Ploughman's lunch

jackyann

Hello, not sure if this exactly the correct board, but lots of sensible people here!
I'm going to do a fundraiser - actually in the evening (Ploughmen's tea?) and we think we should plate up the bread cheese, pickle etc. to save queues & general faffing.

My question is - how much cheese per portion to hand out? We will have extra for seconds.
Thanks for reading

nuatha

jackyann wrote: »

Hello, not sure if this exactly the correct board, but lots of sensible people here!
I'm going to do a fundraiser - actually in the evening (Ploughmen's tea?) and we think we should plate up the bread cheese, pickle etc. to save queues & general faffing.

My question is - how much cheese per portion to hand out? We will have extra for seconds.
Thanks for reading

I would do 50-60g if it was cheddar, 40-50 if stilton. along with a rolled slice of ham, a couple of leaves of crunchy lettuce, a slice of onion as rings, a spoonful of chutney, a pat of butter and a piece of baguette (approx 75mm long).
If you are trying to prep it all in advance, a large tupperware style box would keep the cut bread fresh for a few hours and this would be the last item to be plated.
HTH

joedenise

The recommended portion of a hard cheese, eg cheddar is 30g (a small matchbox sized piece).

If anyone is following a diet that would also be the right portion size. I would probably use pickled onions rather than sliced onions; mainly because they are already portion controlled and also because they tend to be less smelly!

If possible, it would be better to cut the bread as needed as baguettes dry out very quickly.

Denise

Lizling

I'd feel quite disappointed if I went out for a Ploughman's and only got a matchbox sized piece of cheese. It'd look really stingy. Not everyone will be on a diet!

joedenise

Lizling wrote: »

I'd feel quite disappointed if I went out for a Ploughman's and only got a matchbox sized piece of cheese. It'd look really stingy. Not everyone will be on a diet!

I agree but I only stated what is defined as a "portion" of cheese by the so called experts!

Denise

PasturesNew

The "whole point" of a Ploughman's is the cheese, it's the main event of the dish, so it shouldn't be scrimped on by diet-following-guidelines-for-fatties.

The size of the cheese will, in part, be determined by the size of the baguettes. What you should do is go to the deli counter and spot a piece about the right size (looks wise), then just ask them to weigh it for you. It's all "by eye" with a Ploughman's, what looks right, then find out how much that weighs.

If I had a ploughmans I'd expect:
A baguette, butter, cheese, pickled onions, lettuce, tomato, chutney.

Depending what the fundraiser is for, a local cheese or chutney producer, or even a bakery, might be prepared to supply you with the stuff free of charge in exchange for them being able to come along with the press photographers and do some PR photos. I'm sure they have several such invites/year, so your fundraiser would have to be "worthy" and not some "local mums raising £50 for little Tommy's first bike" event.

jackyann

Thanks all! We'll get a good deal on some excellent local cheese just in return for mentioning their name, and I'm going to go with 60g of very good Cheddar, with extra & blue available for seconds.
Thanks also for other advice