Tostada (toast) facts for kids
Café con leche (coffee with milk) and tostadas in Puerto Rico
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| Type | Bread |
|---|---|
| Course | Breakfast |
| Main ingredients | Bread |
A tostada is a Spanish word that simply means "toasted." It's used in many Spanish-speaking countries to describe different traditional dishes. What these dishes all have in common is that they are toasted or use a toasted food as their main part.
You can think of a tostada as being a bit like other toasted breads from around the world. For example, it's similar to the British rusk or the German zwieback.
Cuban Tostada: A Toasted Treat
In Cuban cuisine, a tostada is a special kind of toast. It's made from a slice of Cuban bread, which is often long and thin, like a baguette. The bread is cut lengthwise, buttered, and then pressed until it's crispy.
Cuban tostadas are usually eaten for breakfast. People often enjoy them with a hot cup of Café con leche, which is strong Cuban coffee mixed with warm milk. You can even dip the tostada into your coffee!
Mariana Island Tostada: Toast of Water
The Mariana Islands have a unique dish called "tostada de agua." This name means "toast of water." This special tostada is made from a fried tortilla.
It's topped with interesting ingredients like minced seaweed, peppers, and meat, often chopped shrimp. People say that the whole dish was once briefly dipped in seawater. This was done to add salt and balance the spicy taste of the peppers. After dipping, it was cooked until the tortilla became hard and then topped with cheese.
Puerto Rican Tostada: Different Breads
In Puerto Rico, a tostada is quite similar to the Cuban version. However, it uses a different kind of bread called pan de agua. This bread is also a baguette-style loaf.
Sometimes, Puerto Rican tostadas are served with Swiss cheese. The word "tostada" can also mean a simple toasted slice of pre-sliced bread. There's even a local version of French toast called tostada, which is popular during Easter. This version uses milk-soaked bread, dipped in egg, and then fried.
