Development of English Breakfast
- In 18th century, when the industrial revolution developed, there were not so many people who were too busy in the morning. Especially for the men working in factories, it was necessary to get enough nutrition in the morning to manage harsh working.
- At the end of 18th century, tea, toast with butter, and porridge became very popular, and the custom eating three meals a day became common (They used to eat two meals a day).
- In 19th century, the breakfast developed more. Hot dish put with boiled egg, scrambled egg, and pork chop became common, which made people got easier to get energy in the morning.
- At the end of 19th century, current English style of breakfast was established, which is tea and toast for main, meat, fish, egg, and bunch of vegetables.
Afternoon Tea
The custom having afternoon tea was introduced by Anna Maria Stanhope in the middle of 19th century. At that time, because the time to eat dinner for the nobility was getting late gradually, they could not resisit hunger; therefore, noble ladies started to drink tea and eat snacks, which was the start of afternoon tea. Meanwhile at the end of 10th century, although afternoon tea began for the nobility to satisfy their hunger, it spreaded rapidly to commoners as well. They served tea with luxurious silverwares for the guests. Afternoon tea was not only for just drinking tea but also for showing their status and enjoying an elegance.
Reference
Deguchi, Yasuo. Kobayashi, Akio. Saitou, Takako. The 21st Century Encyclopeadia of British Culture. Tokyo: Tokyo shoseki, 2009.
