British Breakfast: Theory

     If we have a quick look at The Great British Breakfast (1981), by Read J. and Manjon M., British Breakfast has a real history. In Tudor times, current breakfast was "bread, butter, cheese and bacon", fruits were not eaten because they were quite expensive, so they were reserved to rich people. In the seventeenth century, tea and coffee revolutionized the way people had their breakfast. Indeed, people drank them instead of beer or wine during breakfast. 

However, one thing has not changed and is still in the plate of British people at breakfast: the eggs.

They are often served poached, fried or boiled. 

Let's have a look at one author of cook books of the 1800s, Eliza Acton who gives a recipe of boiled eggs in her book Modern Cookery (1845): 

'First put some boiling water into a large basin and let it remain for a few seconds, then turn it out, lay in the eggs, and roll it over to take the chill off the shell, that it may not crack from the sudden application of heat; and pour in quite boiling water from a kettle, until it is completely immersed. Put a plate over it instantly, and let it remain upon the table, for twelve minutes, when it will be perfectly and beautifully cooked, entirely free from all flavour and appearances of rawness, and yet so lightly and delicately dressed as to suit even persons who cannot take eggs at all when boiled in the usual way.' 

     Eggs were often served with bacon (fried or grilled) or ham. People of that time could also have eggs and fried or backed in the oven pork sausages. 

     Another famous element eaten during breakfast was porridge. More often eaten during Winter, a bowl of oatmeal and milk is very nutritive and is a good way to keep the body warm. Also called Gruel, this particular dish is described in some books such as Jane Eyre (1847) by Bronte C. It appears twice in the novel, the first one is when she first came at Lowood and they all have burnt porridge even if they are hungry and the second time is when Jane is homeless and a woman give her a bowl of congealed porridge that the pigs would not eat. So, porridge in this particular novel is introduced to emphasized the fact that Jane is poor and has to eat and be grateful to people or leave the meal and starve. 

eggs, bacon and toast

    Nowadays, British people have a lot of possibilities of things to eat when they are having their breakfast. "Full breakfast" is the term used to describe this meal today. It can be composed of fruits, fruits juice, cereals, meat, eggs, alcoholic drinks or coffee or tea or milk, pancakes, porridge, potatoes, muffins... 

    Usually people have a quick breakfast during the week, a bowl of cereals or biscuits and milk or coffee and a real "full breakfast" during the week end with bacon and eggs for example. However, it is more and more difficult to afford a real full breakfast every day or week end because meat and other things are quite expensive. 

video of the preparation of a full English breakfast