Food - Drink
The Ancient Roman Origins Of French Toast
By NICO DANILOVICH
The origins of French toast go back further than the 17th century, and the dish was eaten by English and the French populations throughout the Middle Ages. Despite the modern name of this breakfast staple, French toast actually has its roots in the ancient Roman Empire, which once ruled over both England and France.
The first "French" toast recipe appears in a Roman cookbook titled "Apicius," which is possibly the oldest cookbook in the world and named after its author, though we don't know which individual named Apicius wrote it. The earliest known copy of the book is from the fifth century, but its first edition is suspected to hail from the first century.
In Apicius’ French toast recipe, readers are instructed to slice a loaf of bread, take off the crusts, soak the bread in eggy milk, fry it in oil, and smother it in honey, as translated by Project Gutenberg. While this ancient Roman recipe isn't necessarily toast and obviously isn't French, it has the spirit of the French toast we enjoy today.