The full English breakfast often consists of bacon, fried egg, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, toast, and grilled tomatoes, and is accompanied by tea or coffee.[1]
A full breakfast is a substantial cooked breakfast meal, often served in the United Kingdom and Ireland, that typically includes bacon, sausages, eggs, black pudding, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, and a beverage such as coffee or tea. It appears in different regional variants and is referred to by different names depending on the area. While it is colloquially known as a "fry-up" in most areas of the United Kingdom and Ireland, it is usually referred to as a "full English" (often "full English breakfast"),[2] a "full Irish", "full Scottish",[3] "full Welsh",[4] and "Ulster fry",[5] in England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively.
History and popularity
On its origin, Country Life magazine states, "The idea of the English breakfast as a national dish goes right back to the 13th century and the country houses of the gentry. In the old Anglo-Saxon tradition of hospitality, households would provide hearty breakfasts for visiting friends, relatives and neighbours".[6] The fried breakfast became popular in Great Britain and Ireland during the Victorian era, and appears as one among many suggested breakfasts in home economist Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861). Its popularity soared post–World War II and became a staple of the working class.[7] The protein-centric full breakfast is often contrasted (e.g. on hotel menus) with the lighter, carbohydrate-based alternative of a continental breakfast.[citation needed]
The "traditional" full breakfast[9] in the UK and Ireland includes back bacon[10] (or more rarely, streaky bacon),[11][12][13] sausage links (usually pork), eggs (fried, poached or scrambled), fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms and fried bread. Black pudding and baked beans are also frequently included.[14][15] Buttered toast, and jam or marmalade are often served at the end of the meal although toast is generally available throughout the meal.[16] In recent years, hash browns have become a popular inclusion.[17] Breakfast cereal or porridge often precedes the breakfast dish.
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.[18][19]
Regional variants
England
The British cafe (such as this one in Islington, London, with a "breakfast served all day" sign) typically serves the full breakfast throughout the day
A full breakfast in England can include bubble and squeak, but this is rare.
The "breakfast roll",[21] 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.[21] The breakfast roll is available from many petrol stations and corner shops throughout Ireland.[21]
Ulster
An Ulster fry served in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The potato bread is under the eggs, with the soda bread (soda farl) at the bottom.
In Ulster, the northern province in Ireland, the "Ulster fry" variant is popular throughout most of the province (chiefly in Northern Ireland and parts of County Donegal), where it is eaten not only at breakfast time but throughout the day. Typically it will include soda breadfarls and potato bread.[22]
Two key ingredients that distinguish the Welsh breakfast from the other "full" variations are cockles (Welsh: cocs) and laverbread (Welsh: bara lafwr or bara lawr) (a seaweed purée often mixed with oatmeal and fried).[28] 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.[4][29][30]
This style of breakfast was brought over by Irish and Britishimmigrants to the United States and Canada, where it has endured.[31]
Hong Kong
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.[32][33]
^in fact this "tradition" is rather new, probably developed since World War II. For the massive and varied Victorian Middle-class breakfast, see Flanders, Judith (2003) The Victorian House: Domestic Life from Childbirth to Deathbed, Harper Perennial, pp. 228–229. ISBN0007131895
^Gerald, Paul (12 July 2012). "The Full English". Memphis Flyer. Contemporary Media, Inc. Retrieved 30 July 2012. 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).
^Gerald, Paul (12 July 2012). "The Full English". Memphis Flyer. Contemporary Media, Inc. Retrieved 30 July 2012. 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.
^Foyster, Elizabeth and Whatley, Christopher A. (2009). A History of Everyday Life in Scotland, 1600 to 1800. Edinburgh University Press. p. 139. ISBN978-0748621576.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Davidson, Alan and Jaine, Tom (2006). The Oxford companion to food. Oxford University Press. p. 185. ISBN0192806815.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Welsh Government. "Wales.com – Food". Government of Wales. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012. 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.
![The full English breakfast often consists of bacon, fried egg, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, toast, and grilled tomatoes, and is accompanied by tea or coffee.[1]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Full_English_breakfast.jpg/440px-Full_English_breakfast.jpg)
