A full breakfast is a traditional cooked meal, typically and originally eaten at breakfast, though now often served at other times during the day.
The full breakfast traditionally comprises several fried foods, usually including bacon and eggs although there are vegetarian alternatives, and is popular throughout Ireland and Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world. Depending on where it is served, it is called bacon and eggs , a fry , a fry up , The Great British breakfast , a full English breakfast , a full (or traditional) Irish breakfast , a full (or traditional) Scottish breakfast , a full Welsh breakfast or an Ulster Fry . The detailed composition of the breakfast varies from place to place. In Britain and Ireland, this cooked breakfast is often advertised as "Traditional English Breakfast" or "Traditional Irish Breakfast", but there is very little about it that is truly traditional in the historical sense, as it is, for the most part, a twentieth-century concoction.
The name "Bacon and eggs" was popularised by Edward Bernays in the 1920s. To promote sales of bacon, he conducted a survey of physicians and reported their recommendations that people eat hearty breakfasts. He sent the results of the survey to 5,000 physicians, along with publicity touting bacon and eggs as a hearty breakfast.
Tradition
The term "full breakfast" is used to differentiate it from the simpler continental breakfast of tea, coffee and fruit juices with croissants or pastries.
All-day breakfast
Many cafés and pubs serve the meal at all hours as an "all-day breakfast". It can be accompanied by orange juice and tea or coffee or, in a pub, an alcoholic drink.
Typical ingredients
The ingredients of a fry-up vary according to region and taste. They are often served with condiments such as brown sauce or ketchup.
Some of the additional ingredients that may be included in a full breakfast are:
- fried or grilled bacon, also referred to as "rashers" or "slices"
- baked beans
- fried bread
- black pudding
- bubble and squeak
- chips
- egg, fried, poached, scrambled or in a basket
- English muffins or scones
- French toast
- Fruit pudding in Scotland
- grits in the Southern United States
- hash browns
- kippers
- fried mushrooms
- pancakes (in the USA, Canada, and Ireland)
- sautéed potatoes, also known as home fries
- potato bread (also called "fadge" or tattie scone)
- sausages, sausage links or patties
- scrapple (in the Midatlantic US)
- sliced sausage (also known as Lorne sausage or square sausage, popular in Scotland)
- soda bread
- toast
- fried, grilled, or tinned tomatoes
- waffles
- white pudding
- kidneys, grilled or fried
Regional variants
Full English breakfast
The normal ingredients of a traditional full English breakfast are bacon, eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread or toast and sausages, usually served with a mug of tea. Black pudding is added in some regions as well as fried leftover mashed potatoes (called potato cakes). Originally a way to use up leftover vegetables from the main meal of the day before, bubble and squeak, shallow-fried leftover vegetables with potato, has become a breakfast feature in its own right. Hash browns and baked beans are an occasional modern addition.
When an English breakfast is ordered to contain everything available it is often referred to as a Full English, or a Full Monty. The latter's usage is explained by the Oxford English Dictionary: "Perhaps the most plausible (explanation) is that it is from a colloquial shortening of the name of Montague Maurice Burton (1885-1952), men's tailor, and referred originally to the purchase of a complete three-piece suit".
Full Irish breakfast
In Ireland, as elsewhere, the exact constituents of a full breakfast vary, depending on geographical area, personal taste and cultural affiliation. Traditionally, the most common ingredients are bacon rashers, sausages, fried eggs, white pudding, black pudding, toast, sauteed, sliced potato, and fried tomato. Baked beans, and mushrooms are sometimes included, as well as liver (although popularity has declined in recent years), and brown soda bread. A full Irish breakfast may be accompanied with a strong Irish Breakfast tea such as Barry's Tea, Lyons Tea, or Bewley's breakfast blend served with milk. Fried potato bread, farl, potato farl or toast is often served as an alternative to brown soda bread.
Ulster Fry
See also: Culture of Northern IrelandAn Ulster Fry is a dish similar to the Irish fry popular throughout Northern Ireland and the three counties of Ulster which lie in the Republic of Ireland (Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal).
A traditional Ulster Fry consists of bacon, eggs, sausages (either pork or beef), the farl form of soda bread (the farl split in half crossways to expose the inner bread and then fried with the exposed side down), sometimes pancake and potato bread Other common components include mushrooms or wheaten bread. All this is traditionally fried.
The Ulster Fry is often served for lunch and dinner in households and cafés around the province. Emigrants have also popularised the serving of an Ulster Fry outside Northern Ireland.
Between 2001 and 2007 a BBC Two Northern Ireland station ID was used during these opt-outs and featured the BBC Two logo eating an Ulster Fry.
Full Scottish breakfast
In Scotland, the traditional breakfast is porridge. Some Scots may have been uncomfortable with asking for an "English" breakfast, others (hoteliers) may have been uncomfortable offering it on their menu. So the traditional English bacon-and-eggs was renamed as a "Scottish" breakfast. Sometimes however, a "Full Scottish Breakfast", is differentiated by Scottish-style black pudding, haggis and tattie scones (potato scones). It may also include fried tomato, baked beans, fruit pudding (also fried), and oatcakes. In some instances, the regular "link" sausage is replaced with square sliced sausage also known as Lorne sausage.
Full Welsh breakfast
The traditional Welsh breakfast includes laverbread, a seaweed purée which is then mixed with oatmeal, formed into patties and fried in bacon fat. Cockles are also often eaten. Sometimes however, a "Full Welsh breakfast" will be listed on a Welsh hotel menu, but be identical in content to a Full English Breakfast.
North America
A full American breakfast consists of bacon, eggs, hash browns or home fries, toast or some other bread, fruit or juice, and coffee. It is often referred to as a "country breakfast" in many areas of the Midwestern United States. The terms "fry" and "full breakfast" are not generally used in North America, though hotels generally distinguish between a light "continental breakfast" and a hot, cooked breakfast.
In the Southern United States the meal is typically known as a "big breakfast" or "Sunday breakfast" and usually contains some combination of eggs, grits, toast or biscuits with white gravy, hash browns, potato pancakes or "breakfast potatoes", bacon, sausage, ham or steak, other meats such as scrapple or liver pudding, pancakes, cinnamon rolls or similar sweet pastries, all served with coffee and juice (usually orange or grapefruit).
In Canada, a full breakfast would be very similar to an American breakfast, but would sometimes contain Back bacon instead of strip bacon (although strip bacon is still common).
Central America
Ingredients include ham, sausage or bacon, eggs, much like a full breakfast elsewhere. A distinguishing feature is that fry jacks are also eaten. Fry jacks are fried pieces of dough, similar to beignets or sopapillas. Can also include items like toast, pancakes, or hashbrowns. Fresh orange juice is often added as a drink. Guatemala's version of the full breakfast includes fried plantains, tortillas, and refried black beans.
See also
References
- ^ David Else, 2003, Britain , Lonely Planet, ISBN 1740593383
- ^ Fried Rashers of Bacon and Poached Eggs Recipe - Mrs Beeton Revisited from The Foody
- ^ BBC NEWS | UK | R.I.P. Full English Breakfast
- ^ The Great British Breakfast
- ^ The Great British Breakfast
- ^ News Wales > Agriculture > Welsh breakfast in Brussels
- ^ UKTV Fo
Mashed Potato Pancakes Recipe -- Mr Breakfast
Another recipe from the world's largest database devoted solely to breakfast (Mashed Potato Pancakes) -- find a recipe or add one.
potatoes | breakfast potato recipes | breakfast or brunch recipes
try one of our potato recipes for breakfast or brunch.
Potato Casserole Recipe
A potato casserole recipe made with hash browns, sour cream, Cheddar cheese and topped with crushed cornflakes. Serve this casserole for a hearty breakfast, brunch, or dinner with ...
Breakfast Fried Potato Patties - Easy Vegetarian Breakfast Recipe ...
Breakfast Fried Potato Patties Ingredients: 8 potatoes, boiled and mashed; 1 cup flour; Egg replacer for 1 1/2 eggs; salt to taste; oil for frying; Preparation:
Breakfast Potato Skins Recipe -- Mr Breakfast
Another recipe from the world's largest database devoted solely to breakfast (Breakfast Potato Skins) -- find a recipe or add one.
Potato Pancake Recipe
A quick and easy potato pancake recipe made from potatoes, onion, milk, and eggs. Serve potato pancakes for breakfast or brunch.
Breakfast Potato Recipes
Start the day with these breakfast potato recipes. Here are some of our best potato recipes for the first meal of the day.
Potato Pancake Breakfast Scramble Sandwich Recipe - ABC News
Good Morning America, co-hosted by Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion, features recipes by gourmet chefs in the GMA test kitchen every morning. This recipe ...
Breakfast Potatoes - All Recipes
Looking for breakfast potato recipes? Allrecipes has more than 100 trusted breakfast potato recipes complete with ratings, reviews and cooking tips.
Sausage and Potato Breakfast Skillet - All Recipes
Home fried potatoes, sausage, onion, and green pepper make up this hearty all-in-one skillet breakfast.