Ploughman's Lunch Anyone?

TLDR version: Get a classic bit of English pub grub in you with our brand new Ploughman's Lunch Value Packs!

Seeing as it's St. George's Day this week we've been thinking about how we can mark the occasion with something specifically English. We wracked our collective brains and realised that we pretty much had all the ingredients to hand (including our stupendously delicious Pork Pies) to put together a quality Ploughman's Lunch Pack, so that's just what we've done.

One of many possible food combinations that travel under the name...

For those of you unfamiliar with this staple of long walks in the country/being a peasant in ye olden days you'll find a bit of a history below, followed by exactly what we'll be sending your way when you decide this is too good an offer to turn down.

A Short History...

The Ploughman's Lunch, a long standing english culinary tradition dating way back into the mists of time...oh, hang on a minute, it says here it was invented in 1956 by the Cheese Bureau in order to up cheese sales after rationing ended.

Traditionally eaten in a pub, but in a field works just as well...

Having said that, something very similar to a basic Ploughman's has been eaten by poor labourers (specifically in the south of the country) for centuries. The classic combo of bread, cheese, raw onions, and a flagon of beer saw English workers through an afternoon of hard work since at least the 1300s. The raw onions were there for flavour, as condiments such as black pepper cost more than their weight in gold (literally) at the time, and so were out of the reach of the common man. 

Post WWII rationing the Cheese Bureau was said to exist for;

"the admirable purpose of popularising cheese and, as a corollary, the public house lunch of bread, beer, cheese, and pickle. This traditional combination was broken by rationing; the Cheese Bureau hopes, by demonstrating the natural affinity of the two parties, to effect a remarriage."

Which, if nothing else, makes me grieve for the loss of the writing style of the 1950s.


The original (but not best) version of a Ploughman's...

Thankfully, this basic fare has been added to over time by all manner of delicious cold food stuffs. With a modern Ploughman's likely to include some of the following; slices of Pork Pie, Sliced Ham, a Scotch Egg, apple slices, pickled eggs, pickled beetroot, pickled onions (not raw, thankfully), blue cheese, salad leaves, tomatoes. Plus the beer. I'd always be pairing it with a pint of mild myself, but I am from the Midlands, so guessing that may be culturally specific.

Personally, I'd be taking the celery out, and adding apple and Stilton to this, but you get the idea...

What's in our Ploughman's Pack?

So, what have we got in our Ploughman's? The most important part of any modern Ploughman's, which was never found in the original, is the meat, and we've gone with a pack or our incredible Pork Pies (that's four whole pies) as our centrepiece, along with a choice of Smoked or Unsmoked Sliced Ham.

Alongside this in the pack you'll find jars of Branston Pickle and Pickled Onions, as well as your choice of cheese from our list of seven great Cheddars. And as we get more great products in along the way (fingers crossed for Scotch Eggs), we'll be adding more options and upgrades to the pack so you can get as far away from the original peasant food origins of the Lunch as you feel appropriate.

After that all you need to do is source your favourite ale (never drink lager with a Ploughman's, though cider is okay) and some chunky bread, and you're all set.

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