Breakfast:
an ineffable and varied
morning ritual from all over the world
Casabella - Lago Maggiore - B and B
satisfies all its guests
Carlo Petrini, Italian gastronome and
writer, founder of the Slow Food movement, asserts that our breakfast ritual
“tells us who we are”. Wherever we are in the world, we just need to take a
look around and immerse ourselves in the surrounding environment to get an idea
of people’s needs, starting from their food habits and the way they start their
day off. Many factors must be taken into account, like the climate (hot or
cold), the landscape (sea or mountains), the workplace (city or countryside), the
rhythms ruling one’s workday. Here’s why Petrini mentions some very different
examples: his joy when he found himself in a hotel in Stockholm, looking out a
glass wall and eating herrings at a huge breakfast buffet. Or the amazement of
taking part in the “Fair of the fat ox” in Carrù, whose sumptuous breakfast,
after the award ceremony at 5 a.m., consisted of boiled meat.
Breakfast for the average Italian, typically
eaten in a bar, standing
If a British couldn’t take the time to eat
his eggs and bacon, toast and sausage with a spoon of beans before facing his
busy workday, he would have a hard time making it to the end of the day. And if
a Mexican couldn’t do the same with the products of his land, chicken, eggs, corn
tortillas, bread and hot sauces, it would be hard for him to stay on his feet
until night. The same for the average American, if he hadn’t his fruit juice,
maple syrup and pancakes with eggs and ham.
Typical breakfasts from
different cultures: from the top 1) UK (toast, eggs, mushrooms, beans), 2)
China (rice porridge with fried bread sticks, called “Congee”), 3) Mexico
(triangles of fried corn tortillas, called Chilaquiles, with chicken, eggs and
hot sauce), 4) Venezuela (corn flatbreads filled with cheese, chicken, eggs and
avocado), 5) Japan (soup of miso, tofu, pickles, plums, smoked or boiled fish,
rice, Nori seaweed), 6) Iceland (oatmeal with raisin, brown sugar and black
coffee, called Hafragrautur), 7) France (croissant, tea, milk, slices of bread
with chocolate), 8) USA (pancakes with maple syrup, eggs, bacon and orange
juice), 9) Spain – Catalonia (bread, fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce, extra
virgin olive oil and salt).
A typical breakfast meal in Japan
consists of boiled or smoked fish, with soups of miso and tofu, pickled and plums,
Nori seaweed and rice. In China, the main dish is Congee, a rice porridge
served with fried bread sticks. In Venezuela, people eat corn flatbreads filled
with chicken, eggs, cheese, avocado, salad. In Spain, it is outrageous not to
find on the table toasted slices of bread with tomatoes, fresh or in sauce, extra
virgin olive oil and salt (something very similar to the Italian “bruschetta”).
In Iceland it is a custom to have a big cup of oatmeal with raisin, coffee and
brown sugar
Here’s an overview of the most typical
breakfast meals in different countries of the world!
Cold or hot milk and coffee are the only
ingredients all breakfast meals have in common, regardless of the latitude. The
taste of coffee, whether it’s expresso or filtered coffee, decaffeinated or
instant coffee, is the set piece of any breakfast worthy of its name, at least
in western countries.
Despite knowing that breakfast is among
the most awaited moments for every tourist, hotels tend to offer ready-made snacks,
single serve jelly packets, fruit juices with low fruit content, packed
croissants and cookies. Those who offer something better, usually 5-star
hotels, provide self-service machines for coffee and milk, melted cheese and shoulder
ham. Eggs, if any, are cooked earlier and heated up with steam, never prepared
on the spot.
In the north-western
Italian region of Piedmont, there’s a B&B called Casabella, which has
become well-known among its customers and in reviews on travel guide books for
its breakfasts for all tastes. They consist of eggs and vegetables, bacon and Parmesan
cheese, fresh goat cheese, robiola and ricotta cheese, caprese salads with
mozzarella, tomatoes and basil. All dishes go with milk and coffee of any kind,
from americano to expresso, decaffeinated or ginseng, caffè d’orzo (made with
barley) or instant coffee, orange and grapefruit juices. Not to mention toasted bread, butter and
jellies, homemade chocolate cakes or tarts from the bakery, sometimes with
whipped cream and seasonal fruit.
Breakfasts at CASABELLA – Lago Maggiore
are made with the double desire of offering to guests the Italian taste and adapting
to the culinary features of every country. They are served in rooms of modern
design, in a homey environment rich in art and beauty, between libraries,
paintings and drawings, with a good, but not ordinary background music,
pleasant to anybody’s ear. Starting from coffee and milk, toasted bread, butter
and jelly, we get on to tomatoes and basil dishes, caprese salads, hard-boiled
and scrambled eggs, omelettes, fried eggs with or without cheese, bacon and pan-fried
vegetables. Pies are homemade or from the bakery and they are an extra to
croissants or baked fruit pastries, sprinkled with powdered sugar or honey.
Cornflakes, yogurt and seasonal fruit are never missing.
Reviews prove that Casabella satisfies all
of its clients’ tastes: http://www.tripadvisor.it/Hotel_Review-g664171-d1235216-Reviews-Casabella-Lesa_Lake_Maggiore_Piedmont.html;
Enrico Mercatali
Lesa, April 22nd, 2015
(traduzione dall'italiano di Penelope Mirotti)
(traduzione dall'italiano di Penelope Mirotti)
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