# Full Irish breakfast **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [September 4, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609 "2023-09-04T20:15:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/41 "2023-09-05T19:34:21Z")
[This article](https://web.archive.org/web/20071227173620/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2284846.stm) mentions a variety of delicious potential ingredients like fat, connective tissue, “mechanically recovered meat” (yum!), rusk, water, seasoning, sugar, starch, stabilisers, antioxidants, colouring, flavour enhancers, and collagen for the casings. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/42 "2023-09-05T20:14:45Z")
I think this is the first time I’ve seen the word, “rusk”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/43 "2023-09-05T20:56:54Z")
> [@Yosh99](#): > > Brown bread is easy to make yourself if you can get very coarse flour. > > Dry Ingredients > 1 C Flahavan’s Progress Oatlest > 4 C Odlums Wholemeal Extra Coarse Flour And right away, we have a product I’ve never heard of (and apparently neither has Google), followed by a comprehensible product, but with a brand specified that I’ve never heard of. And two unfamiliar brands suggests to me that you’re from the other side of the pond, which means that I also have no idea what units you’re using (C is a cup? Is that half an American pint, or half an Imperial pint? Is “t” tablespoon, or teaspoon, and again, American or Imperial? What are those measurements for the pans?). ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/44 "2023-09-05T21:23:22Z")
[quote=“DPRK, post:38, topic:989609, full:true” Now in _Ulysses_ Bloom eats for breakfast a pork kidney pan-fried in butter, so as far I am concerned that makes it super Irish. [/quote] If I recollect correctly Joyce observes that the kidneys taste of piss. Just sayin’. Press on. j ---
**Author:** ![Yosh99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ccd318/32.png) [@Yosh99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yosh99)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/45 "2023-09-05T21:26:39Z")
When you say “other side of the pond” what side are you referring to?I live on my side of the pond, in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA and those ingredients are available locally even though they are more commonly Irish. C, t, and T is standard US nomenclature for cup, teaspoon, and Teaspoon. It would be nice if the US was metric, but it never will in my life time. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/46 "2023-09-05T21:39:03Z")
OK, then what in the world is “Oatlest”? And where do I find those products? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/47 "2023-09-05T22:22:06Z")
It’s like a recipe written by a bad AI. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/48 "2023-09-05T22:22:53Z")
You need to understand that “The Full Irish/Scottish/English/Welsh” breakfast is an invention for tourists. It’s in the same class as the ubiquitous “Ploughman’s” lunch which is nothing like any ploughman ever took for his snap. Bed and breakfast establishments are the best places to find one, and they are always happy to leave off any ingredient if you don’t want it. Ideally, the components will all be locally sourced. We are all becoming more aware of “food miles” these days, and in any case, it is all part of enjoying regional differences. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/49 "2023-09-06T03:07:06Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > That leaves the tomato and mushrooms. They were perfectly good but thy don’t seem to realty go with anything. A few slices of raw tomato goes really well with any style of eggs and bacon. I wouldn’t normally make mushrooms for breakfast unless I was making an omelet. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/50 "2023-09-06T03:57:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, then what in the world is “Oatlest”? And where do I find those products? Ditto. That looks like a typo to me. And what is “coarse” flour ? Is it like stone-ground corn meal? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/51 "2023-09-06T04:08:48Z")
[Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets](https://www.flahavans.ie/product/flahavans-progress-oatlets/). I’ve never heard of them before but I guess they are just rolled oats. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/52 "2023-09-06T06:12:05Z")
It’s a typo. It should be “Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets”. Flahavan’s is a milling business in Ireland. They sell (among many other products) Progress Oatlets, which is flaked oatmeal marketed as suitable for making porridge. I don’t know whether “oatlets” is a term widely used in the milling trade for flaked oatmeal or whether it’s a cutesy coinage of Flahavan’s themselves, applied only to their own product. You can buy the product by the kilo in any Irish supermarket or grocery — it’s everywhere. I wasn’t aware that it was exported but evidently it is, at least to St Paul, MN. Odlums is another Irish milling business. Coarse flour is just flour that is less finely ground than, um, normal flour. ---
**Author:** ![Guapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@Guapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guapo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/53 "2023-09-06T07:40:51Z")
Bangers got there name from the tendency of unpricked sausages exploding when cooked. I find the typical breakfast banger very bland. I prefer the sagey American breakfast links. But a full-English is more than the sum of its parts. Sadly, fried bread seems to be disappearing. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/54 "2023-09-06T07:44:12Z")
> [@Guapo](#): > > Bangers got there name from the tendency of unpricked sausages exploding when cooked. I always wondered how they got their name. Now I know–thank you, and thanks go to others too. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/55 "2023-09-06T07:54:47Z")
What about kippers? I always find them mentioned in older English literature. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/56 "2023-09-06T08:01:10Z")
A kipper is a smoked herring. It is, or used to be, a common breakfast dish, but it’s not part of the “full English breakfast”, which is an entirely different, and much more recent, breakfast dish. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/57 "2023-09-06T11:42:08Z")
So, some grade of oatmeal. I could buy that. I’ve never seen coarse flour. I don’t know that i can buy coarse flour. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/58 "2023-09-06T15:36:18Z")
> [@UDS1](#): > > I don’t know whether “oatlets” is a term widely used in the milling trade for flaked oatmeal or whether it’s a cutesy coinage of Flahavan’s themselves, applied only to their own product. I can’t speak to Irish usage, but I worked for Quaker Oats in the U.S. for several years, and specifically worked on Quaker Oatmeal, so I have more than a passing familiarity with oatmeal and oat-based cereals, and I’d never heard the term before seeing it in this thread. From what you describe, Flahavan’s seems to be using the term for rolled oats (as opposed to steel-cut oats); here in the U.S., rolled oats are the norm for what Quaker, and other brands, produce for use as hot oatmeal cereal, and steel-cut oats (which are less common) are sometimes called “Irish oatmeal” here. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/59 "2023-09-06T16:36:12Z")
![](https://media.tenor.com/pfBgtN3zGYcAAAAC/red-dwarf-ace-rimmer.gif) Sorry, couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609/60 "2023-09-06T16:45:17Z")
One B&B I stayed at in Oxfordshire made use kippered herring for breakfast one morning. But it was a special treat due to the extra effort to make. Happily, the landlady deboned it for us, too (my least favorite parts of eating certain fish). My travelling partner had stayed with her before for multiple days, so, we were treated almost more as friends than customers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-irish-breakfast/989609.md?page=4)