How ‘Bacon and Eggs’ Became the American Breakfast
americantable.org
americantable.org
I have to question this article because the American breakfast is pretty much just a local variant on the traditional full breakfast [1][2] popular in the UK and Ireland -- and you find similar meals in Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand...kinda what you'd expect.
But as a meal, it's unbelievably awesome. Far better than some reheated fermented bean soup, a bowl of cold rice and some cold fish (which is what I get served when I visit my in-laws).
Actually, the truth is, I can eat local food almost anywhere in the world for 2 meals a day, but breakfast...there's something really special about a full breakfast. Even if I can't swing a full breakfast, I can almost always cook up some eggs and eat a sweat pastry or something from a local bakery I bought the night before.
1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_breakfast
2 - http://www.englishbreakfastsociety.com/english-breakfast/his...
When some asshats blew up half of London in 2005, I had a full English breakfast (at 2pm) and two cups of tea, then walked 16 miles home and still wasn't hungry when I got in :)
Can't beat it.
For reference, I'm not new here. My account is.
So I took a look here http://blog.mahindrahomestays.com/a-taste-of-india-typical-i... and some of these look like they'd be nice diversions every once in a while.
I don't mean to poo-poo it too much. I love this kind of food for lunch and dinner. But it starts my day off all wrong having it for breakfast.
My wife totally didn't get it, but it all came to a head one morning when we were out vacationing at the sea side and woke up with some friends to go find some breakfast. I'd try to go along and eat whatever we could scrounge up but after 14 days of cold fish and soup for breakfast I was past accommodating. We kept driving past perfectly open bakeries or places that might serve milder food stuffs and landed at pretty much the 180 degree polar opposite of a full-English, a pork-intestine soup (and some other misc pork parts) restaurant. [1]
Normally, I find this soup perfectly fine. But as a heavy lunch or dinner foodstuff. Not a breakfast thing - ever.
I lost it, I sat there in stoic fuming silence while everybody else ate their fill. My wife wondering why I wasn't eating anything -- leaving my entire meal untouched. We left, and I gave her an ear full until we stopped at a bakery where I got myself some decent pastries and some very so-so coffee. (reversing roles, my wife frequently has a similar food crisis in various countries we've visited and we've spent hours hunting down something she'll eat. Turns out there really are Chinese restaurants everywhere and that's "close enough" to get her through the day.)
When we finally made it back home to the States, I gorged myself at diners and IHOPs and all day breakfast places for 3 or 4 days until I felt like I was truly back in a civilized land.
1 - See #3 Sundaeguk http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/eat/5-korean-ways-eat-pig-231893
And then you settled for pastries? That sounds like the least-full breakfast you can get this side of a bowl of cereal.
When I'm overseas for a long time, there are 3 things that I crave down to my bones. I guess those are the three things that are core to my being as an American. I'm not ashamed to admit this either after working with many expats in the States who practically go insane trying to find even simple tastes from home to center themselves.
a) the kind of breakfast that's common to the English speaking world (I don't want to say Western, because breakfasts on the European mainland aren't it). In a pinch some fried eggs and a pastry of some kind with some coffee will do.
b) Tex-Mex food. Taco Bell in particular (if you can charitably call that Tex-Mex). I've stood in line for 2 hours and paid $5 a taco once at an overseas Taco Bell I needed it so bad.
But really, finding even passable Tex-Mex outside of the U.S. is frustratingly hard. I've even eaten "Mexican" meat pies in Australia I was so desperate for the taste. They did not satisfy.
c) Any kind of African-American music...which is odd since I don't normally like most of it, but hearing it on the radio after a long time away from home is the sweetest sound I've ever heard and has symbolically told me that yes, I'm really finally home.
One time, after a very extended stay in Germany, when I could practically feel the sausage and cold cuts oozing from my pores I was thinking about tossing it in and going home until I came across a Soul Food restaurant in Vilsek [1]. I sat down, ordered some fried catfish! , sweet ice tea, collard greens and cornbread and sat there for three hours listening to background jazz music. For those three hours I was absolutely transported into the symbolic heart of Americana and left there absolutely renewed and psychically refreshed. I think the staff there knew what I was going through and came and kept the sweet tea filled over some light conversation.
I don't normally like any of those foods or jazz but sitting there completely recentered me mentally and I went back to my job for the next few weeks and finished it without problem.
A cursory Google or Wikipedia search could clear up your misunderstanding, but if you really want to dig deeper into the topic, I strongly recommend Gustavo Arellano's Taco USA, which is a fine popular history of regional Mexican cuisines in the United States.
While there is nothing inherently bad about this, it definitely gives me a sense that something is not authentic when I come to learn it was the result of a marketing campaign.
This bacon and eggs breakfast is just one example. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is another. Can anyone recall any others?
Diamonds, and the various "Hallmark" holidays come to mind.
http://theweek.com/article/index/237421/the-origin-story-of-...
With a history like Listerine's I'm surprised I've never come across a chain email about it [1 (the margarine section)].
And yet, I still use Listerine and antiperspirant every day. Because we live in a society where these things are normal, and not using them would feel weird (and cause offense). We've been thoroughly convinced that the natural state of the human body is disgusting and offensive -- but we can't go back. It's kind of fascinating.
Listerine didn't invent bad breath, they invented a solution.
I think you're misreading me slightly. I didn't say Listerine "invented bad breath." I said, by way of linking the article, that they made "chronic halitosis" into something more than what it really was. They took what had been a relatively obscure medical condition and convinced everyone that they had it, thereby convincing consumers of a need for mouthwash that hadn't really existed before.
For the vast majority of the population, bad breath can be solved by brushing one's teeth and staying hydrated. Listerine, through an admittedly brilliant marketing campaign, convinced people that they needed to take things a step further -- that oral hygiene was somehow incomplete without mouthwash.
Sister 1 had a large, expensive, lavish wedding.
Sister 2 chose my father's rural backyard in the woods overlooking coastline. My father and I erected a gateway made of driftwood, and covered it in leaves and flowers. No money was spent, other than my sister's cheap, plain white dress and the groom's simple suit. It was a beautiful, simple ceremony. The groom's great grandmother remarked on how the wedding was "the way weddings were before everyone went crazy."
...The Florida industry’s aggressive marketing of oranges and orange juice is a key feature of orange juice history, as it slowly developed demand for the product. In 1907 oranges became the first perishable fruit “ever” to be advertised. As crops expanded quickly, marketing became crucial to avoid overproduction. The growth of farmer cooperatives came largely out of a need to market the products. The Florida Citrus Exchange was organized in 1910 to market fresh citrus and also to do research on processing citrus. It created advertising programs and “built national and international sales organizations.”
i) To this day Dentist's applaud adding fluoride to water as a having a huge impact on reducing cavities. I know some folks don't like it being done and dispute it but this article dismisses it as though it were some bizarre fad. ii) drinking glasses were very unsanitary. Moving to paper cups wasn't the right answer; having better hygiene around washing glasses were. But he was responding to what had then become well known. That disease/flu etc would sweep through houses mostly because people shared the same drinking material and didn't clean them very well. iii) 5000 doctors agreeing that a protein driven breakfast is some sort of sham? Maybe it was but you'd want a little more proof than "And this Doctor wrote to 5000 who all agreed because.....?"
This is kind of junky to be on HN homepage.
(Which is why "steak and eggs at [the place astronauts go before launch]" is the ideal answer to "what do you want your last meal on Earth to be".)
I don't know what they have for breakfast, but I guess it doesn't matter much!
This shows the downside of Wikipedia. The "source" for this claim is a conspiracy-nut anti-fluoride essay in the Rothbard-Rockwell Report. Yet it's passed by Wikipedia--and then this article--as a fact.
I'm not sure why this would be hard to believe at all.
In the 1920s, Bernays was approached by the Beech-Nut Packing Company – producers of everything from pork products to the nostalgic Beech-Nut bubble gum. Beech-Nut wanted to increase consumer demand for bacon. Bernays turned to his agency’s internal doctor and asked him whether a heavier breakfast might be more beneficial for the American public. Knowing which way his bread was buttered, the doctor confirmed Bernays suspicion and wrote to five thousand of his doctors friends asking them to confirm it as well. This ‘study’ of doctors encouraging the American public to eat a heavier breakfast – namely ‘Bacon and Eggs’ – was published in major newspapers and magazines of the time to great success. Beech-Nut’s profits rose sharply thanks to Bernays and his team of medical professionals.
The irony is that this is at least half right. Eating protein for breakfast is considered healthy. Perhaps there are better ways to get protein than bacon and fried eggs, but it's not completely off base.
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-lots-protein-mornin...
http://greatist.com/health/high-protein-breakfast-benefits
None of this says eat bacon and eggs every day, but it is pro-protein. Sometimes I'll cook peas with eggs, or have high protein yogurt (Siggi's or Chobani) or turkey bacon rather than picking up the fat in regular bacon.
Of course if my midsection would allow it, I'd have a pound of the good bacon every morning!
Pretty hard to argue that bacon is really as healthy as oatmeal & fruit.
Just for reference, fried eggs have a crapload of cholesterol (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=fried+egg) and bacon is pretty fattening and in general, not too great on cholesterol either (http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2+strips+of+bacon). And this doesn't even include all of the oil these things are fried in.
Also considering the alternative mentioned in the article, eating some fruit and some grains would probably be much healthier.
It's very hard to believe - bacon, cured in salt was a preserved food and you will find references to it in almost any account of American history.
The early settlers in the 1500's brought pigs to America and it's been an American staple ever since.
Edward Louis Bernays was related to Sigmund Freud. This relationship and more is expounded upon in the above documentary, which is definitely worth watching (imho).
When Bernays was hired to get more books sold, he persuaded architects to design houses with bookshelves built into them. on the principle that "nature abhors a vacuum." A slick mofo indeed.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/The-Father-Spin-Bernays-Relations/dp/0...
Oh how I miss Australian bacon: http://3hourspast.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/picture-28.png
Because to me, American bacon is just the crappy bit which is attached to the awesome bit.
Keep your eyes out for "Canadian bacon". It's not identical to Aussie bacon, but it's pretty damn close, and lots of supermarkets in the US carry it (being that it's foreign, and-all)
Don't get me started on what I would do for a good meat pie, sausage roll, or fish and chips. I haven't been home in 7.5 years...
Trust me, the sausage rolls and meat pies in North America are a very poor imitation of the ones back in Australia.
America's food politics create strange ripples around our food economy which make buying locally or more healthy seem difficult or irrational, because the price of bad food that has traveled a long way is artificially deflated.
It makes me wonder, if the all-American breakfast was a bowl of fruit and a glass of milk, would there have been an obesity epidemic?
i can see how someone wouldn't want to eat bacon (for a variety of reasons, health, veganism, sodium intake, religion.... lots of things), but i can't see how they "don't understand" how anyone likes bacon.
it's primarily fat and salt. how is this a huge mystery to you? you REALLY don't undersatnd how a fatty, salty pork product is popular?
_REALLY_?
"i don't understand why they can't move these things 2 inches to the left"
"i don't understand why the entrance to this parking garage is blocked by trash cans every tuesday"
"i don't understand why they can't make this app remember your login"
"i don't understand why you can't change the temperature on this thermostat"
"i don't understand why anyone likes bacon"
hmm.. which of these is not like the others?
See: Denny's, McDonald's, Burger King, etc.
This is not to say that bacon and eggs are solely responsible for the obesity epidemic, but I think it's kind of silly to say that the only people who eat bacon and eggs are those who cook it for themselves, or are more healthy.
The obesity epidemic has nothing to do with bacon and eggs, either home cooked or from McDonalds. They're so rich its hard to eat enough to blow your calorie budget.
The problem is french fries (500 for a large order at McD's), soda (~150 per can), pasta, etc. Nobody would order their hamburger with a side of steak, but a side of fries seems to be a lot less food and is much less filling, despite having a similar number of calories. Nobody would order 15-20 slices of bacon after a big meal at the Cheesecake Factory, but will happily order a giant slice of cheesecake or similar desert, which has just as many calories. Nobody would pick up 7-8 strips of bacon on the way home from work before dinner, but will happily grab a donut and coffee, which has just as many calories.
And aside from the sodium and cholesterol that might be a reasonable breakfast. It's no bowl of oatmeal or banana, but it's not going to make you fat.
On the other hand, a sausage+egg+cheese McGriddle is going to be 500 calories, two hashbrowns is another 300, and an orange juice is going to be another 200. You've hit 1,000 calories, half your allotment for the day, and it's not even 7:30 in the morning.
There are restaurants in the USA that proudly serve a full pound of bacon in a BLT.
http://www.supersizedmeals.com/food/article.php/20090129-1lb...
No. Let's blame over-processed and unhealthy foods (and in the case of McDonald's, meals derived almost entirely from corn).
The simple answer is satiety vs. calories. Bacon and eggs have a lot of calories, but you feel full for a while after eating them. Sugar water has almost as many calories, but you never feel full. So you drink 3000 calories of soda a day, and then you're fat.
Basically, any premade food you find in the store is designed to not satiate you, so you eat (and buy) a lot of it. The food companies have shareholders that want 10% YOY growth, and the best way to get that growth is to get you to eat 10% more calories. Since most people buy processed food rather than cook their own, they get 10% fatter every year.
(As someone who occasionally eats processed food, I'll tell you that it never makes you feel full, and you can definitely pack on the pounds without noticing until it's become a real problem.)
I don't disagree with most of what you said, but a lot of people don't realize that eggs aren't really that high in calories. A large egg is ~70 calories. 2-3 is the most you usually get in a restaurant, so you're talking 200 calories for a meal. That's nothing.
Bacon on the other hand....
Anyway, let me just say that this thread is like stepping into some kind of bizarro world. Bacon is so ridiculously delicious that I'm having a hard time believing this article.
Everything is relative, and I think the GP and I would agree that eggs are not unhealthy.
In many parts of the world, "bacon" is almost entirely fat, sold at room temperature, and kind of gross. I've met a lot of non-Americans that were totally grossed out by bacon in their home country (with good reason), until they ate properly fried bacon, with good meat content, in the US. Every single one became an instant convert. :)
However, there are certainly plenty of people who think it's too heavy for breakfast, at least most days.
What's the reason beef became so popular over lamb/goat/deer? Americans seem to stick to beef/chicken/pork when it comes to meats.
*grew up raising beef, chicken, and pork. Hunted deer. Had a pet goat (he was a jerk). Never raised sheep, but wouldn't mind having some lamb in my freezer.
I don't refuse it, but I don't really care for it. It's pretty much just fat, which I don't find appealing.
A strip of pan-fried bacon has 40-50 calories. 3 strips is a pretty filling portion, because it's so rich, and that has 120-150 calories. Fry a couple of eggs in the bacon grease, and you've got yourself another 160 calories, for a total of 280-310 calories. In comparison, a fruit cup and a glass of 2% milk will probably be pushing 200. Importantly, with the bacon meal you won't be hungry again until lunch, while with the fruit and milk you'll be hungry by 10 am and run the risk of eating too much at lunch.
Americans are fat because of perverse incentives in the restaurant industry. For example, your morning coffee place never used to make much money. Black coffee, which has like no calories, isn't a high-margin business. Enter Starbucks, which upsells you on coffee with sugary syrup and high-margin pastries. Nobody would pick up a 6-ounce sirloin steak or 10 slices of bacon with their coffee, but will happily pick up a blueberry scone that has just as many calories. Restaurants also upsell you on portion sizes, because selling you twice as much food for only 50% more is very profitable when food costs are a fraction of your total costs. The difference between a sensible sized plate of pasta and the portions you get in American restaurants is 10 slices of bacon easily.
Granted, back bacon is a magnitude better than streaky bacon, but it's still basically pork&salt :)
I want to think of that as a monopoly on the concept, and if you have that, then you lose control simply because the public equates the name with the thing solely. I think this is fair as a monopoly is not welcomed generally, so it makes sense that you can have something so popular it loses its trademark and becomes a commodity in the mind.
This story here however makes me want bacon now a little less, though.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2293&dat=19220917&id=X...
It's interesting that there's a small part at the end where it mentions that a heavy lunch is best, but most of the article is about a heavy breakfast.
It seems like a lighter breakfast would be the healthier option, but I can't seem to find any studies to back that up.
From the page at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melton_Mowbray_pork_pie#Melton...
Protection was granted on 4 April 2008, with the result that only pies made within a designated zone around Melton, and using the traditional recipe including uncured pork, are allowed to carry the Melton Mowbray name on their packaging
So, it appears that a "pie zone" may be a "Protected designation of origin".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_designation_of_origi...
However, applying this to the context of the article barely makes sense. Perhaps the 1920s "pie zone" is what eventually evolved into the 2008 law?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46G_DcnKOsU&feature=youtube_...
It is absolutely key to understanding how the modern world works, and it has influenced countless propagandists since then, including Joseph Goebbels.
In a startup, all employees are contributors while the founders are commited. Same as in bacon and eggs. The chickens are contributors but the pigs are commited.
And the outcome? If you want the biggest share you need to be a pig. And you can only do that if you are not a chicken.