Breakfast boffins have called for mushrooms and tomatoes to be replaced with slices of grilled pineapple on a full English breakfast.
Experts from The English Breakfast Society – who also point out that hash browns have no place in the traditional fry-up – say the exotic fruit elevates the morning dish, giving diners the opportunity to eat like a 17th-century lord.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Guise Bule de Missenden, the society’s founder and chair, said: “Interestingly, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the pineapple was considered to be a high-status breakfast item in Great Britain.
“Pineapples used to be seen as exotic, expensive, difficult to obtain and were a highly prized breakfast ingredient for wealthy English families, which is why you can find lots of old English pineapple breakfast recipes.”
“King Charles II himself loved them, so if you wanted to add a touch of the exotic to your plate and eat like a 17th-century lord, there is no reason not to give it a try,” he added. “A slice of grilled pineapple can add variety to the English breakfast plate. Simply swap the mushrooms or tomato for a grilled pineapple slice in someone’s English breakfast one day to give them a surprising and unexpected delight.”
He said: “Nobody really likes the tomatoes that usually come with a full English breakfast so why shouldn’t we swap them for a grilled pineapple slice?”
The suggestions have sparked a slew of reactions on social media, with one person saying: “I never realised how offensive to Italians pineapple on pizza is until I saw this”.
Others have called on a fry-up police to be formed to stop such monstrosities occurring, although there was some support for removing tomatoes from the dish.