60% of Wales was owned by 570 families, most of whom did no farming. Instead, they employed workers, who were forced to vote Tory or lose their jobs. Around the end of the 19th century, the increase in coal mining and steel works around Wales led to the immigration of Italian workers. The workers brought families who integrated their culture into Welsh society, bringing with them Italian ice cream and Italian cafes, now a staple of Welsh society. In the 1960s, isolated communities were unable to access produce that the majority of Britain would such as peppers or aubergines. Artisan Welsh produce was limited or non-existent, farms rarely made their own cheese, and Welsh wine was of poor quality. By the 1990s, historical Welsh foods were going through a revival. Farmers' markets became more popular, Welsh organic vegetables and farm-made cheese started to appear in supermarkets. Other modern Welsh characteristics are more subtle, such as supermarkets offering salty butters and laverbread or butchers labelling beef skirt as 'cawl meat'. Restaurants are promoting the quality of Welsh ingredients, encouraging people to purchase Welsh produce and creating new dishes using them. This has meant that Welsh products can find their way into the higher-priced delicatessens of London or North America. However, the regular diet of Welsh people has been more influenced by India, China and America. The most popular dish is chicken tikka masala, followed by burgers or chow mein. Regional variations There are some variations in the foods that are eaten around the different areas of Wales. These variations trace their roots back to medieval cooking. Ingredients were historically limited by what could be grown; the wetter climate in highland areas meant that crops were restricted to oats, whilst the more fertile lowland areas allowed the growth of barley or wheat. Coastal inhabitants were more likely to include seafood or seaweed in their meals, whilst those living inland would supplement their farmed cereals with the seeds of land weeds to ensure there was enough to eat. The invasions of the Romans and Normans also had an effect on the fertile areas which were conquered. The people there learned more "sophisticated eating habits". Conversely those who remained in wilder areas kept the traditional approaches to cooking; tools such as the pot crane continued to be used as late as the 20th century. The only region that has a significant difference from the