Full breakfast

A full breakfast^[1] is a traditional cooked meal, typically and originally eaten at breakfast, though now often served at other times during the day (this is particularly true of the Ulster Fry, described below).

The full breakfast comprises at its heart bacon and eggs, and is popular throughout the British Isles and other parts of the English-speaking world. Depending on where it is served, it is called bacon and eggs,^[2] a fry, a fry up,^[3] The Great British breakfast,^[4]^[5] a full English breakfast, a full Irish breakfast, a full Scottish breakfast a full Welsh breakfast^[6] or an Ulster fry.^[7] The Scottish variant of this dish is also referred to as a Glasgow salad. The complement of the breakfast varies depending on the location and which of these descriptions is used. Full cooked breakfasts are no longer an everyday occurrence in many British or Irish households, although they occupy an important place in the concept of the morning meal and are the predominant business of many greasy spoon cafés, as well as generally being offered to tourists as traditional fare in hotels, guest houses and bed-and-breakfasts. Although it has declined as a breakfast it has grown in popularity as an all day breakfast, especially on weekends.

Origin

E. Cobham Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, published in 1898, describes a full breakfast, calling it a Scotch breakfast.^[8] He describes it as "a substantial breakfast of sundry sorts of good things to eat and drink." Set six years later in Dublin of 1904, the opening of Ulysses by James Joyce contains a famous breakfast scene in which Leopold Bloom prepares and eats a fried pork kidney with bread and tea.

The meal was popularized in the United States by Edward Bernays during the 1920s and 1930s. In order to promote sales of bacon, he conducted a survey of physicians and reported their recommendation 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.^[9]

Tradition

While weekday breakfasts in Britain and Ireland often consist of a brief meal of cereal and/or toast, the fry-up, when it is eaten at all, is usually reserved for Saturday or Sunday mornings.^{citation needed} Many cafés and supermarkets now serve the fry-up as an "all-day breakfast" which is more often eaten as a hearty lunch. The fry-up can be accompanied by orange juice and an abundant supply of tea or coffee.

There are many traditional cafés in Britain and Ireland that specialise in serving breakfast throughout the day. The full breakfast may therefore be listed as the "all day breakfast".

Typical ingredients

The ingredients of a fry-up vary according to region and taste. At its heart, the meal consists of bacon and eggs, but to earn the title of a "full breakfast" a number of other ingredients are expected. The bacon, often called rashers, and eggs are traditionally fried, but grilled bacon, poached eggs, or scrambled eggs may be offered as alternatives. These are accompanied by toast. Some of the additional ingredients that might be offered as part of a Full breakfast include:

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 cup 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 of the day before, bubble and squeak, shallow-fried leftover vegetables with potato, has become a breakfast feature in its own right. Baked beans and hash browns are modern additions that have crept into many recipes.

When an English breakfast is ordered to contain everything available, it is often referred to as a "Full Monty", and often attributed to Field Marshal Montgomery, the prominent British military officer of World War II. However the OED states that "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".^[10]

Full Irish breakfast

In Ireland, as elsewhere, the exact constituents of a full breakfast are matters of debate, depending on geographical area, personal taste and cultural affiliation. The most common ingredients are bacon (rashers), sausages, fried eggs, white pudding, black pudding and toast, normally accompanied with black tea and milk. Potato cakes are sometimes served as well. Although baked beans, fried tomatoes and/or mushrooms may sometimes be found served with a full Irish breakfast. The full Irish Breakfast is also known simply as a "fry" or a 'fry-up'.^{citation needed} The Irish have also adopted the Breakfast Roll, a staple of blue-collar workers, even writing songs about them.

Full Scottish breakfast

Full Welsh breakfast

The traditional Welsh breakfast include laverbread, a seaweed purée which is mixed with oatmeal, which is formed into patties and fried in bacon fat. Cockles are also often eaten.

Ulster Fry

An Ulster Fry is a dish of fried food that is popular throughout Northern Ireland and the three counties of Ulster which lie in the Republic (Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal). The Ulster fry is similar to the Irish fry.

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), potato bread and tomatoes.^[11] Other common components include mushrooms, wheaten bread or pancakes. All this is traditionally fried in lard.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the popular comic reference to the dish as a "heart-attack on a plate",^[12] many people in Ulster have taken to grilling most of the ingredients, or use healthier alternatives to lard such as sunflower or vegetable oil.

The Ulster Fry is not considered solely a breakfast dish as it 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.

From 2001-2007, a BBC Two Northern Ireland ident used during opt-outs of the network schedule featured the BBC Two logo of a figure 2 eating Ulster Fry at a table.

North American

A full American breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast and more is often referred to as a "country breakfast" in many areas of the midwest. The terms "fry" and "full breakfast" are not generally used in North America, though hotels may distinguish between a "continental breakfast" and "American breakfast." "Bacon and eggs" as a meal name was popularised in the United States by Edward Bernays in the 1920s and 1930s. In order to promote sales of bacon, he conducted a survey of physicians and reported their recommendation 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.^[13] In the Southern United States, it is typically known as a "big breakfast" or "Sunday breakfast," and usually consists of eggs; bacon, sausage, and/or ham or steak; grits, toast, and coffee, and may also include pancakes.

Central America

Important components of a Central American full breakfast are soured cream and refried beans. Other ingredients include, ham or sausage, and eggs, much like a full breakfast elsewhere. Either tortillas or toast are necessary while orange juice is often added as a drink.

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