[Sca-cooks] payn perdu et. al.

[Gaylin Walli]

Stefan wrote:
>Ok, what is a Payn Perdu? I thought this was a bread, but some
>of the examples sound like more of a pudding. Are these examples
>all for variations of the same dish? "Payn" is bread, right? Or
>is this actually what would generally be considered a "bread
>pudding" today?

Literally, it means "lost bread" but mundanely you and I might call
it "French Toast" in America. The reason you see things that look
like puddings is, well, because they are. But the cooking techniques,
their order, and the ingredients, vary little from any number of
bread and egg dishes in period or through into this century. I've
included some recipes people would consider incorrectly labeled
as a "french toast" recipe simply based on those reasons. We have
examples of bread being fried or baked, after being dipped in an
egg mixture or after having the egg mix poured on, with or without
spices, with or without flavorings, sometimes sweet and sometimes
savory. And all of them stem from some recipe called "payn perdu"
or another recipe thereof.

You already have french toast recipes in your collection. But the
article and notes aren't as complete as mine. *wink*grin*

iasmin