Cheese on Toast
Encyclopedia
Cheese on toast is a snack made by placing cheese
on slices of toast
ed bread and melting the cheese under a grill. It is a simple meal, popular in the United Kingdom
.
or ketchup
. Pickled cucumber
, Branston pickle
, fried tomatoes, fried eggs, Worcestershire sauce
and baked beans
are also common. Another common variation is to add something to the toast before applying the cheese, such as tomato, or a thin layer of spread Marmite
, Vegemite
(in Australia), cream spread, mustard
or tomato ketchup.
Recipe books and internet articles tend to elaborate on the basics, adding ingredients and specifying accompaniments to make more interesting reading. Consequently, published recipes seldom deal with the most basic form of the meal and frequently refer to the similar dish of Welsh rarebit as "posh cheese on toast".
Cheddar cheese
is most commonly used for cheese on toast. Lancashire dairies, in conjunction with a "National Cheese on Toast Day", have promoted Lancashire cheese
as the best cheese to use. In Scotland
similar dishes are often referred to as roasted cheese, where the bread need not be toasted before applying the cheese.
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
on slices of toast
Toast
Toast is bread that has been browned by exposure to radiant heat. This browning reaction is known as the Maillard reaction. Toasting warms the bread and makes it firmer, so it holds toppings more securely...
ed bread and melting the cheese under a grill. It is a simple meal, popular in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Recipes
Cheese on toast consists of toast, either buttered or not, with cheese on one side. Further toppings are optional; the most basic being chopped onions (raw or grilled with the cheese), brown sauceSteak sauce
Steak sauce —brown sauce —is a generic term for a dark brown sauce commonly served as a condiment for meat.The two terms are similar but not identical...
or ketchup
Ketchup
Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
. Pickled cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
, Branston pickle
Branston Pickle
Branston is a British food brand. It is best known for the original Branston Pickle, a jarred pickled relish first made in 1922 in the Branston suburb of Burton upon Trent by Crosse & Blackwell....
, fried tomatoes, fried eggs, Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce , or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment; primarily used to flavour meat or fish dishes.First made at 60 Broad Street, Worcester, England, by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, the Lea & Perrins brand was commercialised in 1837 and...
and baked beans
Baked beans
Baked beans is a dish containing beans, sometimes baked but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a tomato...
are also common. Another common variation is to add something to the toast before applying the cheese, such as tomato, or a thin layer of spread Marmite
Marmite
Marmite is the name given to two similar food spreads: the original British version, first produced in the United Kingdom and later South Africa, and a version produced in New Zealand...
, Vegemite
Vegemite
Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from yeast extract. It is a spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets and cracker biscuits, and filling for pastries...
(in Australia), cream spread, mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
or tomato ketchup.
Recipe books and internet articles tend to elaborate on the basics, adding ingredients and specifying accompaniments to make more interesting reading. Consequently, published recipes seldom deal with the most basic form of the meal and frequently refer to the similar dish of Welsh rarebit as "posh cheese on toast".
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....
is most commonly used for cheese on toast. Lancashire dairies, in conjunction with a "National Cheese on Toast Day", have promoted Lancashire cheese
Lancashire cheese
Lancashire is an English cow's-milk cheese from the county of Lancashire. There are three distinct varieties of Lancashire cheese. Young Creamy Lancashire and mature Tasty Lancashire are produced by a traditional method, whereas Crumbly Lancashire is a more recent creation suitable for mass...
as the best cheese to use. In Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
similar dishes are often referred to as roasted cheese, where the bread need not be toasted before applying the cheese.