In today’s “Tasty Tuesdays” post, I’m going to be sharing with you some thoughts about breakfast from Mrs. Isabella Beeton (in her “1861 Classic with Advice on Cooking, Cleaning, Childrearing, Entertaining, and More” — “Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management”). Although breakfast was usually only mentioned in passing throughout this book, I was intrigued by the “Bills of Fare” that Mrs. Beeton presented for breakfast — as well as for the other meals of the day, including “luncheons and suppers” as well as “a bill of fare for a picnic of 40 persons”. So… Here’s what Mrs. Beeton had to say about breakfasts:
“It will not be necessary to give here a long bill of fare of cold joints, &c., which may be placed on the side-board, and do duty at the breakfast table. Suffice it to say, that any cold meat the larder may furnish, should be nicely garnished, and be placed on the buffet. Collared and potted meats for fish, cold game or poultry, veal-and-ham pies, game-and Rump-steak pies, are all suitable dishes for the breakfast-table, as also cold ham, tongue, &c. &c.
The following list of hot dishes may perhaps assist our readers in knowing what to provide for the comfortable meal called breakfast. Broiled fish, such as mackerel, whiting, herrings, dried haddocks, &c.; mutton chops and rump-steaks, broiled sheep’s kidneys, kidneys a la maitre d’hotel, sausages, plain rashers of bacon, bacon and poached eggs, ham and poached eggs, omelets, plain boiled eggs, oeufs-au-plat, poached eggs on toast, muffins, toast, marmalade, butter, &c. &c.”
So, there you have it: Mrs. Beeton’s “bill of fare” for “the comfortable meal called breakfast”. I read through “Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management”, hoping to find a recipe for something on her bill of fare, but I couldn’t find anything. (Guess she expected that most Victorian women (and/or cooks) would already know how to make such things.) So… I did what I generally do when looking for new recipes to feature in my “Tasty Tuesdays” posts: I did an online search, specifically for “Victorian Breakfast Recipes”, and I found an article called “Victorian Era Breakfast Recipes: 11 Morning Meals From the Past” on the following Web site: littlethings.com, and because I liked the way this article started, I’m going to begin with that. So, here goes…
“Breakfast is probably — no, definitely — my favorite meal of the day. In fact, I see no problem with enjoying some yummy eggs or piling up a plate of pancakes for lunch or dinner, too. This is why I was so happy to stumble on these scrumptious Victorian breakfast recipes!
… Obviously, things were much different back in Victorian-era England. Still, they certainly knew how to make a good meal that would fill one up for a long day of work. Some of their ideas might seem a little strange to us, but I guarantee that you’ll find more than a few things you’ll want to whip up in the morning.
Take a look at these Victorian breakfast recipes, including a few by Queen Victoria’s own chief cook!”
Although this article featured eleven recipes for such things as bread steaks and egg fritters, I want to share a recipe for something I usually think of as Victorian (or at least, British)… CRUMPETS!
Crumpets
(from: littlethings.com)
Ingredients
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons unsalted melted butter
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 3 Tablespoons water
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Scald the milk, then add melted butter and the lukewarm water. Mix in the yeast and sugar. Stir over heat until frothy. Allow to rise for an hour or until it has doubled in size. Butter muffin tins without bottoms* and arrange on a buttered skillet. Spoon the batter into the rings and cook for about two minutes on each side. Remove the ring and cook again for about three more minutes.
Note:
*If you can’t find bottomless muffin tins for this “true English muffin”, you can use clean tuna cans with both ends removed! (Such a clever idea!)
Because I’ve never really liked “English muffins”, I thought I’d give this recipe for crumpets a try to see if I like these “true English muffins” better. At this point, the verdict’s still out, so I’ll have to let you know when it’s in and what it is. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts about Mrs. Beeton’s bill of fare for the “comfortable meal called breakfast” AND what’s on your “bill of fare” for breakfast. What’s breakfast like for you?