# When did potatoes and fruit become part of an English Breakfast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 2, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037 "2023-04-02T17:10:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/61 "2023-04-05T18:54:36Z")
My gf and a coworker went to the UK a few years ago to visit Pubs & Graveyards. She told me about English breakfasts. I found Heinz Beans in the International aisle. Delicious for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/62 "2024-02-20T03:24:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Fortnum & Mason I ended up with a Fortnum & Mason spice called “Tandoori Masala” described as “A fruity, sweet and warming bouquet of spices”. Made chicken tacos with it and it’s good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/63 "2024-02-20T07:59:35Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I found Heinz Beans in the International aisle. I just watched the episode of Mad Men where the team are presenting a proposal for Heinz baked beans (a “bean ballet”, no less), which suggests they weren’t that exotic to the US - indeed, that was why the bean ballet idea was rejected. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/64 "2024-02-20T18:34:08Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Are we distinguishing between Hash browns and home fries? Locally at least, home fries are chopped up fairly small chunks of potatoes (plus diced onions usually) sort of scramble fried loose, while hash browns are shredded potatoes generally wadded up into patties or similar, maybe with some flour added to make them stick together better. And in my experience home fries (I’ve also seen them called “country potatoes”, but they appear to be the same thing) are the ones you’re more likely to find on an American hotel breakfast buffet. Because apparently home fries can better withstand sitting in a warming tray for extended periods. I imagine hash browns would get soggy sitting on a buffet. But if you go out to a fast food place, or a proper greasy spoon diner, they will have hash browns (or the greasy spoon may offer both). ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/65 "2024-02-20T18:59:40Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > I come back I see that potatoes (hash browns?) So I left more recently (20 years ago) and had the same reaction. I blame Macdonalds, when I was still in the UK in the 90s, the abomination that was MacDonalds breakfast had hash browns. Personally that was enough to convince me hash browns had no place in a breakfast meant for human consumption, but I guess not everyone agreed with me? The fruit thing I’ve always associated with mainland Europe rather than the states. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/66 "2024-02-23T12:11:41Z")
Hey! Don’t be dissin’ McDonald’s hash browns! Or we’ll pull out of NATO! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/67 "2024-02-23T13:11:32Z")
It’s true that a full English breakfast by the modern definition is a highly indulgent thing and likely not all that traditional really. There’s no way that a traditional breakfast a century or more would have all of the components such as sausages, bacon, black pudding and eggs all on one plate - one of those things perhaps, plus lots of bread, would be more likely, but the bread is the most likely part of all. I’ve been reading Lark Rise to Candleford, which, whilst it is a work of fiction, is widely believed to be more or less autobiographical of the author, Flora Thompson, who was born in 1877 and grew up in rural Oxfordshire. Breakfast was bread and butter or lard. There might have been sausages or pig fry if it was the few days after the time the family pig had been slaughtered. Bacon was reserved for dinners through the winter and was used in small amounts to add flavour and substance to large, hearty stews of vegetables, barley and potatoes, or suet puddings stuffed with the same. Potatoes, when they made it to the breakfast table, probably first took the form of potato scones or some other quick bread made with potatoes and flour. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/68 "2024-02-23T14:22:12Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > There’s no way that a traditional breakfast a century or more would have all of the components such as sausages, bacon, black pudding and eggs all on one plate - one of those things perhaps, plus lots of bread, would be more likely, but the bread is the most likely part of all. Yes - meat was expensive and this is one of the ways in which we are so much better off than our ancestors it isn’t even funny. If you were rich though, you could have a high protein breakfast, but it wouldn’t look too much like a modern full English either. E.g for Victorians, eggs and bacon, yes, but also liver and fish. Kedgeree (also includes rice!) and kippers have pretty much died out as a breakfast staple - I remember from family holidays seeing kippers on hotel breakfast menus in the late 80s/early 90s but you don’t get the offer now. Kidneys, ham, even cheese were also pretty common options. I believe porridge would have been quite common too, but potatoes not - possibly seen as a bit too peasanty. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/69 "2024-02-23T15:45:06Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > I remember from family holidays seeing kippers on hotel breakfast menus in the late 80s/early 90s but you don’t get the offer now. I’d guess you might in Craster or elsewhere along the coasts: but the substantial loss of herring stocks over decades must have had as much effect as changing tastes. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/70 "2024-02-23T15:49:19Z")
My mother occasionally served kippers for breakfast when I was a lad. But that was decades ago. Wife & I tried some a few months ago… bit too salty for my taste now, and they gave her indigestion. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/71 "2024-02-23T16:23:59Z")
True, but I think the idea of trying to put one or two of _everything_ on the breakfast plate is probably fairly modern. The Full English is _very_ ‘full’ ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/72 "2024-02-23T17:15:57Z")
Yes, I was at a hotel for work and sat down with a plate containing 1. One rasher of bacon 2. One sausage 3. One big spoonful scrambled egg 4. Half a tomato Colleague: That’s not very much. No! It’s a lot of food, honestly. Throw in the slice of toast I had after and that’s double what I have for a normal breakfast. Just because I left the beans, the mushrooms, the black pudding and yes, the hash browns doesn’t mean I’m not gorging myself here. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/73 "2024-02-23T18:07:16Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > My mother occasionally served kippers for breakfast when I was a lad. But that was decades ago. > > Wife & I tried some a few months ago… bit too salty for my taste now, and they gave her indigestion. Just had some for lunch (Waitrose vacuum-packed fillets). ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/74 "2024-02-23T18:46:18Z")
I wouldn’t mind them once in a while. But since they don’t agree with my wife, we’ll skip them. On the subject of a sort of Bertie Wooster country house breakfast, I don’t think I’ve ever had devilled kidneys? Cook used to serve them before a good day of huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’, I think? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/75 "2024-02-23T19:08:44Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > No! It’s a lot of food, honestly. Throw in the slice of toast I had after and that’s double what I have for a normal breakfast. Just because I left the beans, the mushrooms, the black pudding and yes, the hash browns doesn’t mean I’m not gorging myself here. Yeah I’m skeptical it was ever a routine daily breakfast for anyone (with the exception of someone doing tons of manual work and require 1000s of calories a day). I have a quite an appetite and love a full English, but if I’m staying at a hotel in the UK or somewhere that has a full English as an option every day, I’m done by the second or third day. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/76 "2024-02-23T21:40:02Z")
Did people stop calling this breakfast a Full Monty because of the movie? Because I almost never hear that phrase in connection with a Full English Breakfast anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/77 "2024-02-23T21:54:00Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > On the subject of a sort of Bertie Wooster country house breakfast, I don’t think I’ve ever had devilled kidneys? Cook used to serve them before a good day of huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’, I think? From what I read it used to be a breakfast item (19th-20th century) but in modern days it’s more often served during supper. British celebrity chefs have featured it that way recently. ETA: Here’s an example. > **[Nigel Slater: Oooh, you are offal...](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/nov/04/foodanddrink.recipes)** > > Culinary underdogs they may be, but nothing beats a juicy chicken liver or a quivering sweetbread for flavour and succulence. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/78 "2024-02-24T00:10:22Z")
I think full monty as a term for the breakfast only arose in the 1970s. It might have just fizzled out on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2024, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/79 "2024-02-24T00:31:49Z")
Looking at Google Ngrams, it appears the phrase ‘Full Monty’ only really took off after the movie - of course that’s only representative of whether it appeared in print. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/80 "2024-02-29T23:30:29Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Off topic. > > > [@teelabrown](#): > > > > …I just read the book _The Enchanted April_… > > One of my favorite movies! I guess I need to read the book, too. If you liked that story, you might like an old one _The Feast_ by Margaret Kennedy. Pub 1950-ish. May have a hard time finding it-- a new edition is coming out this year. It’s a bit slow getting started, but lovely when you get into it. I’ve read it several times and just listened to the wonderfully-performed [audiobook](https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Feast-Audiobook/057136781X?qid=1680536959&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=NHG3RSZ0W5XHRRGVQD46&pageLoadId=QieVvsaDRG0vLiZS&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c). > > Carry on. Super glad y’all made mention of these titles I chased down new reads on my Hoopla app, right up my alley! I love an audio performance [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037.md?page=5)