In the UK a breakfast featuring a load of fried sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms and baked beans would generally be referred to as a “full English”, whereas a lighter breakfast, such as croissants would be “continental” Does this nomenclature exist outside the UK? Would a Frenchman describe such a plate of stodge as an “English breakfast?”
I think most Americans would only have a vague idea of what “Full English” might mean, if they’ve heard the phrase at all. “Country breakfast” is sometimes used in the US for a traditional large breakfast, though IME the mushrooms and baked beans would usually be replaced. Mushrooms are common in omelettes, but If beans are involved at all(instead of the more common grits or potatoes)they would likely be ranch style, pintos, or refrieds.
Oh, and I thought the Full English included fried tomatoes. We fry green tomatoes, rarely the ripe ones.
Some hotels and pubs in Spain advertise “English breakfast”, but note that the ad is always in English. It’s speciffically directed to English tourists and expats. Our own desayuno de granjero, farmer’s breakfast, only includes one item that’s vegetable in origin and that’s bread (toast around Seville).
There is also a ‘Full Irish’. Bacon, sausages, baked beans, eggs, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and black or white pudding, there may also be some cooked leftover potatoes made into a hash or a bubble and squeak. Toast, butter, marmalade, and plenty of tea goes without saying.
The phrase “continental breakfast”, though, is much better known. Inexpensive hotels will often advertise a continental breakfast as part of their room rate. In practice, this usually means that they put out a buffet of pastries, coffee, yogurt, cold cereal, and juice, and guests can come help themselves.
“American breakfast”, when not in America, is eggs, hashed browns, toast and a meat (sausage or bacon), IIRC (English, but without the beans, mushrooms, etc.). Usually with coffee and a small orange juice.
“Full English breakfast” is a common term in Australia and New Zealand.
When I saw the thread title, I thought “Does he mean a big breakfast?”. So at least some Americans know it. I’d be more inclined to think of a “full Irish breakfast”, but that’s probably just because I’ve been to Ireland and stayed in B&Bs, but haven’t been to England. And I’m not sure what, if anything, the precise difference would be between a full English and a full Irish (I expect there’s a lot of variation and overlap in both).
“Continental breakfast” is known in the US, mostly, as MikeS said, in connection with hotels. With how Americans are with food and portion sizes, though, it’s tended to inflate, and nowadays a lot of places that offer “continental breakfast” will also include make-your-own waffles and hot cereal.
You’re right about the overlap. But I would say that a couple of items you would quite likely find in a full Irish are white pudding and potato farls, which you would likely not find in a full English.
Other variations which might give a clue as to where you are would be Lorne sausage, which is not common outside Scotland, which is a shame, as it is delicious.
Seems to be localised around Sydney, possibly in areas with lots of Brit backpackers. Elsewhere you’d see it as a ‘Big breakfast’, ‘[cafe name] special’ or something like that.
You might also see cafés advertising ‘All Day Breakfast’. This will usually be some variation on a ‘full English’ sometimes with the addition of chips (fries). You do have to read the small print though as I have seen the all-day breakfast advertised but only available before 11am…
“Continental breakfast” is code for “We’re too cheap to hire someone to cook for you.”
Nope. I’ve seen “English breakfast” being proposed sometimes, but it’s not common at all. And a Frenchman ordering such would expect eggs and bacon plus a glass of orange juice, nothing more. I don’t think that the average Frenchman knows of the existence of the “full English”.
French people just don’t eat much for breakfast and even eggs and bacon would be very unusual. I often heard people expressing not just surprise but even disgust at the idea of eating anything significant in the morning, like a hot dish. You’d be hard pressed to find anybody willing to eat a full English for breakfast.
I’ve seen that too in Spain. The reason as I’ve seen is because the typical meat/egg combo breakfast is not done there, and breakfast is more of a pastry and a coffee drink. So yes it’s a shout out to get a breakfast like your used to having back home type of sign, and yes written in english.
But I don’t recall seeing a ‘full engish’ breakfast.
“Full English” is pretty well known around these parts. Not that many restaurants use it, mind you. But people know the term. I’ve even used the term in front of my students without explanation and they knew enough to comment on the presence of beans and/or black pudding.
More common is the “Lumberjack” or “Farmer” or “Some Other Hard Worker” breakfast, which drops the beans, mushrooms, tomatoes and black pudding in favor of more meat, a load of hash browns or country potatoes and a short stack.
Speak for yourself. I ate many times as a child and adult white beans in a molasses-base sauce, one of the varieties of ‘pork and beans.’ The only time I’ve had beans such as you describe is when I’m eating in a Mexican restaurant for breakfast, or at least a Mexican-inspired dish in an American restaurant involving huevos rancheros or chorizo or something similar.
Even in England, it’s not always called a Full English - an “all day breakfast” might be offered instead, or just “English Breakfast” (perhaps with small or large variants).
Reminds me ofthis Key & Peele sketch
That varies by family/person; what you get in hotels and what people actually grab when at home or when faced with a Full Buffet Breakfast are two very different animals. Note that, while you quoted (by mistake I assume) my bit about desayunos de granjero, you apparently have not encountered one in the wild; I definitely have.
My Dad used to have a fried egg for breakfast (although no bacon on the side), followed by a cup of milk with some galletas (either dunked into the milk or broken down into it, as sopas de leche); us kids would have some sort of pork cold meat (chorizo, “york ham”, serrano, chopped pork, salchichón…) followed by milk and cookies. Mom has always had fruit, but if sweet teeth didn’t exist she would have had to invent it: her own parents were of the “meat and milk” variety. 1.SiL almost had a stroke when she discovered 1.Bro’s breakfast customs, as she is firmly on the “orange juice followed by fruit and then milk and cookies” camp; she had never had breakfast at someone else’s house and was surprised when a poll of their friends showed a wide range between “oh God I don’t even have a cup of coffee before 11am” and “I can’t leave the house having had less than one fried egg with fried blood sausage, some salchichón or maybe chorizo or perhaps a bit of serrano to wrap up, a big cup of coffee with milk and a pair of large muffins”.
I think baked beans in tomato sauce are pretty much an English thing, although they are available all over the world. They are not spicy or especially sweet and the beans are specially bred to have virtually no taste of their own; 50,000 tonnes of navy beans are shipped annually to the UK from North America. There are many brands, but Heinz is probably the most popular; every day over one a half million cans of Heinz Baked Beans are consumed in the UK. That’s more than 540 million cans a year.