When Breakfast Became the Most Important Meal of the Day

This weekend I was unable to indulge in finding the best breakfast in Cape Town. But fear not, I found a great article explaining the origins of our beloved breakfast.

Article from History Magazine. Vol 4, April 2013.

There is not a vast record of breakfast in the earlier centuries and little attention is given to the first meal of the day. There are accounts of lavish 2 day banquets and feasts where tens of thousands of beasts are killed and prepared for Kings and Queens. As it would happen, most of the population existed on 2 meals a day. Breakfast was a privilege for royalty and their invited guests.  In the 2 meal-a-day routine, the first was generally had at around 10:30am and the second about 5 hours later.

But why did things change?

From as early as 1573, documentation exists that show household servants were usually denied breakfast but schoolboys were given a morning meal. Then in literature dated 1542 state “a labourer may eat three meals a day (ie including breakfast) but two meals is adequate for the rest of man”.

What emerges from various studies is that breakfast was often provided for labourers and gentry in the late 13 and early 14^th century generally out of necessity rather than a demonstration of status. Breakfast was also seen as a medicine; prescribed to sustain the sick and old.

Practical breakfasts (rather than ceremonial ones) were fairly basic. There are few references to anything being cooked and none to the provision of sauces. During harvest time, breakfast usually consisted of bread, cheese and ale. Interestingly, the travellers breakfast usually on consisted of nothing but ale or wine (liquid breakfast).

The noblemen’s breakfasts in the 16^th century were more elaborate. On fish days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) the breakfast consisted of pike, plaice, roach, butter and eggs – not forgetting the house baked bread, beer and wine.

For the love of dairy

More dairy appeared in the 16^th century. Bread and butter became exceedingly popular. Sometimes herbs were added to the butter to impart their properties. From this, the idea that breakfast could do you good was no longer only applied to the sick and old.

When is the first meal of the day?

The regular hour of breakfast can be attributed to the change in the patterns of employment. It was such a long time to 11am since dinner so people needed sustenance to keep them going.

By the late 16^th century, more people worked of others with prescribed working hours. From this dinner was delayed to 7pm or 8pm resulting in a knock on effect. Lunch was moved to 12pm – 1pm because it was popularly believed that there be no longer than 6 hours between these meals and because of this shift it was recognised that a substantial in the start of the day to keep them going.

So breakfast is an urban phenomenon that has grown into an essential health benefit and a favourite pastime.