If you can roast a marshmallow over a flame, you can toast cheese! With a sturdy skewer and a little patience, this historical fireside snack will become your new favorite camping tradition.
Today “toasted cheese” is British English for what Americans call “a grilled cheese sandwich.” But in the days before sandwiches were formally known and named as such, “toasted cheese” existed in a variety of guises. The earliest manner consisted of simply a chunk of cheese, impaled on the end of a stick or skewer (or sword, according to Shakespeare), and roasted, marshmallow fashion. The golden molten glob would be applied to a thin slice of crispy toast, if available.
4 servings
Ingredients:
8 ounces cheese, cut into 1- by 1- by 1-inch cubes, preferably at room temperature
1 half loaf of favorite bread, sliced thinly, and toasted crisp
Optional adornments: Mustard or chutney, thinly sliced onion
Directions:
Have ready a medium fire with a bed of coals.
Each cheese-toasting individual should carefully impale a cube of cheese upon an implement. Try not to run it all the way through. Unless the cheese is very elastic and forgiving, this abuse will tend to split it in half.
Use a fire shovel to pull some coals forward. Each guest may toast cheese to the degree favored by extending it over the coals. Turn it slowly for even exposure to the heat. No quick motions. Be attentive to slumping, and be ready with the toast.
Spread out the cheese on the toast, applying optional adornments to taste, and perhaps washing down with a glass of pale ale.
Revel in the fun of cooking with live fire. This hot collection from food historian and archaeologist Paula Marcoux includes more than 100 fire-cooked recipes that range from cheese on a stick to roasted rabbit and naan bread. Marcoux’s straightforward instructions and inspired musings on cooking with fire are paired with mouthwatering photographs that will have you building primitive bread ovens and turning pork on a homemade spit. Gather all your friends around a fire and start the feast.
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around May 6, 2014. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Paula Marcoux is a food historian who lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts; she has worked professionally as an archaeologist, cook, and bread-oven builder. She is the food editor of Edible South Shore magazine, writes on food history topics for popular and academic audiences, and consults with museums, film producers, and publishers. She also gives regular workshops on natural leavening, historic baking, and wood-fired cooking. Her web site is http://www.themagnificentleaven.com.
Familiar names are: toastie (UK), grilled cheese sandwich (US), jaffle (Australia), panini (Italy), and croque monsieur (France). The toasted sandwich is not limited to these countries, however. You will find this popular snack, lunch, or dinner in every corner of our planet.
Although no one can pinpoint the precise origin of grilled cheese, the sandwich became very popular in the 1920s. That's when scholars speculate some enterprising individual came up with the idea to make a grilled cheese sandwich, but the idea quickly spread commercially as well as in the home.
Grilled cheese is usually made in a non-stick frying pan or a regular pan while toasted cheese is made in a oven. This is because, in a grilled cheese sandwich, the cheese is sandwiched between two slices of bread. This means that the cheese can never come into contact with the pan and so it never sticks.
Today “toasted cheese” is British English for what Americans call “a grilled cheese sandwich.” But in the days before sandwiches were formally known and named as such, “toasted cheese” existed in a variety of guises.
"Toasties" are the British word for practically any grilled sandwich and are similar to what we call a panini here in the States. I always call it a "cheese toastie" when preparing one at home. For me, "cheese toastie" evokes a nostalgic, childlike feeling — which perfectly describes this comfort food.
What is grilled cheese called? The actual term "grilled cheese" doesn't make an appearance in print until the 1960s; before that it was always "toasted cheese” or "melted cheese" sandwiches.
In fact, if all you ate for an entire day was toasted cheese sandwiches (using white bread), you'd get most of your nutrition, only being low in Vitamin C and a little low Vitamin B6, Magnesium and Iron. Make the sandwich with grainy bread and then you're only low in Vitamin C and Vitamin B6.
Finally, it's a matter of taste: Sometimes, butter's richness feels a little too heavy and can overpower the cheese. Mayonnaise's light, tangy flavor means your tastebuds can fully appreciate the flavors of your cheese and bread choices.
You'll sometimes see “crostini” and “bruschetta” used interchangeably, since they both involve toasted, topped slices of bread. In truth, they're two entirely different antipasti. The distinction is in how the bread is prepared.
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Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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