POLL: Do hash browns belong on a full English breakfast?

A group of breakfast experts, the English Breakfast Society, have claimed that hashbrowns should be banished from a full English, arguing that they do not “belong” on the plate and should be replaced with a traditional bubble and squeak. But do you agree? Vote in our poll.

The campaign group is dedicated to the history, heritage, and culture of the English breakfast. Guise Bule de Missenden, founder of the English Breakfast Society, said: “Somebody had to put their foot down”. 

He continued: “Otherwise we’ll find kebab meat in our English breakfast before long. The hash brown – the reconstituted, tater-based fast-food – was popularised by McDonald’s but somehow we now find it in our English breakfast. 

“We’re all about bringing back the bubble. That’s the reason we’re saying no to hash browns. Hashtag, bring back the bubble.”

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Another member of the Society, 72-year-old Jon Gale said he is supporting the #BringBacktheBubble campaign due to the nostalgia and hatred of frozen hash browns. He said: “The problem is these days, if you go out for a meal, a breakfast in a cafe or a hotel, you tend to get these nasty little fatty triangles, deep-fried frozen potato.”

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He added: “People have eaten fried potato and rosties for years, but these horrible little insidious triangles of potato […] are pretty revolting. Why not do something half decent and traditional and do a decent bit of bubble and squeak?”

English breakfast is typically made up of sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, tomatoes and fried mushrooms. However, many Britons have their own take on the classic.

Felicity Cloake, a food journalist and author of Red Sauce Brown Sauce: A British Breakfast Odyssey, said hash browns are not on her plate. 

She told The Times: “For me, the essential items are bacon, egg, sausage, black pudding, grilled or tinned tomatoes, fried mushrooms and then some sort of carb to soak up all the delicious grease – so bubble and squeak or a fried slice.

“Hash browns don’t work because, like chips, they’re already so crisp and oily they can’t absorb any more fat; you really need something softer and starchier to do the job properly.”

So what do YOU think? Do hash browns belong on a full English? Vote in our poll and join the debate in the comment section below.