Breakfast, in America (and elsewhere)

[RazorDingo]

Supertramp, presumably fresh from a tour across the US of A, and no doubt enchanted by a nation filled with gleaming Dennys and HoJos that would gladly serve them waffles and syrup at four in the afternoon, entitled their sixth album Breakfast in America. (Incidentally, this album also has one of the best covers in the history of rock..)



As someone who has spent considerable time on both sides of the atlantic, there are indeed significant differences between the way Brits and Americans go about breakfasting.

The very term "full English breakfast" was invented by European hoteliers who were originally puzzled by guests demanding oatmeal, fried eggs and pork products, with copious streams of toast, at an hour when most Frenchmen were interested in little more than a Gaulois and a trip to the pissoir.

The Brits are the only people I know who eat fish for breakfast: kippers, which is a type of smoked (and then grilled) herring. They are also known to put fried tomatos and mushrooms alongside the eggs and bacon. And, for reasons best known to themselves, they often include baked beans on the breakfast menu, which must make for memorable staff meetings later in the day.

North Americans, finding themselves blessed with forests full of trees yielding delicious sugary sap, spent the next four hundred years developing breakfast foods designed to take advantage of the situation. Thus giving us waffles, french toast, and pancakes of a type totally alien to the delicate crepes eaten by their European forebearers. North America is also, as noted above, one of the few places where you can regularly order yourself breakfast at literally any hour of the day. Whether this is the result of our hardworking, three-shift, mass production economy, or simply our "give me what I want, when I want it - and a lot of it!" American culture - I just can't tell.

America also gave us the concept of ordering your eggs fried to order, in increasing levels of doneness from sunny side up all the way to over well. I usually tell British visitors to specify the restful-sounding over easy, which is considerably more appetizing than the Japanese term medamayaki (literally "fried eye") - used to describe an egg cooked on one side only.

America's other blessed contribution to breakfast culture was the idea of the "bottomless" coffee cup. Order coffee or tea in a British restuarant, and "a cup" is literally what you'll get. Requests for more are met with rolled eyes and a discrete addition to the bill. American waitresses, on the other hand, use the refill as a chance to flirt with the customer in the hopes of increasing their tip. A better metaphor for the differences between US and British commercial culture I cannot imagine.

Sadly, these days breakfast seems to be a meal fewer and fewer people in either country seem to take seriously. More than once I've stayed at a friend's house, only to awaken the next morning to find their kitchen devoid of anything suitable for breakfast - not even a package of fossilized Capn' Crunch. The same people who tell me they are "too busy" to eat breakfast are the same ones who complain of their digestive woes and struggles to lose weight. (Tip: Maybe if you ate something before leaving the house you wouldn't need to eat that double Whopper with cheese at lunch..)

[curtis909]

nice post thank you

[Millay]

Nice post, you are also forgetting one of the best british breakfasts and that is of course toast and marmite, only us brits would think spreading the by products of the brewing process on our toast was a good idea... but we were right been my mornign breakfast since i was a kid, the full english is saved for holidays and hung over sundays, oh you also forgot to mention that we have a fried blood and entrail type meat thing called black pudding another delicacy!

[kap49]

Great album. Great group.

[Copycat]

I dunno why folk skip breakfast, I love it, Full English's are blood amazing, not something to have everyday, but when you do have them, if anyone wants pics, here's a normal setup, minus hash browns and Black pudding



Got to have a cup of tea with it as well, tis the law

I want one now ;-;

[luvmysuper]

The inclusion of fish for breakfast is also an Asian Icon. Rice is also a staple. A Typical breakfast in the Philippines is Fried Milkfish (Bangus) Rice, and Eggs. Along with the obligatory instant coffee and instant orange juice, LOL

[The Nid Hog]

I'm a huge fan of Japanese breakfasts too, although I can't get any of my Japanese friends to admit that they still eat it.

Here's my favorite lineup:

Grilled salmon
Steamed rice served with raw egg and a little soy sauce--mix it together to make a rice porridge
Miso soup
Toasted squares of nori
Veggie side dish (usually a leftover from dinner)
Pickles
Tea

[The Nid Hog]

The inclusion of fish for breakfast is also an Asian Icon. Rice is also a staple. A Typical breakfast in the Philippines is Fried Milkfish (Bangus) Rice, and Eggs. Along with the obligatory instant coffee and instant orange juice, LOL

Throw in some longanisa and I'll be over for breakfast!

[luvmysuper]

I'm a huge fan of Japanese breakfasts too, although I can't get any of my Japanese friends to admit that they still eat it.

Here's my favorite lineup:

Grilled salmon
Steamed rice served with raw egg and a little soy sauce--mix it together to make a rice porridge
Miso soup
Toasted squares of nori
Veggie side dish (usually a leftover from dinner)
Pickles
Tea

+2 delish!

[johsa]

English breakfast is one of my favorites. I wouldn't want to eat it too often but once in a while it is perfect. It is also the perfect vacation hotel breakfast since you could enjoy the sites and don't have to worry about an early lunch.

The only things that bugs me is that lately most hotels have removed my favorite part of the English breakfast, fried break.

[TstebinsB]

The inclusion of fish for breakfast is also an Asian Icon. Rice is also a staple. A Typical breakfast in the Philippines is Fried Milkfish (Bangus) Rice, and Eggs. Along with the obligatory instant coffee and instant orange juice, LOL

What's instant orange juice?

[luvmysuper]

Throw in some longanisa and I'll be over for breakfast!

Ahh, that would be Longsilog (as opposed to Bangsilog) and is also great

What's instant orange juice?

Instant Orange juice is a powder called 8 O'Clock, which is similar to Tang.

[knlgskr]

Fun thread. Not too fond of fried/deep-fried anything for breakfast or anytime for that matter (personal pref). About anything else is ok. Ate liver frequently when living on a ranch/farm and still like it baked or broiled. Navy used to serve beans (Navy beans?) which I would have preferred to SOS. Marmite is a bit salty but otherwise not bad especially on Rye bread (ate cake yeast as a kid & still like the taste). Not too particular about what is for breakfast but don't have much of a sweet tooth. Tried black pudding on a cruise which had a lot of British and have eaten worse but probably would have liked it better if had been exposed to it earlier in life. Fish is a great idea & love it. Heck, have eaten "thousand year old & horse piss eggs" for breakfast in Hong Kong & elsewhere is Asia (beats most bologna). When hungry ALMOST anything is good/acceptable as long as it is prep'd properly. Worst breadfast ever; burned/charred SOS after having nothing to eat for about 24 hr. If I can't/won't eat something it may well be inedible; did some going hungry in my single digit years & still don't take food for granted.

Thanks for the thread R D-go & opportunity to participate. Rest of U, thank U 2.

[Mr Peat]

The Irish have a similar breakfast as the British. I was raised on English style food because Grandma came over to the USA after WWII. She met Grandpa near the London area. I have no idea if there was an USA air strip near the town of New Market. This is where she came from. I still have relatives over the great pond. So I grew accustomed to many things and one thing ole granny believed in was nothing was wasted.

It didn't matter if the ham had 3" of mold on it. Just cut it off and start on the fresh section. Or the time she would make a wonderful stew out of meat that made the rainbow seem dull in color.

[Fnord5]

I'm a huge fan of Japanese breakfasts too, although I can't get any of my Japanese friends to admit that they still eat it.

Here's my favorite lineup:

Grilled salmon
Steamed rice served with raw egg and a little soy sauce--mix it together to make a rice porridge
Miso soup
Toasted squares of nori
Veggie side dish (usually a leftover from dinner)
Pickles
Tea

[Prince]

You won't see that on the menu at McD's.

[The Nid Hog]

No, but there's a chain of fast food places in Japan called Yoshinoya. They're famous for huge bowls of sauteed meat (of mysterious origin) served over rice. However, in the morning you can get a breakfast pretty much like that.

[Phog Allen]

Nice post, you are also forgetting one of the best british breakfasts and that is of course toast and marmite, only us brits would think spreading the by products of the brewing process on our toast was a good idea... but we were right been my mornign breakfast since i was a kid, the full english is saved for holidays and hung over sundays, oh you also forgot to mention that we have a fried blood and entrail type meat thing called black pudding another delicacy!

Absolutely love the Marmite on toast. Marmite is VERY expensive here in the States. The larger jar is about 30USD. Ouch. I do use copious amounts of Frank Cooper's Vintage Oxford Marmalade. Any of you chappies out there who have a hearty appetite and constitution owe to yourself to try the dark, bitter marmalade. It is good for what ails you. As to the full English breakfast, it is quite common to us Midwesterners. It is not exactly the same but quite close given so many of us out here are of Anglo/Celtic/Germanic descent. Large portions of bacon rashers, sausages, fried eggs, hashed potatoes, etc. You get the picture. About the only thing different is the lack of pork and beans(wouldn't bother me a whit to have them for breakfast)and the black and white puddings. There is a significant difference between American pork sausages and British puddings(sausages my fellow Yanks). Ours tend to be entirely pork. Very rich and fatty. The white puddings I have picked up at our local British store have a lot of cereal type filler in them and are a bit lighter on the palate. I actually quite like them. The black puddings are not bad at all. Try them before dismissing them out of hand. I suspect any of you with old Scotch/Irish, Brit or Deutch heritage had grandparents that ate something very close to black puddings. Most would have called them blood sausages. I love this sort of heavy duty breakfast meal. Especially in the winter. However, like a lot of other folks I have had to cut back on the amount served. The waistline was taking a hit. I have dropped nearly two stone in the last three months and want to keep it off but yeah, there is nothing like a plate full of eggy bread, bacon, cooked eggs and soilders, and a huge cup of steaming coffee. Come on fall!

Regards, Todd

BTW, could one of our Isle friends tell me whether there is any difference between a pork "banger" and a pudding? I ASSume they are the same but does one contain all pork and the other pork with filler? Or, is this a completely interchangeable use of words? Thanks.

[knlgskr]

Absolutely love the Marmite on toast. Marmite is VERY expensive here in the States. The larger jar is about 30USD. Ouch. I do use copious amounts of Frank Cooper's Vintage Oxford Marmalade. Any of you chappies out there who have a hearty appetite and constitution owe to yourself to try the dark, bitter marmalade. It is good for what ails you. As to the full English breakfast, it is quite common to us Midwesterners. It is not exactly the same but quite close given so many of us out here are of Anglo/Celtic/Germanic descent. Large portions of bacon rashers, sausages, fried eggs, hashed potatoes, etc. You get the picture. About the only thing different is the lack of pork and beans(wouldn't bother me a whit to have them for breakfast)and the black and white puddings. There is a significant difference between American pork sausages and British puddings(sausages my fellow Yanks). Ours tend to be entirely pork. Very rich and fatty. The white puddings I have picked up at our local British store have a lot of cereal type filler in them and are a bit lighter on the palate. I actually quite like them. The black puddings are not bad at all. Try them before dismissing them out of hand. I suspect any of you with old Scotch/Irish, Brit or Deutch heritage had grandparents that ate something very close to black puddings. Most would have called them blood sausages. I love this sort of heavy duty breakfast meal. Especially in the winter. However, like a lot of other folks I have had to cut back on the amount served. The waistline was taking a hit. I have dropped nearly two stone in the last three months and want to keep it off but yeah, there is nothing like a plate full of eggy bread, bacon, cooked eggs and soilders, and a huge cup of steaming coffee. Come on fall!

Regards, Todd

BTW, could one of our Isle friends tell me whether there is any difference between a pork "banger" and a pudding? I ASSume they are the same but does one contain all pork and the other pork with filler? Or, is this a completely interchangeable use of words? Thanks.

Amen Phog amen. Prefer tea to coffee but drink little T and no C; probably am always a bit "wired". Not much on the Fs but the Cs & Pros am "Jake" wi' me. Is Marmalade what baby chicks say as in look at the egg marmalade?

[Fnord5]

^
Minister of exotic foreign languages please?