European Breakfast

Breakfast in England and Ireland

The English breakfast is one of the richest and most varied. It consists mainly of eggs that can be fried, scrambled or poached, accompanied by sausages and bacon. Often they also add mushrooms, chips, beans, tomatoes, bread, beans or lentils, and toast with jam and fruit. Some drink milk, coffee or tea, and orange juice too. As it requires a lot of time for its elaboration, in many houses this full breakfast is only consumed on holidays and on weekdays they reduce the quantity a bit but the egg is never lacking. In Ireland, breakfast is similar to English although in smaller quantity.

Breakfast in Central European Countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, and Belgium

In these countries, the breakfast consists of ham, eggs, bread, butter, cheese, sausage, fruit, jam, and cereals. In Holland some festivities such as Christmas, New Year or Easter Sunday are also celebrated at breakfast, expanding the range of products and consuming some of higher quality and budget, both salty and sweet. In Switzerland, they add the muesli to their breakfast, in Germany and Austrian sausages, and in Belgium waffles.

Breakfast in Nordic Countries: Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark

In these countries, the breakfast usually consists of coffee, tea or juice, accompanied by open sandwiches with sausages or cheese. They also eat cereals, toast, fruit and different types of Scandinavian yogurts such as viili or filmjölk. In Norway, it is very common to eat whole grain bread at breakfast. In Sweden and Norway breakfast sometimes includes more foods such as fish, eggs, and tomatoes.

Breakfast in South and Mediterranean: Spain, Portugal, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta and Greece

Usually, in these countries, their breakfast does not have the same importance as in the center and north of the continent. It is usually eaten less quantity and variety than necessary and quickly. Although within each of these countries there are also variations, the most common is to drink milk with coffee or cocoa, especially children. It is usually accompanied by bread, pastries, cookies, jam or butter toast and cereals. It also consumes orange juice or apple. In Portugal and Greece, yogurt is also consumed at breakfast. In France, it is usual to consume croissants and in Spain, they also include croissants and muffins at their first meal of the day.

Breakfast in Russia and Eastern Countries

The Russians, as a breakfast drink, usually prefer tea, and they accompany it with blinis, which are like crepes or waffles. They also eat cereal mixed with water or milk. In the other Eastern countries, preferences are more balanced between milk, milk with cocoa, coffee with milk, or tea. Cheese and honey are also present in Eastern European breakfast. They also include some salty food such as cheese sandwiches and sausages.

Southeastern countries such as Bulgaria, Albania or Macedonia often include yogurt for breakfast, while in Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia, most influenced by Austria, they often eat sausages. In Hungary and Poland, the breakfast is very abundant and elaborated, including also eggs and vegetables. In all these countries a varied range of local pastries is also included at breakfast.