I don’t like eating breakfast. I like traditional breakfast foods, but eating them in the morning is a different story. Waking up is bad enough, but having to eat a full meal before my brain is ready to process anything? No way. However, I signed up to go on a Trek to the UK and eat a Full English Breakfast at 8AM.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against people who enjoy eating the full English Breakfast. It’s a meal with a rich history, dating back to medieval times. In “Edible Histories: The Full English Breakfast,” Mark Riddaway reports that back then, an English Breakfast consisted of bread and porridge accompanied by ale. A cheap meal to fuel a worker for the day. Fast forward a while, the industrial revolution allowed commoners to emulate the rich by adding eggs, bacon, and sausage to their breakfasts. Riddaway adds that items such as baked beans and fried potatoes were only included at breakfast once rationing due to the World Wars had ended. The meal I ate consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, black pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes, hash browns, and toast. It had proteins, fats, carbs, fiber, and a plethora of vitamins and minerals. A huge meal covering every nutrient needed for the day ahead.
Still a bit tired, I started by picking at the fried eggs. Interestingly, the runny yolks were orange, while American eggs have yellow yolks. The taste wasn’t too different, so I moved to the bacon, which was nice and salty. At this point, I finally felt awake, having woken up early so that I would feel awake while eating. Next, I tried the hash browns, which were crispy the whole way through, making them a bit dry. I then tried the sausage, which tasted a bit too sweet for me, reminiscent of a breakfast sausage patty.
Now, remaining on the plate were five foods. I moved the mushrooms and tomatoes to the side, as I had no intention of eating them. This left me with black pudding, beans, and toast. Blood has never been something I’ve felt squeamish about, so I tried the black pudding, which tasted like a salty and dry American hotdog. What I didn’t want to try was the beans on toast. Did I have to eat them together? No. Would I be missing out on the full experience if I ate them separately? Yes. So I ate the beans on the toast and discovered that, after not having baked beans since elementary school, I now hated the sweet and mushy beans.
This wrapped up the meal for me. After eating, I did not consider eating again until around 2PM, as it was very filling. While I ended up enjoying this breakfast, I do not think I would have it again. This is mostly because I had to wake myself up extra early to be able to eat it, however this was a fun experience, as I had done it with friends.