Edible Edwardians

The Edwardian era was one of decadence and glamour. Coming just after the Victorians, Edwardian chefs and food enthusiasts wanted to continue the legacy of their adventurous ancestors by continuing to find new and exotic food to put on the plates of the British. However, what also came to be defined in this period of time was the divide between the poor and the rich. In this post I’ll give some examples of how extravagant the rich were with their food choices compared to the poor; usually stuck having just one or two meals a day.

The way that food fashion began to change in this era however, was the fact that ingredients we take for granted like sugar, were being cooperated more and more into the diets of everyday people. This wasn’t usually the case in the times before as sugar and coffee etc. were considered luxuries. Yet, due to economical circumstances and the slow decline of the empire exotic ingredients became more available for the wider public. As well as this more influence came in from Europe with the influence of the French making French food extremely popular as well as things like afternoon tea.

However this did not stop the upper classes with their showing off. They were inclined to have huge meals with courses that went on forever (a running theme of the rich throughout time!) and these usually came with supplies of decadent wine and spirits. Sophistication was its height during the Edwardian period and this was something that rich folk wanted to put across through the food they made.

The Telegraph posted an Edwardian menu in 2002 which highlights exactly how fancy the Edwardians could be. For instance, looking at the recipe for “Puree de pommes Parmentier, crouton de huitre” (fancy leek and potato soup and an oyster crouton) we can see that the Edwardians were desperate for others to feel their wealth.  Here is the recipe:

Puree de pommes Parmentier, crouton de huitre

 (serves 6)

Escoffier's puree de pommes Parmentier is really the forerunner of vichyssoise: a simple enough leek and potato soup, but velvety smooth and enriched with cream. The oyster crouton is from Mrs Marshall.

 For the soup

2 lb 3oz/1kg floury potatoes

4 large leeks (white part only)

2oz/55g butter

2 pints/1 litre chicken or vegetable stock

Pinch of curry powder

6 fl oz/150ml double cream

A little milk

Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks. Rinse well. Clean and slice the leeks. Melt the butter in a pan, add the leeks and sweat until soft. Add the potatoes and the stock, bring to the boil and simmer until completely tender. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and rub through a sieve (better than blending them, which can make the soup gluey). Puree the leeks in a blender with a little of the stock, and a pinch of curry powder.

Return the sieved potatoes to a clean pan, add the pureed leeks, the rest of the stock and the cream. Mix well with a whisk so the soup is velvety smooth. If it seems a little thick, thin with some milk. Reheat the soup thoroughly, without boiling, before serving.

For the oyster crouton

6 slices white bread

Little clarified butter or oil

2 glasses white wine

1 glass water

6 large live oysters, in their shells, scrubbed clean

1 tbsp of cream

A sprig of chervil, finely chopped

Use crimped pastry cutters to stamp out six pretty oyster-sized ovals from the white bread slices. Fry in clarified butter or oil until golden brown.

Bring the wine and water to the boil and add the oysters. Replace the lid and leave for just two minutes. Take off the heat and remove the oysters. The shells should have opened a fraction. Open them and remove the poached oyster whole, pouring any juices back into the pan. Strain these winey juices into a clean pan through a cloth, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a couple of tablespoonfuls and add the cream. Reduce till thick and glossy, take off the heat, and stir in the chervil.

 To serve

Ladle the hot soup into warmed plates. Place the fried bread crouton in the centre. Place the warm poached oyster on the crouton. Spoon over a little of the creamy sauce and garnish the bowl with a few sprigs of chervil. Serve at once.

Just looking at all the ingredients is a massive contrast to a poor Edwardian persons meal. According to historians they were lucky to get one meal a day and this would usually be something that consisted of the some of following staples: bread, jam, potatoes, bacon and dripping. Things like meat were considered a treat and could only be brought once or twice a week so unless you liked jam sandwiches you were buggered.  It is something that many writers of the time used in their work when highlighting the differences between rich and poor and something that many still use to show how little the divide between classes has become.