Ploughman's lunch a character comment that "A rural labourer who sits on the ditch-side with his bread and cheese and an onion has more enjoyment out of it than any Lucullus". The "Oxford English Dictionary" notes the first recorded use of the phrase "ploughman's lunch" as 1837, from the book "Memoirs of the life of Sir Walter Scott" by John G. Lockhart, but this stray early use may have meant merely the sum of its parts, "a lunch for a ploughman". While farm labourers usually carried their food with them to eat in the fields, similar food was for a long time
Nordic bread culture once a month, or more often during the summer. During storage, these breads gradually became drier and drier, even if they were carefully wrapped in cloth or placed in grain bins. However, dry bread was also more economical and eating fresh bread was considered a luxury. A high intake of wholegrain bread has been typical of Norwegian bread eating habits for both breakfast and lunch. A special preparation was used to make leavened oven baked bread longer-lasting. This was particularly necessary for ships’ crews on long voyages. This consisted of wholegrain balls cut in two and dried in an oven