flipMelba Toast
Melba Toast
Why this dish? Escoffier (with César Ritz and head waiter Marie Louise Ritz) perfected these double-toasted, thin, crispy slices of bread for a then-ailing Melba on a diet: a digestible, light bread that does not irritate the throat.
A slice of white bread toasted, split while hot through its thickness, then re-toasted until it becomes a dry, curled, crispy leaf. The very essence of the diva's elegant frugality.
When fever kept me in bed and the doctors put me on a diet, dear Escoffier would not leave me without comfort. He took a thin slice of toast, split it again through its thickness — a conjurer's trick, I assure you — and put it back over the fire until it curled like a dead leaf. It is dry, light, and weighs neither on the stomach nor the throat. A singer must know how to deprive herself; but to deprive herself with grace, that is the art.
- •Day-old white bread — a few slices (sole base)
Melba Toast
A slice of white bread toasted, split while hot through its thickness, then re-toasted until it becomes a dry, curled, crispy leaf. The very essence of the diva's elegant frugality.
Why this dish? Escoffier (with César Ritz and head waiter Marie Louise Ritz) perfected these double-toasted, thin, crispy slices of bread for a then-ailing Melba on a diet: a digestible, light bread that does not irritate the throat.
When fever kept me in bed and the doctors put me on a diet, dear Escoffier would not leave me without comfort. He took a thin slice of toast, split it again through its thickness — a conjurer's trick, I assure you — and put it back over the fire until it curled like a dead leaf. It is dry, light, and weighs neither on the stomach nor the throat. A singer must know how to deprive herself; but to deprive herself with grace, that is the art.
Ingredients (period version)
- Day-old white bread — a few slices (sole base)
Ingredients
- White bread — 4 thin slices (base)
Method
- Lightly toast the bread slices on both sides.
- While still warm, lay the slice flat and slide a thin knife through the thickness to split it into two sheets, with the crumb side exposed.
- Return these sheets, crumb side up, to a low oven or under the broiler until they turn golden, dry out, and curl.
- Let cool: they become brittle. Serve plain, with consommé or a light fresh cheese.
How it was made : In those days, toasting was done over embers or under the salamander in palace kitchens. The secret lies in the hot splitting: without the soft crumb core, the slice loses all moisture and becomes a bread wafer, perfect for delicate stomachs.
The contemporary twist : Served upright in a small glass like tuiles, for dipping into a cold pea and mint velouté.
Sources : Marie Louise Ritz, César Ritz, Host to the World (1938) · Auguste Escoffier, Le Guide culinaire
Nellie Melba · Charactorium
