Best brunch recipes and ideas

How this weekend tradition went from Germany to the Gilded Age.

Healthy Green Vegie Fritters with Poached Eggs recipe

Have you ever enjoyed a lazy brunch with friends? You probably thought you were partaking in a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch, but you were more likely indulging in an iteration of zweites Frühstück – Germany’s ‘second breakfast’.

The lazy practice we know as “brunch” was coined in 1895 by English writer Guy Beringer when he used this salt-of-the-earth food practice of noble origins to help combat the ensuing hangovers of Gilded-Age soirees. 

Instead of fortifying oneself with a second meal after a morning’s work as the Germans would, Beringer corrupted Sunday breakfast altogether by encouraging the public to rise late, gather friends and eat the afternoon away. To partake in brunch, he instructed, one was to combine tea, coffee and marmalade from institutional breakfasts with the more lavish menu of fish and one or two meat courses. 

Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb Recipe

In his essay Brunch: A Plea, Beringer implored readers to savour the sweets of life – and the hors d’oeuvre, entrees, soups and alcoholic drinks, too. He instructs readers to begin feasting from 12:30pm on Sunday, as anything before then was considered the realm of the early birds. 

aperol-spritz-1

“Brunch … is cheerful, sociable, and inciting,” he wrote. “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.”

Although we can thank Beringer for the name, he simply made popular the German tradition of eating a second breakfast, which included anything from crispy homemade pastries to full blown meals complete with silverware. By the 1930s, the practice had caught on in America, and us Aussies took to it in the early 50s, probably when Mimosas became part of the menu. 

Apple Pecan Croissants recipe

Lavish brunches went from softening Gilded Age hangovers to becoming a social occasion in mid-century cafes. By the 50s, anything from quick omelettes to American-style pancakes was served.

American Pancakes

Rissoles even appeared, as did poached eggs atop a base of your choice. Everything was washed down with strong coffee served in magnolia-coloured stoneware crockery. 

Healthy Green Vegie Fritters with Poached Eggs recipe

So, why not gather your friends this weekend for brunch and wash away the cobwebs of the week? While you’re at it, raise a toast to our German friends for the original idea, and thank Beringer for his ingenuity and linguistic corruption.

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Originally published as Best brunch recipes and ideas