French Toast

 

I went to a restaurant that serves ‘breakfast at any time’. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.

Steven Wright

 

French toast has had many names: German toast, American toast, Spanish toast, Nun’s toast, Cream toast, Breakfast toast, Mennonite toast, Pain Perdu, Panperdy, Arme Ritter, Suppe Dorate, Amarilla, and Poor Knights of Windsor. Imagine ordering in a restaurant, using one of these names.

Just because this dish is called “French” Toast doesn’t mean that is from France. So where did it come from? Hope some of y’all are sitting done for this… Yep, it came from Ancient Roman times. You guess it “Apicius” is at it again. It is the first known recipe, of course he did not use eggs, but it is still the same.

“ALITER DULCIA aka Another Sweet Dish”

Break [slice] fine white bread, crust removed, into rather large pieces which soak in milk [and beaten eggs] Fry in oil, cover with honey and serve.” —Apicius Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome, edited and translated by Joseph Dommers Vehling , recipe 296 [Dover Publications:New York] 1977 (p. 172)

Tilly: French toast came from Rome around 300 A.D. For centuries, the French themselves called this dish “Roman Bread”.. It is believed that the Roman ‘pan dulcis’ was the original recipe for French toast. See? I told you the Italians taught the French how to cook.

By the 1300 hundreds chefs like Guillamume Taillevent in his book Le Viandier added sugar and eggs. Calling it “tostées dorées”

Below is a modern interpretation:

Medieval French Toast

2 slices of stale bread

4 tbsp cane sugar

4 eggs

butter

Instructions

Lightly toast your 2 slices of bread.

Beat the 4 egg yolks in a plate with 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Soak and coat the slices of bread well with the egg yolks.

Fry the egg-coated bread for about 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Be careful not to burn your butter!

Place the cooked slices on plates, sprinkle with sugar and serve.

Tilly: A cook book written in the 1400s for Richard II included ‘payn fondew’ – bread soaked in wine, flavoured with raisins, sugar, spices and candied coriander seeds. Now do you believe when I say the Brits have always liked interesting food?

The English Hus-Wife, written in 1615, boasted ‘the best pan perdy’, with eggs and spices and sugar, plus salt to season – no milk.

In 1660, The Accomplisht Cook – Art and Mastery of Cooking, favoured wine, sugar and orange juice. Might give that one a whirl … 

French Toast became quite famous and popular to the very wealthy during the medieval times and beyond.

Hannah Glasse in her recipe book “The Art of Cookery, made Plain and Easy,”

Added spices such as cinnamon and sugar and of course frying them in clarified Butter until they turned a good brown color then serving them with a little sugar before serving.

Now you know why only the very wealthy could afford this.

Tilly: The term ‘French toast’ first appeared in print in 1871 in The American Encyclopedia of Food and Drink.

By the early 1900’s in America it became very popular in the cookbook “Every Woman’s Cook Book,” Mrs. Chas. F. Moritz staying close to the Hannah Glasse recipe:

French Toast (Amarilla)

1 egg

4 slices sandwich bread

1/3 cup milk

Sugar and cinnamon mixture

Butter

 

Cut bread as for toast, without removing crust. Beat egg slightly, add milk. Dip bread slices with a fork into milk mixture, moistening well on both sides, not too wet. Cover bottom of a hot skillet one inch or more with hot or rendered butter. Brown moistened bread quickly as soon as dipped, first on one side then on the other in hot butter. Do not cook more than two or three slices at one time. If cooked too slowly, toast will be greasy. Drain and sprinkle while hot with confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon mixed together.”

So just where did the name “French Toast” come from well according to some historians it came from “Joseph French” around 1724. Advertising the dish “French Toast” he forgot to add an apostrophe S at the end (French’s Toast). That is where the modern name came from. He should have gotten an editor to grammatically check if the spelling was correct.

‘Magic on a plate – that’s french toast sprinkled with powdered sugar and love 💖. It’s not just breakfast; it’s an act of kindness.’ – # from Instagram

 

Tidbits and Facts:

1. In Scotland, French toast is traditionally served with sausage between two slices of French toast, eaten as a sandwich

Tilly: Hmm, might prefer some crisp bacon … but would happily settle for a fine sausage.

2. November 28th is National French Toast Day.
3. In Hong Kong, French toast is layered with peanut butter.

Tilly: YUK.

4. In India, French toast is a savory delight. Instead of sweetener, spices, green chili, chopped onions and salt are used with ketchup being a popular topping

Tilly: Now you’re cooking! Apart from the ketchup, unless it is a spicy, homemade version.

5. In New Zealand French toast is enjoyed with bananas, bacon, cinnamon and maple syrup

Tilly: But only a drizzle of maple syrup, otherwise it must be orful sweet? How about wih blueberries and thick, natural Greek yoghourt?

6. In Germany, they make “arme ritter auflauf” a casserole of French toast slices.

Tilly: I looked this up online. Looks like bread and butter pudding. Also layered as an apple cake. There was even one claiming to be a shepherd’s pie.

7. Ketchup is popular topping in England, where it is called “eggy bread”. Marmite is another choice for a topping…

Olive: Tilly, NO NO NO.

Tilly: YES! YES! YES! to the Marmite. Abandon ship regarding the (commercial) ketchup.

8. In Louisana Creole cuisine, French toast is often spiked with alcohol. The bread is soaked in eggs, cream, milk and alcohol (often whiskey, vanilla, sugar, and salt.

Tilly: They just had to copy the Brits, didn’t they?

So many facts and trivia through the ages… Thank you, Smithsonian Institute.

“Dip a slice of bread in batter. That’s September: yellow, gold, soft and sticky. Fry the bread. Now you have October: chewier, drier, streaked with browns. The day in question fell somewhere in the middle of the french toast process.” Tom Robbins

 

Olive and Tilly