A toasting fork is a long-handled fork used to brown and toast food such as bread, cheese, and apples by holding the pronged end in front of an open fire or other heat source. [1] [2] It can also be used to toast marshmallows, broil hot dogs, and heat hot dog buns over campfires. [3]
Toasting forks were traditionally made from metal such as wrought iron, brass, or silver, and later from steel, but handles of wood or ivory might be used to prevent the heat of the fire being conducted to the hand. [5] [6] [7] Food is pierced with the prongs of the fork and held over the fire until it turns brown. [6] The toasting process requires care and attention to ensure that the item is evenly cooked and not burnt. [8]
Many toasting forks had a built-in suspension ring on one end, which allowed them to be hung when not in use. [9] Some forks had telescopic handles which made them portable for travellers, [7] [9] and allowed the toast to be held closer to the fire without burning one's fingers. [6]
While most toasting forks were designed to be held by hand, some were designed into trivets or weighted bases, [10] and could swivel like an angled desklamp over the fire. [5] [11] Collectors sometimes refer to this as the "lazy toaster". [11]
In England, toasting forks date back to at least the mid-16th century, with at least two forks extant from that era. [12] [7] They were typically used by those in the middle and upper strata of society. Toasting irons are compared to swords in the Shakespeare plays King John and Henry V , and a 17th-century wrought-iron toasting fork is held in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust collection. [13]
In the 18th century, toasting forks often had three staggered prongs, to hold the bread more firmly. [11] Toasting cheese became vogue during the Georgian era, and toasting forks emerged with "peculiar brackets to hold a slice of cheese" as well as bread. [5] Some Scottish forks with four prongs had intricate decorative detail, likely influenced by continental European smithcraft. [11]
Many inventors applied for patents for more sophisticated toasting forks from the 1790s onward. [14] [7] Scottish inventor James Watt, best known for the Watt steam engine, developed a retractable toasting fork. [15] From 1809, Sir Edward Thomason of Birmingham invented several types of sliding toasting forks, including a popular one with collapsible prongs and slides encased within a japanned handle that drew into the mouth of a metal-plated snake head, which he regretted not patenting. [7] [16] Another Thomason invention was a telescopic fork that included a mechanism for brushing the hearth. [15]
Toasting forks were popular in the Victorian era, [17] and are often mentioned in novels by Charles Dickens. [18] In Oliver Twist , the villain Fagin first appears standing in a dark room in front of a fire, holding a toasting fork, suggestive of his "devilish" nature. [19] In The Pickwick Papers , the alcoholic non-conformist minister Mr. Stiggins first appears sitting in front of the fireplace in the parlour of the public house, imbibing pineapple rum as he periodically checks his toasting fork to ascertain whether the toast is ready. [20]
According to The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea, "Every careful Victorian furnished his son with a brass toasting fork and a silver muffin dish for afternoons in college rooms and later at the Club." [18] In 1854, Chef Alexis Benoit Soyer gave a recipe/prescription for their proper use to produce toast in Shilling Cookery for the People. [21] [22] Toasting forks of various sizes were advertised in the Harrods 1895 Catalogue, with prices ranging from threepence to one shilling and sixpence. [23] They continued to be used into the 20th century, [17] even as open hearths were replaced with wood- and coal-burning cookers and gas stoves in the home. [24]
In 1620, Pilgrims from England had toasting forks and kettle forks with them when they landed at Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower , but did not have table forks. [8] While some British colonists in America used elaborate hearth toasters that could hold several pieces of bread, cooks of "more modest means" relied on toasting forks made of forged iron. [25] Toasting forks continued to be an important utensil in the early American kitchen of the 1800s, when activity centered around the cooking fireplace. [26]
The American Agriculturalist magazine advised in November 1868 that the proper way to make toast at home was to use stale bread rather than fresh bread as was customary in hotels. [27] The bread should be sliced "moderately thin", placed on a toasting fork, and held near the fire until it was warmed through. [27] Only as a final step should the fork be brought nearer to the fire and turned light brown or deep golden yellow, before being buttered. [27]
The July 1877 issue of American Agriculturalist included instructions on how to make a home-made toasting fork out of "any refuse piece of tin" such as the bottom of a box of sardines, or the side of a can of fruit which had been flattened. [28] The magazine advised cutting three triangular pieces and bending them up to form "prongs", and threading three wires through the holes and twisting them to form a handle. [28]
Although the first electric toasters were patented between 1904 and 1909, the early models were manually operated, and still required users to monitor and observe whether the toast was "done". [29] [upper-alpha 1] Toasting forks gradually declined in domestic use after the first automatic electric toasters appeared on the market as a luxury item in 1926, [31] and electricity became more widely available in homes starting in the 1930s. [29] In the United Kingdom, the use of toasting forks persisted in households with fireplaces, [32] or electric heaters. [33] Through the 1900s, crumpets browned over an open fire using a toasting fork then drenched in butter were considered a midwinter delicacy in England. [34]
Today, toasting forks are often used around campfires, [35] constructed out of simple materials, such as Y-shaped tree branches [36] or wire coathangers. [37] [38] [39] They are also sold as an accessory for woodburning stoves, [40] and as a novelty item. [41]
In 2022, an article in The Telegraph pointed to the use of extendable marshmallow toasting forks purchased from Amazon, instead of a wooden stick, as an example of how "the middle class have ruined camping" by turning it into "glamping". [42] In the UK, many cultural commentators insist that while electric toasters are fast and convenient, the "perfect" way to prepare toast is with "a toasting fork and a real fire". [43]
In the 19th century, a toasting fork was one of the many everyday objects which scientist Michael Faraday used during his lectures. [44] In one demonstration, he built an electrical machine using a glass bottle supported by an inverted stool, with a tea canister on a tumbler as the conductor, and the toasting fork as the collector. [44]
In the 20th century, the great physicist G. I. Taylor experimented with a four-pronged toasting fork and found that, when it was waved so that the airflow was in the plane of the tines then they sang much more loudly than when the airflow was perpendicular to the plane. [45]
The Victoria and Albert Museum has a collection of toasting forks which was mostly curated by the wealthy antiquarian Louis Clarke. [7] [9]
In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods either to hold them to cut with a knife or to lift them to the mouth.
French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights (of Windsor).
A bagel is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior.
A toaster is a small electric appliance that uses radiant heat to brown sliced bread into toast. It typically consists of one or more slots into which bread is inserted, and heating elements, often made of nichrome wire, to generate heat and toast the bread to the desired level of crispiness.
Charles Perkins Strite was an American inventor known for inventing the pop-up toaster. He received U.S. patent #1,394,450 on October 18, 1921 for the pop-up bread toaster. Strite then formed the Waters Genter Company and made the pop-up toaster publicly available in 1926.
An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been used to accomplish a wide variety of tasks requiring controlled heating. Because they are used for a variety of purposes, there are many different types of ovens. These types differ depending on their intended purpose and based upon how they generate heat.
Fried bread is a slice of bread that has been fried. It is used as a substitute for toast in various dishes or meals. Various oils, butter, lard, bacon drippings, or ghee can be used. Some cooks may choose to fry rather than toast to avoid having to give counter or storage space to or spend money on a toaster. Proponents of frying rather than toasting call out the extra flavor and crispiness that can be achieved by frying in fat rather than dry-toasting.
An English muffin is a small, round and flat yeast-leavened bread which is commonly 4 in (10 cm) round and 1.5 in (4 cm) tall. It is generally split horizontally and served toasted. In North America, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, it is frequently eaten with sweet or savoury toppings such as butter, fruit jam, honey, eggs, sausage, bacon, or cheese. English muffins are an essential ingredient in eggs Benedict and a variety of breakfast sandwiches derived from it, such as the McMuffin, and can be used in place of other breads for French toast.
The grilled cheese is a hot cheese sandwich typically prepared by heating slices of cheese between slices of bread with a cooking fat such as butter or mayonnaise on a frying pan, griddle, or sandwich toaster, until the bread browns and the cheese melts.
A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive.
After Dark is a series of computer screensaver software introduced by Berkeley Systems in 1989 for the Apple Macintosh, and in 1991 for Microsoft Windows.
The Brave Little Toaster is a 1987 American independent animated musical adventure drama film directed by Jerry Rees. It is based on the 1980 novella of the same name by Thomas M. Disch. The film stars Deanna Oliver, Timothy E. Day, Jon Lovitz, Tim Stack, and Thurl Ravenscroft, with Wayne Kaatz, Colette Savage, Phil Hartman, Joe Ranft, and Jim Jackman in supporting roles. It is set in a world where domestic appliances and other consumer electronics come to life, pretending to be lifeless in the presence of humans. The story focuses on five anthropomorphic household appliances, which include a toaster, a lamp stand, a blanket, a radio and a vacuum cleaner, who go on a quest to search for their owner.
A pie iron—also called pudgy pie iron, sandwich toaster, snackwicher, toastie maker—is a cooking appliance that consists of two hinged concave, round or square, cast iron or aluminium plates on long handles. Its "clamshell" design resembles that of a waffle iron, but without that appliance's honeycomb pattern. Pie irons are used to heat, toast and seal the sandwich.
Raisin bread or fruit bread is a type of bread made with raisins and flavored with cinnamon. It is "usually a white flour or egg dough bread". Aside from white flour, raisin bread is also made with other flours, such as all-purpose flour, oat flour, or whole wheat flour. Some recipes include honey, brown sugar, eggs, or butter. Variations of the recipe include the addition of walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans or, for a dessert, rum or whisky.
Dualit is a British manufacturer of kitchen and catering equipment, and coffee and tea capsules. It is known for its range of heavy-duty toasters. It was primarily designed for the commercial catering market, its domestic usage increased during the 1990s
Kaya toast is a dish consisting of two slices of toast with butter and kaya, commonly served alongside coffee and soft-boiled eggs. The dish was believed to be created by Hainanese immigrants to the Straits Settlements in the 19th century while serving on British ships.
A full breakfast is a substantial cooked breakfast meal, often served in Great Britain and Ireland. The typical ingredients are bacon, sausages, eggs, black pudding, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, fried bread and a beverage such as coffee or tea. Hash browns are a common contemporary but non-traditional inclusion. Ingredients may extend beyond these or include regional variants, which may often be referred to by different names depending on the area. While it is colloquially known as a "fry-up" in most areas of the United Kingdom and Ireland, it is usually referred to as a "full English", a "full Irish", "full Scottish", "full Welsh", and "Ulster fry", in England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively.
Toast is sliced bread that has been browned by radiant heat. The browning is the result of a Maillard reaction altering the flavor of the bread and making it firmer. The firm surface is easier to spread toppings on and the warmth can help butter reach its melting point. Toasting is a common method of making stale bread more palatable. Bread is commonly toasted using a toaster or a toaster oven. Toast may contain acrylamide caused by the browning process, which is suspected to be a carcinogen. However, claims that acrylamide in burnt toast causes cancer have not been proven.