Breakfast

File:Breakfast at the Black Bear Diner.jpg

A typical American breakfast, composed of a waffle, fruits, juice and scrambled eggs

Template:Sidebar Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.<ref name=a5/> Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regions and traditions worldwide.

History

In Old English, a regular morning meal was called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}},<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the word dinner, which originated from Gallo-Romance desjunare ("to break one's fast"), referred to a meal after fasting.<ref>Albala, p. 21</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Around the mid-13th century, that meaning of dinner faded away, and around the 15th century "breakfast" came into use in written English to describe a morning meal.<ref name=a5>Anderson, p. 5</ref>

Ancient breakfast

Ancient Egypt

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In Ancient Egypt, peasants ate a daily meal, most likely in the morning, consisting of soup, beer, bread, and onions before they left for work in the fields or work commanded by the pharaohs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The traditional breakfast believed to have been cooked in ancient Egypt was fūl (made from fava beans, possibly the ancestor of today's ful medames), baladi bread, made from emmer wheat, and falafel, and a mixture of fava beans with onions, garlic, parsley and coriander.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ancient Greece

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In Greek literature, there are numerous mentions of Template:Transliteration, a meal taken not long after sunrise. The Iliad notes this meal with regard to a labor-weary woodsman eager for a light repast to start his day, preparing it even as he is aching with exhaustion.<ref name="Anderson, pg 9">Anderson, p. 9</ref> The opening prose of the 16th book of the Odyssey mentions breakfast as the meal being prepared in the morning before attending to one's chores.<ref>Homer (2005) The Odyssey. London: Macmillan. p. 265. Template:ISBN</ref> Eventually Template:Transliteration was moved to around noon, and a new morning meal was introduced.

In the post-Homeric classical period of Greece, a meal called Template:Transliteration was typically consumed immediately after rising in the morning.<ref name="Anderson, pg 9"/> Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Template:Transliteration) consisted of barley bread dipped in wine ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Template:Transliteration), sometimes complemented by figs or olives.<ref>Flacelière R. La Vie quotidienne en Grèce au temps de Périclès. Paris: Hachette, 1988 (1st edn. 1959). p. 205. Template:ISBN, translated in English as Daily Life in Greece at the Time of Pericles. London: Phoenix Press, 2002 Template:ISBN</ref> They also made pancakes called Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}),<ref>ταγηνίτης, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus</ref> or Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}),<ref>ταγηνίας, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus</ref> all words deriving from Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), meaning "frying pan".<ref>τάγηνον, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus</ref> The earliest attested references on Template:Transliteration are in the works of the 5th century BC poets Cratinus<ref>Cratinus, 125, Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta</ref> and Magnes.<ref>Ricotti, Eugenia Salza Prina (2007) Meals and recipes from ancient Greece. Getty Publications. p. 111. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Dalby, Andrew (1996) Siren feasts: a history of food and gastronomy in Greece. Routledge. p. 91. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Spiller, Gene A. (1991) The Mediterranean diets in health and disease. AVI/Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 34. Template:ISBN</ref> Another kind of pancake was Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), from Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), "of flour or dough of spelt",<ref>σταίτινος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus</ref> derived itself from Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), "flour of spelt".<ref>σταῖς, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus</ref> Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistae mentions Template:Transliteration topped with honey, sesame and cheese.<ref>Atheneaus, The Deipnosophists, 646b, on Perseus</ref><ref>Dalby, Andrew (2003) Food in the ancient world from A to Z. Routledge. p. 71. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Athenaeus and Olson, S. Douglas (2011) The Learned Banqueters, Volume VII: Books 13.594b-14, Loeb Classical Library. pp. 277–78. Template:ISBN</ref>

Ancient Rome

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Romans called breakfast {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. It was usually composed of everyday staples like bread, cheese, olives, salad, nuts, raisins, and cold meat left over from the night before.<ref>Albala, p. 20</ref> They also drank wine-based drinks such as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a mixture of wine, honey, and aromatic spices.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 1st century Latin poet Martial said that {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was eaten at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, while 16th century scholar Claudius Saumaise wrote that it was typically eaten at 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. It seems unlikely that any fixed time was truly assigned for this meal.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Roman soldiers woke up to a breakfast of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, porridge similar to the Italian polenta, made from roasted spelt wheat or barley that was then pounded and cooked in a cauldron of water.<ref>Katz, Solomon H. and Weaver, William Woys (2002) Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Vol 1. p. 244. Charles Scribner & Sons. Template:ISBN</ref>

Middle Ages (500–1500)

Europe

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File:Medieval baker.jpg

A medieval baker with his apprentice. As seen in the illustration, round loaves were among the most common.

In the European Middle Ages, breakfast was commonly eaten by working people, as well as children, the elderly, the sick, while the upper classes didn't speak of or partake in eating in the morning. Eating breakfast meant that one was poor, was a low-status farmer or laborer who truly needed the energy to sustain his morning's labor, or was too weak to make it to the large, midday dinner. Monarchs and their entourages would spend a lot of time around a table for meals. Only two formal meals were eaten per day—one at mid-day and one in the evening. The exact times varied by period and region, but this two-meal system remained consistent throughout the Middle Ages.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Café na fazenda (1), N.ELAC.jpg

Breakfast in Brazil

In the 13th century, breakfast when eaten sometimes consisted of a piece of rye bread and a bit of cheese. Morning meals would not include any meat, and would likely include Template:Convert of low alcohol-content beers. Uncertain quantities of bread and ale could have been consumed in between meals.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

By the 15th century, breakfast in western Europe often included meat.<ref>Anderson, p. 11</ref> By this time, noble men were seen to indulge in breakfast, making it more of a common practice, and by the early 16th century, recorded expenses for breakfast became customary. Breakfast in eastern Europe remained mostly the same as the modern day: a "continental breakfast". The 16th century introduction of caffeinated beverages into the European diet was also an addition to breakfast; it was believed that coffee and tea aid the body in "evacuation of superfluities".<ref>Anderson, p. 12</ref>

Modern breakfast (1500–present)

Africa

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Traditionally, the various cuisines of Africa use a combination of locally available fruits, cereal grains and vegetables, as well as milk and meat products. In some parts of the continent, the traditional diet features milk, curd and whey products. A type of porridge is most commonly eaten. In the book The Bible cyclopædia (et al.) published in 1843, it was documented that during this time in the Arab world, Bedouins often utilized locusts mixed with butter for breakfast, spreading the mixture on unleavened bread.<ref>Goodhugh, p. 779</ref>

Egypt

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In the book The Bible cyclopædia (et al.) published in 1843, it was documented that Egyptians were early risers that sometimes had a first meal consisting of coffee along with the smoking of a pipe, and did not eat breakfast until noon.<ref name="Bible cyclopædia">Goodhugh, p. 843</ref> At this time, it was documented that Egyptian breakfast foods included bread, cheese, eggs, butter, curds, clotted cream and stewed beans.<ref name="Bible cyclopædia"/> In addition, fava beans are an established national breakfast dish.<ref>Bsisu, May (2005). The Arab Table: Recipes and Culinary Traditions. HarperCollins. p. 105. Template:ISBN</ref>

Asia

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File:A traditional family breakfast in the Isan, Thailand.JPG

A family breakfast in the Isan region of Thailand

Middle East

In the Middle East region of Asia, Template:Transliteration refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their Template:Transliteration (fast) during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Template:Transliteration is one of the religious observances of Ramadan, and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Template:Transliteration is done right after Template:Transliteration (sunset) time. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims replace traditional breakfast with Template:Transliteration, an Islamic term referring to the meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before Template:Transliteration during daylight hours. The meal is eaten before Template:Transliteration (dawn).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Traditional Levantine Breakfast with a Variety of Local Delights.jpg

Traditional Levantine Breakfast with a Variety of Local Delights.

Japan

In Japan, it is common to eat miso soup and rice porridge for breakfast.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Lebanon

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In the book The Bible cyclopædia (et al.) it was documented that Template:Circa, poor Lebanese people would consume raw leeks with bread for breakfast.<ref>Goodhugh, p. 755</ref>

Europe

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File:Savoury part of sea breakfast on Viking Gabriella.jpg

Buffet breakfast on the ship MS Gabriella

Austria

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The croissant appears to have originated in Vienna, Austria, in 1683.<ref>Calvel, Raymond (2001). The Taste of Bread. Springer. p. 141. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Scott-Hamilton, Carolyn (2012). The Healthy Voyager's Global Kitchen: 150 Plant-Based Recipes From Around the World. Fair Winds. p. 115. Template:ISBN</ref>

France

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File:Petit dejeuner.jpg

A continental breakfast

French breakfasts are often similar to the continental breakfast.<ref>Kittler, Pamela Goyan; Sucher, Kathryn P. (2007). Food and Culture. Cengage Learning. p. 151. Template:ISBN</ref> French breakfast pastries include apple turnovers, brioche, croissant<ref name="Clarke">Clarke, Stephen (2012). 1000 Years of Annoying the French. Open Road Media. p. (unlisted). Template:ISBN</ref> and pain au chocolat.<ref>Edelstein, Sari (2010). Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 138. Template:ISBN</ref> Croissants have been described as becoming a standard fare in French breakfast cuisine by 1875.<ref name="Clarke" />

Netherlands

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Breakfast usually consists of bread with a wide variety of cold cuts, cheeses and sweet toppings; such as hagelslag, vlokken, muisjes, Template:Interlanguage link, chocolate spread, treacle (a thick, dark brown sugar syrup called stroop), apple butter and peanut butter.

The word waffle derives from the Dutch word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which itself derives from the Middle Dutch {{#invoke:Lang|lang}},<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and is likely the origin of the food as it is known today.<ref>Duda, Carlene (2007). Beyond Oatmeal: 101 Breakfast Recipes. Cedar Fort. p. 83. Template:ISBN.</ref>

United Kingdom

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File:British breakfast.jpg

A full English breakfast with fried eggs on toast, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans, hash browns, and tomato

In the early 16th century, some physicians warned against eating breakfast, because they said it was not healthy to eat before a prior meal was digested.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> By the 1550s, however, there were multiple sources that claimed breakfast was an important meal. For example, in 1551, Thomas Wingfield stated that breakfast was essential. In 1589, Thomas Cogan stated that it was unhealthy to miss breakfast in the morning. He was one of the first to claim that it was healthy for those who were not young, ill or elders to eat breakfast.<ref>Albala, p. 25</ref>

The full breakfast is a staple of British cuisine, and typically consists of bacon, sausages and eggs, often served with a variety of side dishes and a beverage such as coffee or tea. Prior to 1600, breakfast in Great Britain typically included bread, cold meat or fish, and ale.<ref name="Mason" /> Tea, chocolate and coffee were introduced to Great Britain in the mid-1600s, and in the 1700s coffee and chocolate were adopted as breakfast drinks by the fashionable.<ref name="Mason">Mason, Laura (2004). Food Culture In Great Britain. pp. 34–35. Greenwood Publishing Group. Template:ISBN</ref> Tea eventually became more popular than chocolate as a breakfast drink.<ref name="Mason" />

North America

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The first groups known to have produced maple syrup and maple sugar were indigenous peoples living in the northeastern part of North America. According to aboriginal oral traditions, as well as archaeological evidence, maple tree sap was being processed into syrup long before Europeans arrived in the region.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Canada

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File:Lumberjacks.jpg

Lumberjacks

While it has been a source of controversy where the lumberjack breakfast came from, the most cited source is that the lumberjack breakfast was first served in a Vancouver hotel, in 1870. The breakfast consisted of eggs, assorted fried pork strips, and flapjacks. It is said by Anita Stewart that the tradition of hearty cooking developed because of men needing the energy for manual labor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Mexico

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A typical Aztec breakfast often included corn porridge with honey and chillies, or tortillas with beans and salsa.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Chilaquiles are a staple breakfast dish that dates back to the times of the Aztecs; they consist of tortilla chips (locally known as "totopos") slathered in salsa and usually come with a side of refried beans. Depending on the region or person, they may be eaten with fried or scrambled eggs, pulled chicken, sprinkled cheese, crema, diced onion, or chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Eggs are also a staple in Mexican breakfasts, scrambled and fried eggs are usually eaten with tortillas, salsa, and beans; local varieties include huevos rancheros and "huevos con tortilla", which are scrambled eggs fried alongside pieces of corn tortillas.

Breakfast cereals are also common in Mexico, mainly due to American influence. Health concerns have arisen regarding the nutritional quality of processed breakfast cereal; it is estimated that Mexican preschoolers consume 7% of their total energy intake from processed breakfast cereals and that 6% of Mexican children exclusively have ready-to-eat cereals with milk for breakfast.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

United States

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File:Egg and cheese breakfast sandwich.jpg

Sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich

File:Cereal with Milk (Unsplash).jpg

Cereal with milk

In 1620, waffles were first introduced to North America by pilgrims who had lived in the Netherlands.<ref name="Serna-Saldivar">Serna-Saldivar, Sergio O. (2012). Cereal Grains: Laboratory Reference and Procedures Manual. CRC Press. p. 270. Template:ISBN</ref> Later pioneers consumed largely cornmeal-based breakfasts, and would also consume meals such as oatmeal for dinner and lunch.<ref name="CBS Early Show">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Common breakfast products included corn pone, johnnycakes, ashcakes, hoe-cakes, and corn dodgers.<ref name="CBS Early Show" /> Ashcakes consisted of cornmeal wrapped in cabbage leaves cooked in the ashes of a campfire, while corn pone is baked, corn dodgers are pan fried, and hoe-cakes are similar to pancakes.<ref name="CBS Early Show" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After the American Civil War, it became fairly common in America to eat sandwiches that were made of ham and eggs. These sandwiches were not strictly consumed in the morning. In 1897, the first true breakfast sandwich recipe was published in a cookbook.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Popcorn cereal was consumed by Americans in the 1800s, which typically consisted of popcorn with milk and a sweetener.<ref>Smith, Andrew F. (1999). Popped Culture: The Social History of Popcorn in America. Univ of South Carolina Press. pp. 57–59. Template:ISBN</ref> Cold breakfast cereal has been consumed by Americans since the late 1890s, and during the 1920s a considerable number of new cereals were marketed.<ref name="1920s">Drowne, Kathleen Morgan; Huber, Patrick (2004). Nineteen Twenties. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 122. Template:ISBN.</ref> The reason for this movement towards cold breakfast cereals was inspired by the Jacksonian-era Clean Living Movement (1830–1860). This movement focused on a lot of lifestyle changes, but specific to breakfast it claimed that eating bacon, eggs, pancakes and hot coffee was too indulgent.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The first prepared cold breakfast cereal marketed to American consumers was created by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, who introduced it in 1878 and named it granola.<ref name="Sivulka">Sivulka, Juliann (2011). Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising. Cengage Learning. pp. 87–90. Template:ISBN</ref> The product was prepared with baked wheat, oatmeal and cornmeal, and was the first brand-name breakfast cereal in the United States.<ref name="Sivulka" />

Canned fruit juice became prominent as a breakfast beverage after the discovery of vitamins.<ref>Smith, Andrew F. (2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press. p. 69. Template:ISBN.</ref> C. 1900, orange juice as a breakfast beverage was a new concept.<ref name="Sivulka" /> The development of frozen orange juice concentrate began in 1915, and in the 1930s it was produced by several companies.<ref>Smith, Andrew F. (2013). Drinking History: Fifteen Turning Points in the Making of American Beverages. Columbia University Press. p. (unlisted). Template:ISBN</ref> Additionally, mass-produced tomato juice began to be marketed in the mid-1920s, and became a popular breakfast drink a few years thereafter.<ref name="1920s" />

The Caribbean

Haitian spaghetti is a common breakfast dish in Haitian cuisine.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Effect on health

While breakfast is commonly referred to as "the most important meal of the day",<ref name="gio">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="bbc">Template:Cite news</ref> some contest the positive implications of its "most important" status.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Scientific findings

Some epidemiological research indicates that having breakfast high in rapidly available carbohydrates increases the risk of metabolic syndrome.<ref name="maki">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Memory was found to be adversely affected in subjects of a study who had not eaten their breakfast (q.v. also Studies using mice under this heading). Intelligence was not affected.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Children aged within 8 and 11 years were found to have differing brainwave; EEG activity states, causative to breakfast consumption. Non-breakfasting children were observed to have higher activity of upper and lower theta wave, alpha wave, and delta wave, which indicated a causative relationship of breakfast consumption to memory function in the subjects.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

A review of 47 studies associating breakfast to (i) nutrition, (ii) body weight and (iii) academic performance found amongst those who had eaten breakfast: (i) better nutrition profiles, many studies found less weight (ii) irrespective of greater calorific consumption per day, although a number did not find this correlation, (iii) studies suggested a possible link to better academic performance in the breakfast eating groups (q.v. Benton and Parker 1998, under this heading).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The influence of breakfast on managing body weight is unclear.<ref name=LeidyGwin2016>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="pmid30700403">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Healthy choice

Present professional opinion is largely in favor of eating breakfast,<ref name=gio/> but skipping breakfast might be better than eating unhealthy foods.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

See also

• Breakfast by country
• Breakfast television
• Brunch
• Food history
• Index of breakfast-related articles
• Instant breakfast
• List of breakfast beverages
• List of breakfast foods
• List of food and beverage museums
• Midnight breakfast
• Timeline of food
• Wedding breakfast

Cited sources

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
• History of breakfast
  • Breakfast: A History. Template:ISBN
  • The English Breakfast: The Biography of a National Meal, with Recipes. Template:ISBN
  • Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. Template:ISBN
  • Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History. Template:ISBN
  • Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People. Template:ISBN
  • Ency Kitchen History Template:ISBN (scroll down in preview)
  • A History of Food. Template:ISBN
  • Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History. Template:ISBN
  • Internal Cleansing, Revised 2nd Edition. Template:ISBN
  • Corn Meal for Breakfast, Dinner, Supper. Template:ISBN
  • Albala, Ken (2008). Pancake: A Global History. Reaktion Books.
• History of breakfast cereal
  • Handbook of Cereal Science and Technology. Template:ISBN
  • Chemistry and Technology of Cereals as Food and Feed. Template:ISBN
  • An Uncommon History of Common Things. Template:ISBN
  • An Irresistible History of Southern Food: Four Centuries of Black Eyed Peas, Collard Greens, and Whole Hog BarbecueTemplate:Dead link. Template:ISBN
  • Foods and Nutrition Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Template:ISBN
• Other sources
  • Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living. Template:ISBN.
  • Template:Cite book