The history in our supermarket trolleys – 50 years of food fashion

I have just been given a book called ‘Battenberg Britain’ by Nigel Cassidy and Philippa Lamb. It is fascinating, but not a little frightening. Reading through it one wonders how anyone over the age of twenty has survived the onslaught of hydrogenated this and additive filled that offered to us by supermarkets in the early years of their move to world domination. However, much of what they describe is still available and is, put simply, the history of British eating habits in the 20th century. I have to agree with the authors when they conclude ‘ ..tuck into a nostalgic British feast.. It’s your family history on a plate.’ I was filled with nostalgia and felt inspired to share a meal or two with you. Aren’t you lucky?!

Breakfast then. How about a nice bowl of ‘Ready Brek’? The authors of the book describe how, in the mid-1950s a factory manager at J Lyons & Co made ‘instant porridge’ from a dried out liquid derivative of oat flakes (yum..), but it failed to take off. That was until market researchers discovered that children adored the gloopy consistency and thus it was rebranded and marketed specifically at them. Apparently, we could all trundle off to school glowing weirdly, as if we had stepped too close to Hinkley Point or Sellafield whilst our mothers smiled at the thought that we were warmed by ‘central heating for kids’. Business boomed until Lyons, a firm started at the end of the 19th century, hit financial difficulties and was sold off to Allied Breweries. Ready Brek is now owned by Weetabix, a product which closely resembles kiddy porridge after just a few seconds of pouring on the milk.

Elevenses anyone? How about a cup of ‘Camp’ and a ‘Tunnock’s Teacake’?