Warm breakfast all over the world

Breakfast is a synonym for familiarity, a feeling of belonging.

In comparison to other meals, breakfast is the one that shows our belonging to a particular culture or area. Why?  Possibly, because in the mornings we are still sleepy, eager for pampering and safety, unprotected and without the shield which accompanies us for the remainder of the day. So we reach out for something that is the closest, simplest, most familiar, something which quickly brings us into balance with outside world.

Breakfast... a favourite meal for many people. Its attraction lies in its simplicity. Breakfast is not a matter of big chefs or modern cuisines. Everyone knows how to make coffee, fry eggs or toast.

Breakfast appeal lies in its simplicity!

New York. An American woman prepares breakfast for her family. From a maxi-fridge she takes out butter, eggs, bacon, milk, cheese, orange juice, bagels, corn flakes and fruit. After that she turns on the filter coffee machine. In a few minutes the kitchen will fill with the aroma of the breakfast she is preparing and her sleepy family will soon be on their feet. In fifteen to twenty minutes the breakfast will be served. Bacon and eggs, bagels with cream cheese, pancakes with fruit and maple syrup and of course the big cups of coffee. To finish off the breakfast the children will eat a bowl of cornflakes with milk. 

Similar smell will be waiting for the family in Liverpool and all along England.  Their breakfast will also consist of similar ingredients especially bacon and eggs. However, a little to the north, in Scotland, the breakfast might also contain smoked or fresh salmon. In Scotland as well as in Ireland, on the breakfast menu we will most certainly find porridge - oatmeal cooked in water or milk and seasoned by choice with salt, brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon or sour cream.

Spoon will be used for eating breakfast in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, but their porridge will mostly be buckwheat enhanced with added sour cream.

Rome. Bars are full with still sleepy Italians who are fighting to catch their morning dose of caffeine. Depending on the amount of milk they want in their coffee cup they are choosing espresso, macchiato, latte, but above all - cappuccino. While sipping cappuccino they usually eat a small sweet puff pastry, plain or filled with honey, jam or chocolate, called brioche in the northern, and cornetto in southern Italy. One should be well trained and careful when eating these, as powdered sugar sprinkled on top of the buns rises up like morning mist and can easily end up on the tie or a suit, just like the bun crust easily sticks to a lipstick or lip gloss.

French breakfast also consists of a warm drink and a sweet bun or cake. On weekdays the French will prefer to have a slice of bread, to be more precise baguette, with butter and marmalade, and on weekends a puff pastry roll, known as croissant, is a must.

Beijing. A couple is leaving their apartment, on an empty stomach. On their way to work they stop at their favourite kiosk, which is open from 5 am to 9 pm and offers only breakfast. There they are buying dumplings (stuffed pasta, like ravioli) steamed and stuffed with pork and vegetables. Or they might just choose salty pancakes with onion. While waiting for public transport, they are skilfully using their chopsticks to eat their breakfast.

More to the east, in Tokyo, the first breakfast meal is asagohan or morning rice. This is the same as in Thailand, Korea and in most far-east countries.

Mexico City. Colourful, fragrant and spicy el desayuno in Mexico is most of all a tortilla, or usually called "Mexican bread" with added meat, beans, cheese and vegetables. For breakfast Mexicans also love huevos rancheros, which are fried eggs laid on tortilla with added spicy tomato sauce and of course, with lots of colourful fruit and vegetables: pepper, bananas, avocado, mango or pineapple.

In Maghreb's Africa breakfast is tea and bread made from different types of wheat with legumes, fish or yogurt. In the southern parts of  the "black continent" breakfast can consist of different kinds of porridges, rice or corn, served with various types of fruits such as coconut or banana.

Breakfast is a synonym for familiarity, belonging. We can live in country without using native language, we can change our behaviour and manners, our dressing style, we can adapt to different climates and environments, but breakfast...Only when we replace "our" breakfast for a "foreign" one, can we say that we are no longer foreigners.