Skip to main content

Zmorge - A Typical Swiss Breakfast

In this mini series I'll write about the five daily meals people eat in Switzerland: Zmorge, Znüni, Zmittag, Zvieri and Znacht. What do we typically eat? When do we eat? What is the proper conduct at the table? Today, I'll write about breakfast in Switzerland.

Zmorge - Breakfast in Switzerland

Zmorge is the Swiss German word for breakfast. It is an abbreviated form of the two words "zu" (to, at) and "Morgen" (morning) and literally means "in the morning". This obviously makes sense, since breakfast is usually eaten in the morning hours of the day.

During the week, most Swiss people take their Zmorge between 6.30am and 7.30 am, depending on what time school starts or what time they have to leave for work. On weekends, breakfast starts much later but the actual time depends largely on the person and things planned. My guess is that on weekends the average Swiss breakfast time is around 9am but there really aren't any statistics to back this claim. 

The hour of the Zmorge is not the only difference between a midweek and a weekend breakfast in Switzerland. During the week, Swiss people eat simpler and faster breakfasts simply because there is no time to indulge. On weekends, we like to indulge a bit and enjoy large breakfasts - food-wise and time-wise. 

Midweek Zmorge

A typical Swiss midweek Zmorge looks similar to a breakfast in many other places of the world. It usually includes one of the following combinations:
  • slice(s) of bread or rolls with butter and jam; coffee, tea or hot milk
  • bowl of cereal with milk; coffee or tea
  • bowl of Müesli with fruit and yoghurt; coffee or tea
  • Gipfeli (Swiss croissant) and coffee
This list is not conclusive. Breakfast is very individual and what and how much you actually eat for breakfast also depends on whether you are a morning person or not. In fact, I know quite a lot of Swiss who leave the house in the morning without eating any breakfast.

Weekend Zmorge

The situation changes on weekends, especially on Sundays. Unlike on a regular weekday, there is time to prepare and enjoy breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday. A Sunday Zmorge with friends or family can easily last an hour or two!

Swiss people love their late hour weekend breakfasts and we like to call them brunches, just like English speakers. Yes, we incorporated the word brunch into the Swiss German language - that's how much we like it!

Sundays in Switzerland are not only meant for long but also for extensive and rich breakfasts. There is one very typical ingredient that should never be missing on the weekend breakfast table: Zopf. This is a very tasty, braided Swiss bread that people prepare (and that is sold) on weekends only.

Other typical dishes for a weekend Zmorge include:
  • eggs (fried, scrambled, hardboiled)
  • fried bacon
  • Röschti (potato pancake)
  • different kinds of jam
  • honey
  • butter
  • a selection of Swiss cheeses
  • a selection of cold cuts
  • fruit salad / slices of fruit
  • slices of tomatoes
  • juice
  • coffee or tea
Weekend breakfasts in Switzerland are so great, we even have a word to describe the manner in which we eat weekend Zmorge: zmörgele (to eat breakfast in a leisurely fashion).

Zmorge - Andreas Hermsdorf  / pixelio.de


All articles of the Swiss Meal mini series:
Zmorge - breakfast
Znüni - mid-morning snack
Zmittag - lunch
Zvieri - mid-afternoon snack
Znacht - dinner





© 2016 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

You have something to add or would like to ask a question? I would love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

A Typical Swiss Birthday Party

My son and I recently attended a birthday party here in Cocachimba, Peru. It was the birthday of one of the kids in the village and since it's such a small place, almost everyone is invited. To be honest, I don't like going to children's birthday parties - or grown up's birthday parties - because there is usually too much noise and fuss and chaos. My husband usually takes it on himself to accompany our son to these birthdays but this time he was away so I had to step in.

If you've never been to a Peruvian birthday party, let me tell you one thing: it's loud and crowded! There is dancing and food and once in a while people are trying to say something above the deafening noise of the music. I guess, if you grew up with this it's probably normal and enjoyable but for me it was way too much noise. I could see all the children's ear go deaf in my minds eyes. Argh. Probably one of those cultural differences you'll have as a foreigner.
Memories of Birthda…
3 comments
Read more

How to Spot a Swiss Person

As an expat one usually spots fellow expats right away. It's not only the language or the looks of people but rather the little peculiarities of life that seem so normal at home that give us away while abroad. Obviously, it's a cliche that all people from the same place (country, city, continent) behave in the same way and I am far from making that claim. However, growing up in a certain surrounding does rub off on people's behavior and some similarities can certainly be observed.

This is also true for Swiss people. According to the Swiss stereotype, we are a clean, punctual and strictly organized people. However, there are many exceptions like my Swiss friend who is always late or my brother whose room was a total mess while growing up. Yet, although they do not fit the description of a typical Swiss person, they still have some traits that give them away as Swiss. The same is probably true for myself - if I like it or not.
10 Signs you are dealing with a Swiss Person So,…
12 comments
Read more

Schätzli, Schnüggel and Müüsli - Terms of Endearment in Swiss German

If you've ever been invited to the home of a Swiss couple, you are probably familiar with the most popular Swiss German term of endearment "Schätzli" ('little treasure') or one of it's many varieties like e.g. "Schatz" or "Schätzeli". Obviously, this is not the only pet name used by Swiss couples (or parents for that matter). Like many other languages, Swiss German offers a wide variety of words and phrases that you can use to address your loved one.
Swiss German Terms of Endearment What most of these pet names have in common is the ending "-li" which basically turns the thing or person a word refers to into something small or cute. For example "Haus" means house and "Hüüsli" means small house. Plus, this ending "-li" can also be added to first names as a means of endearment, e.g. Benjaminli, Estherli or Fabienneli.

I tried to come up with a collection of Swiss German pet names but realized I only k…
2 comments
Read more