Breadcrumb
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Breadcrumb (disambiguation).
Breadcrumbs or bread crumbs (regional variants: breading, crispies) are small particles of dry or very dry bread, which are used for breading foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening stews, and adding inexpensive bulk to meatloaves and similar dishes.
Dry breadcrumbs are made from very dry bread, often baked or toasted to remove all remaining moisture, and often have a sandy or even powdery texture. They make for a crisp and crunchy coating for fried foods. The bread used to make soft or fresh bread crumbs is not quite as dry, so the crumbs are larger and produce a softer coating, crust, or stuffing. Bread crumbs are most easily produced by processing slices of bread in a food processor, using a steel blade to make coarse crumbs, or a grating blade to make fine crumbs. A cheese grater or similar tool will also do.
In the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel two young children attempt to mark their trail by leaving breadcrumbs on their path.
A breadcrumb is also a web term used to describe where a given page is within a hierarchy. It is a navigational aid which allows users to more easily find their way to parent sections and eventually to the home page.
