The fours of the diet and nutrition of the industrial revolution

Foods before the Industrial Revolution

RARE FOODS

COMMON FOODS

Fruit: They were very expensive and only rich people could afford them.

• Eggs
• Apples
• Nuts and berries
• Fish
• Vegetables
• Sugar
• Coffee

Oat related foods

Oat cakes

Gruel

Yorkshire Parkin

Gruel was a cheap meal made from milk, water and oatmeal. It was common in factories and often served with oat cakes. It didn’t take a lot of effort or time to make and it quickly filled up people's stomachs.

Yorkshire Parkin is a sticky cake that was made in northern England. This cake was cheap but it look long to make. All the ingredients were easy to find and Yorkshire Parkin could be stored for up to 3 weeks. This cake is still popular in Yorkshire.

Oat cakes were popular during the industrial revolution since it was cheap and quick to eat. It didn't require a lot of ingredients. This food was basically a thick paste of water, milk, and oat. People who worked at potteries and mines usually had oatcakes at a daily basis.

Yorkshire Parkin

Pictures

Oatcakes

Gruel

Cabbage

Meat

Another common meal was boiled bacon and cabbage. This was one of the fancier dishes compared to bread and oat. This dish may sound delicious however it is very different from the modern-day food. The bacon was basically a clump of pork belly that were smoked, and they added this to a pot along with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and peppercorns. Afterwards, it would be served with slim slices of bread. Vegetables were common even before the industrial revolution, however it was still common and it didn’t take a long time to prepare vegetables. This became a common dish during the industrial revolution.

Meat wasn’t very common before the industrial revolution. Only families with lots my money could afford them. However, since the industrial revolution started, animals started reproducing faster and they were healthier. That meant more meat for everyone and eating meat was a great benefit to everyone. Even a little amount of meat would make people full, and it was great to eat during work. Meat was commonly served with bread and cheese. It was quickly to make and it was usually served as dinner or lunch. There weren’t many vegetarians because a lot of people diet consisted on it.

Bread

Bread was already common before the industrial revolution, but more and more people started to eat bread at a daily basis. Bread was commonly served with jam which was usually homemade. It was also eaten with meat and cheese.

All of these foods were affordable and it was quick to prepare. During the industrial revolution, not only farming improved, but the way that bread was baked and make was different. Bakers could refine grains which meant that it made the flour more consistent allowing to shape, colour and texture the bread. However the extra processing to make consistent dough took a way a lot of the nutrition in the bread. Bread was so common workers spent almost 1/3 of their wages on bread.