Last week we ate ice cream sandwiches for breakfast.

It wasn’t to fulfill a childhood fantasy or to prove that at 29 I am truly an adult with way more agency and free will than I was prepared for (though it did both), really we were in Sicily and brioche con gelato (or granita) is one of the most classic morning rituals. When in Italy, eat as the Italians do—so there we were with a tub of gelato, slathering assorted flavors into fluffy yeasted sweet bread.

We’ve been culturally programmed to believe that dessert for breakfast is emblematic of one of the following:

1. A breakup

2. A moral failure or indulgent protest of diet culture and discipline

3. A second grade birthday party

But why?

The Italians, with their espresso, gelato, and half pack of cigarettes, seem staggeringly more content than anyone I’ve seen with a spirulina shake and a seven grain protein bowl topped with some sort of novelty, multi-hyphenate aioli.

Who said that we can have glorified cookies in milk (cereal), or cake with a better nickname (muffins), but not ice cream for breakfast?

The answer is…literally no one, and we have been passive sheep subscribing to arbitrary rules about food timing and cultural constructions of what we are “allowed” to eat when. This week we’re diving in to some of the most common “food rules,” figuring out where they came from, and debunking them.

The Story of Brioche con Gelato & Italian Breakfast Culture

Brioche con gelato has roots that stretch back centuries, as a result of the island's unique position as a cultural crossroads. The Arab influence shows in the way that sweet, cooling foods were valued as a way to combat the Mediterranean heat, and the Normans brought their bread-making traditions in the 11th century.

What I loved even more than eating ice cream for breakfast though, was how communal and unhurried Sicilian breakfast culture is. It's representative of a broader Italian philosophy that mornings should be sweet, simple, social, slow, and satisfying. Traditional Italian breakfast (colazione) consists almost entirely of dessert: cornetti filled with jam or custard, biscotti dunked in cappuccino, cannoli in the south, or leftover cake, and its always enjoyed in community, either around the table at home or sitting outside at a cafe.

Even the preference for sweet breakfast has deep historical roots. During the Renaissance, sugar became a symbol of wealth and sophistication in Italian courts. Sweet breakfast foods demonstrated prosperity and refined taste. As sugar became more accessible, sweet mornings remained culturally embedded as a sign of starting the day with pleasure rather than mere sustenance.

Italian breakfast timing also reflects this pleasure principle. Italians typically eat very light breakfasts because lunch (pranzo) is the main meal of the day, traditionally served between 1-3 PM.

Sweet vs. Savory: Breakfast Traditions Around the World

The answer to the sweet versus savory breakfast debate varies across the globe, some cultures prioritizing pleasure and others protein.

Sweet Breakfasts

France

Nothing says a French breakfast quite like viennoiseries—a basket of buttery, flaky pastries like croissants, pain au chocolat, and chaussons aux pommes. French children routinely eat chocolate croissants or jam-slathered baguette slices for breakfast, often paired with hot chocolate. This tradition emerged from French baking guilds of the Middle Ages, where bakers would sell yesterday's leftover sweet breads at reduced prices in the morning.

Spain

Similarly, Spaniards love their churros con chocolate (particularly in Madrid). That gained popularity as a breakfast food because Spanish workers needed portable, energy-dense foods for early morning labor that was easy to eat while working to beat the heat. The combination provides quick energy from sugar and carbohydrates, while the chocolate offers slight stimulation from theobromine.

Mexico

Mexico continues Spanish influence with sweetened breads (pan dulce) and hot chocolate, but adds indigenous elements like champurrado—a thick corn-based chocolate drink. The corn provides sustained energy while cacao offers gentle stimulation, creating a nutritionally balanced morning meal that sustained agricultural workers.

Turkey

Middle Eastern countries like Turkey feature sweet breakfast spreads with honey, jam, and çörek (sweet bread), reflecting Ottoman court culture where elaborate morning meals demonstrated wealth and leisure. The sweetness was meant to provide energy for the day while showing hospitality. However, depending on where you are, Turkish breakfasts can also include sujuk (a type of non-pork Turkish spiced sausage), assorted cucumbers and tomatoes and olives, potato borek, and other savory additions.

China

East Asian cultures also present interesting variations. While not traditionally "sweet,” Chinese breakfast often includes sweetened soy milk, sweet red bean buns, or congee with sweet accompaniments.

Savory Breakfasts

Germany

Not particularly shockingly, Germany and Austria developed hearty savory breakfasts (Frühstück) featuring cold cuts, cheeses, pickles, and dark breads. This tradition emerged from agricultural societies where farmers needed substantial protein and fat to sustain heavy physical labor from dawn to dusk. The famous German "second breakfast" (zweites Frühstück) allowed for additional sustenance mid-morning during harvest seasons.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia embraces fish-heavy morning meals (and every other meal after that)—smoked salmon, pickled herring, and fish spreads on dense rye breads. The high latitude and maritime economy made preserved fish both accessible and nutritionally necessary during long, dark winters when fresh vegetables were unavailable. The omega-3 fatty acids also provided crucial nutrition for brain function during periods of limited daylight.

UK

Britain developed the famous "full English breakfast" during the Victorian era, featuring eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding, beans, and grilled tomatoes. This protein-heavy meal emerged during industrialization when factory workers needed substantial fuel for 12-hour workdays. The tradition became a symbol of prosperity—being able to afford meat for breakfast indicated economic success.

India

India features regional breakfast variations that are predominantly savory—dosas and idli in the south, paranthas in the north, poha in central regions. These dishes combine legumes, grains, and vegetables in ways that provide complete proteins and sustained energy. The spice content also serves practical purposes: many Indian spices have antimicrobial properties important in hot climates before refrigeration.

Japan

Japan maintains perhaps the most elaborate savory breakfast tradition with traditional morning meals including rice, miso soup, grilled fish, pickled vegetables, and tamagoyaki (sweet egg omelet). This balanced approach provides protein, probiotics from fermented foods, and vegetables—a nutritionally complete start that sustains energy without the blood sugar crashes associated with sweet breakfasts.

The Hidden History of Meal Timing: Class, Power, and Social Control

Food timing has always been about more than just hunger.

Americans eat dinner around 5pm or 6pm because dinner evolved from factory schedules and the need to feed families before evening activities. That said, most Mediterranean cultures eat dinner between 8pm and 10pm because their agricultural traditions involved working during cooler evening hours and socializing later. In Spain, dinner at 10pm is the norm because it’s timed to local rhythms and climate. That doesn’t mean that the population experiences hunger staggeringly differently though.

Food timing has been a tool of social organization, class distinction, and cultural control. Understanding this history reveals why our modern "rules" exist and how arbitrary they really are.

Medieval Hierarchy Through Meals: In medieval Europe, meal timing directly reflected social status. Nobles ate elaborate breakfasts to demonstrate leisure and wealth—only the poor skipped breakfast because they couldn't afford it. The wealthy could dine at will while peasants ate around work schedules. "Dinner" (the main meal) happened at noon for the upper classes but evening for workers, creating temporal class segregation.

Industrial Revolution Standardization: The Industrial Revolution fundamentally transformed eating patterns by imposing factory schedules on natural rhythms. Before industrialization, people ate when hungry, when food was available, or when work permitted. Factories required synchronized schedules, creating the rigid three-meal structure we now consider "normal." Workers had to eat quickly during designated breaks, leading to the invention of "lunch" as a distinct meal category.

Colonial Food Timing: European colonizers imposed their meal timing on colonized peoples as a form of cultural control. British colonial administrators in India, for example, insisted on English meal schedules despite local climate and agricultural patterns. This created lasting changes in eating habits that persist today, even where they're climatically inappropriate.

20th Century Marketing: The modern American breakfast was largely created by marketing campaigns. Bacon and eggs became "traditional" because of a 1920s public relations campaign by Edward Bernays (Freud's nephew) working for a bacon company. Orange juice became a breakfast staple through 1920s California citrus marketing. Cold cereal was positioned as modern and convenient compared to traditional hot breakfasts.

Class Distinctions in Modern Timing: Even today, meal timing reflects class status. Upper-class Americans often eat dinner later (7-8 PM) while working-class families eat earlier (5-6 PM), reflecting different work schedules and social aspirations. "Brunch" is primarily an upper-middle-class phenomenon that requires leisure time on weekend mornings.