The Working Man's Supper

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ย. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 692

  • @Lithilic
    @Lithilic ปีที่แล้ว +1482

    I think a heavy meal at noon when sitting at your desk is a recipe for a nap, but I will say from my experience working on the farm that if you did not fill up during lunch it was very hard to maintain your energy during a day of hard labor. So this eating pattern makes a lot of sense for the context.

    • @michaelthayer5351
      @michaelthayer5351 ปีที่แล้ว +116

      Having worked as both a teacher and in a factory I can definitely agree. In both circumstances breakfast was very light, a banana or toast or something like that. As a teacher you are more active than a standard office clerk, but it's not all too physically demanding so you can have a light lunch and a substantial dinner. But when I was working in a factory I noticed that that didn't work and even my wife told me I couldn't just have a sandwich at lunch anymore that I needed something more substantial. I still have a decent dinner though.

    • @terminallumbago6465
      @terminallumbago6465 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      So I guess really it depends on what type of activity you’re doing. A heavy meal before sitting around can tire you out, but it has the opposite effect if you’re moving around and doing physical activity.

    • @mmthomas3729
      @mmthomas3729 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      When I was growing up in Mobile Alabama, lunch for the office and construction workers downtown was 2 hours. My father would come home to a hot meal, take a nap on the den couch, then go back to work.

    • @jamesellsworth9673
      @jamesellsworth9673 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      My farming uncles ate their main meal at noon. They then took an hour to rest and went back to work until work was done.

    • @Roddy556
      @Roddy556 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      ​@@mmthomas3729I hate that lol. I want to get my work done and go home.

  • @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon
    @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon ปีที่แล้ว +949

    It's difficult for me to put into words how much I love this channel. This is the epitome of comfort content.

    • @augustsmith9553
      @augustsmith9553 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Yes - Townsends is just candy
      But wholesome, like remembering happiness

    • @smileysatanson3404
      @smileysatanson3404 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Perfect to watch while eating honestly

    • @philcollins5457
      @philcollins5457 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Agreed. I just had a really rough day, but Townsends made it a little more bearable.

    • @ketanhein
      @ketanhein ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Same for me. I love this channel so much, and as one who often cooks at home, many of these recipes look so delicious and fairly simple.

    • @Simon-beast
      @Simon-beast 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Well spoken

  • @CP-tm7be
    @CP-tm7be ปีที่แล้ว +203

    My grandfather on my mom's side had a farm in Minnesota, and he followed this almost exactly. At that time, nobody was a "specialty" farmer. He and grandma did everything. Grew corn for sale, grew hay for their beef cows, had a milk cow for the farm, etc. So he'd get up, milk the cow at 5:30 AM, come in around 6:30 for oatmeal and a cup of Folgers coffee, back out to work until around 11, then a big lunch with vegetables, pork chops, mashed potatoes, etc., then a nap on the couch for an hour or so (do NOT disturb), then back out to work until dark. In the summer, when dark wasn't until 9, a small break with a cup of coffee and a butter and bologna sandwich might happen. Then at the end of the day, a small meal; a roll with jam, maybe soup or some hot dish (and maybe on a weekend, a wedge of pie) then to bed. Rinse, repeat. When we'd visit, we'd all be eating toast, eggs and bacon on Saturday morning, and he'd have his bowl of oatmeal with warm cow's milk he'd milked that morning (occasionally with a bit of hay floating on top) and brown sugar or honey. Not too different a routine than the last century or so, apparently.

    • @karaamundson3964
      @karaamundson3964 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Love this

    • @PinchTheBarb
      @PinchTheBarb 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Which part of MN?

    • @cherilynnfisher5658
      @cherilynnfisher5658 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Fueling the body's furnace with caloric needs to match expected energy output made perfect sense back then. If you think about how a fire is "fed or starved" of fuel or oxygen. . .
      This old eating pattern could go back way further than anyone imagines!

    • @andrewjay7962
      @andrewjay7962 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      ​@@cherilynnfisher5658hence the saying "food is fuel"

    • @justicedemocrat9357
      @justicedemocrat9357 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I bet grandpa went to town on your grandma after dinner hehehe.

  • @amywright2243
    @amywright2243 ปีที่แล้ว +228

    I'm an 80s kid who grew up in Kentucky. Supper was our big meal, but we also had "bedtime snacktime" which was often a glass of cold milk with a piece of leftover cornbread crumbled into it, then eaten with a spoon. We called it Crumble In and it sounds a lot like this recipe! I like thinking we were just doing the same thing our great grandparents probably did.

    • @davidcox3076
      @davidcox3076 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

      70s and 80s kid here. My mom still enjoys cornbread in milk as a snack. And I've made the same assumption as you, that's it's been passed down for generations because it's simple and quick.

    • @kennymonty8206
      @kennymonty8206 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      We ate this once in a while too. It's really just porridge. But, it's good.

    • @SlapStyleAnims
      @SlapStyleAnims หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yum

  • @utsteinproductions
    @utsteinproductions ปีที่แล้ว +450

    I work PM hours (Noon to 8pm) and oddly follow an 18th century meal plan. Small breakfast, large lunch, snacking or small meal before bed. Never gave this thought till this series.

    • @lightskitty
      @lightskitty ปีที่แล้ว +15

      I do this too, with oats for breakfast, they're lovely with honey and butter.

    • @terryt.1643
      @terryt.1643 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      I grew up in a big family, that is also how I was raised. Now I have coffee and toast after I wake then after a morning walk, a breakfast of cereal or eggs, lunch is the main meal and a light supper of maybe banana and yogurt or a cup of soup with bread or crackers on a cold night. Been doing this for 75 years now.

    • @MsBizzyGurl
      @MsBizzyGurl ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes. I do this as well.

    • @eliasbram3710
      @eliasbram3710 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Around some parts of the world it is still like that. Biggest meal (and more important socially) was the lunch. It still like this in Brasil

    • @notyourordinarydad4549
      @notyourordinarydad4549 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This is pretty common in New England.

  • @joko2882
    @joko2882 ปีที่แล้ว +168

    This video was very surprising to me. I live in a farmers family in Germany and we still eat like this today. A light breakfast, sometimes just coffee and water, definitely nothing savoury, lunch is a big warm meal where everyone comes too the table and dinner is cold, bread, sausage like salami or ham, sometimes fish and vegetables.

    • @colbyboucher6391
      @colbyboucher6391 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      Well that's just it, it depends on the work culture. At the _vast_ majority of jobs in the U.S. you cram through your eight hours ASAP so you can get home. Quite a lot of people just eat something at their desks and continue working, even.

    • @andyl8025
      @andyl8025 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Very interesting! So how does everyone come to the table at lunch if everyone is working in different locations? Do you all head home for a long break and then go back to work until late?

    • @edwardmarshall2035
      @edwardmarshall2035 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      ​@@andyl8025lunch is light convenient and solitary. Some people only get 30 minutes for lunch so there's not enough time to spend it with family. Some people skip lunch altogether. I would sometimes skip lunch if I had alot of work to do.

    • @joko2882
      @joko2882 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@andyl8025 Basically. Me and my siblings come home from school at around one 1 pm. My mother usually has made lunch by then, she always goes into the kitchen between 11 and 12 am after having done most of her work outside for the late morning. My father also either comes home around this time or if he already is somewhere on the farm, he comes too the house. We usually either find him somewhere and tell him that lunch is ready or we just write a message into the family chat. With my grandpa it's the same but he really can't use modern electronics so someone always searches for him if he is on the farm. Sometimes he just isn't because he either has a bit more work or he is delivering produce and will come home later. Then everyone eats till 2 pm or longer and then it's back too work.

    • @joko2882
      @joko2882 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@edwardmarshall2035 not really, atleast not here. General culture in Germany makes lunch a quite big meal.

  • @erric288
    @erric288 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    You have to remember that with such a large mid-day meal, there would often be a siesta to nap and digest, and then a return to work, with a small dinner just before bed at 9 or 10PM. Modern industrial work days don't allow for this so the lunch was made smaller and more convenient. Also in the past folks often we working near their homes where a large meal could be prepared whereas in the modern era when working outside the home became the norm, smaller portable lunches became prevalent. Notice also how school is organized. In Italy for example, where the agrarian culture persisted longer, school ends around 1PM so children can join their family for their large "pranzo" lunch. In the US however, lunch is eaten at school, often in under 40 minutes, where schoolwork begins immediately after mimicking the modern workplace.

    • @JarkinTarkin
      @JarkinTarkin 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      School in the US is partly a day care center for kids that just happens to educate kids. Since most jobs are 9-5, the school schedule is built to accommodate this so it goes from 7:30 to around 14:30 or 3:30 so parents can use lunch time to pick up kids, go home to family or do some after school program for few hours to get picked up by parents. As bad as the US school time system is, there are actually worse ones out there.

  • @kathleengardiner7837
    @kathleengardiner7837 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    Another possible reason for the light supper in the evening is that in northern countries during the winter it gets dark early and it’s nearly impossible to cook by fire and candle light. I’ve tried this and definitely can’t see what I’m doing. Much easier to eat something leftover or already cooked earlier in the day, like bread and cheese.

  • @DraemoraH
    @DraemoraH ปีที่แล้ว +56

    Here in Brazil, at least in my region, the meal sizes depend on the weather. When it's extremely hot (like right now), we tend to eat ligther lunches, more salads. During winter, we eat more (and a lot of heavy soups) at dinner. I imagine that had its place, especially back then as well. Great video!

    • @danielleherrmann3279
      @danielleherrmann3279 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I've noticed that to be common here in Minnesota, USA as well. It can get into negative temperatures during winter regularly so soups and roasts keep you toasty.

  • @reshty9923
    @reshty9923 ปีที่แล้ว +168

    Here in germany, lunch is the largest meal of the day for most people. I think it's intriguing to see the differences in food cultures around the world and throughout time :)

    • @ilikeramyeon
      @ilikeramyeon ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I'm just learning how to make bread dumplings or Semmelknödel so I can stop buying the dried box variety.

    • @SmallBobby
      @SmallBobby ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I thought I was alone here in America for only preferring a heavy meal during lunch and light meals for breakfast and dinner. I naturally preferred this way of eating after being on my own for some time, after leaving home and the school systems which forced me to eat with others and how others ate.

    • @fartzinwind
      @fartzinwind ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Every time i learn a fact about Germans, I'm more convinced i was switched at birth with a German family.

    • @colbyboucher6391
      @colbyboucher6391 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      The way U.S. "lunch break" culture works that's... not really possible here any more.

    • @sammyjo8109
      @sammyjo8109 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Living in Germany is where I learned the benefits of large lunch , small evening meal 55 years ago. Opposite in the US.

  • @Zeithri
    @Zeithri ปีที่แล้ว +96

    I just wanted to leave this comment, I've been following you for.... Not sure how long now! But I remember a time when you were faltering a bit about the future of your channel and it brings me joy to see that it's not only gone the opposite, but it's thriving! I see other YT channels mention you hither and dither and it's always a joy. Cheers for many more old style cooking days! \o/

    • @augustsmith9553
      @augustsmith9553 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yes - Townsends is just candy
      But wholesome, like remembering happiness

    • @justicedemocrat9357
      @justicedemocrat9357 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Which other channels has mentioned this channel?

  • @TooRudeProductions
    @TooRudeProductions ปีที่แล้ว +27

    Best comfort channel on TH-cam

  • @Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co
    @Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co ปีที่แล้ว +991

    "A melancholy juice" also tells us that whoever wrote this believed pigeon eaten at night would unbalance the humours and possibly lead to illness. Many food and drink choices of the time were based on the humoral theory of medicine.

    • @Miss_Kisa94
      @Miss_Kisa94 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      Wasn't that medieval? I think they knew a little more than that in the 18th century. Although they didn't really understand germ theory yet.

    • @kwanchan6745
      @kwanchan6745 ปีที่แล้ว +62

      they are talking about indigestion
      I can imagine tough wild pigeon inducing indigestion and vivid dreams
      try going to bed with a tummy full of cheese and apples....always works for me to induce vivid dreams

    • @eekee6034
      @eekee6034 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Given what we now know about pigeons as disease carriers, and given the ovens may have run at a lower temperature, they weren't wrong about the result. I don't know exactly how much lower-temperature ovens could be, but I've heard of Tudor dishes which, in a modern oven, would come out as hard as bricks unless they're baked for much less time; less than half the time stated in the recipes.

    • @Cyrathil
      @Cyrathil ปีที่แล้ว +37

      ​@@Miss_Kisa941799 is pretty late for 'medieval'. Washington had bloodletting used as part of treatment for pneumonia. We could possibly quibble about whether the rationale was the humor theory, but it's still probably the case that holdovers stuck around whether adherence did or not.

    • @neck_acrobatics
      @neck_acrobatics ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @@Miss_Kisa94 Humorism was the prevalent theory of medicine in Europe since Ancient times (~500 BC) up until the 18th century,

  • @iandhunt80
    @iandhunt80 ปีที่แล้ว +140

    This channel just understands their core audience. Bravo. Plus the camera work, editing, everything. You've come a long way.
    Now I'm hungry.... thanks for the great content!

  • @gidget8717
    @gidget8717 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Seniors tend to eat this way today, well at least in rural areas. Any rural person will tell you most restaurants have early bird specials for seniors who eat their main meal in the late afternoon. The older you get the worse your body handles a heavy meal closer to bedtime.

    • @asmith7876
      @asmith7876 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      yeah, it’s called Old People Time! Final meal of the day at 4:30 to 5:30😂😂😂

    • @gidget8717
      @gidget8717 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@asmith7876 yup! I'm old, I eat a piece of toast & jam for breakfast, one main meal about 4pm and have a light snack about 7. 👵

  • @truthreigns7
    @truthreigns7 ปีที่แล้ว +41

    Where i live and how i was raised, we called our meals Breakfast (Morning meal), Dinner (mid day meal), and Supper (the evening meal). In addition i have heard this saying “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.”
    ― Adelle Davis

    • @josephstevens9888
      @josephstevens9888 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I has a boss years ago who always called lunch dinner.

    • @etaxalo
      @etaxalo ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Didnt know from who “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” came from, i heard it from my great grandma and grandma all my life.
      i just put it in to the "farmers know" category since thats what they have been doing all there life

    • @waynehendrix4806
      @waynehendrix4806 ปีที่แล้ว

      What they did during their life was THEIRS and not there. Please help to save the English language. 😉 @@etaxalo

    • @mar117117
      @mar117117 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      We say "Eat breakfast alone, lunch with your friend and give dinner to you enemy."

    • @truthreigns7
      @truthreigns7 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@mar117117 is that according to a certain time era, or a certain location?

  • @ralstini6126
    @ralstini6126 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    First time I've caught one this early! Really love the focus on the working man's day to day. Keep it up guys!

  • @rockstarJDP
    @rockstarJDP ปีที่แล้ว +44

    I always wondered why people referred to their evening meal differently; supper, tea or dinner. I'm Welsh and we have so many different dialects that I assumed that to be the reason, like the same way everyone has their own word for the tv remote 😂 thank you for answering a question I've long pondered over!

    • @karaamundson3964
      @karaamundson3964 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      My bf's grandmother, a very dignified woman, referred to the last meal of the day as "supper."
      "Would you like to come over for supper?" Clarified the distinction between "dinner" & "supper" for me forever after.

  • @LeftyAmigo
    @LeftyAmigo ปีที่แล้ว +80

    The fact that we get free videos from Townsends on TH-cam is priceless ... Keeping the knowledge and entertainment alive. 👏👏👏👏👏

    • @Dust_88
      @Dust_88 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      What makes you think it's free?

  • @flameguy3416
    @flameguy3416 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    4:15 funnily enough, meat is very easy on the stomach since our body absorbs most of it, leaving a very tiny amount actually being converted to waste product.

  • @Nagassh
    @Nagassh ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Always interesting seeing videos like this since in my family in the North East of England the older meal names are still used alongside the evening meal being tea. Causes no end of confusion when talking to people when my dinner is their lunch and their dinner is my evening tea etc, though at least we can agree on breakfast. Supper is invariably a light meal but rarely eaten.

  • @occamraiser
    @occamraiser 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    I grew up in the UK in the 1960s/70s. The meal eaten at school was sometimes referred to as lunch, but usually dinner. The hour out of lessons was always called dinner-time and the meals schools served were suitable to be the main meal of the day. People who ate a large meal at 6pm (or there abouts) were in the minority in those days. You're describing the 20th Century more than you suspect.

  • @Jennifersacredhag
    @Jennifersacredhag ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I grew up reading the Little House books. Dinner time was midday, especially in Farmer Boy. Bread and butter was often eaten for supper.

  • @brutaseus5886
    @brutaseus5886 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    makes a lot of sense why they were eaten with ale, or how most suppers would have ale, as it would likely help relax the body and put the worker into a comfortable sleep. I for one have a glass of whisky when im up late or am too energetic for bed and i fall asleep like a baby. Great video as always!

  • @mccallosone4903
    @mccallosone4903 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    man, with all the crazy bad news in the world, your channel is a blessing. thanks for the hard work bud, my stress level -10

  • @leoniesableblanc
    @leoniesableblanc ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Love these videos. And they were right, a light supper is better for your digestion! This time of year it’s lovely to come back and re watch some of my favourite videos of yours. They just soothe the soul in these troubled times.

    • @SlentVce
      @SlentVce ปีที่แล้ว

      It depends on your line of work. I work at home. Id be knocked out if i ate a good meal for lunch lol

  • @mbr5742
    @mbr5742 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    In germany Dinner/Lunch (Mittagessen) was still the big meal in working class households in the 1980s/90s. Shifts often ran 6:00-14:00 and when father came home he wanted a big meal. School ran 8:00-13:00 and so either you waited (it took me almost an hour due to the public bus while father had 15min) and ate together or at least pupils and mother did. And Saturday/Sunday the family often sat down around 12. Breakfast and Suppen (Frühstück und Abendessen) where small stuff

    • @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei
      @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei ปีที่แล้ว

      Why in the 1980a/90s? That's exactly how it was during my school time and I was born in 1996. It's more or less still the same when I visit my mother. We wake up, have some bread and tea (because East Frisia) for breakfast, 11am we have some coffee, 1 pm we have lunch and then we have supper with bread in the evening.

    • @mbr5742
      @mbr5742 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei Because post that time frame I do not know if people still do it. Since I now work 9-17 and therefor eat my major meal late

  • @dpeasehead
    @dpeasehead ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Rumor has it that anchovies were much larger in Franklin's time.

  • @jackieyoung3359
    @jackieyoung3359 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    The huge lunch and tiny supper is still very much a thing in many European cultures with kids coming home from school and adults coming home from work to gather as a family for a big lunch.

    • @andyl8025
      @andyl8025 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      How is it possible to have a big lunch if all of the adults are working during the morning? When is there time to prepare the big lunch? Maybe prepared the evening before?

    • @LEGOBoy922
      @LEGOBoy922 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@andyl8025 Taking a shot in the dark, it's likely that there's a much larger lunch break and/or not as many people in a household having to a 9-to-5.

    • @123oneshotonekill
      @123oneshotonekill ปีที่แล้ว

      Well not really. Our main meal is around midday but it’s usually not hugely complex and easy to make in 30 minutes.

    • @mar117117
      @mar117117 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Depends on who you ask. In my country A: it is a cultural thing. It is common to have a 1 h lunchbreak during which workers go to a restaurant together (you get discounted prices in lunchtime). Some workplaces even have their own cook/restaurant/cantine. B: mothers get a 3 year "parenting" leave. I don't wanna get into the "women belong to kitchen" thing but yeah, if you have 2 children, that is 6 years of free lunches for you.😂

  • @SquarePegs
    @SquarePegs ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I love videos like these. Learning things about how our ancestors existed and thrived always fills my day. Thank you, John and the whole Townsends team!

  • @m.a.6478
    @m.a.6478 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Over here in Switzerland this meal plan is quite normal. Breakfast before we start working is rather small, we have a second breakfast at ~9 AM called "z'Nüni" where we also eat something small, then the biggest meal of the day for lunch around 12, then supper with something small around 7 PM. If you are working hard, then you have an intermediate meal around 4PM called "z'Vieri" or "z'Abe". I think it is quite a European thing to have a proper break at noon for eating instead of just eating a sandwich in between two strikes of a hammer or in front of a PC.

  • @ToEuropa
    @ToEuropa ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Thanks for another great video. I've wondered what seed cakes are since I first saw them mentioned in "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings". I'm definitely going to make some.
    By the way, "melancholy juice" would have made a great name for a 90's rock band.

  • @Hazama27
    @Hazama27 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Lunch/dinner being the largest meal just makes sense from a practical standpoint. Food is for energy and you don't need much energy to sleep, but you sure need it to toil in the fields and factories.

  • @Vegem1ghty
    @Vegem1ghty 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    It's always so comfortable to tune into this channel. It's the perfect way to end the day for a comfortable rest

  • @cornpop3159
    @cornpop3159 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    You had breakfast, Dinner and Supper back then. 80%-90% of the food intake was Dinner (Lunch today). Supper was a bit of left over Dinner, or maybe a slice of pie. Breakfast was anything lying around, like biscuits, made once or twice a week for the week.

  • @stellarconcealment
    @stellarconcealment ปีที่แล้ว +3

    British here and our family has our 'dinner' (biggest meal) at lunch, and a light supper in the early evening.

  • @kellym9190
    @kellym9190 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I can’t help but continue to be charmed by your romantic retrospection on the concepts of meals like this 😊

    • @maddieb.4282
      @maddieb.4282 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks Violet 😂

  • @heavyq
    @heavyq ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I love this channel. I don't even care what the video is about. It's so calming listening to the explanations and music.

  • @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei
    @Kuhmuhnistische_Partei ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Me, a German: "So nothing would've changed, okay". I maybe eat two slices of bread for breakfast with some tea. Lunch should be the main meal for me in an ideal world and supper (German: Abendbrot, literally "Evening bread") is usually just bread again or some other light meal. Although it really depends how it fits into my day. I often don't have the time during noon to actually have lunch, so I often postpone it to 5-7 pm and don't have supper at all. And it can also vary what and how much I eat for breakfast. Like on some days I will make some fried eggs on bread or muesli or something.

  • @steel8231
    @steel8231 ปีที่แล้ว +36

    I think it's kinda wild how out of hand stories about people's diets in the past were. Like people forget herbs and salt were common in Europe, and most of the stories about the rarity of meat (as well as stories about not bathing) only apply to Victorians.

    • @Vandelgard
      @Vandelgard ปีที่แล้ว +4

      This is very true indeed different cultures where as u go south had different climates too.. History just shows how different mediterranean cousine is now too compared to the English

    • @colbyboucher6391
      @colbyboucher6391 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      "and most of the stories about the rarity of meat (as well as stories about not bathing) only apply to Victorians."
      I mean, bathing sure, but meat? You're telling me some serf that might own some chickens for eggs is gonna be eating meat on a regular basis somehow?

    • @terminallumbago6465
      @terminallumbago6465 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@colbyboucher6391 They fished and hunted, some reared a pig. Meals considered “poor” back then were actually healthier for you than the ones eaten by the rich.

    • @cahallo5964
      @cahallo5964 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      ​@@terminallumbago6465Moderm people forget about how common game and salted/cured meats were in the past, the meat we eat today was rare or ocasional (beef and chicken mostly) but game birds and such were plenty, for example.

  • @e.prybylski5665
    @e.prybylski5665 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    My great aunt, who was born in the late 1800s and died in the 1990s called the noontime meal 'dinner' her whole life. She was married to a New England farmer, and it very much showed.

    • @Elizabeth-n3v2u
      @Elizabeth-n3v2u ปีที่แล้ว

      My Granny did the same, though she was born in the early 30s and was the child of southern sharecroppers.

    • @Ericb1957
      @Ericb1957 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      In the North East of England (UK), it is also very common to call lunchtime 'dinner' even today, funnily enough. Pease pudding is also a regional dish here, most of the UK hasn't heard of it but it's one of my favourite comfort foods.

  • @elyjane8316
    @elyjane8316 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Once I left school, I have eaten this type of meal plan. No we are both retired, we have our main meal at lunchtime, with sone fruit at tea time. Nb: my mutti (German mother) made caraway cake for my papa in the 1960s, no alcohol...

  • @Pieces_Of_Eight
    @Pieces_Of_Eight ปีที่แล้ว +9

    The link between the avoidance of heavy evening meals and overnight digestion is a brilliant, thank you for continuing to explore their relationship with food. Thrilled to see wiggs making an appearance too, along with varied levels of wiggs available to suit different circumstances. Looking forward to baking some some extra flavorful seed cakes in the approaching holiday season. Cheers!

  • @lakrids-pibe
    @lakrids-pibe ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Bread in ale - or as we say in Denmark: *Ølle-brød.*
    Stale, shredded rye bread of the dense, dark kind we like en Denmark, soaked in ale or small ale.
    Ad a little sugar, and if you're lucky a little cream

  • @MinnesnowdanSniper
    @MinnesnowdanSniper ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Seed cakes are what I remember from The Hobbit; the hobbit has them made ready for his own mealtime- the Dwarves show up for the Unexpected Party and they are all eaten.

  • @MayumiC-chan9377
    @MayumiC-chan9377 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    love this channel!
    i am happily my husband turned me on to historical foods and life

    • @augustsmith9553
      @augustsmith9553 ปีที่แล้ว

      Tell your husband
      Then do him a favor
      Stay with him - don’t leave

    • @MayumiC-chan9377
      @MayumiC-chan9377 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@augustsmith9553 i would never leave my husband

  • @darlenebradley6756
    @darlenebradley6756 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Very interesting topic! I am going to give this a try (but probably not this week considering Thanksgiving). I have been inspired to a much simpler way of living from watching this channel and look forward to each episode. I hope these continue for a while to come!

  • @davidgudlaugson528
    @davidgudlaugson528 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I really enjoy Townsends videos. I live overseas and people sometimes ask me what the difference is between American and Canadian cuisine [I'm Canadian].....and I have had to answer..."honestly there is absolutely no difference at all".....❤❤❤️

  • @yuyunull
    @yuyunull ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Ale and condensed calories in the form of bread makes an excellent digestif for a working man. It was likely enough to fight muscle soreness or enable them to work the next day. Good stuff.

  • @PerfectPencil
    @PerfectPencil ปีที่แล้ว +1

    really makes you wonder why we changed things. Couple eating too big too late in the day with all of our electronic devices and it makes sense why we can't sleep!

  • @Sel-Shackfield
    @Sel-Shackfield ปีที่แล้ว +1

    With the exception of Sat. & Sun. mornings, where he would have eggs, bacon, toast and coffee; my grandfather would have a bowl of hot or cold cereal for breakfast. At lunch he was served meat, potatoes, bread and vegetables. Supper was soup and sandwich, or left overs.

  • @schunter20
    @schunter20 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    People this passionate about history are a rare gem.

  • @silvermine2033
    @silvermine2033 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Watching this as I take my frozen processed breakfast burrito out of the microwave.

    • @codyjackson1875
      @codyjackson1875 ปีที่แล้ว

      Better than what most had back then.

    • @JimneyCriquet
      @JimneyCriquet ปีที่แล้ว

      Better than pea pudding lol

  • @googleplusisterrible4837
    @googleplusisterrible4837 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    There is saying that is something like share your breakfast eat your lunch and give your dinner to your enemies

  • @Spartanixxx
    @Spartanixxx ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Carroway Seed apparently helps with digestion, i assume they understood this fact and if the premise is easily digestible like some of the writing you found suggests, it makes perfect sense why they show up so often.

  • @KAMiKAZE-T.V.
    @KAMiKAZE-T.V. ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I love your channel so much bro thank you for what you do

  • @Token_Civilian
    @Token_Civilian ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Love this series of working man's meals, feasts, etc.

  • @gisellem927
    @gisellem927 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    My great grandma called lunch,supper and dinner (the late meal) supper. Her parents were born in Kentucky, so they used a lot of the old American terms for things. Supper is derived from the European root word for soup.

  • @preciousseong
    @preciousseong ปีที่แล้ว

    ita always about fall/winter time where i find myself watching this channel, when the weather is colder and im always in search of anything cozy and comforting

  • @andrewkellerhals1361
    @andrewkellerhals1361 ปีที่แล้ว +120

    Ironically, they had it right, light breakfast, heavy lunch, light dinner. During sleep is when your body does a lot of really amazing things for healing, you don't want your body spending all that energy on digestion

    • @terminallumbago6465
      @terminallumbago6465 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      On some things they were actually ahead of their time. There was an excellent video he did a year or two ago about the medical practices of the Spanish, and they were actually somewhat close to what we do today (even if they didn’t necessarily know why).

    • @linlmarcos
      @linlmarcos ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Europe, specifically Italy, still has it right. Eat a heavy lunch and then rest.

    • @mikafoxx2717
      @mikafoxx2717 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This. For me I often don't get hungry until later anyways, so you can have a big lunch, small early dinner. A small breakfast, just enough to hold you over until lunch, if hungry early. I've seen with my heart rate monitor, elevated resting heart rate while sleeping if I eat too much, too near bed, and feel less rested in general if I do so. I'm also not hungry while I'm sleeping, so why would I eat before bed anyways? Still rarely hungry in the morning, so a coffee before starting the day is all that's needed.

    • @TheSkillotron
      @TheSkillotron ปีที่แล้ว +7

      That's not really how the body works. You don't stop healing when you're digesting food.

    • @mikafoxx2717
      @mikafoxx2717 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheSkillotron no, but your body is in a less rested state while digesting. I see it in my sleeping heart rate the next morning. I feel it, too. Less rested if my body wasn't as deeply resting. Less deep sleep, perhaps. Deep sleep is when the brain often gets flooded with cerebral fluid to clear out buildup

  • @QuietLifeintheForest
    @QuietLifeintheForest 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I have been watching your channel since 2012, and I just have to say thank you so much for all of your content. It is some of the most relaxing, entertaining, educational media that I watch.

  • @TH-tl6sy
    @TH-tl6sy ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My Oma and Opa, their entire life had, musli or oatmeal for breakfast, supper type meal for lunch and dinner was just soup or open faced sandwiches of ryebread and sausage, maybe with some pickles or pickled beets or slice of cheese or two.
    Eggs and bacon type breakfast was the odd weekend thing.

  • @jameshiggins-thomas9617
    @jameshiggins-thomas9617 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The luncheon-dinner-supper habit is an interesting one in both time and place. I was caught off-guard when I traveled to Europe many years ago and had opportunity to sup with a local family. I was used to the big American dinner as the last meal but they had their big meal earlier and ended with a light supper (generally breads, cheeses, and sausages). I went to bed hungry for a while before I could adjust 😂

  • @majorfallacy5926
    @majorfallacy5926 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It's interesting that spiced bread seems to have been common in America but somehow went away, while it's still popular here in central europe

  • @Ducaso
    @Ducaso ปีที่แล้ว +2

    A very agrarian meal for the working laborers. Tied to the geographical climate and the availability of resources. Beer (of some form) is a very common source of easy liquid calories, and of course you have wheat bread too. It’s fascinating to see diets change and adapt as the working world does the same.

  • @sd-ch2cq
    @sd-ch2cq ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I knew some old people who ate a hot meal at noon and bread in the evening. Their explanation was that this setup was easier on the wife (she could do the dishes in the afternoon instead of having to do it late in the evening)

  • @josephanthro
    @josephanthro ปีที่แล้ว +16

    "Supper" as a simple, light meal is still common over in Germany where they might pick up some fresh baked bread from a nearby bakery, and have it with butter, freshly sliced tomato, and maybe some deli meat; but it's something with nearly no prep time.

    • @porter-831
      @porter-831 ปีที่แล้ว

      In German it is called Abendbrot, literally "evening bread". I wouldn't go pick up fresh bread just for that, but you'd likely have bread for a few days at home.The toppings you give are oddly specific, usually it's butter plus whatever you like; sausage or meat cuts, cheese, jam, honey and so on. Personally I do like to add some fresh greens as well, like sliced cucumber, tomato or bell peppers, but that's not universal.
      Incidentally, breakfast usually is exactly the same or some kind of cereal, granola, oats, not unlike the oatmeal in the video. A heavy breakfast with eggs, bacon and grilled sausages is not common at all, that would be considered something to have as main meal of the day at noon.

  • @JohnnyManu40
    @JohnnyManu40 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A couple things to add on, from experience living a rougher life in the bush, and having jobs where the lunch was supplied.
    1. Outhouse visits at night are not exactly everyone's personal preference. So anything that reduces the need to unload is a good thing, both for safety and sleep.
    2. If you know you have a guaranteed lunch each day that easily fills your belly; you won't be spending as much on the breakfast and supper you might have normally spent more on.

  • @garryreeve824
    @garryreeve824 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    When I looked at your thumbnail I thought, what are those thing at the back of the plate? Then I realized they were your hands. 😂

  • @olddawgdreaming5715
    @olddawgdreaming5715 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for sharing with us Jon. This is valuable information that would help many folks today to live by those thoughts and eliminate many for our digestive and over weight problems along with diabetes and nightmares. Stay safe and everyone enjoy a great Thanksgiving Day with families and friends. Fred.

  • @stanbrown915
    @stanbrown915 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Down Texas way our famous working mans dinner is Pinto Beans and fried Potatoes with White Bread for soppin

    • @ilikeramyeon
      @ilikeramyeon ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm wondering if that peas pudding is the same as the nursery rhyme, pease porridge hot pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot 9 days old.

  • @tireflipper8000
    @tireflipper8000 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I thoroughly enjoy your videos. It is so nice to think about a place in time that seems simpler and free. Hard work and hearty meals. I really appreciate the escape. 🙏🏼 thank you 🙏🏼

  • @nikolaifinukov3375
    @nikolaifinukov3375 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Working man's supper lunch and breakfast sounds pretty dope. Screw mcdonalds, I'll stop by a cookery and nab me a bread and cheese on the way home to chill out with as I get lightly drunk instead.

  • @minniemingo2350
    @minniemingo2350 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Suppers of the 18th are closer to what we usually considered a supper here in Poland for years

  • @allendconder
    @allendconder 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I’m so glad I found your channel!! You put so much effort and love into what you make! You are a joy and I wish you the best!

  • @yankee2110
    @yankee2110 ปีที่แล้ว

    another good one, John. I started watching you because I feel food is one of the best ways of knowing more about the lives of the average man in history. You don't disappoint. Thanks.

  • @RebeccaTreeseed
    @RebeccaTreeseed ปีที่แล้ว

    I follow my Free Food Diet: what can I pick from my garden today? That translates to mostly soups and salads. I dehydrate same and it gives me winter soups. Sprouts and mini greens all winter. I bake bread, biscuits, crackers and make flatbreads. I started growing soft wheat a few years ago, better for flatbreads. I make vegetable relishes and slather relish on everything. Pickled peppers.
    It's a simple process, mainly vegetables. A dab of meat in the pot.
    My parents and grandparents ate from huge gardens, but the dab of meat was mostly wild game or backyard chickens. Mom traded eggs for raw milk. We made butter too.

  • @scottreese684
    @scottreese684 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Rather than 18th century, we opted for old country comfort last night. Sheila’s family is primarily German descent. (Mine is 50%) we did wiener schnitzel and spaetzle in cast iron with mushroom gravy. 21 century fast food can’t compete.

  • @crazysnake1096
    @crazysnake1096 13 วันที่ผ่านมา

    The townsends have gotten a lot of us through Covid and has become an essential part of our lives now. Keep up the great work and I will say that you and your channel are this generations Bob Ross of colonial knowledge.

  • @ShinerBockGirlz
    @ShinerBockGirlz ปีที่แล้ว

    Everytime I watch this channel I get hungry!!! Love this channel!

  • @RedstonekPL
    @RedstonekPL ปีที่แล้ว +1

    in europe (at least in the slavic countries) more often than not we still eat a big dinner during the middle of the day and a smaller supper during the evening

  • @railmaverick
    @railmaverick ปีที่แล้ว

    This is such an amazing view of history. Thank you.

  • @eekee6034
    @eekee6034 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    When I'm reading, I love find things entirely unlike what I'm expecting, too. :)
    Mmm! Carroway seed cake! My mother used to make a good one.

  • @gmkgoat
    @gmkgoat ปีที่แล้ว +16

    I like how he's like "well, the recipe calls for an eggshe- eh screw it I'm not doing that"

  • @hrani
    @hrani ปีที่แล้ว +2

    This sounds fairly similar to the Nordic meals and mealtimes. Light breakfast at eight, hearty lunch sometime between 10 to 12, big dinner between four and six, and then a light supper sometime between eight and going to sleep!

  • @Jennifer-qo4kz
    @Jennifer-qo4kz ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you.
    Just love learning about that time in history.
    Great great channel!
    👍🏻

  • @thorsforge2905
    @thorsforge2905 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What many lose is the concept of time of day. We in the modern world stay up very late because of our extra lighting. A working person of the 18th century was most likely asleep by 9pm at the latest. We in the modern world have shifted our waking hours much later based on our lighting and lifestyle.

    • @OhioDan
      @OhioDan ปีที่แล้ว

      It makes sense that it would change how the majority of people time their meals.

  • @bloodmoneyhistory6845
    @bloodmoneyhistory6845 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Working in a factory, I 100% agree with their ideas of lunch and supper. The second break is always the biggest meal for me, to replenish my energy and fuel me for the rest of the day.

  • @cosmicbrambleclawv2
    @cosmicbrambleclawv2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    "What do you think of when I say 'supper'?"
    I think that youre making me hungry even though I just ate 😂

  • @SpookyHerself_
    @SpookyHerself_ ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I love this series!

  • @dwaynewladyka577
    @dwaynewladyka577 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A very interesting contrast to how we have supper today. Cheers!

  • @markjordan4916
    @markjordan4916 ปีที่แล้ว

    Growing up and working on farms in the midwest, we had breakfast, dinner, and supper. Lunch was an in-between meal snack.

  • @lavkmr1
    @lavkmr1 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Working man supper was always eaten properly 😊

  • @GrandmaSandy
    @GrandmaSandy ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks so much for another great video full of inspiration and something yummy for dinner, but always something we can afford

  • @encozine
    @encozine 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Last time I heard the word supper at English classes. I'm glad I get to remember it to this day.

  • @spookerr
    @spookerr 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What a Great TH-cam channel. Thank you for this rich historic informative channel.

  • @RealityOrganized
    @RealityOrganized ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Good video. Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, American Heritage College Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary all pretty much agree the word “supper” comes to us from “sup”, from Old French for “soup”. So I always thought the meal supper was based on soup. But perhaps that was long before the 18th century.

  • @philipcarpenter1347
    @philipcarpenter1347 ปีที่แล้ว

    Makes me wonder how much other old wisdom we have forgotten. They had it right even without the research we mostly ignore to back it. Cheers and thanks.

  • @catherine59226
    @catherine59226 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I enjoyed this video! Thank you.

  • @Phlegethon
    @Phlegethon 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Bigger lunch smaller dinner makes more sense