The question of what Americans eat for breakfast is quite difficult, because even out of the blue you can offer several options as an answer. An American-style breakfast can include both heavy and light dishes, and it can also combine two different ones. Products specific to this meal can also be served for lunch, dinner or just as an appetizer.
On the other hand, a large number of Americans ignore breakfast at all, or simply have a snack during the morning hours. However, some patterns can still be distinguished.
What foods are included in a traditional American breakfast?
In most cases, breakfast will include coffee, tea, fruit juice (mainly orange, grapefruit or tomato) or milk as a drink. Of the other products, the following options prevail:
- Bread base: toasted bread, bagels, pretzels, English muffins, bran muffin. As a rule, flour is smeared with butter, jam, jelly or cream cheese.
- Elements of a healthy diet: fruit, cottage cheese or yogurt.
- Grain-based cold snacks: cereal breakfast cereals, drenched in milk and possibly with slices of fruit like bananas, strawberries, raspberries, etc. Granola is also a popular choice. Children's cereal breakfasts can be very sweetened.
- Cereal-based hot snacks: oatmeal, cereals made from wheat or rice, often with added milk. They can be prepared from scratch or purchased in the form of convenience foods in bags, ready to be heated in the microwave. Oatmeal is often flavored with cinnamon, apples, raisins or nuts.
- Eggs: fried, scrambled eggs or soft-boiled.
- Pancakes or waffles, usually drenched with maple syrup.
- Smoked fish: salmon, sturgeon, trout, herring. It is served cold along with bread, capers and onions. This is a pretty sumptuous breakfast that is almost never casual.
A hot American breakfast usually consists of the following foods:
- Sausages and meat products: bacon, ham, sausages, a small steak, corned beef.
- Vegetables: potatoes (fries, fried potatoes, hash brown), baked or fried beans, corn (porridge made from cornmeal, popular in the south). As a rule, such a side dish is combined with cookies and rolls.
Elements of an American Breakfast in a Restaurant
Some sophisticated egg dishes are served at festive morning banquets or in restaurants. These include Benedict eggs ( poached egg on an English bun or toast with a slice of Canadian bacon covered in a thick Dutch sauce) and Florentine eggs (topped with fresh spinach in cheese sauce).
A dish such as Huevos Rancheros, a Mexican national dish that is an omelet with onions, tomatoes, chili and garlic, is also known in America. It is served in a spicy red sauce.
American omelet can include various components. Common additions include cheese, mushrooms, onions, chopped green or red bell peppers, diced ham, bacon, chili peppers, and various other diced meat and vegetables.
Fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds, offer a special menu for an American breakfast: egg sandwiches, sausages, cheese in English pastries. Many Americans prefer similar egg sandwiches with plain bread or pita bread, especially as a quick breakfast on the go.
American breakfast: main course recipes
The description will be incomplete without recipe preparation of some popular products. First of all, we will focus on pancakes, omelette and bacon.
American pancakes
American pancakes are made from batter, consisting of flour, baking powder, milk and eggs. Adding buttermilk to the dough is an American classic. Pancakes can be served with any meat, fruit and vegetable filler. In addition, they can be sprinkled with butter or syrup, sprinkled with berries or other cut fruit, decorated with whipped cream or even topped with a scoop of ice cream.
Pancakes are also a traditional product, and their difference in thickness. They are more like Russian pancakes than pancakes. Both flour products can be made from cornmeal. By the way, waffles are prepared and served in much the same way.
Pancakes are prepared at home from scratch, as well as from popular dry mixes. Waffles can be prepared by yourself using a waffle iron and similar dough. However, frozen waffles for warming up in the toaster are also extremely popular.
Bacon
It is impossible to imagine an American breakfast without fried bacon. These meat strips featured in many famous films.
In a traditional way, the bacon is fried in a pan to a moderately crispy state. However, modern housewives prefer to do this in the microwave (it is believed that such food is healthier). There is also another way to cook bacon - in the oven. To do this, lay out strips of bacon on the foil, and then bake for several minutes.
Muesli
Muesli is one of the best options for a healthy breakfast. Americans use a little oil to make this snack. It makes muesli more tender and satisfying. How to cook a delicious American breakfast with them?
To do this, add a little dried apples to the muesli and mix well. In addition, you can add any nuts - pecans, almonds, walnuts and so on. This mix is especially delicious when combined with Greek yogurt or cold milk.
Omelette
An American omelet breakfast is different in that it does not contain milk or other additives. To cook it, you will need a non-stick pan with a thick bottom and sloping edges to heat the eggs evenly and not allow them to burn in the corners.
Beat the eggs very carefully so that there is not a single strip of egg white left. Then add a pinch of salt and grated cheese. In addition, you can add any products to the filling at your discretion: canned corn, peas, chopped vegetables, ham, bacon and so on. You can mix several types of fillings and get a tasty hearty dish.
As you can see, the American breakfast menu is easy to create on your own.