1.
The 'Full English' originated in roughly 1840.
2.
However, the menu wasn't fixed.
3.
Isabella Beeton lays out the following breakfast advice in The Book of Household Management (1861)
4.
Cooked breakfast fell out of fashion during WW2, due to the scarcity of bacon and eggs.
5.
After the war, a cooked breakfast returned, but was mainly saved for the weekend.
6.
For example, in 1948, twice as many people had eggs for breakfast on Sunday as in the middle of the week.
7.
The notion of a large breakfast prevailed into the 1950s.
8.
In 1956, half of all adults and teenagers had a cooked breakfast in the morning- even if it was just a boiled egg
9.
By 1976, only 20% had a cooked breakfast.
10.
Generally, a Full English includes: bacon, poached or fried eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried bread or toast with butter, sausages and baked beans.
11.
A Cornish variant includes hog's pudding and Cornish potato cakes or fried potatoes.
12.
An Ulster version includes potato bread and soda farls.
13.
The Welsh variant includes laverbread, eaten fried with bacon and cockles.
14.
In the North Midlands, oatcakes sometimes replace fried bread.
15.
A Scottish version includes tattie scones and Lorne sausage.
17.
But a 'healthy' makeover is never an option.
18.
The meal has inspired tattoos.
21.
And a society - The English Breakfast Society was founded in 2012.
22.
Naturally, there's a nuanced etiquette to dividing up the plate.
23.
But really, all that matters is getting stuck in.
