SCOTTISH picnics have changed drastically over the years – with prosecco and strawberries taking the place of traditional sausage rolls and cheese sandwiches.
A new study has revealed that once compulsory items, such as windbreakers and transistor radios, have been replaced by iPhones and disposable BBQ’s.
The research also showed that traditional wicker hamper baskets have been replaced by cool boxes, with over 63% Scots choosing the more modern way of transporting their food.
The study commissioned for crisp company, Seabrook, also revealed that many staple picnic food and drinks of the 60s and 70s have also fallen out of favour.
50 years ago, the humble cheese sandwich was the most popular picnic food (78% of Scots said they took cheese sandwiches to their picnics in the 60s and 70s).
Flasks of tea were also popular (68%) as were hard boiled eggs (66%), biscuits (63%) and apples (54%).
But nowadays, once they’ve found the perfect spot, Scots are more likely to be found tucking into crisps (46%), salad (38%), strawberries (43%) and Cheddar cheese, as part of a cheese board, (30%).
Other popular picnic foods of today, which didn’t feature at all 50 years ago, are cured meats such as Parma ham, chorizo and salami (2%), olives (11%) and chicken wings (24%).
And the BBQ has now found its way into the modern picnic experience with more than one in five Scots taking a disposable BBQ along on their outings.
The research also revealed alcohol plays a much bigger role in the modern-day picnic – with 28% of Scots taking along beers or fashionable sparkling wines like Prosecco.
And where orange squash was once considered the ideal soft picnic drink – Scots now prefer to opt for fizzy water, with 19% of those polled claiming they take this along.
A spokesman for Seabrook said: “Whilst Scottish picnics are getting more adventurous, the humble packet of crisps is still the most popular picnic food, favoured amongst the cured meats, olives and prosecco.
“Picnics are a great, cost effective opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, get together with loved ones and enjoy favourite food and drinks and it’s great to see that in modern times this humble social occasion is still as popular as ever.”
