Toast (food) facts for kids
Sliced bread, untoasted and toasted
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| Type | Bread |
|---|---|
| Serving temperature | Toasted |
| Main ingredients | Sliced bread |
Toast is simply a slice of bread that has been heated until it turns golden brown. This browning happens because of a cool chemical change called the Maillard reaction. It makes the toast taste different and gives it a slightly firm texture. The firm surface makes it easy to spread things like butter or jam. The warmth also helps butter melt nicely.
Toasting is a great way to make bread that's a bit old taste fresh and yummy again. You usually make toast using a special machine called a toaster or a toaster oven. Sometimes, the browning process can create tiny amounts of chemicals called acrylamide, but this is usually very small.
People often spread butter or margarine on toast. Sweet toppings like jam or jelly are also very popular. In some places, savory spreads like peanut butter or yeast extract are favorites. Toast can be served with savory meals like soups or stews. It can also be topped with things like eggs or baked beans for a quick meal. Toast is a common breakfast food. You can even use toasted bread to make a sandwich.
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The History of Toast
The word toast comes from the Latin word torrere, which means 'to burn'. One of the first times toast was mentioned in writing was in a recipe from 1430. This recipe was for a dish called Oyle Soppys.
Long ago, in the 1400s and 1500s, toast was often used to add flavor to drinks. After it flavored the drink, people would either throw it away or eat it. Even in the 1600s, toast was still seen as something you put into drinks. For example, in his 1602 play The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare has a character say, "Go fetch me a quart of sack; put a toast in't." Toast has been a part of fancy American cooking since at least the 1850s.
How to Make Toast
Today, most people use sliced bread to make toast. Some types of bread are even made especially for toasting!
Using a Toaster
In most homes, toast is made using an electric toaster. You put slices of bread into the slots on top of the toaster. Then, you choose how light or dark you want your toast. You push a lever down, and the bread goes down into the toaster where it gets heated. When it's ready, the toast pops up!
Sometimes, toast made in a regular toaster can feel a little wet after it cools down. This happens because the heat turns the water in the bread into steam. When the toast cools, the steam turns back into tiny water droplets on the surface.
There are also conveyor toasters. These are often used in hotels and restaurants. They have heating elements on the top and bottom, with a metal belt in the middle. The belt carries the bread between the heaters. This way, many slices of toast can be made one after another without stopping.
Toaster ovens are smaller appliances. They can toast bread, but they can also heat up small amounts of other foods.
Other Ways to Toast Bread
You can also make toast using a grill (which is also called a broiler). You can also toast bread in an open oven or by placing it directly on an oven rack. When you make "oven toast," people often put butter on the bread before toasting it.
Another way to make toast is by heating bread in a pan or skillet on the stove. You can even toast bread over an open flame, like a campfire or fireplace. Special tools, like toasting forks, are made for this purpose.
Eating Toast
Toast is most often eaten with butter or margarine spread on it. You can also add preserves, other spreads, or toppings. Toast with jam or marmalade is very popular. Other yummy things to put on toast include chocolate spread, cream cheese, and peanut butter. In places like the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, yeast extracts like Marmite and Vegemite are traditional favorites. Some sandwiches, like the BLT, are even made specifically with toast instead of regular bread.
Toast is a big part of many breakfasts. In the United Kingdom, toast is often included in a traditional full breakfast. It can also be eaten with baked beans. A fun dish popular with kids there is called eggs and soldiers. You dip strips of toast (the "soldiers") into the runny yolk of a soft-boiled egg.
Toast is sometimes used in special bland diets for people with tummy problems like diarrhea. This is because toasting helps break down the starch in the bread, making it easier to digest.
In southern Sri Lanka, people often eat toast with a curry soup and mint tea. In Japan, people like to toast thick slices of bread. Toast became a common food in Japan after World War II, especially when it was given in school lunches because rice was scarce. Thick slices of toasted bread are also eaten in parts of the US, where they are called Texas toast.
Street vendors in South Korea sell toast as a kind of sandwich. It often has fried eggs, vegetables, meat slices, and sauces. In Southeast Asia, coconut jam is a popular spread for toast. Avocado toast has become a very popular food, especially among young adults.
Other Toasted Foods
Besides bread, other foods are also toasted. Cheese and marshmallows can be toasted using dry heat. A toasted cheese sandwich has both toasted cheese and toasted bread. Other foods that can be toasted include bagels, English muffins, Pop Tart pastries, and crumpets.
See also
In Spanish: Tostada para niños
