Hangover Cure: A Surprising Connection between Brunch and Alcohol
One of the must-dos on weekend mornings is to go to a brunch restaurant for a relaxing moment! Without brunch foods like bacon, smoked salmon, eggs benedict, or waffles, a weekend morning could be as disappointing as a holiday without true relaxation. Have you ever wondered how brunch, this phenomenal combination of breakfast and lunch serving both sweet and savory food, was invented? Let’s take a look at the origin of brunch!
Brunch is created because of hangovers
The word “brunch” firstly appeared in the United Kingdom in 1895. Guy Beringer, a British writer with plenty of experience with hangovers following Saturday parties at late hours, believed that British Sunday breakfasts consist mostly of grease and meat. For people with a hangover, Sunday breakfasts are so filling that people might lose their appetite and have digestion issues. So Beringer wrote in a magazine called Hunter’s Weekly: “Brunch, on the contrary, is cheerful, sociable, and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper; it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow-beings. It sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week. The advantages of the suggested innovation are, in short, without number, and I submit it is time that the old regime of Sunday breakfast made room for the "new course" of Sunday Brunch.” The newly invented concept of “brunch”, combining “breakfast” and “lunch”, was therefore born.
Many food anthropologists believe that the origin of brunch can be traced back to the hunting traditions in the UK. As high-class people finished hunting in the morning, they’d have an abundant breakfast consisting of their prey, some bacon, eggs, and desserts. What’s more, many people believe that brunch could stem from the abundant lunch after fasting on Sunday mornings in the Catholic tradition.
No matter which origin is the correct one, one thing for sure is that brunch hadn’t become prevalent until in the 1930s in the US. When it was almost noon, Hollywood celebrities stopped for an abundant meal and a rest in Chicago before continuing their long journeys. Since restaurants didn’t open on Sundays, it was the hotels’ responsibility to prepare abundant brunches. And there’s a fun fact: when brunch just started getting popular, a morning cocktail was essential for the meal!
The Best Drink for Brunch: Cocktail
Nowadays, when it comes to brunch, the first thing people would come up with is either bacon or egg Benedict. Yet, for Hollywood celebrities back in the 1930s, they would come up with a glass of bold red Bloody Mary!
From the 1920s to the 1930s was the Prohibition era of America. Brunch consumers were mainly from the high class back then. With the privilege of being able to drink, they made brunch an excuse to drink in the day.
Bloody Mary was the most popular drink among brunch cocktails. It was invented in America during the 1920s to 1930s. And its popularity resulted from a belief that an alcoholic drink mixing with tomato juice and various vegetables can cure people’s hangovers! American high-class men used to have a glass of Bloody Mary after eating brunch. Ladies, on the other hand, would rather retain their glamor and prevent themselves from losing control when they get drunk. So they tend to have a glass of mocktail, which, to put it frankly, is a glass of tomato juice!
Why does Bloody Mary have such a terrifying name?
Click the link to this article for more information : How did These Popular Cocktails Get Their Names?
The vibrant culture of brunch nowadays is believed to arise from the notable scenes with brunches in Sex and the City. No wonder New York would be addressed as “the best city for brunch in America”. I guess you’ve probably been shocked by the origin and culture of brunch, yet brunch is, without a doubt, a meal that brings you delight on weekend mornings.
