Where food comes from
Before the Industrial Revolution most people lived in the countryside and grew their own food. By Victorian times, many people lived in large towns and cities and had to buy their food. British farms and factories could not supply enough for everyone and so food had to be imported from overseas.
Which foods need to come from nearby?
Before the invention of refrigerators, it was very difficult to keep perishable food fresh. Most meat and dairy products therefore came from local farmers. In Victorian times, the development of faster transport meant that milk could be brought into towns from country areas by steam train. Butter could be imported from Holland by steam boat, and cheese and eggs from a number of European countries.
Which foods come from further away?
Many of the dried goods traditionally sold by grocers are imported from overseas. Spices and dried fruits have been imported into Europe from the Middle East and Asia for thousands of years. Tea from China was first imported into Britain over 350 years ago; from Victorian times it has also been imported from India and Sri Lanka. Coffee from Turkey, Iran and North Africa was very popular 300 years ago; today we also import coffee from South America.
How do the seasons affect food?
In the past, fruit and vegetables had to be eaten when they were ripe or made into preserves and pickles. Fresh eggs, meat, fish, poultry and game were best at certain times of the year although some could be pickled, smoked or salted. When tin cans were invented, food could be preserved much longer and also brought from overseas. Nowadays we freeze food, and fly chilled fresh food from overseas, so the seasons affect us less.
What foods are popular today?
Many people have come to live in Britain from other countries and have introduced their own kinds of cookery. Over the last forty years, foreign holidays have become much cheaper so more people have gone overseas and tasted different kinds of food. As a result shops stock all sorts of food from around the world.
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