Breakfast

North American breakfasts may feature such foods as toast, breakfast cereals, eggs, bacon, ham, sausages, pancakes, waffles, French toast, pastries such as croissants, doughnuts, and muffins[?], and fruit. Britons would add tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding, and fish to the list. Common beverages include fruit juices[?], milk, tea, and/or coffee

English speakers tend to eat more for breakfast than continental Europeans, whose breakfast is scarcely more than a snack to tide one over until lunch - commonly called a "continental breakfast".

A distinctive breakfast of Europe is the Madrid early morning post-discotheque fare of chocolate y churros - the standard extremely thick, hot and sweet hot chocolate with fritters.

Many nutritionists promote breakfast as a very important meal which provides important nourishment and energy to begin the day. Studies have indicated that food eaten early in the day is less likely to contribute to fat gain than food eaten in the evening.

Some restaurants devote themselves to breakfast or have special breakfast menus. The field is dominated on one hand by greasy spoons, diners, cafés, cafeterias, and fast food places, and on the other hand by hotels. However, some breakfast places resemble standard restaurants in procedure, selection, and price.

Breakfast is occasionally served as an entertainment meal. More popular than breakfast in this regard, however, is brunch.

The serving of a pancake breakfast is traditional on Shrove Tuesday, and some celebrate a festive breakfast on Christmas morning.

The term "breakfast" comes from it being the meal with which you break your overnight fast. It is then a calque of the French déjeuner or petit déjeuner and the Spanish desayuno. The German Frühstück and Esperanto matenmanĝo mean "morning meal."

See also:

• lunch
• high tea
• supper.