full breakfast

Many of the ingredients of a full breakfast have long histories, but "large cooked breakfasts do not figure in English life and letters until the 19th century, when they appeared with dramatic suddenness".O’Connor, K. (2009). Cuisine, nationality and the making of a national meal: The English breakfast. In Nations and their histories: Constructions and representations (pp. 157-171). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. Across the British Isles and Ireland, early modern breakfasts were often breads served with jams or marmalades, or else forms of oatmeal, porridge or pottage.Anderson, H. A. (2013). Breakfast: a history. AltaMira Press. Eggs and bacon started to appear in breakfasts in the seventeenth century, but they were not the only meats consumed in breakfasts at that time. The rising popularity of breakfast was closely tied to the rise of tea as a popular morning drink. Of note were the lavish breakfasts of the aristocracy, which would centre on local meats and fish from their country estates.{{cite web |last1=Shaw Nelson |first1=Kay |title=The Gastronomic World of Sir Walter Scott |url=https://electricscotland.com/familytree/frank/scott.htm |publisher=Electric Scotland |access-date=3 August 2023}}

The fried breakfast became popular in Great Britain and Ireland during the Victorian era. Cookbooks were important in the fixing of the ingredients of a full breakfast during this time, and the full breakfast appeared in the best-selling Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861). This new full breakfast was a pared-down version of the country breakfasts of the upper class, affordable to the emergent middle classes and able to be prepared and consumed in a shorter time before a day's work.{{cite news |title=History Of The Traditional English Breakfast |agency=English breakfast society |url=https://englishbreakfastsociety.com/full-english-breakfast.html |access-date=21 October 2021}} The full breakfast reached its peak of popularity in Edwardian Britain, and despite a decline following the food shortages of World War II, new technologies of food storage and preparation allowed it to become a staple of the working class in the 1950s. Since then the full breakfast has reduced in popularity as a daily meal, due to perceived concerns about health and its lengthy preparation compared to convenience-food breakfasts. However, the meal remains popular as an occasional, celebratory or traditional breakfast.

It is so popular in Great Britain and Ireland that many cafés and pubs offer the meal at any time of day as an "all-day breakfast". It is also popular in many Commonwealth nations. The full breakfast is among the most internationally recognised British dishes along with bangers and mash, toad in the hole, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, roast beef, Sunday roast, cream tea and the Christmas dinner.{{cite book |last=Spencer |first=Colin |title=British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-231-13110-0}}

{{redirect|English breakfast|the drink|English breakfast tea}}

{{Redirect|Full English|other uses|The Full English (disambiguation)}}

File:Alex Cafe, Islington - geograph.org.uk - 453902.jpg (such as this one in Islington, London, with a "breakfast served all day" sign) typically serves the full breakfast throughout the day.]]

File:Set breakfast (1) - Café Belchers.jpg]]

There is no fixed menu or set of ingredients for a full breakfast. A common traditional English breakfast typically includes back bacon, sausages (usually pork), eggs (fried, poached or scrambled), fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, black pudding, baked beans, and toast or fried bread.{{cite web |title=Full English Breakfast Recipe |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/stressfreefullenglis_67721 |access-date=17 March 2022 |publisher=BBC}}{{cite news |date=29 March 2018 |title=The Full English |url=https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/the-full-english/ |agency=Jamie Oliver.com}}{{cite news |title=EXCLUSIVE: Expert declares key ingredient doesn't belong in Full English for savage reason |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/expert-declares-fried-bread-not-32565795 |work=Daily Mirror |access-date=10 June 2024 |date=12 April 2024}} Bubble and squeak is a traditional accompaniment but is now more commonly replaced by hash browns.{{cite news |title=Bubble and shriek! Why war has been declared on the humble hash brown |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/apr/03/bubble-and-shriek-why-war-has-been-declared-on-the-humble-hash-brown#:~:text=No%20less%20than%20the%20English,place%20of%20bubble%20and%20squeak. |work=The Guardian | date=3 April 2023 |access-date=3 August 2023}}

A poll by YouGov in 2017 found the following to be on more than 50% of 'ideal' Full English breakfasts: bacon; sausage; beans; bread (either toast or fried); eggs (fried, scrambled or poached); hash browns; mushrooms (fried or grilled); and tomatoes (fried, grilled or tinned).{{cite web |title=Breakfast |url=https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/s5tcb6u1l8/InternalResults_Full%20English_W.pdf |publisher=YouGov |access-date=3 August 2023}} Black pudding was the least popular of the traditional ingredients, chosen 35% of the time, and 26% of people included either chips or sautéed potatoes.

Buttered toast, and jam or marmalade, are often served at the end of the meal, although toast is generally available throughout the meal.{{cite news|title=How to make the perfect full English breakfast|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11029015/How-to-make-the-perfect-full-English-breakfast.html|date=25 June 2015}}

As nearly everything is fried in this meal, it is commonly known as a "fry-up". In the UK it is sometimes referred to as a "Full Monty". One theory for the origin of this term is that British Army general Bernard Montgomery, nicknamed 'Monty', was said to have started every day with a "Full English" breakfast while on campaign in North Africa during the Second World War.Parkinson, Judy (2011). Spilling the Beans on the Cats Pyjamas: Popular Expressions – What They Mean and Where We Got Them. Michael O'Mara Books{{cite book |last1=Dent |first1=Susie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfJbeGQkja0C&q=%22full+monty%22 |title=What Made The Crocodile Cry?: 101 questions about the English language |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191650604 |pages=151–152}}

Vegetarian or vegan alternatives can be made or are available in cafes and restaurants.{{cite web |title=Wetherspoons launches full English breakfast for vegans |date=5 October 2018 |url=https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/wetherspoons-launches-full-english-breakfast-for-vegans/ |publisher=Vegan Food and Living |access-date=4 August 2023}} Meat alternative sausages and bacon may often be used,{{cite web |last1=Nice |first1=Miriam |title=Vegan fry-up |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/vegan-fry |publisher=BBC Good Food |access-date=4 August 2023}}{{cite web |title=Vegan Traditional Full English Breakfast |date=15 October 2019 |url=https://www.theedgyveg.com/2019/10/15/full-english-breakfast-vegan-traditional-full-english-breakfast/ |publisher=The Edgy Veg |access-date=4 August 2023}} with either scrambled tofu or egg substitutes. The role of the mushroom and tomatoes is generally larger in these versions.

{{Redirect|Irish breakfast|the tea|Irish breakfast tea}}

File:Full irish breakfast 55.jpg

In Ireland, brown soda bread, fried potato farls, white pudding and boxty are often included.{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Gerald|title=The Full English|date=12 July 2012|publisher=Contemporary Media, Inc.|url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-full-english/Content?oid=3222629|work=Memphis Flyer|access-date=30 July 2012|quote=The Irish might have soda bread, a potato pancake called boxty, white pudding (what you're used to, but with oatmeal in it) or black pudding (the same, but with blood cooked in).}}

The "breakfast roll",{{cite news|first=Brian|last=McDonald|title=Top breakfast baguette rolls into Irish history|date=12 May 2008|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/top-breakfast-baguette-rolls-into-irish-history-1372872.html|work=Irish Independent|access-date=30 July 2012}} consisting of elements of the full breakfast served in a French roll, has become popular in Ireland due to the fact it can be easily eaten on the way to school or work. The breakfast roll is available from many petrol stations and corner shops throughout Ireland.

File:Full Ulster fry.jpg, Northern Ireland. The potato bread is under the eggs, with the soda bread (soda farl) at the bottom.]]

In Ulster, the northern province of Ireland, the "Ulster fry" variant is popular throughout most of the province, where it is eaten not only at breakfast time but throughout the day. Typically it will include soda bread farls and potato bread.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgk7mp3 "Is the Ulster fry the best cooked breakfast in the UK?"]. BBC. Retrieved 29 October 2018 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624205952/http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgk7mp3 |date=24 June 2019 }}

File:Scottish breakfast.jpg

In Scotland there are some distinctively Scottish elements of the full breakfast which include Scottish style or Stornoway black pudding, Lorne sausage (sometimes called "square sausage" for its traditional shape), Ayrshire middle bacon and tattie scones. Occasionally haggis, white pudding, fruit pudding{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Gerald|title=The Full English|date=12 July 2012|publisher=Contemporary Media, Inc.|url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-full-english/Content?oid=3222629|work=Memphis Flyer|access-date=30 July 2012|quote=The Scots like to have tattie (potato) scones, fruit pudding (actually a sausage made with very little fruit), and, of course, their curse on the earth, haggis.}} or oatcakes are included.{{cite book|isbn=978-0748621576|title=A History of Everyday Life in Scotland, 1600 to 1800|author= Foyster, Elizabeth and Whatley, Christopher A. |page=139|year=2009|publisher=Edinburgh University Press}}{{cite book|title=The Oxford companion to food|author=Davidson, Alan and Jaine, Tom |isbn=0192806815|page=185|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006}}{{cite book |title=Maw Broon's Cookbook |date=18 October 2007 |publisher=Waverley Books |isbn=978-1-902407-45-6 |page=18}}

Early editions of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable referred to a Scotch breakfast as "a substantial breakfast of sundry sorts of good things to eat and drink".{{Cite book|last=Brewer|first=E. Cobham|author-link=E. Cobham Brewer|title=Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable|publisher=Harper & Brothers|location=New York|page=812|url=https://archive.org/stream/brewersdictionar000544mbp#page/n819/mode/2up}}

Two key ingredients that distinguish the Welsh breakfast from the other "full" variations are cockles ({{langx|cy|cocs}}) and laverbread ({{langx|cy|bara lafwr}} or {{lang|cy|bara lawr}}) (an edible seaweed purée often mixed with oatmeal and fried).{{cite news |title=This is how to cook the perfect full Welsh breakfast |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/how-cook-perfect-welsh-breakfast-14946791 |access-date=6 August 2019 |work=Wales Online}} Fried laver with cockles and bacon was the traditional breakfast for mine workers in the South Wales Coalfield, but a breakfast may have also included Welsh sausages, mushrooms and eggs.{{cite web|url=http://www.wales.com/en/content/cms/english/about_wales/food/food.aspx|title=Wales.com – Food|access-date=30 July 2012|author=Welsh Government|publisher=Government of Wales|quote=Laverbread, not actually bread at all but seaweed, is rolled in oatmeal, fried into crisp patties and served with eggs, bacon and fresh cockles for a traditional Welsh breakfast.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601015050/http://www.wales.com/en/content/cms/English/About_Wales/Food/Food.aspx|archive-date=1 June 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |last1=Rodenas |first1=Angeles |title=Welsh caviar: should we all start eating laver? |website=TheGuardian.com |date=13 July 2021 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/13/welsh-caviar-should-we-all-start-eating-laver |access-date=13 July 2021}} Smoked fish may be served as a modern alternative to the traditional full breakfast.

{{see also| List of American breakfast foods}}

This style of breakfast was brought over by Irish and British immigrants to the United States and Canada, where it has endured.[https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-full-english-breakfast-hops-the-pond-1444080283 "The Full English Breakfast Hops the Pond"]. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 February 2018

A few establishments in Hong Kong offer all-day breakfast or brunch options (hybrid of English and North American items) from formal restaurants to low-frills establishments.{{cite web|url=http://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1794272/brunch-time-10-bargain-all-day-breakfasts-hong-kong|title=Hong Kong brunch: 10 best bargain all-day breakfasts|work=scmp.com|access-date=26 January 2017|archive-date=21 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621154854/http://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1794272/brunch-time-10-bargain-all-day-breakfasts-hong-kong|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/1933764/hong-kongs-best-kept-secrets-all-day-breakfasts-hk48-sleepy|title=Hong Kong's best-kept secrets: all-day breakfasts for HK$48 in a sleepy border village|date=6 April 2016|work=scmp.com}}

{{portal|United Kingdom|Ireland|Food}}

• List of breakfast topics

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• {{Cite book|title=The English Breakfast: The Biography of a National Meal, with Recipes|author1-first=Kaori|author1-last=O'Connor|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-0857854919}}
• {{Cite book|title=Scotland - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture|author1-first=John|author1-last=Scotney|date=1 November 2009|publisher=Kuperard|isbn=9781857336214}}

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• {{Commons category-inline}}
• {{Wiktionary-inline}}
• {{wikibooks-inline|Cookbook:English Breakfast}}
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/stressfreefullenglis_67721 Stress-free full English breakfast]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080512083419/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3758517.ece Why the great British breakfast is a killer]{{subscription required}}

{{Breakfast topics}}

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