History of Toast

Toast that golden slice of bread, dripping with butter and a touch of jelly. What a way to start any morning as a quick simple meal. The toast as we know it today has evolve much like bread itself.

Toast began its humble climb to the top of the breakfast food chain in ancient times. The Egyptians learned that bread left out in the dry heat would dry out, become hard and almost inedible. However, as time marched one, the Romans learned that toasting bread in front of a dry heat would help preserve the bread. The word toast comes from the Latin word tostum, which means scorch or burn, thus toast literally means burned bread (Source: www.toastalicious.com). It is also interesting to note that the Romans would drop a piece of toast (blacken as it had spent too much time in front of a fire) into their wine. Moreover, they believed that the charcoal would reduce the acidity of their slightly vinegary wines, thus making it more mellow and palatable to drink, thus to origins of giving "toast" while drinking wine. (Source: www.toastalicious.com)

During the Middle Ages, chucks of bread that were used as trenchers (plates that hold stews) were toasted in front of an open fire, not for flavor, but to keep the stews from soaking in and disintegrating the bread while the meal consumed.

As bread became more palatable, toast was eaten on its own and not just used as a serving plate. Because bread became more flavorful, toast became tastier, a few unique toppings were introduced during the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. Such toppings included, Pokerounce which was a mixture of hot honey that had been spiced with ginger, cinnamon and galingale (a root much like ginger, but flavors included citrus with hints of pine); and Tostrialle which was a mixture of sugar, rice flour, sweet wine, quince and raisins. The beginning of the sixteenth century introduced meat toppings, one that was popular was a combination of veal, egg yolks, sugar, rosewater, cinnamon and ginger and by the end of the sixteenth century, just about everything was put on toast from sweet to savory and became a meal in and of itself with the making of Welsh Rarebit (cheese). Further, toast was a popular finger treat served during teatime.

From holding a piece of bread in front of a fire to wire frames that held the bread over the fire, toasters that we know today arrived much later than other kitchen appliances because a heating element needed to be developed. That development was nickel-chromium or ni-chrome, but once that was developed (1940s) all toaster became automatic and no longer needed fire.