French toast

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French toast is a popular breakfast food in North America, Europe and Hong Kong.

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 savory version, seasoned with salt and pepper instead.

Contents 1 Preparation 1.1 Variations 2 History and geographical spread 3 References

[edit] 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 prepared with a coat of butter, and cooked until both sides are browned and the egg has cooked through. Egg Beaters can be substituted for whole eggs. The bread slices are dredged on both sides in the liquid poured directly on a dinner plate. A liberal sprinkling of premixed cinnamon sugar may be applied prior to frying.

The cooked slices are usually served with jam, butter or peanut 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.

[edit] Variations

Stuffed French toast is two pieces of French toast that are stuffed with bananas, strawberries, or other fruit. It is usually topped with butter, maple syrup, and powdered sugar.

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, tostadas or torradas and is typically made during Easter, 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 Hong Kong, it is usually served with honey or simple 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. Other Hong Kong variations include the spreading of kaya in between the two slices of bread. French toast is usually served with the crusts intact. 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, and is usually known as 'eggy bread'. One variation has marmite spread on the bread before dipping.

In Brazil it is quite often used to celebrate a birth, as well as at Christmas and New Year celebrations.

[edit] History and geographical spread

French Toast originated as a way to use day-old or stale bread (some breads and especially French bread become stale after one day)^{[1] [2]}. Whereas a stale, crunchy bread might seem unappetizing, soaking the bread in eggs and frying it solved that problem.

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:

• England: suppe dorate (Italian for "gilded sippets")
• France: pain perdu (literally, "lost bread")
• Germany: armer Ritter (literally, "poor knight")
• Yugoslavia and successor republics: прженице - prženice

Modern versions occur in many countries under other names:

• Belgium: verloren brood or gewonnen brood (literally "lost bread" or "won bread", as it was traditionally made from stale bread) in Flanders, pain perdu (literally, "lost bread") in Wallonia
• Brazil/Portugal: rabanada or "fatia parida"(in the northeast region of Brazil)
• Bulgaria: пържени филии - părzheni filii ("fried slices [of bread]")
• Canada (in francophone regions): pain doré (literally, "gilded bread")
• Denmark/Norway: arme riddere (literally, "poor knights")
• Greece: αβγόφετα (avgófeta, literally "egg-slice")
• Finland köyhät ritarit ("poor knights") when eaten plain or with butter, rikkaat ritarit ("rich knights") when rolled in powdered sugar, sprinkled with it until fully covered or alternatively covered with whipped cream to provide the white base, and an eye of red coloured jam added in the center.
• Hungary: bundás kenyér (literally, "coated bread")
• India: Bombay toast
• Mexico: torreja
• Netherlands: wentelteefjes (etymology unclear, wentelen = "to turn over", teefje = "little bitch")
• Romania: frigãnele
• Spain: torrija
• Sweden: fattiga riddare (literally, "poor knights")
• Turkey: yumurtalı ekmek (literally, "bread with eggs"), or ekmek balığı (literally, "breadfish" / "fish of bread")
• United Kingdom: 'poor knights of Windsor', 'eggy bread', 'Gypsy Toast' and in parts of Cumbria, 'Pandora'.
• U.S.A.: Predominately, French toast, however may also be called, German toast, Spanish toast, nun's toast, egg toast, Freedom Toast
• Pakistan: Shahi Tukra (literally, "Royal Piece")

Some people claim that this dish was called "German toast" in the U.S. before World War I and was changed to "French toast" because of anti-German sentiment. Indeed, a popular cookbook from 1918 does refer to it by the name "German toast". However, the term "French toast" can be found in print in the U.S. 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 England this dish is known as "Eggy Bread" or "Eggy Dip."

[edit] References

1. ^ http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:French_Toast
2. ^ Dictionaire Général pour la maîtrise de la langue française la culrute classique et contemporaine, p. 1138, Larousse (1993)

• Odilie Redon et al., The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy (Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago, 1998).
• John F. Mariani, The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink (Lebhar-Friedman, New York, 1999).
• Craig Claiborne, Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia (Times Books, New York, 1985).
• Fannie Farmer, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1918) [1]