What Food Did The Victorian Working Class Eat To Survive?

Near the start of the 19th century, it is estimated that two-thirds of England’s population lived in poverty. At the end of the Victorian era, this figure was still very high, at over 25%. Only one to two percent of Victorian England belonged to the upper class, while 15% were in the middle classes. Which means over 80% of people in Victorian England were in the working classes. The quality of food for them was poor and limited in terms of quantity. To have daily nourishment when money was always scarce, they used creativity, imagination and all of their available resources. So, what food did Victorian working people eat to survive?
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0:00 Welcome To Victorian Working Class Food
1:00 Survival Food for the Victorian Working Class
5:00 Drinks, Soups & Broth for the Victorian Working Class
Victorian Food Playlist:
• VICTORIAN FOOD
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[@VictoriantoModern]

Which food and drink would you like best as a working-class Victorian?

[@pamelasimone5084]

Probably bone broth and soups with root vegetables. Lots of oatmeal.

[@carollizc]

My Nan was born in 1896, and her father, a bricklayer, was killed in a work accident in 1906. She often said that they were so poor that they often had bread and dripping for te, only without the drippong, because they didn't have any. She was sent from London to Wales when she was twelve to work in the home of some well-to-do industrialist. It must have seemed like heaven, having a regular siurce of healthy food.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@carollizc, Thank you for this great account of how your Nan experienced the difficulty of finding nourishment in the Victorian era, and how she overcame it. We really appreciate insightful comments like this! Cheers,

[@Heygoodlooking-lk9kg]

I'm 74 and me and my sisters often had bread and dripping in the 50's,,,,a real treat was when my mother would get a sheep's head from the butcher for 3 old pence and make a huge pan of broth,,,, happy days

[@VictoriantoModern]

@@Heygoodlooking-lk9kg, Thank you for sharing those memories! Cheers.

[@joannedibben2352]

My grandma was born in 1920 he dad was a fisherman.grandma had to knock neighbours door to sell fish before school started she was one of 14 and they were poor great grandma made fish casserole most days so they always had a meal but my grandma said she craved nice food

[@Heygoodlooking-lk9kg]

@@carollizc I used to work 4 hours shovelling coal on Saturday mornings when I was 11yrs old,,, earned 2 bob (10 pence) and I thought I was rich,,,, happy days

[@junedarling6657]

I’m a post war baby, and my mother was always trying to get butter and eggs into my sister and me. We had to beg her to stop buying Jersey milk (extra expense) because we found it too rich. I can see why now, as she was a child in World War 1, when food was scarce.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@junedarling6657, Appreciate the comment! Cheers.

[@Englishroserebecca]

My Grandma was the eldest child of nine. She used to say she saw more meal times than meals. She had an abscess under a tooth and her mouth swelled up like a balloon. It was the only week her mum could afford some eggs and she couldn’t open her mouth to eat the egg.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@Englishroserebecca, it is comments like these that provide all of us with valuable insights on the Victorian time period. Thank you!

[@pamelasimone5084]

@@Englishroserebecca I felt so bad for your Grandma not bringing able to eat the egg. It was a source for nutrients that were so hard to get if one was poor. I am glad she survived allowing you to be here to tell her story.

[@Englishroserebecca]

@@pamelasimone5084 thank you so much. She lived to age 86 worked very hard from a very young age as both her parents died when she was 13. All nine children were split up. She went to live with an aunt who didn’t really want to take her. She was always hungry. Got married to a sick man. Buried a few still born babies in a common/paupers grave as she couldn’t afford a grave. I won’t bore you with the rest but it makes me realise what nonsense we complain about these days.

[@pamelasimone5084]

The poor in the states are many of these foods too. They brought the instructions with them through oral traditions. People here also added edible wild berries and greens to their diets. My grandmother learned a lot of these foods from her mother, who immigrated to the USA from Ireland in the late 1800s. Added to her repertoire were some staples from Germany added when she married my great grandfather. They met after they arrived here. He came from Germany in the late 1800s. These were all things I ate from time to time when my grandmother would fix them more from nostalgia than necessity. She was the one who showed me edible plants, like dandelions, and berries that were free, healthy, and even tasty.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@pamelasimone5084, Thank you for this interesting and informative comment! Truly appreciated. Cheers.

[@amyj5987]

Great video, it is telling that today we can see that these staples are still eaten today, by rich and poor alike. Necessity made it necessary for some of these food items to be consumed, now even some of these things are " fancied " in restaurants

[@VictoriantoModern]

@amyj5987, Thank you and great observations! Cheers.

[@kenyonbissett3512]

Makes more sense why babies were nursed longer if another baby didn’t take the previous babies place. Also, limited nutrition would contribute to acquiring illnesses and makes reasonable the 50% death rate of children under 5 yrs of age. Those sheep’s feet don’t have much meat, the born when added to soup/stew added needed nutrients.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@kenyonbissett3512, We appreciate your thoughtful observations! Cheers.

[@junedarling6657]

Bone broth is pure protein.. A whole chicken carcass is best. Loads of collagen. A must for post facial surgery. Wonderful for hair and nails. Make it for rapid post surgery recovery. That’s what to do with the Sunday roast remains.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@junedarling6657, This is interesting information and commentary! Thank you.

[@arleneT99]

People couldn't afford chicken in the 1960s let alone the 1860s

[@junedarling6657]

@@arleneT99 That’s why you needed to use everything. A lot of country, and suburban, folk kept a few chickens. My first house, in a very respectable road built in the 1890’s, had a clause stating that you weren’t allowed to keep a pig in the 50 by 25 foot garden! In the 1970’s I just thought “As if!” but I guess some people might have been used to that, a few miles further out. Cottagers, and the first council house tenants, had really big gardens so they could feed their families. No shoes for the kids’s feet, but simple food for their tummies.

[@paulsawczyc5019]

Healthier than what we have today.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@paulsawczyc5019, Thank you for your interesting observation! Cheers.

[@CFinch360]

Healthier? I don't think so: as another commenter has pointed out "Limited nutrition would contribute to acquiring illnesses and makes reasonable the 50% death rate of children under 5 yrs of age" Milk was often tainted with tuberculosis, bread was adulterated, malnutrition was rampant.

[@paulsawczyc5019]

@@CFinch360 You are talking about starvation - yeah, that's not healthy at all.

[@ERNIE555]

Uk heading that way again

[@sarah-kk4om]

My great grandparents ate mostly porridge.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@sarah-kk4om, Thank you for sharing that information! Cheers.

[@sunshinyday1901]

These are the foods I was raised on: porridge, bean and veg stew, bread, vegetables we grew ourselves. Didn't do me any harm

[@VictoriantoModern]

Thank you for sharing this personal experience! Cheers.

[@joannedibben2352]

Sounds healthy good food🌈

[@MegaLivingIt]

Poor dears.🌻

[@VictoriantoModern]

@MegaLivingIt, Yes, these were very challenging times to survive. Cheers.

[@skr8674]

I eat oatbran every morning, cheap and healthy.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@skr8674, Yes, that is a good food for healthy nutrition! Cheers.

[@dennwren]

Many of these foodstuffs are still eaten and enjoyed , in parts of the Uk, today.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@dennwren, Thank you for that observation! Cheers.

[@paulsawczyc5019]

UK is not famous for great food.

[@gemmag.2988]

​@@paulsawczyc5019Times have changed and the UK is on a par with the best cuisine found in Europe.

[@paulsawczyc5019]

@@gemmag.2988 Yeah, but we're talking about food for common folk - of course rich people will have good "cuisine" at the restaurant. Even pizza is considered a luxury if you don't have much money.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@@gemmag.2988, Appreciate that observation! Cheers.

[@charlessmith3710]

Butter i want butter!

[@SiiriCressey]

Brown soup sounds tasty.

[@VictoriantoModern]

@SiiriCressey, I agree that brown soup would be a good option compared to some of the other "nourishment". Cheers!

[@SiiriCressey]

@@VictoriantoModern I might try it.

[@garycope4830]

The Victorian era did exist outside London !

[@barbara1407]

Yes, country folk would have had a much more varied diet during Victorian times.

[@markhodgson2348]

The porridge is burnt again

[@VictoriantoModern]

@markhodgson2348, With that passage from Jane Eyre, would you like us to do an episode on Charlotte Bronte or Victorian West Yorkshire in the future? Cheers.

[@jendagesse4524]

So sad seeing this poor people

[@VictoriantoModern]

@jendagesse4524, Yes, it was truly an unfortunate situation for many in the Victorian Working Class when it came to nutrition. Appreciate your comment!

[@paulsawczyc5019]

They deserve it - for allowing the rich to enslave them.

[@charlessmith3710]

Maybe we can learn to eat food like this as a result of biden harris

[@CFinch360]

Maybe we can learn to eat food like this-cheap & healthy-without bringing politics into it?

[@elizalam5253]

This narrator has an ANNOYING voice.