Ploughman's lunch

A ploughman's lunch is an originally British cold meal based around bread, cheese, and fresh or pickled onions. Additional items can be added, such as ham, green salad, hard boiled eggs, and apple, and usual accompaniments are butter and a sweet pickle such as Branston. As its name suggests, it is most commonly eaten at lunchtime. It is particularly associated with pubs, and often served with beer; the saltiness of the cheese was noted to enhance the "relish of the beer."

Beer, bread, and cheese have been staples of the British diet since antiquity, and have been served together in inns for centuries. However, the specific term "ploughman's lunch" is believed to date from the 1950s, when the Cheese Bureau, a marketing body, began promoting it in pubs as a way to increase the sales of cheese, which had ceased to be rationed following the end of World War II. Its popularity increased as the Milk Marketing Board promoted the meal nationally throughout the 1960s.