French Toast - Etymology

Etymology

The earliest known reference to French toast is in the Apicius, a collection of Latin recipes dating to the 4th or 5th century; the recipe mentions soaking in milk but not eggs (though the editor adds eggs) and gives it no special name, just Aliter Dulcia 'another sweet dish'. There is a 14th-century German recipe under the name "Arme Ritter" (German for "poor knights"). There are 15th-century English recipes for "pain perdu" (French for "lost bread", suggesting that the dish is a use for bread which has gone stale).

A 1660 recipe for "French Toasts" is different: toasted bread is soaked in wine, sugar, and orange juice.

A similar dish, suppe dorate, was popular in England during the Middle Ages, although the English might have learned it from the Normans, who had a dish called tostees dorees.

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