French Toast

Celebrate National French Toast Day on November 28th!

The origins of this popular dish are obscure and debatable. Joseph French from Albany, New York claimed to have invented the recipe in 1724 saying he forgot the apostrophe and called it "French Toast" instead of "French’s Toast." However, that popular origin story is unlikely since the name "French Toast" first appeared in England in 1660 in a book called The Accomplisht Cook. In this text, the term "French" is likely used in reference to the verb “to French” which means “to slice” in Old Irish rather than to the country France. There is earlier evidence of a similar recipe from France in the 15th century at the court of Henri V where it was called "Pan Perdu" or “lost bread” because it used stale bread to make it. But the earliest known record of a recipe of slices of bread dipped in milk and eggs before frying dates back to ancient Rome in the 1st century CE in the book of Apicius, a collection of Latin recipes, where it was called “Pan Dulcis.” While there may be some disagreement on who deserves credit for inventing this delicious dish, we can all agree it is definitely worth celebrating.