Children's food has often been demarcated from the food of adults in being plain, less-rich - or so it has been advised. Working in the early half of the twentieth century, Pye Henry Chavasse and Frederic Truby King are just two of the writers who advocated that children eat a plain, but wholesome diet which could be better digested by children's supposedly less-developed constitutions. This idea had a provenance going back centuries, yet even today the idea that children should eat plainer, less 'fussy' food persists in some quarters.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
Children's literature in the earlier part of the twentieth century gives a strong sense of such a diet. Edith Nesbitt's Edwardian stories are replete with entries about children eating dishes such as boiled potatoes and minced beef. Enid Blyton also seemed to relish the more humble foodstuffs such as boiled eggs. In Five Go Off in a Caravan (published in 1946), boiled eggs dipped in salt, accompanied by bread and butter become a veritable feast when enjoyed on a beautiful evening. Given rationing was still in place at this time, elevating the simpler foods in life may well have been a practical necessity alongside giving a sense of what children's food 'ought' to be.
Perhaps, though, there was a more practical reason for the kind of diet advocated for children. Repurposing leftover foods from the older members of the family may well have been one such rationale. The food historian: Andrea Broomfield notes that foods we tend to think of fondly in England today - foods given whimsical names such as 'toad in the hole' and 'bubble and squeak' - are actually Victorian in origin. They were intended to be made from the remainders of dishes from a previous day (presumably eaten by adults), minced up and repurposed for the children. Perhaps the inventive names assigned to such foods mirrored the creativity of the cooks who devised ways of reinvigorating what can sometimes be quite unpalatable leftovers or maybe having a quirky name disguised the fact it was merely leftovers on offer.
Such 'nursery meals' continue in use today and they (and their names) are often regarded fondly. 'Toad in the hole' (sausages cooked in batter) is often cooked from scratch (not from leftovers) as deemed delicious in its own right. It does, however, seem ironic that there was a neat 'fit' between dishes deemed suitable for children and a practical use for leftover food.
References
Truby King, M. (1943) Mothercraft (16th impression), London: Whitcombe and Tombs Limited
Chavasse, P. H. (1948) Advice to a Mother on the Management of her Children (11th edition, revised by Charles C.H Chavasse), London: Cassell.
Byton, E. (1946) Five Go Off in a Caravan, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1946.
Broomfield, A. (2007) Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History , London, Praeger.
Add comment
Comments
An extremely interesting and insightful look at the historical relationship between children and food.
What is considered ‘children’s food’ is hugely cultural. In the UK it is usual for popular restaurants to supply a separate children’s menu rather than offering smaller portions for children from the main menu. The food on offer for children is generally beige and bland.
I can remember sitting in a tapas bar in London, at lunch time, watching a Spanish mother with her two children who were tucking in to dishes such as calamari, sardines and potato bravos. Across the road was a Mcdonald’s where local children were eating burger and chips.
Fascinating insight into what children have been fed over the centuries. Reminded me of when I used to play in the garden with a kitchen made out of a cardboard box.