March 23 is National Melba Toast Day, and that’s a big deal! Food holidays are the best, especially when commemorating something as tasty and crunchy as everyone’s favourite toast.
Let’s talk about the remarkable Melba toast and its well-merited holiday. Before we get started, let us invite you to enjoy the finest wine and food in one of our wine tours from Melbourne to Yarra Valley. We tailor our wine tours in Melbourne to your every taste and include winery stays in Yarra Valley, wine tastings and much more! Let’s get started!
What is Melba Toast, anyway?
Many people know Melba toast well, especially in the UK, Australia, and a few other corners of the earth, but the delicate toast is relatively unknown elsewhere. Let’s start by explaining what’s the buzz behind these two-bite sized bread slices.
The Melba toast is a thin, extremely dry, crisp slice of bread. Legend says the renowned French Chef Auguste Escoffier himself created the light toast in 1897 while working on the Savoy Hotel, London.
The Melba toast was part of a few exclusive treats created to satisfy the palate of Dame Nellie Melba, a famous Australian operatic soprano. The artist needed a light but tasty carb that wouldn’t break her diet.
The Melba toast was born, but it didn’t enjoy international acclaim until the Mayo Brothers, founders of The Mayo Clinic, recommended consuming Melba toast as a low calorie and versatile bread in 1925. American actress Ethel Barrymore followed the Mayo brothers’ advice and widely recommended the crisp toast to her jet-set friends.
Everyone who was anyone suddenly wanted to eat Melba toast, followed by the public — the crispy toast had become a world phenomenon.
Fun facts:
- Dame Nellie Melba took the pseudonym “Melba” from her hometown, Melbourne.
- The Melba Toast was called Toast Marie before being re-baptized by the Ritz Manager after Ms. Melba’s visit.
How to Eat Melba Toast?
Today, Melba toast is widely available. Now, the question is, how to enjoy such a crispy treat?
The easiest way of eating Melba toast is topping salads and soups with it — the toastsmake lovely croutons! Of course, the Melba toast shines most when topped with pâté, cream cheese, salt-cured meat and other savoury goodies. Melba toast is also compatible with sweet flavours, especially jams and other fruity spreads.
How is the Melba toast so crispy? This special toast is baked twice, traditionally under a blistering grill. Toasting the thin slices without burning them is no easy feat, though, which is why the toasty bread is considered a delicacy.
How to Celebrate International Melba Toast Day?
The best way to enjoy such a crackly holiday is with friends and family with a good meal and a few bottles of wine.
If food and wine are your thing, allow us to take you on our wine tours from Melbourne to Yarra Valley. Our wine tours in Melbourne include winery stays in Yarra Valley, wine tastings and many tasty bites, including the notorious Melba toast! Visit with us to Dame Nellie Melba’s Estatein the Yarra Valley and enjoy a cocktail, morning tea, or wine tastings, dine in the restaurant overlooking the gardens and home of opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, let us walk you through a hidden exquisite part of Melbourne history, and of course taste the famous renown Melba Toast!
