Breakfast Around the World

Early in our relationship, my husband and I lived in Frankfurt, Germany for almost three years.  At the time we were young, just married, and had no children, so we spent much of our free time traveling around Europe.  The one thing that struck me as we traveled through the countries was the differences in what each country served us for breakfast.  One day while eating breakfast at a bed and breakfast in Germany, I had the idea to have a “Breakfast around the World” celebration with my then unborn children.   For one week I would serve a different country’s typical fare for breakfast.  Now that my children are three and five, it is time to introduce them to breakfast outside of America.  This is the plan for our Breakfast Around the World Staycation this Christmas Break.

Netherlands – Bread topped with butter and chocolate sprinkles (Hagelslag). Served with Gouda or Edam Cheese and fruit.

Turkey – Sourdough bread with feta, olives, jam, tomatoes, butter and honey.

France– We will take a trip to The Give Thanks Bakery

and have croissants for breakfast.

Philippines – Fried rice with eggs and meat.

Germany – Rolls (Brotchen) with lunch meat and cheeses.  Served with fruit.

England – Baked Beans, Bacon, eggs and tomatoes with English Breakfast Tea.

Japan – Steamed Fish, rice and miso soup with Green Tea.

Breakfast Around the World is a tradition that I would like to continue through the years.  Once my children are old enough to consent, I would like to introduce the fact of how little, if any, food some people eat for breakfast on one of the days.  We can also vary it year-by-year adding and subtracting different countries or going back in time to eat more breakfasts from previous time periods, like ancient Rome.  How about you?  What countries would you put on your list and what would you serve?

Comments

  1. Mary Axiotis says

    I just read your article about breakfasts around the world. Nice article but I have a comment to make in regards to breakfast in Turkey. The word “feta” is derived from the greek word meaning slice. When people use the word “feta” they refer to the greek cheese which is exclusive to Greece. When used at the above phrase for breakfast under Turkey, then you are referring to the cheese that’s made in Greece. Turkey makes their own white cheese but it’s not called “feta”. It’s just disconcerting that you are putting a greek word, and a greek-producing cheese under Turkey. You are just misinforming your readers about the actual breakfast in Turkey. If they are using white cheese, then it’s not the greek feta.

    I hope you will be able to make the change and inform your readers with the actual facts.

    Thank you.

  2. Julie Magro says

    Hi Mary,

    Thanks for the feedback. If you know of the correct word in Turkish, please let me know. I will be happy to add in the correct word as I did above for the Dutch word for the sprinkles. I have always referred to it as feta and didn’t know that it had a different name in Turkey.

    Regards, Julie

  3. Mary Axiotis says

    Hello Julie,

    As you probably realized by my name, I am greek and not turkish. There is no way in the world that I would know the turkish word for cheese. I am just telling you that you are using a greek word for something that’s turkish. If I were you, I would do a bit of research and find out exactly what is the name for the cheese they use in Turkey for breakfast. Or simply change it to refer to it as goat’s or sheep’s cheese if it’s any similar to the greek feta. Or just simply refer to it as white cheese. But definitely, definitely not the word “feta”.

    Mary

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