# Is there a full Canadian breakfast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 25, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154 "2024-12-25T18:07:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [December 27, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/21 "2024-12-27T03:00:38Z")
> [@Beesnest](#): > > I have to ask the real Canadians that read this. > What do you call the meat on an egg McMuffin? I would call it “bacon” because I always have a bacon & egg McMuffin. But if I had to endure what is normally called an “egg McMuffin”, I would definitely call that slab of meat in it “ham”. It absolutely is not “back bacon”. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/22 "2024-12-27T03:01:00Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Every diner I’ve ever been to that has chicken-fried steak has it on the breakfast menu You and I go to different diners. It’s possible it’s more a regional thing. I have no doubt that if they made it for lunch or dinner and I asked for it for breakfast, they would (usually with an eye-roll) serve it to me, but it wasn’t on the breakfast menu. Admittedly, I might have missed it since I would never look for it, but I will keep an eye out in the future and report back. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/23 "2024-12-27T03:26:09Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > The only primary protein in a true southern breakfast is an egg. What do you think those chunks of sausage in the gravy are made of? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/24 "2024-12-27T13:05:02Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What do you think those chunks of sausage in the gravy are made of?. Eggs, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/25 "2024-12-27T15:22:30Z")
Hot cereal is a standard part of my Southern breakfast. A _small bowl_ of Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat with the eggs and bacon. Arkansas is too far West for grits. You find them in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina etc. I like Grits but the best I ever ate was in Georgia. Can you find Grits or Oatmeal in Canada? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/26 "2024-12-27T18:13:38Z")
Forget the chicken fried steak, just go for the New York strip breakfast. My wife has ordered it a time or two. As much as I like steak it ain’t breakfast to me. I often like a sweet breakfast so pie or cake is just fine by me. I like plenty of pies including banana cream and French silk but those aren’t for breakfast. You need a good, solid fruit filling. I had some red raspberry pie last week that was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/27 "2024-12-28T00:24:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What do you think those chunks of sausage in the gravy are made of? Okay, I will concede that biscuits and gravy are also a southern breakfast staple and do not involve eggs. I don’t get them often and they slipped my mind. Mea culpa. > [@mixdenny](#): > > Forget the chicken fried steak, just go for the New York strip breakfast. No. I dearly love eggs on horseback, but that’s an import. The southern breakfast was made of items that were easily available from the family farm, your neighbor’s farm, or the local country store. Eggs (everybody had chickens), some form of pork (sausage, ham, bacon - most people who had any decent size property had pigs), grits (everybody grew corn), and flour (which you bought at the store, but had multiple uses). You would probably either have a milk cow or access to a local dairy, but actual beef was a luxury item. Look at old timey Southern recipes, very little beef in there - it’s mostly chicken and pig. This is probably true of most cuisines - it is oriented around what they could easily get their hands on. There’s a reason that Cajun cooking doesn’t include tomatoes (as a general rule) while Creole cooking does. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/28 "2024-12-28T00:39:15Z")
Getting back to the OP’s question, English cultural influence is not nearly as strong in Canada as it is in the other countries in the British isles. It’s been a long time since we had major immigration from England (mainly back in the 19th century), plus we’ve always had strong cultural influences from the US that is not the case with other Commonwealth countries. After all, two of our provinces were founded by political refugees from the US, who brought a lot of American culture (and dialects) with them, although opposition to American political ideologies. I don’t think there is any equivalent to “full English breakfast” as a cultural thing in Canada, and poutine doesn’t cut it; it’s a relatively new phenomenon, invented in Quebec. (I’ve never had any.) Plus strong regional variants between the different provinces reduces the chances of something that is generally seen as a menu item for all of Canada. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/29 "2024-12-28T00:41:44Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Can you find Grits or Oatmeal in Canada? Oatmeal is a staple, grits are very uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/30 "2024-12-28T00:42:52Z")
I don’t even know what grits are. > [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > Oatmeal is a staple I was raised knowing that it was porridge. “Oatmeal” is one of those new-fangled terms that have crept across the 49th. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/31 "2024-12-28T00:46:04Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I was raised knowing that it was porridge. It might be the Ontarian in me, but I think of Red River as porridge and not Oatmeal. > **[Red River Cereal](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_Cereal)** > > The Red River Cereal is a porridge, or hot cereal, made with a blend of cracked wheat, rye, and brown flaxseeds that was first created in 1924 in Manitoba, Canada and patented in 1929. In July 2022, Arva Flour Mill announced it had acquired the brand from a subsidiary of J.M. Smucker Co. > Created in 1924, it was initially manufactured by the Red River Grain Co. In 1928, manufacturing was taken over by Maple Leaf Milling Co. The cereal takes its name from the Red River of the North, more specifi... ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/32 "2024-12-28T00:48:01Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I don’t even know what grits are. ”Get them in you boy. Do you good!” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/33 "2024-12-28T00:50:19Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > ”Get them in you boy. Do you good!” Still don’t know what they are. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/34 "2024-12-28T00:54:55Z")
Dried hominy corn, brought back by soaking and boiling, made palatable with the inclusion of butter, honey, cheese, shrimp, etc. Grits are to corn what lutefisk is to cod, or jerky is to beef ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/35 "2024-12-28T00:58:11Z")
And hominy corn is …? ---
**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:** [December 28, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/36 "2024-12-28T00:58:32Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Grits are to corn what lutefisk is to cod, or jerky is to beef Also, grits are somewhat related to polenta, and from a texture standpoint, sort of like a less-smooth farina (a.k.a. Cream of Wheat). Basically, a porridge made from corn. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/37 "2024-12-28T00:59:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Can you find Grits or Oatmeal in Canada? The Quaker Hot Cereal variety pack was a staple of my childhood (Apple & Cinnamon, Raisin & Spice, Maple & Brown Sugar). We never had oatmeal from scratch in our house, though. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2f5A06YBATA/hqdefault.jpg "Quaker Oatmeal Hot Cereal Lover 1983") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f5A06YBATA) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/38 "2024-12-28T01:01:52Z")
Mom making porridge on cold school mornings is what I grew up with. Brown sugar and milk (only rarely with salt). None of them fancy “flavours”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/39 "2024-12-28T01:02:09Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > And hominy corn is …? Nixtamalized corn. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154/40 "2024-12-28T01:04:54Z")
I think the first time I encounterd “oatmeal” as meaning “porridge” was in a PG Wodehouse novel, when a US senator used his spoon as a catapault to reject “oatmeal”, targetting his valet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-full-canadian-breakfast/1012154.md?page=3)