insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 20 - October 2016 | Page 38

FOOD+DRINK

What’s For Breakfast?
Breakfast is often cited as being the most important meal of the day,
but it wasn’t until the 1600s that it really became part of our daily routine.
Before then, most people in Britain skipped the first meal of the day,
and this was mainly due to the fact that work had to be carried out
when the sun was up – there was little time for food that early when
there was so much else to do. Lunch would be taken at around 10am,
and dinner at around 3pm. When the sun went down, it was time for
bed, so eating at times we might find strange today was a necessity,
especially in the winter.

The changes really came when labourers stopped
working for themselves. When more regular
employment came about, and employers
expected their workers to start at 5am and finish
at 8pm, the gap between meals grew too large
– the workers were hungry and restless. So the
idea of having an early morning, midday, and late
afternoon meal came about.

Initially, the food eaten at breakfast was little
different to that eaten at all other times of the
day, and it was not unusual to find that ale and
wine were served. Bread, cheese, meat, and fish
were also popular. King Henry IV enjoyed chicken
first thing in the morning (although he was more
likely to make do with a liquid breakfast if he
wanted to get out hunting early).
Today, with the advent of cereals, fresh fruit
being more readily available, and a convention

that certain foods (ale, wine and chicken are just
examples) are just not ‘right’ when it comes to
breakfast, what we eat has most certainly
changed. We are lucky to be able to enjoy much
more healthy breakfasts than we ever did in the
past – the average breakfast in the 1890s came
in at around 4,000 calories!
Why not try some of these great breakfast
recipes to kickstart your day?

Bacon, Cheese & Egg Biscuit
Ingredients:
• 350g plain flour
• 7g salt
• 12g baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 15g sugar
• 11