Breakfast Around the World

(From The Blackbirch Kid's Almanac of Geography, available online in Kids InfoBits)

The first foods eaten in the morning "break" the "fast" of the night before, and are therefore called breakfast. Here are some typical breakfasts from around the globe.

Argentina

Coffee with milk or steamed milk with bittersweet chocolate melted into it; and bread.

Australia

Toast topped with either spaghetti or baked beans and bacon.

Belize

Egg dishes, chorizo and other sausages, tortillas, sweet breads, and fried plantains.

Bolivia

A mid-morning snack of saltenas, or pastries filled with a mixture of meats, peas, potatoes, eggs, raisins, and olives.

Bulgaria

Sesame bread, sheep's milk, cheese, honey, olives, boiled eggs, and yogurt.

China

In northern China, soy milk with steamed wheat buns stuffed with pickles. In southern China, porridge made of rice (congee) with pickled turnip or cabbage.

England

An array of meats including bacon, sausages, kidney, and mutton chops, along with eggs, grilled tomato, oatmeal, smoked fish, crumpets, and toast.

India

Khichri, a mixture of rice, lentils, and spices; appam, a thin rice pancake filled with meat and potatoes; idi-appam, rice noodles with sweet coconut milk; idli, steamed rice and split peas cakes; or puttu, steamed rice and coconut served with bananas and milk.

Ireland

Bacon, sausages, grilled tomato, fried eggs, black pudding, brown bread, soda bread, and toast.

Japan

Miso soup, rice with seaweed flakes, and pickles made from unripe plums.

Madagascar

Cornmeal gruel with kitoza, which are thin strips of grilled beef.

Netherlands

Cereal, eggs, breads, cold meats, green herring pickled in brine, and warm milk flavored with anise seed.

Pakistan

Cholla, spicy chickpeas in tamarind gravy.

Russia

Black bread, blini, sausages, fried eggs, cucumber pickles, and kasha (buckwheat cereal) with sour cream and sugar.

Turkey

Bread with butter and honey; soup of meat broth and cheese; black olives; and sheep's milk cheese.

United States

Coffee, eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, toast, cereal, and bagels.

Vietnam

Xoi, sticky steamed rice with peanuts.

Wales

Laverbread (made with seaweed) served plain or mixed with oatmeal; and fried cockles (which are similar to mussels).