Brits horrified after finding out controversial fruit was once Full English staple

What you choose to have for breakfast is a personal preference, but most would agree that certain ingredients simply don't belong in a

Bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, hash browns - all are acceptable components of the meal. However, in the past, people used to include a controversial fruit in their breakfast to get one of their five a day. The fruit? Pineapple.

Yes, they'd be enjoying delicious mounds of bacon while also munching on pineapple. Historians have revealed that this tropical fruit was a popular addition to English breakfast plates in the 16th and 17th centuries, and there was a good reason for it.

READ MORE:

didn't introduce pineapples to Europe until 1493, which meant they were expensive and not readily available for everyday Brits for many years. Therefore, serving your Full English with ingredients considered exotic at the time was a sign of wealth and status.

Pineapples were so coveted that they even became a symbol of taste, with Sir Christopher Wren using them to decorate the top of the St Paul's Cathedral towers in London towards the end of the 17th century. Guise Bule de Missenden, founder of the English Breakfast Society, recommends adding pineapple to your Full English, stating that it "adds variety to your plate."

Speaking to the Telegraph, a food historian revealed: "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 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."

The expert also suggested a twist on the classic Full English: "A slice of grilled pineapple can add variety to the English breakfast plate. Simply swap the mushrooms or tomato for a frilled pineapple slice in someone's English breakfast one day to give them a surprising and unexpected delight."

However, he shared some less-than-stellar news for hash brown fans, as the English Breakfast Society has shunned them, labelling the frozen potato treats as "a lazy American replacement" for bubble and squeak. The society fears that soon, even fish fingers or kebab meat could make their way onto the list of acceptable Full English sides.