
The romance of Merry Olde England
Ploughman’s lunch evokes images of times past. The age of working rural England. Sunny afternoons in harvest, people gathered in the field for a fine repast of fresh bread and local cheese. Maybe pickles out of a jar, or a new season apple, all washed down with Ale or cider from a flagon, surrounded by stooks of golden straw.
Maybe even a ploughman, horses with nosebag of oats, taking luncheon from a bag at his side. A fresh early spring scene with bird singing of summer ahead.
Cheese – Lots of Cheese
I feel in love with Ploughman’s lunches in my early teenage years. As a hungry young lad a meal what seems to have an irresponsible quantity of cheese as standard was an attractive proposition.
I loved cheese, and this dish was entirely based around a lump of cheese big enough for a small family. This love continues, and I hope you share this with me.
The real history of Ploughman’s lunch
I could put it in my own words, but i’m not going to. Read Curious Questions: Who invented the Ploughman’s Lunch? – could not do better than this excellent article.
This is a thing of beauty.
I would probably give top marks if I was given a large lump of good cheese, some fresh rustic bread with some good local butter, an apple and a couple of pickles, and a stone jar of cider (or IPA beer). Ideally eaten in a meadow, or a straw-filled barn, with halcyon views and told to go over there.
This is unlikely to happen.
Ploughman’s lunches tend to be a sit-down lunch affair, often in a pub, sometimes in a cafe or Tea room.
I need your help
OK, so it would be nice to get sponsorship: running the site costs money and I do not want to fill it with adverts.
However, What I REALLY want is YOUR REVIEWS.
Please visit out Submit a Review page for the resources to submit a review for publication. help me cover the whole country and spread the joy of a ploughman’s lunch. Reviews can be fully credited with back-links, or completely anonymous.
We need standards. National standards, and I aim to set them.
So welcome to the good and the bad of ploughman’s lunches.
This is not a serious site, the intention is to be a light-hearted look at a dish that I, and many others, enjoy a great deal. I want to help promote good quality food, local producers and seasonality.
I know others enjoy a ploughman’s because they have told me!
Look out for Ploughman’s Lunch-related events on Roaming the Paths.
Got something to say?
Great – Contact me.