The Working Man's Lunch

In the 18th century, folks had a very different opinion of lunch than we do today. In fact, they didn’t even call it lunch! It was the main meal of the day, meant to sustain hard labor. Here is everything we’ve learned while researching The Working Man’s Lunch.

Instagram ➧ townsends_official

[townsends]

two great resources for understanding food for the working man in the 18th century!

[mmamackela]

This man is seriously the definition of "Find a job you love and never feel like you're working again".

[ew]

When researching our family tree my Mum found a note written by my great (x5) grandfather in the 1820s, who at that time was a farm labourer living in Lincolnshire, England. In this note he detailed what he ate and drank for dinner that day - a stew of bullock, suet dumplings, carrots, onions and potatoes with cold milk tea. The labourer's wives brought it out to the field they were working in.

[FrikInCasualMode]

In rural Poland well into XX century mid-day meal was often delivered to people working of far away fields or forests in clay vessels called "dwojaki" (roughly translating to "doublets"). Basically two small clay pots joined together, so they could be carried as one. One part usually contained a soup of some kind (often borscht), while in other part was kasha or potatoes with whatever was available - pork, piece of chicken, boiled eggs, sometimes just milk. It was supplemented by piece of bread wrapped in clean cloth, sometimes with cheese added. Usually it was the duty of young children to deliver this meal to father and older siblings - preferably before it all cooled down LOL

[deaconmn]

This video brought back memories of back in the 1960's, when my grandfather used to work at the Northern Pacific Railroad shops. The noon whistle would blow, he would make the short walk home, and my grandmother would have a hearty lunch ready for him. He would have a short nap after lunch, and then back to work. Supper was a light meal, maybe a sandwich or leftovers. Thank you for bringing those wonderful times back to mind.

[robertbrown]

This is one of the best channels on youtube, hands down. Every video you guys put out is wholesome, educational, and oddly comforting in a "Joy of Painting" sort of way. The world gets crazier every year, but the past remains the same.

[FullMonterey]

Much of Britain still calls the midday meal 'dinner' and the evening meal either 'tea' or 'supper'

[billgrandone]

John, I am 74 years old and my paternal Grandparents were from Northern Italy. They always served the main meal at lunch. My grandparents were somewhat married in name only by the time I knew them. Though they remained together fo 59 years before my grandfather's death in 1963, they were more like roomates that a married couple. Except for my grandmother cooking and serving up lunch or what they called dinner, and keeping up the house and cleaning, they lived separate lives with different friends, different sources of income, and different times to eat excepting lunch. My grandfather would be up at 6:00 a.m. and make a breakfast of a half of a jelly roll broken in pieces and soaked in a mug of milk and a cup of black coffee. My grandmother would wake at 7:30 of an omelet or bacon and eggs with coffee and a shot of bourbon in it with cream. She would start lunch at 10:15 so it would be ready for my grandfather at 12:00 when he came in from touring the bars with his friends and getting the mail. Lunch could be anything from pasta, to a weisswurst garlic sausage which was only made in two or three stores in the area by people who were Northern Italian like my family, or baked or fried chicken with some sort of potatoes. baked, fried, or mashed and always with a salad. Bibb lettuce from the garden, dandelion in the spring, and head lettuce with carrots and radishes in the winter. Followed with Nona's cookies, or her apple or lemon merigue pie. At 4:00 pm on the dot my grandfather would come home and read the paper while eating a peeled apple and watching the local news. At 6;00 pm he would make himself a light supper, maybe the other half of the jelly roll, or a headcheese sandwich, or leftover pasta or chicken from lunch. By 7:00 he was in bed for the night
Nona and I would have supper together. Sometimes it was the warmed leftovers from lunch. Other times she would have spent the afternoon making something we both liked, like kadenlies, an Italian version of the German Knodels but with a grand touch off diced bacon,
ham, salami celery, onion, and parsley and boiled in chicken broth to make mere dumplings into something incredible. Or we would have braunschweger or Italian salami sandwiches, or spaghetti and homemade tomato or vegetable soup, eggs fried in butter, and always coffee and a glass of wine with dessert or a light combination of the above. I miss her and her cooking,

[GauravSingh-kuxy]

There is something about the simple and minimalistic meals that is really appetizing. Meat, potatoes and some vegetables. Simple yet delicious.

[jeromethiel]

I grew up in the Midwest, farming country. And we usually ate what was called locally, a "farmers breakfast." And it was a huge meal, heavy in protein and starch. Whereas lunch was more of a quick meal on the go, and dinner (supper) was a light meal. For example, steak and eggs with a large side of fried potatoes was very common for breakfast. Lunch was a sandwich or two that you carried out with you, and dinner might be as simple as a salad with a desert. And desert was probably a pie or a simple cake.

You needed that heavy, fat and carb load early on, for energy. Lunch was just a sustainer, and supper was just there so that you didn't wake up hungry. And you could get away with a diet like that, because you were expending a tremendous amount of calories just doing the daily chores. It was worse during planting and harvesting season. If you ate like that today, you'd weigh 600lbs.

[DamonNomad]

0:15 Both of my dad's parents grew up in farming families in Iowa. Even in their formative years (the early 1920s to the mid 1940s) the importance of lunch as the main meal of the day was still essentially the same as you describe it in colonial times. I remember being VERY confused as a kid because they referred to lunch as "dinner", when everyone knew that "dinner" is the evening meal!

[Arto]

I'm a younger (early 20's) working-class man, and it routinely surprises me how few of my peers have inherited the habit of a late midday "dinner." It's something I adopted from my grandfather - a routine of a decently hearty breakfast, a robust dinner (usually in the field or on the job site), and a modest supper once you've gotten back home. The habit doesn't make much sense if you aren't working throughout the day. However, after working your fingers to the bone for 10-12 hours, you are routinely so tired that you can't be bothered to eat something complex. But, you're probably still hungry, so you get a little plate of something easy to eat and then wash up before bed.

[kareningram]

I've always loved history, but this channel takes it to a whole new level. Being able to learn so many little details about everyday life for people in the 18th century is interesting and really helps bring life to the subject. There's something humbling about it, too. I think by understanding more about the struggles people had to survive back then, it makes me appreciate how well we all have it now, even if we're not very wealthy.

[nicolasteixeira]

As a Brazilian, I need to add that lunch is still the most important meal of the day for almost everyone around here and isn't much different from what the video described. Our lunch typically includes carbs, often rice and beans, a protein source such as chicken, beef, or the like, and a salad and/or cooked vegetables. Some people eat the same meal for dinner as they had for lunch, but I'm more accustomed to an afternoon breakfast, like eating bread with eggs and having a coffee around 5:30 PM, and then a fruit later in the evening around 8:00 PM.

[andreas.]

It's wonderful how little has changed about making a pot roast. This is basically exactly the same as how we make a simple pot roast dinner today, except I use baby carrots which probably weren't a thing back then.

[christinebenson]

My grandma told me that when she married her husband, there were 5 meals a day: breakfast, morning lunch, dinner, afternoon lunch, and supper. She had to help her mother-in-law cook for the men who were working on the farm. Eventually, the lunches dwindled down to more like coffee breaks.

The biggest fight grandma had was changing grandpa's breakfast. She asked him, "Do you really need fried potatoes? I'm already making you pancakes/french toast, eggs, bacon/sausage, and toast." She got to stop the fried potatoes.

[foxruneec]

Another great video. I grew up on a Kentucky farm 50 years ago. During the summer my mother would make a big noon "dinner" and we sat around outside under the trees to eat then went back to work. I have great memories of those times!

[gavindagawd]

I know plenty of people in the rural midwest who still refer to the middle meal of the day as 'dinner' and the later meal as 'supper' with no 'lunch' whatsoever. Confused me a good bit when I started doing more work out of town and everyone started talking about breaking for dinner at noon!

[antonpictures]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 🍔 The Importance of Lunch in the 18th Century
- Lunch was the most important meal for working-class people in the 18th century.
- Working-class individuals had physically demanding jobs, and lunch was a substantial midday meal.
- Unlike today's three meals, they typically had breakfast, a substantial midday dinner, and a light supper.
03:17 🍽️ Typical 18th-Century Lunch Dishes
- The midday meal, known as "dinner, " consisted of one substantial dish.
- Examples of lunch dishes included beef with carrots or turnips, cabbage, cucumbers, or potatoes.
- Some unconventional items like white pot (sugary bread pudding) could also serve as lunch.
05:04 📚 Historical Sources on Working-Class Meals
- William Ellis's book "Country Housewives Family Companion" and the "Primitive Cookery Cookbook" provide insights into 18th-century working-class meals.
- These sources list various meals suitable for working-class families, emphasizing the midday dinner.
- Breakfast-like meals such as oatmeal or porridge could also be served as lunch.
07:17 🍲 Cooking an 18th-Century Lunch Dish
- Demonstrates the preparation of an 18th-century lunch dish: beef with carrots and potatoes.
- The dish is cooked in a Dutch oven (similar to a pot roast) with simple seasoning.
- Emphasizes that even inexpensive cuts of meat can be used, and the slow cooking method makes it tender.
09:01 👩‍🍳 The Significance of 18th-Century Lunch
- In the 18th century, lunch was not a quick and simple meal but the most substantial and important one.
- It served as the primary source of sustenance for working-class individuals.
- Contrasts the 18th-century perspective on lunch with today's fast-food approach, highlighting the difference in significance.

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[srice]

I retired and my husband started coming home for lunch so we now have our big meal midday and we actually feel better.