggs and bacon - the "full English".
Beer and gin were cheap, costing about 1d. Drink was also easier to get hold of than clean drinking water. This meant that many people drank alcohol instead and drunkeness was a problem in some areas. Illness and death were common, especially in children.
Dinner was the most elaborate meal with multiple courses: soup, roast meats or fish, vegetables, puddings and sweets. Cheese was served at the end of the meal, after dessert. Tea and biscuits were usually offered to guests after the meal. A bill of fare and a guideline to plan menus became popular.
In northern England roast beef was the traditional fayre for Christmas dinner while in London and the south, goose was favourite. Many poor people made do with rabbit. On the other hand, the Christmas Day menu for Queen Victoria and family in 1840 included both beef and of course a royal roast swan or two.
For the special meals of the holiday peasants ate that rare delicacy of – usually boiled – meat, treated themselves to cheese and eggs, ate cakes and drank ale. Of the latter there was certainly lots, the brew typically made by peasant women.
No proper Victorian picnic is complete without a few sweet treats and desserts thrown in for good measure. According to Mrs Beeton's book, baskets would often be filled to the brim with fruit turnovers, cheesecakes, 'cabinet' or sweet steamed puddings, blancmanges and jam puffs.
And breakfast was, in those north of England Victorian days 100 years ago, a vast affair of cold hams, venison pies, ham and eggs, kippers, Easterhedge pudding — a concoction of sorrel, nettles and barley mixed with eggs and butter — fresh breads, creams, curds and marmalades, served always with wine and mead and hot ...
The Victorian era saw a wealthy middle class begin to emerge in British society who wished to copy the customs of the gentry, including the tradition of the full cooked breakfast. As the middle classes went out to work, breakfast began to be served earlier, typically before 9am.
The meals for rich families were prepared and cooked by the servants in the kitchen. Food was cooked on a range and was served to the family in the dining room. Breakfast tended to be a large meal and would have included ham, eggs, bacon, bread and fish.
During surprise visits to premises and based on anecdotal evidence, Rugg discovered that the most common substances used to adulterate milk were 'water, flour, starch, chalk, and the brains of sheep' (p. 30), as well as 'treacle, salt, whiting, sugar of lead' – the latter being highly poisonous.
Poorer children often wore patched and mended clothes that had been bought second-hand or passed down through the family. Boots and shoes were the most expensive items and some children were forced to go barefoot, even in winter.
For the poorest a sandwich of bread and watercress was the most common. At the start of the week, porridge made with water might be possible. Lunch involved bread, combined with cheese if possible or more watercress. At the start of the week, soup could occasionally be bought as cheap street food.
Poorer diets
Most people ate preserved foods that had been salted or pickled soon after slaughter or harvest: bacon, pickled herring, preserved fruits, for instance. The poor often kept pigs, which, unlike cows and sheep, were able to live contentedly in a forest, fending for themselves.
Queen Elizabeth started her days simply, most mornings began with a bowl of Special K or a slice of toast with marmalade–although it's reported that most of the toast went to her four beloved corgis. Occasionally, she would request scrambled eggs topped with smoked salmon and grated truffles.
People who lived near to the sea often ate a lot of fish too. Dishes like kedgeree were very popular. Victorian families with more money to spend on food often ate a large breakfast, a lighter lunch and then afternoon tea followed by an evening meal with multiple courses.
Celebrating One of the Oldest Breakfast Foods In History - NFTA Elements. Today is National Pancake Day! Also known as Johnnycakes, griddle cakes or hotcakes, this batter-made breakfast item dates back more than 30,000 years.
Linner is a late lunch or almost dinner meal. The name comes in reference to brunch, being a combination of the words "lunch" and "dinner" or "supper." Dunch comes in reference to brunch, being a combination of "dinner and "lunch." An alternate historical term is Russin.
For upper class Victorians, afternoon tea was light meal served between lunch, at noon, and supper, at 8 pm. When you hosted an afternoon tea, it would include sweet treats like cookies, candies and cakes, as well as sandwiches, fruits and nuts.
Frozen Desserts
Sorbets were popular as courses in their own right during elaborate meals, as well as for a quick pick-me-up at a ball. Both cream and water ices tended to be served as part of the dessert course, which in a Victorian meal came after the fruit tarts, puddings and cakes we associate with dessert today.
A Victorian tea menu consisted of finger sandwiches (cucumber sandwiches were a common feature), and assorted sweets such as scones, cakes and other pastries. Beverages included teas and lemonade. To accompany the tea, lemon slices, cream and sugar were placed on the table.
'Fasting girls' is a term used to describe young women between the 15th and 19th centuries who, like Anna, claimed to starve themselves, sometimes for months at a time. There was often a religious element, and many claimed to possess physic powers.
Nursery menus typically consisted of porridge, bread and butter, boiled mutton and milk puddings. This simple diet was believed to toughen children's constitutions. With the exception of nanny, who shared the same meals as her young charges, even the servants ate better.
Britain's first large-scale meat-canning factory was set up in 1865, and by the 1870s almost every middle-class kitchen had a tin opener. In the 1880s the refrigerated transport of meat became possible, opening up the option of large-scale imports from the Americas.