Food Consumed in the Valleys From My Tribute to the Rhondda Valleys

Food

The food eaten at this time was fairly basic and although the quantity of food eaten by people was less than we eat today, it would seem from recent studies by experts that the quality and balance of their diet was much healthier than ours today. One hot meal would be eaten each day when the miner returned home from the pit. Welsh cawl (soup) was popular or otherwise a meat and potato dinner. Our Ebbw Vale source is also very good for the food of the period 1900-1914 and its price:

Milk was 1 1/2 d a pint, butter 10 1/2d to 1/ld a lb, eggs 1 d, sugar 1 lb for 3 1/2d, tea l0d to 1/10 a lb, large loaves 5 1/2d, small 3d, pork pies 2d, cooked ham 1/ 6d to 1 / 1Od a lb, oranges 1/2d to Id each, Gold Flake cigarettes were 10 for 3d, Lucky Star 6 for Id. Bananas 2 for 1 1/2d ... 1/2d and Id bars of plain chocolate ... Id ribbons of liquorice ... 1/2d paper bags of sherbet ... ice-cream in 1/2d or Id wafers ... Fish and chips shops selling fried fish 2d and 4d and chips l d and 2d.