From porridge to parathas: breakfast with students from around the world

Though the pancakes and scrambled eggs in John Jay’s breakfast array may seem like standard morning fare to many Columbia students, the term “breakfast” often has other associations for international students. With a student body as diverse as Columbia’s, the cafeteria at brunch-time is frequently filled with chatter about international politics and various cultural customs. But how do international students’ breakfasts here differ from those of their home countries?

In many parts of the globe, breakfast is less elaborate than the traditional American spread of bacon, eggs, cereal, toast, and orange juice. Breakfast in most western European countries consists mainly of bread. In Wallonia, the southern part of Belgium, the influence of nearby France has made the baguette a breakfast staple, while multigrain bread is more popular in Flanders, the northern part. The bread is frequently buttered and eaten with hard cheese and cured meats such as ham and salami. Alternatively, some people top their bread with hagelslag—chocolate and sugar sprinkles named for their resemblance to hailstones.

The combination of bread and cheese is not unique to western European breakfast tables—it is also the center of a traditional breakfast in Turkey. Turkish bread, found as both loaves and flatbreads, is eaten with a sheep’s milk cheese that is similar to feta, along with tomatoes and black olives. “Not green, not red, but black,” explained Duygu Yilmaz, CC ’12. ”What I sometimes have on my bread is spicy Turkish sausages.”

In China, most people buy food from street vendors instead of making breakfast at home. “On weekends you might make your own food, but that’s rare,” Amy Xiao, SEAS ’12, said. “The fact that it’s freshly cooked is a good incentive to go out and buy food.”

Traditionally, Chinese breakfast has consisted of a fried pastry called you tiao. Other popular dishes available from these vendors include porridge and steamed buns with red bean paste.

But in recent years, the Western practice of eating bread and milk for breakfast has become increasingly common in China, as well as cereal in India. Nevertheless, people in northern India frequently eat parathas, a flatbread that is fried in butter and often stuffed with vegetables and cheese. Suji, or semolina, is a dish that is normally eaten as a dessert but can also be served at breakfast (either plain or adorned with dried fruit),accompanied by a cup of tea.

A traditional breakfast in Guatemala features coffee, beans, and tortillas, often accompanied by fried plantains, guacamole, beef, or a fried egg. Further south in Peru, eggs and steak are common, as well as tamales and chicharrones, a pork dish served with sweet potatoes in onion. “Oatmeal is common,” Claudia Meza-Cuadra, CC ’12, said. “There’s frequently papaya juice.”

Despite the increasing popularity of Western, and particularly American, breakfast foods, this wide range of approaches to the most important meal of the day continues to endure.