Breakfast is our first meal of the day. The word “breakfast” derives from breaking the fast; not eating since the night before. Breakfast usually consists of foods that are high in energy content.

 

The origins of breakfast go back to the beginning of time. Archaeological evidence indicates that there was an early reliance on cereal grains, Wild emmer and wheat and a variety of barley were first gathered and then cultivated in the Middle East around 7000 B.C. Corn was grown in South America and rice in Asia starting around 4500 B.C.E., and rye and oats were cultivated in Europe from about 400 B.C. Stone querns were used to grind the hulled grains, that were then boiled to make a kind of porridge. When other types of wheat were introduced throughout the Middle East and Europe, higher-rising breads could be baked, and Barley was also used to make malt and thus to brew beer from Neolithic times onwards. Beer became the beverage of choice for breakfast. People living in what is now Europe broke their fast with a mug of beer and an oat-cake; a heavy bread made from barley and oats, or a bowl of porridge. In warmer climates, rice became a breakfast staple. In Hong Kong, chicken congee, or rice cooked in a rich chicken stock, has been eaten with tea for breakfast for centuries. Likewise in southern India, rice is cooked with fresh ginger, chilies, and spices and served with eggs cooked in ghee.

 

By the end of the 1600s, breakfast throughout most of Europe and the American colonies evolved to what is now known as "continental breakfast" offered in hotels in America and Europe. Less affluent households still drank beer for breakfast with their bread or porridge, but wealthier households began to include coffee or tea, bread and butter, a selection of cold meats, perhaps porridge on a cold day. By Victorian times, breakfast had become a lavish affair including a cold joint of meat, game pies, broiled mackerel, sausages, bacon and eggs, muffins, toast, marmalade, butter, jam, coffee, and tea.

 

However, the biggest breakfast revolution by far was the invention of breakfast cereals. "Cereal" is a 19th century borrowing from Latin "cerealis" for agriculture. Ceres is the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture. The Kellogg’s Company, headquartered in Battle Creek Michigan, is the world’s largest producer of cold cereals. The Kellogg brothers were part of the first health movement in America that warned about the dangers of fatty, protein rich foods. Instead, they advocated a diet based primarily on vegetables, grains and fiber. Their devotion to this dietary regime gave rise to the Kelloggs Company and the large consumption of cereals that exists today. In 1902 a cereal based on flakes of corn and flavored with barley malt was marketed, and the famous Corn flakes were born. The company continued to grow and in 1924 it expanded its business to Australia and in 1938, Kelloggs started selling cereals in England. Today, Kellogg’s products are manufactured in 19 countries and sold to more than 160 countries around the world.

 

 

So whatever your taste is, whether its ham and eggs, sausages, porridge, or cereal, make sure you have some breakfast before you leave the house today. Bon appétit!