Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1877-10-13
BREAKFASTS.
The Morning Meal and It's Different
CHARACTERISTICS in Di Herent Places


II is not so easy 10 make good breakfast
as you may fancy. Taxing that meal i'm its
Liter al sense-as the first food in eac1 day-It
appears simple enough. Let Us examine it
with Illustrations (which ought 20 be on
plates, of course) from the practice in France,
England, Scotland, and America.
In Paris early rising is rather general,-au
who work with hand or head must be up be-
times but many persons OF wealth of RAJ K,
and of no particular occupation are also
comparatively early risers. With ali Pa
risians the general practice is TO begin the
day with large cup of good coffee AMI a
Grip rusk of brtad-the latter un -ouched by
butter or any other grease.
Considering that coffee as made in Paris
with excellent Mocha, and bread of a fiue
quality, are specialties which cannot be sur
passed, this way of breaking ones fast must
various ways OF producing cup of good
coffee, bat there is only one way of preparing
the berry to be used for that purpose.
The method pursued is very simple I'm
some cases the servant, to whom the prepa-
ration is confded, browns Tor roasts) the
berry In simple machine upon the kitchen
stove, carefully avoiding TO add even the
smallest quantity of butter or lard during
the process-which, grieve to say, is often
done by servants in order to give the TO ,sted,
glossy look.
The effect of greasing the cry is to give it
a rancid taste. The preferable method, re-
even on such q simple machine as an iron
pan, constantly agitating the berries with a
wooden knife or spatula, and making the
operation cease when the coffee has its color
changed from du ky bright green to a light
brown. A single burnt berry will probably
deteriorste the coffee when served up
A few minutes b fore the time for prepar
ing the coff e for table, ID may be as well q
put on the fire charcoal is almost generally
used in Paris a saucepan of that mornings
milk. AS much milk as water has TO be usad
to produce the matutinal cup of coffee, mod
erately sweetened with good white sugar.
The French fancy that, for this purpose,
their native beet root sugar il better th n
the product of the west or East Indies.
While the new milk is gently simmerilg
on the fire, the housewife puts upon thin
metallic plate whatever quantity OF the
rOa ted coffee may be necessary. This plate
is allowed to rest on the stove INT ii be-
comes warm, and this moderate heat brings
out the aromatic flavor of the berry, SO that
its perfume literally fills the atmosphere.
The coffee thus warmed, with its 9licate
aromatic favor coaxed into use, IS then put
into the ordinary little house Mill ani
ground and the moment this is completed
the ground coffee is manipulated into 'he
dark brown fluid, which in minute or two
will assume chocolate hue. on its ADM K
lure with the slight!y-swectened, hs'f bOilei
new milk. How coffee is made in Paris, SUI
periOr TO all produced out OF hat city, is not
a question for consideration now AL here,
even If ! were a perfect master OF the art
In a few instances the fast Is broken with
bread and chO -Olate, but the latter from the
quantity of grease added To IL by the manu-
lecturers, is too heavy on most "fr Ssh and
Some persons, / have been credib'y in
formed, go TO the length of taking chocolate
with vanilla in the morning. / know not
what may be the rate of mortality among
such unfortunates.
French men have long recoyniz I'd the car
dual truth that the stomach, on first ava ken
ing to consciousness and sense Of another
days troubles, requires to be c0mf)rted and
stayed with gentle and stimulating aim ants.
Hence the early cup of coffee, with mDrsel
of bread, followed at an interval of three or
Our hours by the substantial meal-the
breakfast with the tork-which nature tnen
imperatively demands.
The second breakfast somewhat CORE
spends with the midday lunch of the Brito1,
and is, In fact, lighter early dinner, with
fish, flesh, and fowl, it may be, and a deli
cate dessert of fruit and crisp cakes to end
it; table claret, light wines, and nov aud
then, when there is a guest, glass Or two of
nate 'the sparkling.
The French breakfast begins about noon
and occupies an hour at most. The business
man, who had his coffee at 8, has got through
most of his work by midday, and is in
condition to take solid meal. AS the Paris
dinner hour is between and Z o'clock, there
Will be five or six hours before the meal of
the day will be taken.
The English differs very much from the
French breakfast. Some very respectable
persons break their fast (by medical ADVICE,
they say with a dram-equivalent, / pre-
sumo, TO the "eye opener" cocktail" and
similar morning dose at home. They add
raw egg 10 the SITO1S liquor t0ey lInUlDe.
Again there is an almost universal belief
ia the British mind that delicate persons,
even young ladies, of a consumptlve tenden
cy, may cheat the sexton and establish rude
health by taking glass OF OLD Jamaica rum
in lumber OF milk, hot from the COW, pro-
vided that the effects be walked of during
the next hour.
The Emperor Charles " broke his fast in
h' d at early dawn by literally devOurlng the
whole OF chicken stewed in milk. After
that he again betoOk himself to sleep, W hich
perhaps was the best thing he could have
done.
The regular British breakfast has little re-
sem lance to the French meal. 1t usually
consists, among the middle class, including
towns, simply of tea or coffee, or both with
bread, plain or toasted. AS a general rule
new bread is in little favor in a British house
hold from the prevailing belief that it is diff
fcult OF digestion.
Eggs and buttered to asst are generally found
at the middle class English breakfast. Meat
by manual labor and require strengthening
food are usually unable 10 afford animal food
al that meal. FriZzled bacon is not unusual,
and cold meat, remanet from the previous
come again" fashion, on a side table.
AS rule, then, the ordinary British break
fast is very common meal. 1t begins at 8,
let us say. About u or there may be
sand and a glass of ale for lunch. The
dinner hour for business people ranges from
to I I'M the afternoon, and that is usually
as SoOu huu IL OlLeu pidlu, ds Itle
family income will permit. But, as q rule,
the ordinary Englishman gets animal food
only once day.
In rich houses, and especially in the coun-
try, the perfection OF the English breakfast
is TO be encountered. Delicate mutton or
lamb chops; rashers of home cured bacon;
eggs boiled by spirit lamp, in a silver YES
Sci, on the table with a minute glass to regu
late the time; buttered muffins aud toast;
Norfolk bloateIs, a species of herring, either
fresh cured or done up into paste, which is
spread upon dry bread; cold ham and
tongue, with a reserve OF game pie and cold
roast beef on the sideboard; exquisite tea
and coffee, enriched with cream fresh from
the dairy. This is first class English
breakfast-tOo rich and too abundant for the
first meal.
About O'Clock luuch-chops, chicken,
sweetbreads and peas, tongue and nam, game
pie, etc, with malt, liquor, claret, and Rhine
wine. At a regular dinner of three courses,
with varieties of liquors. Is IL a wonder that
the English gentlemen and ladies require aud
take great deal of exercise, to make such
large quantities OF rich food properly digest?
1, who take meat only once in the day, and
don't know, in person, what dyspepsia
means, would perish in ten days under such
stuffing as this.
As for American break asts, what can be
said? There is Infinite variety at them, aud
the viands are erich and rare''-chief1 Y In the