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French toast

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French toast serving
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French toast serving

French toast (also known as Fried/Eggy Bread) is popular as a breakfast main course in North America, parts of Europe, and China.

French toast is made with bread (generally pre-sliced) and eggs; some common additions are milk, water, or orange juice to thin the eggs, sugar, and spices such as allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Vanilla may also be added to the egg mixture. In restaurants throughout the United States and Canada, the bread is usually thick white bread made especially for use in French toast; when made at home, regular sliced bread is often used.

Although usually served as a sweetly spiced dish, some prefer a savoury version, seasoned with salt and pepper instead.

Contents

Preparation

The eggs are beaten (and mixed with other liquids, as described above) and poured into a wide, shallow bowl. Individual slices of bread are then dipped into the egg mixture and flipped, so both sides are evenly coated. If desired, the bread may be left to soak briefly to absorb more of the mixture; however, too much soaking will make the bread fall apart (which is why some cooks prefer to use bread that is closer to the end of its shelf-life). The slices of egg-coated bread are then placed on a frying pan or griddle previously coated with butter, and cooked until both sides are browned and the egg has cooked through.

The cooked slices are usually served with jam or butter and maple syrup, though it can also be served with fruit syrup, apple sauce, whipped cream, chocolate, powdered sugar, or nuts such as pecans.

Variations

A French toast sandwich made with ham, swiss cheese, and turkey is called a Monte Cristo sandwich.

In Italy a variation is served known as mozzarella in carozza (literally "mozzarella in a carriage"). In this version a slice of mozzarella cheese is sandwiched between two slices of bread and the whole dipped in egg and fried.

In Spain, it is called "torrijas" and is typically made during Lent, out of thick slices of bread soaked in milk or wine, dipped in egg, fried and then drenched in spiced honey.

Many New York diners make French toast using thick slices of challah bread.

In the western and southwestern United States, some restaurants will prepare it with Sourdough bread.

In China, it is usually served with honey syrup. In Hong Kong-style western restaurants and cha chaan tengs in Hong Kong or Taiwanese dessert places, it may be served with butter and without a sweetening ingredient, and may be made out of a jam or peanut butter sandwich. French toast is usually served with the bread's crust, but it may be served without. It is called 西多士 (Cantonese IPA: /sɐɪ55 tɔ55 sɪ35/; Jyutping: sai1 do1 si2; Mandarin Pinyin: xīduōshì; literally "western toast", but actually an abbreviation of "法蘭西多士", "French toast") in Hong Kong usually deep-fried, and 吐司 (Pinyin: Tùshī; literally “toast”) in Taiwan.

In the United Kingdom, it is often savoury. One variation has marmite spread on the bread before dipping.

History and geographical spread

The precise origins of the recipe are unknown, but similar dishes have existed in many countries and under many names. It is attested in Medieval Europe under the names:

Modern versions occur in many countries under other names:

Some people claim that this dish was called "German toast" in the U.S.A. before World War I and was changed to "French toast" because of anti-German sentiment. A popular cookbook from 1918 does refer to it by that name. However, the term "French toast" can be found in print in the U.S.A. as early as 1871. The Oxford English Dictionary cites usages of "French toast" in English as early as 1660 (toasted bread with wine, orange juice, and sugar), and cites an egg-based recipe of the same name from 1882. It has also been called "American toast" in the U.S., where there is a story that it was invented in 1724 by a man named Joseph French in a roadside tavern near Albany, New York.

In early 2003, the name of French toast was changed again to "freedom toast" in the White House, the U.S. Congress, and in a few U.S. restaurants, this time due to anti-French sentiment stemming from France's refusal to support a war in Iraq. (A similar renaming occurred with French fries, which were called freedom fries in those places. In reaction, the French embassy merely commented that French fries are, in fact, from Belgium.)

References

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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