flipPloughman's with Cheddar for the Lab Packed Lunch
Ploughman's with Cheddar for the Lab Packed Lunch
Why this dish? Between the university canteen and long model-building sessions, a cold packed lunch taken to the Cavendish suited the non-stop days. The cold ploughman's — cheese, bread, pickle — is the quintessential English portable lunch.
A cold assortment to assemble yourself: crusty bread, a large chunk of farmhouse cheddar, pickled onions and chutney, butter. Nothing to cook, everything to assemble — perfect to slip into a satchel.
On days when we couldn't let go of the models, we'd take something to keep us going: a good slice of dry cheddar, yesterday's bread, a pickled onion to wake you up. We'd eat with one hand while turning the metal plates with the other. No need for a fork or fuss — a piece of cheese, a bite of bread, and the mind stays on the molecule. That's the true lunch of the busy researcher.
- •Aged farmhouse cheddar — a good chunk (fermented cheese)
- •Crusty country bread — a few thick slices (starch)
- •Pickled onions — 2-3 (acidity)
- •Chutney (Branston-style) — 1 spoonful (sweet-sour)
- •Butter — to taste (fat)
- •Apple — 1 (freshness)
Ploughman's with Cheddar for the Lab Packed Lunch
A cold assortment to assemble yourself: crusty bread, a large chunk of farmhouse cheddar, pickled onions and chutney, butter. Nothing to cook, everything to assemble — perfect to slip into a satchel.
Why this dish? Between the university canteen and long model-building sessions, a cold packed lunch taken to the Cavendish suited the non-stop days. The cold ploughman's — cheese, bread, pickle — is the quintessential English portable lunch.
On days when we couldn't let go of the models, we'd take something to keep us going: a good slice of dry cheddar, yesterday's bread, a pickled onion to wake you up. We'd eat with one hand while turning the metal plates with the other. No need for a fork or fuss — a piece of cheese, a bite of bread, and the mind stays on the molecule. That's the true lunch of the busy researcher.
Ingredients (period version)
- Aged farmhouse cheddar — a good chunk (fermented cheese)
- Crusty country bread — a few thick slices (starch)
- Pickled onions — 2-3 (acidity)
- Chutney (Branston-style) — 1 spoonful (sweet-sour)
- Butter — to taste (fat)
- Apple — 1 (freshness)
Ingredients
- Aged cheddar (12+ months) — 120 g (fermented cheese)
- Country bread or baguette — 1/2 (starch)
- Pickled onions — 3 (acidity)
- Fruit chutney or Branston pickle — 2 tbsp (sweet-sour)
- Salted butter — 20 g (fat)
- Apple — 1 (freshness)
Method
- Cut the cheddar into large irregular chunks (not thin slices).
- Slice the bread thickly and butter it.
- Arrange on a board or wrap in paper: cheese, bread, pickled onions, a spoonful of chutney.
- Add an apple cut into wedges.
- Assemble each bite yourself: bread, cheese, a dab of pickle.
How it was made : The "ploughman's lunch" formalised in pubs dates mainly from the 1950s-60s (promoted by the Cheese Bureau), but it revives a very old peasant habit: bread, cheese and an acidic condiment — the cold meal carried to the fields as to the laboratory.
The contemporary twist : Present the elements aligned on a long wooden board, "electrophoresis gel" style: the cheddar chunks like well-separated DNA bands.
James Watson & Francis Crick · Charactorium
