I was making French toast this morning … yummy! The usual ingredients were present on the counter: eggs, cinnamon, milk, and of course bread. The good stuff too, not day old or cheap bread … the multi grain kind from Milton bread! Spare no expenses when it comes to making this breakfast item!

I vowed as a child that once I was old enough to mandate the contents used in MY French toast, that I would settle for no less than the best. Oh how I longed for the days when Tastee bread (yes, that’s spelled with two “e”s in it!) and white table sugar were not the primary ingredients of my breakfast fare! As I whisked the large eggs together with the basic ingredients, and a couple of SECRET ingredients that I tell no one (don’t ask!), I realized that this food of the gods that I have readily consumed since I was a young child is neither French in origin, nor is it “toast” by definition!

It doesn’t take away from the absolute yumminess of it, but it sure does lay down some interesting questions, doesn’t it? I did some furious research – after I hungrily devoured my culinary creation – in my quest to answer some heavily weighted questions. First off, the definition of WHAT French toast should be, or at least what it should have in common. After all, with all the variations and mutations of this dish – liken stuffed French toast, Hong Kong French Toast, Twinkie Toast – we have to have some common ground to stand on!

So here are the basics: French toast is made with bread and eggs – milk is commonly added. According to what is popular in local cuisine, many of the spices that are added to bread or egg dishes are included in cooking … so by definition, it is bread, eggs, milk as a base. The slices of egg-coated bread are then placed on a frying pan (or griddle) prepared with a coat of butter or oil, and cooked until both sides are browned and the egg has cooked through. Done. Although toppings and syrups can be debated until we are all blue in the face, the base ingredients and process is something we all see eye-to-eye on. So where did this food of the gods come from, if not from France?

The process had something to do with how it evolved … since French toast originated as a way to use day-old or stale bread (some breads, French bread especially -follow the name here! – become stale after one day). Whereas a stale, crunchy bread might seem unappetizing, soaking the bread in eggs and frying it solved that problem. The precise origins of the recipe are unknown, although a version appears in the 4th century CE Roman cookbook.

The most credible source, in a research provided by the International House of Pancakes, French toast is not necessarily French in origin! It is likely that the recipe dates back to medieval times and may have been a logical “invention” by different peoples, akin to battering and frying any food. A similar dish, “suppe dorate”, was popular in England during the Middle Ages, although the English might have learned it from the French Normans, who had a dish called tostees dorees. However, according to IHOP, the first written mention of the dish comes from the court of Henry V of England (1413-1422). [ more here ]

In doing this research, I realized that French toast was not only a yummy breakfast food item, but it also was a peek into my past. A sort of talisman that can take me back to days of youth when running downstairs for breakfast signaled the beginning of a day full of promise and excitement. That is probably why I still love it to this day … it signals my brain to release all those same promise of a new day, and endorphins geared for a day of excitement.

I also realized that it marks my embarkation from childhood to adulthood, since the recipe became mine now. I am able to choose the ingredients that I want, the process I need, and the time or place I choose to eat it. More so, I own the appliances it is cooked on. French toast has, in some interesting way, has marked my ritualistic movement from childhood to manhood. Now, give me all the French Toast!

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