Coffee Breakfast

Breakfast can be a tricky meal —some people won't leave the house without their morning nourishment and others never eat when they get up due to lack of appetite or time. But we have all probably at some point in life been told that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day, " an old saying that actually might be — at least to some extent — true.

No matter what studies and research might say about breakfast — will it help you lose weight? Will you weight? — the morning meal is enjoyed in one way or another in countries all around the world. What a typical breakfast plate looks like can also tell a lot about a country’s general food culture, and attitude toward this fast-breaking meal.

The traditional American spread of fried eggs, bacon, toast, and possibly potatoes might seem like an oddly heavy way to start the day to someone from France or Japan, for example. In France, the typical morning meal consists of a light snack, such as a baguette with a spread of butter and jam, or maybe the famous "Parisian breakfast" of a freshly baked croissant and a cup of coffee. In Japan, a bowl of miso soup and rice is not uncommon in the morning, and in several parts of the world, a sweet or savory porridge is a common way to start the day.

To compare typical breakfast around the world, we at The Daily Meal gathered pictures of breakfast plates from 13 different countries — from India to Finland to Venezuela — and put them together in this slideshow. So click on through and get a peek into the typical way to enjoy "the most important meal of the day" — all around the word.