It's crunch time for that boring old picnic, says Yorkshire's Seabrook Crisps.

The traditional Yorkshire picnic of Cheese sandwiches, pork pies, hard boiled eggs and a thermos flask of tea is now a thing of the past, according to a new survey.

The people of Yorkshire are more likely to be found eating crisps and salad washed down with prosecco and some strawberries.

Once compulsory picnic items such as windbreaks, Frisbees and transistor radios have now been replaced by iPhones and iPads, portable speakers and disposable BBQs.

Researchers took a detailed look into how the quintessentially British picnic has evolved in Yorkshire over the past 50 years and found that, in addition to shifts in food and drink trends, hi tech equipment and modern gadgetry now also play an integral part.

The study revealed that traditional wicker picnic hampers have now being replaced by cool boxes – with almost  50% of Yorkshire folk now choosing the more modern option to carry their picnic fare.

However, the traditional picnic blanket is still the nation’s favourite “alfresco” essential, with over 60% of the region still bringing one along to their picnics.

The research of almost 2,000 Brits, commissioned for crisp company, Seabrook, also revealed that many staple picnic food and drinks of the 60s and 70s have fallen out of favour.

Fifty years ago, the humble cheese sandwich was the most popular picnic food in Yorkshire (72 per cent of Yorkshire people said they took cheese sandwiches to their picnics in the 60s and 70s).

Flasks of tea were also popular (60 per cent) as were hard boiled eggs (54 per cent), biscuits (53 per cent) and pork pies (49 per cent). 

But nowadays, once we’ve found the perfect spot, people in Yorkshire are more likely to be found tucking into crisps (44 per cent), salad (38 per cent), strawberries (35 per cent) and Cheddar cheese – not in a sandwich! (28 per cent).

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 (17 per cent), olives (20 per cent) and chicken wings (14 per cent). 

And the BBQ has now found its way into the modern picnic experience with nearly one in ten of people in Yorkshire taking a disposable BBQ along on their outings.

A spokesman for Seabrook, which carried out the research, said: “Whilst the nation’s 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.”

“British taste buds are ever changing but we’ll always hold certain foods, like crisps, close to our hearts.”

“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.”

The research also revealed alcohol plays a much bigger role in the modern-day picnic – with 33 per cent of the people of Yorkshire taking along beers or fashionable sparkling wines like Prosecco.

And where orange squash was once considered the ideal soft picnic drink – people in the region now prefer to opt for fizzy diet drinks, with 15 per cent of those polled claiming they take them along.

The study also uncovered a shift in the location of chosen picnic destinations, and also a change in who we are most likely to picnic with.In the 1960s and 70s the seaside was the preferred place to set down a blanket but now we are more likely to head for the Yorkshire countryside.

And picnics with friends rather than family are now on the increase, according to the stats which show that almost 30 per cent of Yorkshire folk now socialise with friends over a summer picnic.

Researchers also found many of people in Yorkshire like to splash out on expensive food from delis, baking cakes, pies and quiches from scratch were common tactics, as over a third think picnics have gone posh.

In fact one in three who took part in the study said picnics involved a considerable amount of planning, even down to which wine to pick to best accompany the cheeseboard.

You can find ideas for posh picnic recipes, here.

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