Toast

Toast is sliced bread subjected to radiant heat, which browns its surface through the Maillard reaction, yielding a crisp texture, reduced moisture content, and a nutty, caramelized flavor distinct from untoasted bread.^[1] The term "toast" originates from the Latin tostum, meaning "to scorch" or "burn," reflecting the process's ancient roots in drying bread over open flames to inhibit mold growth and extend shelf life.^[1] Historically, toasting emerged among early civilizations, including Egyptians around 3000 B.C. who dried bread before fires, and gained popularity in the Roman Empire where it preserved otherwise perishable loaves amid limited refrigeration.^[2] By the 19th century in Victorian England, toast had evolved into a household staple, often prepared on toasting forks and paired with butter or ale for medicinal or comforting purposes, such as alleviating indigestion.^[3] Today, electric toasters—first patented in the early 1900s—enable rapid preparation, making toast a ubiquitous breakfast item or base for toppings like jams, avocados, or eggs across global cuisines, from British tea rituals to American diner fare.^[4] Nutritionally, a 22-gram slice of white toast delivers approximately 64 calories, with 12 grams of carbohydrates, 2.3 grams of protein, and minimal fat (0.9 grams), though values vary by bread type and toppings; whole-wheat variants add fiber and micronutrients like B vitamins.^[5] However, prolonged or high-heat toasting generates acrylamide—a chemical byproduct of the Maillard reaction—whose elevated levels in darker toast have raised health concerns, as animal studies link it to cancer risk, prompting recommendations from agencies like the FDA to aim for lighter browning.^[6]^[7] Despite such caveats, toast's simplicity and versatility underscore its enduring role in daily diets, with minimal processing preserving bread's core nutritional profile while enhancing digestibility.^[8]

Culinary Applications

Toast as Food

Toast consists of sliced bread exposed to radiant heat, which triggers the Maillard reaction—a non-enzymatic browning process involving amino acids and reducing sugars that produces melanoidins responsible for the characteristic golden color, nutty flavor, and aromas such as those from pyrazines and furans.^[9] This reaction typically initiates at temperatures above 140°C (284°F), altering the bread's texture by dehydrating the surface while preserving a softer interior.^[10] Historically, toasting originated as a practical method to utilize stale bread, softening its crust and improving palatability to minimize waste, with records indicating its use in England by the medieval period for reviving day-old loaves over open flames or griddles.^[8] By the 19th century, during the Victorian era, toast became a staple in British households, often prepared on toasting forks held over coal fires, reflecting the era's emphasis on efficient use of basic ingredients amid industrialization and urbanization.^[11] Traditional preparation involved direct exposure to fire or grill heat for controlled browning, while modern methods employ electric toasters; the first automatic pop-up model was invented by Lloyd Groff Copeman in 1913, using a spring-ejection mechanism to prevent burning and enable unattended toasting.^[12] Variations of toast as food include French toast, prepared by dipping bread slices in an egg-milk batter and frying until crisp, which dates to at least the 15th century in European cookbooks as a way to enrich plain bread; and Melba toast, invented in 1897 by French chef Auguste Escoffier for opera singer Nellie Melba, consisting of ultra-thin slices dried and toasted twice for exceptional crunchiness.^[13] These adaptations maintain the core toasting principle but incorporate additional steps for texture or flavor enhancement. Nutritionally, toasting increases bread's digestibility by breaking down starches into simpler forms, potentially lowering its glycemic index by up to 10-15% compared to untoasted bread, as the heat-induced structural changes slow carbohydrate absorption and reduce postprandial blood glucose spikes, per laboratory analyses of starch retrogradation.^[14] However, the process can form acrylamide—a compound generated from asparagine and sugars at high temperatures (above 120°C)—classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a probable human carcinogen based on animal studies showing tumors at doses far exceeding dietary exposure; human epidemiological data, including large cohort studies, show no consistent link to increased cancer risk from typical consumption levels in toasted foods.^[6] ^[15] Caloric density may slightly rise due to moisture loss concentrating nutrients, but overall macronutrient profiles remain similar to untoasted bread. In everyday consumption, toast serves as a versatile base worldwide, often topped with butter, jams, or savory spreads; a 2011 national survey found 70% of American adults eat it regularly at breakfast, frequently paired with eggs or coffee for quick energy.^[16] In the UK, it remains a breakfast mainstay, with household surveys indicating over 80% weekly consumption, underscoring its role in simple, empirical meal preparation amid time constraints.^[8]

Historical Role in Beverages

In ancient Rome, scorched or spiced bread was added to wine to mitigate its acidity and enhance flavor, a practice that evolved from earlier Greek customs of infusing drinks with aromatics for palatability.^[17]^[18] This served both practical and sensory purposes, as Roman wines often required filtration for sediment and tannins, with toasted crumbs absorbing impurities while imparting subtle notes.^[19] The term "toast" itself derives from this immersion of browned bread in beverages, predating its modern association with dry consumption.^[2] During the medieval period, similar techniques persisted in Europe as "sops," where pieces of bread—often toasted or dried—were soaked in ale, wine, or broth to create thickened, flavored potages.^[20] Recipes from 15th-century manuscripts, such as Harleian MS 279, describe toasting bread before pouring spiced, sweetened wine over it, yielding dishes like soppes dorre for breakfast or feasts, which strained liquids and masked inconsistencies in fermented beverages.^[21] This method extended to ale-based variants, where bread acted as a sop to improve texture and absorb off-flavors from variable brewing quality.^[22] By the 17th century in England, the custom remained evident in literary references, as in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (circa 1597), where Falstaff requests "a quart of sack" with toast to temper the wine's sharpness.^[23] Such additions addressed the acidity of imported or poorly stored wines, common before advancements in viticulture.^[24] The practice waned by the 19th century as improved winemaking techniques, including better grape selection and storage, reduced the need for bread-based palliatives, shifting toast toward standalone edible use amid enhanced bread preservation methods.^[25]

The Drinking Toast

The drinking toast consists of a verbal salutation accompanying the raising of a beverage-filled vessel, followed by synchronized consumption among participants to convey goodwill, honor an individual or event, or invoke protection against harm.^[18] This ritual originated in ancient practices of libation, where portions of drink were poured out to deities or in pledges of honor, as seen among the Greeks and Romans who elevated glasses to symbolize shared trust.^[26] Empirical evidence from historical accounts indicates similar customs among the Hebrews, Persians, Egyptians, Saxons, and Huns, who raised vessels to affirm oaths or wish health, predating formalized European variants by millennia.^[18] The English term "toast" for this salute emerged in the early 17th century, deriving from the practice of immersing spiced bread in wine to enhance flavor, metaphorically extending to the honored person as the element that "improves" the drink.^[27] By the 1700s, it encompassed both health-drinking and ceremonial pledges, evolving from Latin roots in "tostus" (parched or scorched) via Old French "toster."^[18] While a popular theory attributes the custom's anti-poison motive to 6th-century BCE Greece—where shared sips allegedly proved beverage safety—historians dismiss this as unsubstantiated folklore, favoring instead ritualistic origins in communal bonding and superstition.^[28] Mechanically, the toast involves standing, eye contact, and a brief silence for the speaker's words before clinking glasses and imbibing, norms that spread via European royal courts from the Renaissance onward.^[18] Clinking, introduced in England around the 16th century, likely served auditory enhancement akin to bell-ringing to dispel spirits rather than mixing liquids against poison, as forceful spills would impracticality hinder detection.^[28] The practice disseminated globally through trade and colonization, adapting to local idioms like German "prost" (from Latin "prosit," meaning "may it benefit") or English "cheers" (short for "be of good cheer"), all rooted in health invocations.^[26] In Georgia, the tradition traces to pagan antiquity, evidenced by a bronze tamada (toastmaster) artifact from circa 600 BCE, where a designated leader delivers eloquent, sequential toasts emphasizing hospitality and communal values during supras (feasts).^[29] This structured role underscores the toast's anthropological function in reinforcing social cohesion, contrasting briefer Western forms but sharing the core intent of mutual affirmation through shared libation.^[30]

Etiquette and Variations

In Western social settings, the proposer of a toast typically initiates by standing, raising their glass, and delivering a brief verbal salutation before participants respond by raising glasses in unison, maintaining eye contact to signify sincerity and avoid superstitions of misfortune such as seven years of bad luck. ^[31] ^[32] Crossing arms during the clink is considered improper in traditions like those of Italy and the Czech Republic, potentially inviting personal mishaps according to folklore. ^[33] ^[32] Toasts range from succinct phrases to more elaborate speeches, with participants expected to sip or drink fully depending on context, though refusing participation outright can signal disrespect in group-oriented cultures. ^[34] Georgian supras, traditional feasts, feature a designated tamada or toastmaster elected for eloquence and wisdom, who leads sequential toasts often drawing on history, philosophy, or personal reflection, with guests seeking alaverdi permission to contribute; no one drinks until the tamada concludes and raises their glass, emphasizing communal harmony over individual excess. ^[35] ^[36] In contrast, Chinese banquets employ ganbei, meaning "dry cup," where participants drain their glasses—typically of baijiu or beer—fully after clinking, with the host or senior figure initiating to foster rapport, though etiquette permits signaling limits to avoid overconsumption. ^[37] ^[38] Armenian gatherings similarly appoint a tamada-like figure to orchestrate toasts, maintaining order amid prolonged exchanges that underscore hospitality. ^[39] Refusing a toast constitutes a faux pas in protocols like Russian vodka sessions, where full attention and participation honor the speaker, potentially straining relations if declined without cause. ^[40] Modern adaptations accommodate non-alcoholic beverages, such as sparkling water or juice, during wedding receptions or inclusive events, countering outdated superstitions against water toasts in places like Spain—believed to portend relational discord—by prioritizing inclusivity over tradition. ^[41] ^[42] In U.S. Navy dining-ins, protocols mandate standing for the initial toast to the President of the United States, followed by the National Anthem if applicable, with subsequent toasts to allies or the service maintaining decorum through short, pointed remarks. ^[43] ^[44]

Technology and Business

Toast, Inc.

Toast, Inc. is a cloud-based platform providing point-of-sale (POS) and management software for restaurants, founded in 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Steve Fredette, Aman Narang, and Jonathan Grimm.^[45]^[46] The system integrates payments processing, payroll, inventory tracking, online ordering, and analytics to streamline operations for food service businesses, serving over 100,000 restaurant locations as of mid-2025.^[47] Incorporated initially as Opti Systems, Inc., it rebranded to Toast in 2012 and went public on the NYSE under the ticker TOST in 2021.^[45] In Q2 2025, ending June 30, Toast achieved 24.8% year-over-year revenue growth to $1.55 billion and added a record 8,500 net new locations, expanding its footprint amid rising adoption of its SaaS model.^[48] Annualized recurring revenue grew 31% to $1.9 billion, driven by recurring gross profit increases of 35%.^[49] Key achievements include partnerships such as the August 5, 2025, multi-year alliance with American Express, leveraging Resy and Tock reservation data alongside Toast's POS insights to enable personalized dining experiences and boost operator efficiency.^[50] Recent developments highlight Toast's industry influence through its 2025 Voice of the Restaurant Industry Survey, released October 9, surveying 712 operators of small to mid-sized venues, which found 48% planning menu price hikes due to persistent inflation and a shift toward profitability via cost controls and technology adoption.^[51] The company scheduled its Q3 2025 earnings release for November 4, following the quarter ending September 30.^[52] Toast's growth is tempered by vulnerabilities tied to restaurant sector volatility, including sensitivity to economic cycles, labor shortages, and consumer spending fluctuations that amplify revenue risks during downturns.^[53] It faces stiff competition from versatile platforms like Square (Block, Inc.), which hold broader market share, though Toast's restaurant-specific integrations have supported user adoption rates evidenced by quarterly location gains outpacing rivals.^[54] TOST stock has delivered strong returns post-earnings beats, rising on Q2 results, but trades at elevated multiples—over 3x sales as of late 2025—prompting analyst concerns over sustainability amid decelerating industry fundamentals and margin pressures from customer acquisition costs.^[53]^[55]

Computing and Software Contexts

In graphical user interfaces (GUIs), a toast refers to a transient, non-modal notification that briefly displays feedback or status information to the user without requiring interaction or blocking the primary interface.^[56] These messages typically appear as small pop-ups, often positioned at the bottom or edge of the screen, and auto-dismiss after a predefined duration, such as 2–5 seconds, to minimize disruption.^[57] The design emphasizes unobtrusiveness, making toasts suitable for confirming actions like data saves, reporting minor errors, or acknowledging inputs in applications where persistent alerts would hinder usability.^[58] The term "toast" draws from the analogy of bread toasting in a pop-up toaster: the notification emerges briefly into view before vanishing, mirroring the ephemeral nature of the food item.^[59] This pattern gained prominence in mobile operating systems during the early 2000s, with Android formalizing it through the Toast class in its Android SDK upon the platform's initial release on September 23, 2008.^[56] Developers invoke it via methods like Toast.makeText([context](/page/Context), [message](/page/Message), [duration](/page/Duration)).show(), where duration options include LENGTH_SHORT (about 2 seconds) or LENGTH_LONG (about 3.5 seconds), enabling customization for text, gravity positioning, and even custom views in later API levels.^[60] Beyond Android, toast notifications appear in other frameworks, such as Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps via the ToastNotification class, which supports XML-defined content including text, images, and buttons for richer interactions while maintaining transience.^[61] Adobe's Spectrum design system similarly employs toasts for temporary alerts in creative software, prioritizing noticeability without workflow interruption.^[62] In web development, libraries like React Toastify emulate this pattern using CSS animations for fade-in/out effects, adapting the concept to browser environments.^[63] In software engineering slang, "toast" occasionally denotes a component or system that has failed irreparably, evoking the image of something scorched beyond repair, though this usage predates widespread GUI adoption and lacks a precise computing-specific origin, appearing in general parlance by the late 1980s.^[64] Empirical evidence ties it more to hardware contexts, such as overheated circuits, rather than a formalized term in documentation.^[65]

Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Film and Television

Toast (2010) is a British biographical television film directed by S.J. Clarkson, adapting food writer Nigel Slater's memoir of the same name, which recounts his childhood in 1960s England through culinary memories centered on everyday foods like toast.^[66] The narrative follows young Slater, played by Freddie Highmore, navigating his mother's death—whose cooking repertoire was largely limited to burnt toast—his strained relationship with his father (Ken Stott), and the arrival of his stepmother (Helena Bonham Carter), amid his emerging passion for cooking.^[67] Premiering on BBC One on December 30, 2010, the film emphasizes domestic routines and period-specific British edibles, evoking nostalgia for post-war household life without romanticizing familial discord.^[66] Reception metrics include an IMDb user rating of 6.5/10 from 11,099 votes and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 61% based on 33 reviews, with commentators noting effective performances and atmospheric recreation of era-specific meals but critiquing some sentimental elements.^[67]^[68] No theatrical box office data exists, as it was produced for television broadcast, though it later streamed on platforms like Netflix, contributing to its availability for retrospective viewership.^[69] A 2025 British miniseries titled Toast, set in an East London café called Diddy's, explores interconnected lives of seven characters amid daily operations likely involving staple items like toast, though plot details remain sparse in early episodes.^[70] It holds an IMDb rating of 8.4/10 from 27 user votes as of October 2025, reflecting initial positive responses but limited sample size for broader empirical assessment.^[70]

Music

"Toast" features as a title in various songs and albums across genres, typically symbolizing mundane domesticity, celebratory rituals, or humorous simplicity rather than denoting a distinct musical style. Notable examples include novelty tracks that gained cult followings through radio play or live performances, alongside more introspective works in folk and alternative music. Discographies reveal these instances as sporadic and niche, with limited crossover to major commercial success outside specific regional charts.^[71] One prominent case is the 1978 single "Toast" by British band Streetband, a whimsical brass-infused novelty song originally released as the B-side to "London" from their debut album of the same name; it climbed to number 18 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1978 after DJs flipped the record for airplay.^[72] Comedian Heywood Banks' "Toast," a comedic ditty listing preferences for buttered, jammed, or burnt varieties, has endured as a staple in live comedy sets and viral clips since the 1990s, emphasizing the food's universal appeal without achieving formal chart positions.^[73] In reggae, Jamaican artist Koffee's "Toast" from her 2018 EP Rapture debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Reggae chart with 3,500 units sold in its first week, blending motivational lyrics with dancehall rhythms.^[74] Further instances include Tori Amos' "Toast" from her 2005 album The Beekeeper, a piano-driven reflection on loss and remembrance incorporating toasting imagery, and Neil Young and Crazy Horse's archival album Toast, recorded in 2001 amid personal turmoil and released in 2022, featuring raw rock explorations.^[75] British folk musician Jay McAllister performs under the stage name Beans on Toast, releasing multiple albums since 2009 that draw on pub folk traditions and autobiographical storytelling.^[76] These titles collectively highlight "toast" as a motif for comfort or tribute, yielding empirical hits confined to subgenres rather than broad dominance.

Literature and Publications

Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger (2003) is a memoir by British food writer Nigel Slater, published by Fourth Estate in September 2003.^[77] The narrative structures Slater's childhood memories around specific foods and meals, from his mother's habitual burning of toast to family tensions and his emerging interest in cooking after her death.^[78] It explores themes of loss, hunger—both literal and emotional—and domestic life in post-war Britain without including recipes, distinguishing it as autobiography rather than culinary instruction.^[79] The book achieved commercial and critical success, selling steadily and earning recognition as The Observer's Best Food Book of 2004; it later won six major awards and was adapted into a 2010 BBC television drama starring Helena Bonham Carter as Slater's stepmother.^[77] ^[80] Reader reception remains positive, with an average rating of 3.8 out of 5 on Goodreads from over 8,000 reviews, praising its evocative sensory details despite critiques of occasional sentimentality.^[81] The Toast (2013–2016) was an online publication founded by editors Nicole Cliffe and Daniel M. Lavery (previously Daniel Ortberg), operating as a digital anthology of feminist-oriented humor, essays, and cultural commentary.^[82] Launched in 2013, it built a dedicated audience through irreverent pieces on literature, media, and personal experiences, achieving profitability via bootstrapping without venture capital by 2014.^[82] The site ceased operations in July 2016, with co-founders citing fatigue and shifting priorities; its archives were subsequently donated to the Library of Congress for preservation.^[83] Earlier literary uses include The Toast, an Epic Poem, in Four Books (circa 1730s), an English translation of Frederick Scheffer's Latin work satirizing social customs, though it holds limited modern readership.^[84]

Geographical and Other References

Places Named Toast

Toast is a census-designated place in Surry County, North Carolina, United States, situated approximately 3 miles (5 km) west of Mount Airy.^[85] Its geographic coordinates are roughly 36.50°N 80.63°W.^[86] The community lies within the Piedmont Triad region, at an elevation of about 1,066 feet (325 m) above sea level.^[87] As of the 2020 United States Census, Toast had a population of 1,423 residents, with a population density of 943 per square mile (364/km²).^[88] More recent estimates indicate a declining population, reaching 1,066 by 2023, reflecting a median age of 33.1 years and a median household income of $33,914.^[89] The area is served by ZIP code 27049 and encompasses rural and residential land primarily in Surry County.^[90] The post office for the community was established in 1929, marking the formal adoption of the name "Toast" for local mail service previously routed through Mount Airy.^[91] This designation arose during a U.S. Post Office effort to assign unique identifiers to rural routes, avoiding conflicts with existing place names.^[91] No definitive primary source documents the precise rationale for selecting "Toast" over alternatives, though local accounts attribute it to a school principal's suggestion amid rejections of proposed names like Franklin due to duplications elsewhere.^[92] Geographic databases confirm Toast, North Carolina, as the sole location worldwide bearing this name.^[93] No other verified settlements, villages, or towns named Toast exist in global gazetteers or national records.^[94]

Miscellaneous Uses

In oenology, the descriptor "toasty" refers to aromas and flavors evoking toasted bread, nuts, or smoke in wines, primarily resulting from the charring or toasting process applied to the inner surface of oak barrels during barrel-making.^[95] This effect emerges through the thermal degradation of oak's hemicellulose and lignin compounds, releasing volatile phenols like guaiacol and vanillin, which impart these sensory notes without actual bread involvement.^[96] Such characteristics are most prevalent in varietals like Chardonnay fermented or aged in barrels with medium-plus toast levels, as verified by sensory analyses in winemaking practices.^[97] In Mexican and broader Hispanic culinary traditions, "tostada" denotes a preparation where a corn tortilla is toasted or fried until crisp, then layered with toppings such as refried beans, meat, cheese, and vegetables, forming an open-faced dish distinct from sliced bread toasting due to its flat structure and cultural adaptations.^[98] Etymologically, "tostada" stems from the Spanish past participle of "tostar" (to toast or roast), paralleling the English "toast" from Latin "tostus" via Old French, but applied here to tortilla crisping on a comal or in oil for structural rigidity.^[99] This usage dates to at least the early 20th century in Mexican Spanish documentation, emphasizing dry heat for texture rather than buttered consumption.^[100] Certain trademarks unrelated to primary food or tech sectors employ "Toast," such as U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registration for ceramic goods manufacturing processes under "TOAST" by Toast LLC, filed in 2023 and covering material treatments evoking toasting effects in production.^[101] These niche applications highlight the term's extension to industrial contexts beyond conventional associations.