How Has The English Breakfast Changed With Time?

[klypos]

Breakfast is my favourite meal. I like a good start to the day, and I would rather miss out at midday than at breakfast.

But I'm wondering if, in the modern world, we have lost a few things that were once breakfast favourites.

Some of my favourites are savoury "things" on toast or with toast - pate, creamed mushrooms, omelettes, poached eggs, cheese on toast have almost disappeared in the commercial world. You have to be in a very posh hotel to get kippers on demand, and kedgeree is a remote dream found in 1930s novels ...

I blame those baked beans and hash browns, but another of my favourites is beans on buttered crumpets - never seen "out in public".
And I am quite fond of those Spanish fritata things with beans for breakfast, as well.

So what unusual and interesting dishes do you remember being fed regularly for breakfast? Please leave out references to toast and dripping ...

[Graeme]

I love kippers for breakfast, trouble is I'm tasting them for the rest of the day but kippers with toast and a hot cuppa...drooling
I also like kedgeree but haven't had it for years...perhaps a recipe for that would be in order?

[Not Delia]

Mmm, kippers. Thanks for the idea. We had some yesterday with Portobello mushrooms, toast and a cup of tea. But we had it for supper, not breakfast.

I was going to do a series of breakfasts around the world on our expat site, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside...

In some parts of Asia it's quite usual to get noodle soup or rice (congee) for breakfast. The only thing that seems to be constant regardless of where you are in the world is that eggs are extensively used as breakfast items.

What sort of breakfasts are the norm in your part of the world?

[Ted]

A bowl of cereal and a mug of tea or coffee is the norm for me. Sometimes I get a bit more adventurous and have a bacon buttie.

I used to like going to the caff round the corner on a Saturday morning. Full English and the Saturday paper - what a great way to kick off the weekend. Its closed now though.

[Not Delia]

I used to like a pub in Edinburgh that did superb Sunday brunches. You got your breakfast and plenty of coffee, plus all the Sunday papers. Then you could move to the other room where they had really great live jazz and plenty of choice of real ales. What a way to spend a Sunday!

[Mr Not Delia]

Sounds like bliss. Especially the real ale bit. Not sure I'd have been too clever on the Monday morning, though.

The Germans are very much into that kind of thing on a Sunday - they call it Frühschoppen, which translates roughly as "early jar" (Schoppen is a pretty vague term for a measure of liquid). The music that accompanies it may or may not be jazz, though.

[MrBacon]

I used to like a pub in Edinburgh that did superb Sunday brunches. You got your breakfast and plenty of coffee, plus all the Sunday papers. Then you could move to the other room where they had really great live jazz and plenty of choice of real ales. What a way to spend a Sunday!

Heyheyheyheyhey! I live in Edinburgh and that sounds like something I would enjoy very much indeed. What is the name of the wonderful place?

And in response to the original question, I couldn't say how british breakfasts have changed, but cheese on toast is not uncommon? I've seen it in several places and it's one of my favourite snacks..

[Not Delia]

Hi Mr Bacon

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry, I don't remember the pub's name - it was about 30 years ago! It was near the Grass Market along the road going away from the direction of the Castle. It was in an old building which had previously been used as some kind of cellar for storing barrels or something. It would be great to find out it's still there but you know how these kind of places change...

Yeah, cheese on toast is a great quick-fix - any time.

(BTW, this forum is pre-moderated to prevent spammers but we've turned off the pre-mod function for you now.)