Milk toast is a breakfast dish consisting of

toasted bread Toast most commonly refers to: * Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat * Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken Toast may also refer to: Places * Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States Books * ''T ...

in warm

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

, typically with sugar and butter."An Alphabet For Gourmets" by Mary Francis Kennedy Fisher, MacMillan Salt, pepper, paprika, cinnamon, cocoa, raisins or other ingredients may be added."A Stew or a story: an assortment of short works by M.F.K. Fisher" by Joan Reardon, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, Counterpoint Press, Originally in ''Bon Appetit'', 1978. In the New England region of the United States, milk toast refers to toast that has been dipped in a milk-based white sauce. Milk toast was a popular food throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially for young children and for the

convalescent Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a source of ...

, for whom the dish was thought to be soothing and easy to

digest Digest may refer to: Biology *Digestion of food *Restriction digest Literature and publications *''The Digest'', formerly the English and Empire Digest *Digest size magazine format * ''Digest'' (Roman law), also known as ''Pandects'', a digest ...

. Although not as popular in the 2000s, milk toast is still considered a

comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may appl ...

. The food writer

M. F. K. Fisher Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher (July 3, 1908 – June 22, 1992) was an American food writer. She was a founder of the Napa Valley Wine Library. Over her lifetime she wrote 27 books, including a translation of ''The Physiology of Taste'' by Brillat-S ...

(1908–1992) called milk toast a "warm, mild, soothing thing, full of innocent strength", and wrote, of eating milk toast in a famed restaurant with a

friend, that the dish was "a small modern miracle of

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gastr ...

". She notes that her homeliest kitchen manuals even list it under "Feeding The Sick" or "Invalid Recipes", arguing that milk toast was "an instinctive

palliative Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

, something like boiled water". Fisher also notes that for true comfort, a

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

may be necessary, and for "Milk Toast people", the dish used may be foolishly important. Her favorite version of milk toast has the milk mixed 50/50 with

Campbell's Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to beco ...

condensed cream of tomato soup in a wide-lipped pitcher called a ''boccalino'' in Italian Switzerland where she got it.

Outside New England

In Asia

Milk toast is a dessert that is served in many Asian milk tea cafes. It consists of thick, enriched toasted white bread with

condensed milk Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened conden ...

on top. it is called "Shahi Tukda" (Bn: শাহী টুকরা ) in Bangladesh and India and is occasionally served at gatherings. The topping is often infused with flavours of cardamom and other spices.

In Serbia

Popara Popara (Cyrillic: ''попара'', gr, παπάρα, ''papara'', tr, papara) is a dish made with bread. Typically the bread is old and has a thick crust, and is soaked in either hot tea, milk or water. Sugar, honey, butter, and cheese are ofte ...

'' is a dessert similar to milk toast which can be served at any time of the day. It is often made with fresh warm milk and day-old bread.

In Norway and Sweden

A traditional Scandinavian dish similar to milk toast is called ''soll'' in

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

and ''bryta'' in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...

. It consists of broken ''

flatbrød Flatbrød (literally "flat-bread") is a traditional Norwegian unleavened bread which is usually eaten with fish, salted meats and soups. Originally it was the staple food of Norwegian farmers, shepherds and peasants. Flat bread is dry and free ...

'' (wafer-thin, crisp bread), ''

tunnbröd Tunnbröd (; literally "thinbread") is the Swedish version of flatbread and properly belongs to northern Swedish cuisine where housewives share a common bakery to produce it. Tunnbröd can be soft or crisp, and comes in many variants depending on ...

'' or dry bread served in a bowl of cold milk (often ''

filmjölk (), also known as , is a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden, and a common dairy product within the Nordic countries. It is made by fermenting cow's milk with a variety of bacteria from the species '' Lactococcus lactis'' and '' Leuc ...

'') and sweetened with sugar etc. ''Soll'' was an everyday dish for peasants in the countryside, especially served as a simple supper in the evening. During the winter ''soll'' was sometimes served as breakfast with warmed milk.

In popular culture

Milk toast's soft blandness served as inspiration for the name of the timid and ineffectual comic strip character

Caspar Milquetoast Caspar Milquetoast is a comic strip character created by H. T. Webster for his cartoon series ''The Timid Soul''. Webster described Caspar Milquetoast as "the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick". The character's name is derived ...

, drawn by

H. T. Webster Harold Tucker Webster (September 21, 1885 – September 22, 1952) was an American cartoonist known for ''The Timid Soul'', ''Bridge'', ''Life's Darkest Moments'' and others in his syndicated series which ran from the 1920s into the 1950s. Because ...

from 1924 to 1952. Thus, the term "milquetoast" entered the language as the label for a timid, shrinking, apologetic person.

References

External links

Milk toast recipe at WorldwideschoolMilk toast recipe at mrbreakfast.comA modern recipe for New England style milk toast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milk Toast Milk dishes Toast dishes American breakfast foods Desserts