[Sca-cooks] The upper crust

[James Prescott]

Not entirely impossible, though "burnt bottom" shouldn't happen if your 
baker knows what he is doing.  There is always the possibility of char 
fragments and similar attaching to the bottom of a loaf of bread that is 
cooked directly on the bricks in a baker's oven, even when that oven has 
been swept carefully, so that does remain as a possibility.

The semi-random selection of mediaeval and renaissance cookbooks that I 
happen to be familiar with don't make any reference to partitioning the 
bread in any way.  So either everyone already knew to do it, and so it 
didn't need to be mentioned, or it wasn't normally done.


Thorvald



On 2016-12-12, 13:26, Susan Lord wrote:
> My research goes from 13th century Spain until 1474, the death of Henry IV of Castile.
> Occasionally, I bring English references into my work such as trenchers but I have never heard of this, nor do I have any references to burned bread until the Great Fire of London!
>
> What is your reading? Are the quotes below valid?
>
>
>> On Dec 10, 2016, at 08:13, Beverly Walker<peacockwalk at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>
>> Quartz<http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?s=e8a6ba66e69a2e177132ad16d38e9c0a&u=29546>
>> Charter Member
>>
>> Join Date: Jan 2003
>> Location: Home of the haggis
>> Posts: 24,433
>> If recent programs on UK TV History are to be believed, then it's a reference to those who were served the upper parts of bread loaves, as the bottom of the loaf would have burnt bits. IIRC on the TV show they sliced the bottom off and cut the rest of the loaf in three. The servants got the bottom bit.
>>
>> The bread was divided according to status. The workers would get the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family would get the middle and guests  would get the top, or the "upper crust".
>> Although an admonition to "Kutt the upper crust [of a loaf of bread] for your soverayne" can be found in a 1460 work, the term 'upper crust' didn't come to be used figuratively to refer to persons of the higher classes until the 19th century. Many have speculated that the phrase "upper crust" originated with a custom of slicing the choice top portion off a loaf and presenting it to the highest-ranking guests at the table, but there is no documentary evidence supporting this as the phrase's actual origin.
>>
>> The Word Detective<http://www.word-detective.com/080401.html#uppercrust>:
>>
>> Quote:
>> The term "upper crust," referring literally to the upper portion of a loaf of bread, is indeed very old, dating back to at least 1460. Subsequent instances of "upper crust" included its figurative use as a synonym for the surface of the earth (1555) and as slang for, believe it or not, a hat (1826).
>>
>> But the metaphorical use of "upper crust" in its modern sense of "the aristocracy or the wealthy class" seems, as Mr. Bryson says, to have first occurred in early 19th century America, and was widespread enough by 1848 to be included by John Bartlett in his seminal "Dictionary of Americanisms" published that year. And the term simply refers to the "upper layers" of society in an economic sense, not to the perceived superiority of any portion of a loaf of bread.
>>
>>   <http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?s=e8a6ba66e69a2e177132ad16d38e9c0a&do=newreply&p=6762252>
>>
>> ~~~
>
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