Lunch Recipes

Lunch, the abbreviation for luncheon, is a light meal typically eaten at midday.The origin of the words lunch and luncheon relate to a small snack originally eaten at any time of the day or night. During the 20th century the meaning gradually narrowed to a small or mid-sized meal eaten at midday. Lunch is commonly the second meal of the day after breakfast. The meal varies in size depending on the culture, and significant variations exist in different areas of the world.

With the onset of industrialization in the 19th century, male workers began to work long shifts at the factory, severely disrupting the age-old eating habits of rural life. Initially, workers were sent home for a brief dinner provided by their wives, but as the workplace was removed farther from the home, working men took to providing themselves with something portable to eat during a break in the middle of the day.

The lunch meal slowly became institutionalized in England when workers with long and fixed hour jobs at the factory were eventually given an hour off of work to eat lunch and thus gain strength for the afternoon shift. Stalls and later chop houses near the factories began to provide mass-produced food for the working class, and the meal soon became an established part of the daily routine, remaining so to this day.

In many countries and regions lunch is the dinner or main meal.[9] Prescribed lunchtimes allow workers to return to their homes to eat with their families. Consequently, where lunch is the customary main meal of the day, businesses close during lunchtime. Lunch also becomes dinner on special days, such as holidays or special events, including, for example, Christmas dinner and harvest dinners such as Thanksgiving; on these special days, dinner is usually served in early afternoon. Among Christians, the main meal on Sunday, whether at a restaurant or at home, is called "Sunday dinner", and is served after morning church services