1980s

The 1980s was a time when some gradual changes in society began to be really felt. Crucial to the shift in eating habits was the growth in the number of women who worked outside the home, and particularly the increase of the number of women with young children who went out to work.

At home we were getting more adventurous in the kitchen. Thanks to TV chefs like Madhur Jaffrey (pictured) our spice racks were no longer confined to jars of curry powder.

Dish of the day

People became more health conscious in the 1980s. Pasta, which is low in fat and a good source of carbohydrates, really took off.

It was also the decade of speed - the birth of the microwave meant that meals could be ready in minutes.

In some ways this was a decade of contradictions: on the one hand we saw the popularity of delicate nouvelle cuisine and yet this was also the decade that the hamburger took off in the UK.

Food facts

Perhaps equally significant for the way we eat was the rise in people living alone and the fall in the size of the average household. This too was part of a long-term trend.

Men and women were marrying later and having fewer children, more adults of working age were living alone, partly because of the delay in marriage but also because of the increase in the rate of divorce and separation, and people living longer.

The decade also saw a growing divide between rich and poor. While better-off families were paying less tax and enjoying the abundance of food, unemployment rose to levels not experienced since the 1930s and the benefits that unemployed people received were reduced in value.

One of the most memorable ads of the decade - the Gold Blend instant coffee couple - was targeted at an important new section of the market, young single people with their own homes.

Shopping

Microwaves accelerated the growth of convenience foods, speeding cooking times and ending the need for some foods to be defrosted before cooking.

An ever-increasing range of ready-cooked frozen meals became available, easing the pressure on hard-working families.

Even more significant for the future, perhaps, was the spread of the new cook-chill technology, pioneered by Marks and Spencer, which allowed fresh dishes to be bought ready-made and heated up at home.

A growing range of fresh deserts and ready meals became available during the course of the decade.

Supermarkets, now being replaced by out-of-town superstores, each with more than 2325m² of selling floor, had the space to display all the new lines.

Sainsbury's product range rose from 7000 in 1980 to 17,000 in 1993.

It wasn't just the shops that were getting bigger. The supermarket chains were themselves becoming fewer and bigger as they built new shops and bought up smaller companies across the country.

And the power of the supermarket chains grew as they centralised their purchasing and distribution, and could dictate exactly what was grown and how food was manufactured.

The 1980s were the decade of the sandwich - and the microwave. Marks and Spencer started to sell its hugely popular sandwiches in 1980 and prawn mayonnaise became the best-seller.

The small independent bakers saw an opportunity to protect their businesses from the increasingly fierce competition of the supermarkets and transformed themselves into fast-food outlets, providing sandwiches, pies and pasties to the growing takeaway market.

And 1980 was the first year that plastic milk bottles appeared in supermarkets.

Taste

At a time when fewer people were likely to be preparing food and cooking in traditional ways, the technology to provide ready-to-eat food was developing fast.

Food face of the decade

Madhur Jaffrey first introduced Indian cooking to British kitchens in the 70s.

With her book, An Invitation to Indian Cooking, she demystified a cuisine previously sampled only in restaurants. When her cookery series was first aired on the BBC in 1982, attempting Indian dishes at home took off, reflecting a growing interest in world food.