Burnt Toast Is Your One-Way Ticket To Homemade, Customized Spices

If you've ever left a piece of bread a tad too long inside your toaster, you're probably familiar with the burnt smell and seemingly unappetizing result. We hate when that happens, but we have good news: Your charred toast is not doomed for the trash. Instead of fretting that you're contributing to food waste, we have a creative culinary idea that can help you turn trash into treasure in a matter of moments.

As surprising as it might sound, burnt toast lends itself to making customized spices that can be used to flavor main dishes and create satisfying sides. Sure, you may have to take a knife to the blackened source of carbohydrates, but as you scrape off the small morsels of charred ruin, you can rest assured that those tiny bits will serve you well later on. If you'd rather start over and attempt to toast another piece of bread to golden perfection, simply grind the burnt piece of bread in a spice grinder and set the charred powder off to the side.

Those dark pieces of burnt bread bring an element of smoky, crunchy deliciousness to marinades and homemade spices. The charred taste can help offset a dish's overpowering sweetness or can be combined with red pepper flakes to flavor eggs and meatballs made from scratch. From roasted vegetables to baked chicken, bits of burnt toast deliver a unique smoky flair to dishes and can be sprinkled onto desserts like ice cream and pudding to provide an unmistakable contrast in texture and taste. 

Making your spice blends at home means the flavor of each ingredient is entirely in your hands. From flavorful Za'atar to spicy garam masala, putting unique spices together in the comfort of your kitchen means you can control the ratio of ingredients and the overall flavor profile of the finished product. Consider adding crumbles of burnt toast to these blends to deepen textures and bring a comforting campfire element to your favorite meal recipes.