Edwardian Food

Edwardian food could be both elaborate and rich to the point of indigestibility. But until more modern ideas about food and nutrition came into general use in the 1920s, children had a fairly monotonous diet, which tended to be high in carbohydrates and low in fresh fruit and meat. 'Many people seem afraid to give any fruit to their children, but have not the least hesitation in dosing them with all kinds of drugs' wrote Ada Ballin in 1902 (From Cradle to School). Not for the average Edwardian child, then, the oyster patties, pressed duck, ratafia trifle or pineapple which some of the adults enjoyed: even in a wealthy family a typical child's main meal at this date would be a small portion of hot or cold meat with potatoes and gravy, and another vegetable such as cabbage; and steamed pudding and custard, or milk pudding and jam to follow - a heritage which 'school dinners' were still faithfully following some sixty years later. This is perhaps no accident, as they developed from the Provision of School Meals Act of 1906, which gave local authorities the discretion to organise free lunches for children from poorer families.