French
Toast Recipe
(How to Make
French Toast)
There are many different recipes
for French toast; I know of almost a hundred and I'm sure there are more.
However, the basic recipe is:
-
Stale bread, cut in thick
slices
-
Soaked in a mixture of egg and
milk
-
Add sugar and or spices
(depending on recipe)
-
Fry on both sides until golden
brown
Most recipes call for sugar
and/or spices. Maple syrup is also a common addition (particularly in Canada and
the USA). Following are a couple of recipes which are particularly popular and
relatively simple.
Easy French Toast Recipe
(Cinnamon & Canilla)
- A quick and easy recipe
French Toast Recipe (sweet)
- A sweet version (with powdered sugar)
French Toast Recipe (sugar+salt)
- Sweet, but balanced by touch of salt
French Toast Recipe (Spicy)
- Slightly exotic with: nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla
Baked French Toast Recipe
- A different taste, very rich and delicious (but a bit naughty)
Baked French Toast (Apple + Raisin)
- So rich and tasty it is almost sinful. The apple, cinnamon and raisins work
magic together with the rich mixture of cream, sugar and butter.
French
Toast - Origin and Name:
French toast is
popular (mainly as a breakfast meal) in North America, parts of
Europe and China. The origin of French toast is uncertain, as is
its name. Recipes dating back to the sixteenth century have been
found, and it appears to have been widespread throughout Europe.
Each country appears to have had its own name for it.
In France, it
was called "pain perdu" (lost bread), as it was a way of using
bread that had gone stale and would otherwise perhaps be thrown
away (in other words, lost bread).
In England, it
has been called "Poor Knight's Pudding" or "Poor Knight's of
Windsor". Again, this may be a reference to the use of stale
bread, so it is associated with the need of poor people to not
throw away food. The reference to Knight is less certain, but as
eggs and milk would have perhaps been beyond the normal means of
a poor peasant, the meal is perhaps more applicable to a Poor
Knight (who, although relatively poor, would be more able than
the average peasant to afford the eggs and milk).
A similar
pattern is to be found in Finland, where the basic recipe was
called "köyhät
ritarit" (poor knight's) but if sugar and jam were added
(relatively expensive ingredients at the time) it was called "rikkaat
ritarit" (rich knight's).
In America there
were a number of names for the recipe, but it was perhaps most
commonly known as "German Toast" prior to World War I. However,
anti-German sentiment at that time resulted in it being renamed
to "French Toast". Since 2003 the anti-French sentiment in parts
of the USA resulting from opposing positions over the Iraq war
has resulted in it being renamed to "Freedom Toast" in the White
House, US Congress and some restaurants. At about the same time
these institutions also renamed "French Fries" to "Freedom
Fries".
French Toast - Nutrition:
French toast is
a sound meal, provided one doesn't use too much sugar. The bread
provides carbohydrates, the egg protein, the milk calcium and
other nutrients. It is also good for economic fitness as eggs
are relatively cheap and one can use stale bread that would
otherwise be thrown away. The trick is to use a French toast
recipe that does not call for a lot of sugar (or, to only use
such recipes occasionally as a special treat). We provide both
types of recipes here.
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