Today Lexi made toast.
Now, it isn't entirely her fault. Obviously someone had messed with the darkness setting on the toaster. But, for the love of toast, why is there even such a dial on a toaster??? How many people, do you think, purposely set their toasters to "char", "torch", or "ignite"? Nobody does this! No one! Not a single person in America likes their toast incinerated. I mean, look at the picture! That's WAY beyond scraping with a knife. There's no saving that toast. In fact, it's 10:00 at night and my house still smells like burnt toast. I really want to know if there's a purpose for the "toast doneness selector" and if so, WHAT? Why is this appliance manufactured with an option to completely destroy your breakfast? Inquiring minds want to know.
Ugh, my husband would like Lexi's toast. haha
ReplyDeleteIt's entirely feasible that you could put jelly on the bottom edge of the toast and hold yourself over till you make another round of toast. Otherwise, you have 6 kids. SOMEbody can spare a couple fingers or toes.
ReplyDeletemy grandmas friend only eats his toast like this...the only thing I can figure is his mom was a horrible cook!! lol
ReplyDeleteMy 17 yr old LOVES his toast burnt. Which leads to me burning any more bread that I put into the dang toaster. Which he loves beause then he gets MORE toast. Hes weird what can I say!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's for frozen waffles and pastry strudel.And,believe it or not,my youngest Son now 15,loved burnt toast.YUK,PEW.He would only eat the blackest part.Yes he is a normal,HA,15 yr.old.He's also very artistic like your Austin.Did he eat burnt toast?
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered why toasters have a burn setting? Probably to satisfy those strange individuals, like my neice, who actually ask for burnt toast
ReplyDeleteI am completely convinced that some things exist solely to make us ask why :)
ReplyDeleteYuck! The smell of burned toast is really awful. Believe it or not, I once took over a job from a woman who really did like burned toast. Every morning when she came to work, she made burned toast on purpose!! The office smelled yucky all day long!! Maybe that's why she left and I was hired? lol
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean about the toaster dial. I get alittle upset when someone turns mine to darker. I wish I had a lock on it. LOL
ReplyDeleteBecause burnt toast is a CHEAP laxative! :)
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I've noticed that, at least around where I live, English muffins take an unreasonably long time to toast and I actually set the toaster at or near the highest setting just to get them to brown a little. It's quite odd. I don't know why they take longer to toast than bread. Must be the nooks and crannies.
ReplyDeleteI never understood why, but Mom would religiously turn the setting to "darkest" and when the toast was finished, scrape the brown char off with a knife. When I would ask her why she just didn't set the toast to a lighter setting, she would always reply, "I like it this way." I can't see how, but maybe being a child of the Depression had something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mom died, I got that same toaster which she received as a wedding gift; it's still going strong.
Pat
My husband will put the toaster on the dark setting when he makes his Eggo things. Makes me nuts because I always have to verify the setting before I can make toast.
ReplyDeleteI'm completely with you on that one - not only do my children LOVE to watch Food Network (which has resulted in an apparent level of higher standards for my cooking... as my daughter commented the other night "Mom, there simply isn't enough color variety or garnish on this plate!" SIGH...) Anyhoo... and our toaster only toasts pleasantly if it is set in a delicate balance between the second and third line on the darkness setting... just add it to the list of questions to ask God when we get to heaven, i guess! :-)
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I laugh about that all the time! Our toaster can be set all the way to 6 but anything past 2 is burnt! WHY? Even Bagels are burnt if you set it past 2.
ReplyDeleteBecause if there is no burn setting on your toaster your children might actually make something tasty to serve you thereby ruining the rule that any breakfast made by kids for you will be disgusting. Sigh. :) And to think I thought I was being NICE to my mom!:)
ReplyDeleteI know a guy whose favorite snack is burnt toast broken into chunks, drowned in milk, and covered in pepper. How's that sound?
ReplyDeleteMy dad and husband both like BURNED toast... I know, it's a sickness. But they are always happy to eat the accidentally burned toast like Lexi made, so I suppose they serve their purpose :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband worked in product development at KitchenAid portable appliances and specifically on toasters. Here is his explination: The reason for the different settings is to account for cooking variances such as the type of the item (bread/bagel/toaster pastry), the consistancy of the item, the moisture content (freshness of item), and the altitude above sea level (which can impact cooking time).
ReplyDeleteMy mom routinely burns most everything because she likes it "crisp" (aka "charred"). Muffins are the worst, with a layer of black charcoal on the bottom. She also makes two pies for holidays, a burnt one and a regular one. I have vivid memories as a kid standing beside my mom at the toaster oven begging her to take out my toast/Poptart/anything before it got black.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand it either.
Yum yum! I love toast done like this :)
ReplyDeleteWe have the "burnt" toast setting so that we can tell "People who can make toast" apart from "People who can't make toast."
ReplyDeleteI love the toast kind of burned! And burned onions...there is just something delicious about it. Maybe that's why toasters have that setting. To satisfy those few individuals that love the torched toast. :-)
ReplyDeleteA.M.E.N!! Jenn
ReplyDeletemy great grandmother ate her toast this way, and toasted it ahead then wrapped it in foil looking this way. She ate it with her scrambled eggs. Hence my offering my kids burnt toast and ovaltine for breakfast, but no takers yet.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that Lexi is still doing ok with cooking given all the responses from people who like toast like this! Her talents are under-appreciated in her own kitchen though.
"dark" is only for Eggo waffles (which you can't find anywhere right now!) and english muffins. And for a brave few -- Pop Tarts! I personally think that it should automatically sense when bread is put in the toaster though - we've had the "essence of burnt toast" many times at my house too....
ReplyDeleteMy grandma came to visit and she said she like burnt toast. It thought she meant dark, crispy brown. No, she sent it through two toast cycles so it would be black, black like your toast.
ReplyDeleteAs long as she eats it, more power to her.
Our toaster does this too - not fun! At leas she tried! Our daughter loves the cooking channel too, but there is only so much of it that I can handle in one day!
ReplyDeleteburnt toast? yuck, now burn me a hot dog and make it black, yummooo!
ReplyDeleteHave your kids ever read the book, Burnt Toast on Davenport Street by Tim Egan? It's a great book with beautiful illustrations. Reading your post brought me back to a field trip to see Tim Egan at a bookstore where he explained to the kids how many rough drafts he did before getting to the final copy of his book. Wow, that was eight years ago!
ReplyDeleteMy mother has been married 8 times! I know.. Crazy :O We use to joke that she has a collection of toasters as wedding gifts. LOL Kristine in Michigan.
ReplyDeleteSomeone already mentioned English Muffins, but I use the darkest setting for bagels as well. They're so thick that a normal setting just doesn't do the job.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I don't have a toaster oven. I want one badly. I dare say I may even covet one. But for now the lowly toaster makes due.
my mom loves her toast that dark, I'm dead serious, I know I don't understand it either but then again she's canadain....
ReplyDeleteToast like that + hot sauce = great remedy for a hangover. No kidding :)
ReplyDeleteBecause they can? So many people at my church set the toaster to burn and scarf down charred bagels every Sunday. It is quite disgusting, but not as bad as when people do it to steak.
ReplyDeleteI keep my toaster on the "burnt" setting because I freeze my gluten free bread. I pop it in frozen and it comes out perfectly LOL
ReplyDeleteI just made my daughter some toast for lunch (her request). She said, "Make sure it's really burnt, please." ??? I don't know. She didn't get it from me!
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon!
My oldest has been trying to cook as of late. She doesn't burn toast, but... pretty much everything else. I've been eating tough food for about a week. I want her to learn, but, OMFGIWANNAEATNORMALFOODTOO {inhale, exhale}
ReplyDeleteThis is how they serve toast in England. Totally confused me when I was there.
ReplyDeleteMy dad loves it burnt, he puts his poached eggs on top! I say Yuck, but to each his own, right?
ReplyDeleteLight: delicate bread that is already defrosted that you just want to have a light warming of and no color added.
ReplyDeleteDark: You're toasting a frozen bagel. It takes this full temperature to adequately toast a frozen bagel. And sadly, I actually know this.
But woe betide the person in my house who messes with my settings without putting them back ;) Poor Lex!
Ah. Toast just the way I like it. Just add butter while the toast is hot and heaps of Vegemite and I'm in heaven. Sigh. Maybe it's an Australian thing...Bring on the nuked toast.
ReplyDeleteHey Dawn,
ReplyDeleteThis is for your Sunday Sound-Out
I would love to know if you do a weekly or bi-weekly menu? Do you use coupons? Budget out? Where do you grocery shop at? And what are your favorite meals to cook that your kids WILL eat? I only have 4 kids so this is so tough for me. You have a beautiful family btw. :)