Margaret Moran

Mrs. Warren
British Literature B7
14 April, 2014
Food in Victorian England
Amidst the Industrial Revolution, urbanization, and colonization, the food industry in the
British Isles underwent significant change. This change benefitted the wealthy, but the poor
people became even poorer as the 19
th
century progressed. The diet of the wealthy consisted of
as many as 20-40 courses for dinner, while factory workers and their families often made a living
off of potatoes and the occasional bacon, broxy (animal dead of disease), and coffee or tea.
Despite their abundant diet, not even the richest of Britains aristocrats escaped eating some sort
of the poisons that were often used to color foods. The varied Victorian diet, from breakfast,
lunch, and dinner to afternoon tea and desert, was widely varied based on class, and could be
hazardous to health.
Due to its extensive colonization of countries such as India and South Africa, the amount
of spices and new recipes increased the variety at upper-class and middle-class tables. Curry,
which could consist of any combination of vegetables, meat, and soup but always contained
various strong spices, became popular. Potatoes were the main staple food among the poor,
especially in urban areas, replacing home-made bread. In fact, by the Victorian Era, bread was
rarely made at home and almost never in city apartments. It became more expensive than
potatoes, though it was still relatively cheap. Flour was more commonly used to make flour soup,
which contained flour, butter, salt, and usually not much else. The Victorian Era is also when the
ice trade began to grow rapidly, and it became possible to freeze large amounts of food for
export. Fish could then be transported en masse to the inland parts of Britain that had previously
been unable to eat much fish.
The upper classes of the Victorian era mainly aristocrats ate extravagant meals to
show off their great wealth. Breakfast consisted of ham, sausages, scones, muffins, eggs,
seasonal fruit, coffee, and tea. Lunch was a simpler meal, with soups, roasted birds with herbs,
and tea. Dinner was a grand affair, consisting of anywhere from 20-40 courses. It often took
three or more hours for everyone at the meal to finish eating. The dinner tables of the wealthy
contained many types of meat, especially beef, fish, ham, and lamb. Meat was typically served
along with vegetables, which were either steamed or roasted. Soups, fruit, and exotic foods such
as curry were very common. Desert, more commonly called pudding, was usually cakes,
chocolates, and sugary bread with various flavorings. Candies were a new concept, and werent
readily available in the 19
th
century.
Both the middle upper class and the middle class had stopped the practice of eating
dinner with the servants. In Victorian England, class structure was rigidly defined. Middle-class
dinners sought to emulate upper-class meals, so the food was usually prepared with any money
they could spare. A typical middle-class family would have bacon, eggs, porridge, and toast for
dinner, usually with a cup of tea. For lunch, they might have a light meal of leftovers from the
day before, or fruit and bread. Dinner brought plenty of courses, such as various meat dishes and
soups. They ate desert, but not as often as the upper class did.
For the poor, food was anything edible that they could find. Breakfast was potatoes, with
the occasional bit of bacon after a productive year at work. They often got lunch and/or dinner
form the leftover vegetable scraps of wealthy households. For this reason, many of the poor
moved to towns to work for manufacturing companies, which provided food for them potatoes,
bacon, gruel, erc.
For those who could afford it (which most of the population could, at some point) ate
street food when they were out and about during meal time. Bloated herring on a stick was very
popular, and eaten whole, including the head and eyes. Fish and chips shops, now iconic of
British food, had their origins in Victorian times. Small, colorful cakes and candies were sold on
the streets as well. However, little did Victorians know that some of their favorite treats
contained toxic materials. Lead, iron, copper, zinc, and arsenic were all used for artificial food
colorings. Pea soup and hot eel soup, which were very cheap and popular, were sold in over 500
shops in London alone. Eel jelly, which consisted of eel pieces boiled in fish stock and left to
turn to gelatin, was a staple food to the Victorian poor.
Perhaps the most well-known product of the Victorian era is tea-time. People of all
classes gathered to drink tea about midway between lunch and dinner (3-4 in the afternoon).
Teatime included a light meal of biscuits, cakes, and crust-less sandwiches. This meal, called low
tea, was a social gathering for the wealthy, who wished for something to keep their hunger at bay
until their extravagant dinners. Middle and lower classes often had high tea, which was
essentially dinner. High tea was served around 5-6 in the afternoon with more substantial foods
such as pork, salmon, jellies, and pound cakes.
Just like most things in the Victorian era, the food and eating habits underwent great
change. The availability of food increased for those who could afford it, but it also became too
expensive for most of the poor to eat well. More variety became affordable for people of all
classes, as foods such as eel jelly and fish and chips took the markets by storm. Many of the
dishes certainly dont sound appetizing to us, but to the Victorians, this is what they ate every
day.

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