# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/81 "2024-03-01T14:48:03Z")
Mushrooms, yay or nay? Me, I like them, as well as the beans. And as an aside - hash browns are just inferior rösti. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/82 "2024-03-01T15:25:56Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Mushrooms, yay or nay? Me, I like them, as well as the beans. Defintely yay for me. Fried tomatoes, I’m on the fence. Its a nay if just a manky tinned tomato, but an actual fresh tomato fried in bacon fat, that’s a yay. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/83 "2024-03-01T15:33:06Z")
Mushrooms, beans and tomatoes, definitely. If I’m being very indulgent and it’s available, I’ll add haggis. Fried slice (what have my arteries done for me lately?) is good; tattie scone (to come full circle) is better. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/84 "2024-03-01T22:20:56Z")
Beans on toast are a typical campfire breakfast. I think it’s the first thing you learn how to cook when you join the Boy (or Girl) Scouts. (Sandwiches with Marmite or Bully Beef on white bread are next.) In my experience, diced potatoes fried on a grill are home fries, grated potatoes fried on a grill are hash browns. Deep-fried grated potato patties are McDonald’s hash browns. On the rare occasions I eat breakfast at McDonald’s, I’ll have an Egg McMuffin, hash browns, black coffee, and a tall orange juice. Chips are deep-fried chunks of potato thicker than French fries. Whether they’re included in breakfast is a matter of personal choice. Fruit can serve as the main dish at breakfast, or as a garnish. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/85 "2024-03-01T23:39:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Deep-fried grated potato patties are McDonald’s hash browns. And are not real hash browns. Sometimes all I eat for breakfast is hash browns – ones I grate and cook myself. > [@MrDibble](#): > > And as an aside - hash browns are just inferior rösti. I wasn’t sure what that was exactly. But googling shows it to be what I think of as hash browns. Anything other than this _is_ inferior and is _not_ hash browns for me. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/86 "2024-03-02T00:33:34Z")
Home fries are steamed fried like in a skillet. I’m lazy so I roast potatoes ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/87 "2024-03-02T15:20:15Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > And perhaps if you were posh, kippers or devilled kidneys? Not necessarily “posh”. It’s reported that officers on the British armored cruiser _Cornwall_ had breakfast that included kippers and marmalade, before the battle of the Falkland Islands in WWI. Even then they knew it was important to start the day out right. Admiral Sturdee okayed breakfast for all hands even after the German fleet was sighted. 🍳 🧁 🥓 🥣 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/88 "2024-03-02T15:33:51Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I wasn’t sure what that was exactly. But googling shows it to be what I think of as hash browns. Anything other than this _is_ inferior and is _not_ hash browns for me. Yeah, for me they are or can be the same. When I make hash browns, I grate starchy spuds, squeeze the water out of them, and fry them in a pan with a bunch of oil, salt, pepper. I make them pretty much every Saturday now that my children discovered I can make them. I can’t see any difference between that and a rösti. One Google cite says the difference is hash browns are made from cooked potatoes, but I’ve always made them from raw. Even better than regular rösti is beet rösti with rosemary. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/89 "2024-03-02T15:34:26Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I wasn’t sure what that was exactly. But googling shows it to be what I think of as hash browns. Anything other than this _is_ inferior and is _not_ hash browns for me. Almost exactly what I was going to say. I make hash browns occasionally for dinner, along with eggs and sausage and fruit. They’re a pain to make, but they’re so freaking good. I’ll usually make one with just salt and garlic powder for my younger kid; for the rest of us, I add lots of spices (garam masala, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, or whatever else strikes my fancy). No matter how much I make, there are never, ever any leftovers. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/90 "2024-03-02T15:45:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > And as an aside - hash browns are just inferior rösti. Is rösti always made to come out of a pan in one piece and then cut up? If so, then I agree about hash brown patties being an inferior version . But the hash browns I actually like are cooked on a grill or griddle and are not shaped into a patty , they’re just “loose” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/91 "2024-03-02T16:10:43Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Is rösti always made to come out of a pan in one piece and then cut up? No, they come out of the pan in one piece and are served that way, not cut up. > [@doreen](#): > > But the hash browns I actually like are cooked on a grill or griddle and are not shaped into a patty , they’re just “loose” So just a mess of loose fried julienne potato? Not to my taste, but whatever you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/92 "2024-03-02T16:32:31Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > So just a mess of loose fried julienne potato? More a semi-cohesive mess of shredded potato (run through a box grater as opposed to knife-julienned.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sg1yxnV791U/maxresdefault.jpg "How to Make Crispy Golden Hash Browns on a Flat Top Grill {Perfect Hash Browns on Camp Chef Griddle}") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg1yxnV791U) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/93 "2024-03-02T17:11:55Z")
I julienne potato for rösti with a mandoline, but I get what you’re saying. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/94 "2024-03-02T17:12:39Z")
They are neither of them part of a traditional English breakfast. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/95 "2024-03-02T19:49:26Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, for me they are or can be the same. When I make hash browns, I grate starchy spuds, squeeze the water out of them, and fry them in a pan with a bunch of oil, salt, pepper. I make them pretty much every Saturday now that my children discovered I can make them. I can’t see any difference between that and a rösti. One Google cite says the difference is hash browns are made from cooked potatoes, but I’ve always made them from raw. Even better than regular rösti is beet rösti with rosemary. Exactly! I always make them from raw, not cooked, as well. I can’t use rosemary if my sister is sharing, because she’s not fond of rosemary. She positively hates tarragon, so she’s not sharing my bernaise either. She’s weird. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/96 "2024-03-02T20:21:44Z")
Serious Eats tells me now that rösti have parboiled potatoes, so who the hell knows. For all I care rösti are just a type of hash brown. I’ve had them at a couple Swedish places (they do exist) and I would have just called it a hash brown. Anyway, the kids, as expected, requested hash browns for breakfast yet again. It’s a quick job for me these days. One tip is squeeze out the grated potatoes in a potato ricer if you have one. I broke mine a few weeks ago and haven’t replaced it so had to squeeze it out in a cotton sheet. But otherwise, it’s cook in oil, about three to four minutes a side over medium high heat, flip, same timing, finish all in one piece. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037/97 "2024-03-02T21:54:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > For all I care rösti are just a type of hash brown. Yeah, reading up on what they are, how they’re made, and how they’re served, I can pretty confidently say I’ve eaten them, they’re a kind of hash brown. They just weren’t called that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-potatoes-and-fruit-become-part-of-an-english-breakfast/982037.md?page=4)